Todd Corp refocuses on NZ energy after overseas setbacks

Newish brooms: Todd Corp’s chairman Nick Olson and chief executive Evan Davies.

It was coming up to Christmas 2019 and the Todd Corporation had made the rare misstep of inviting journalists to its Christmas drinks function at Wellington’s Shed 5 restaurant.

Jon Young, who would be quietly exited in late 2022, was still leading the corporate arm of the Todd family’s interests.

He used the event to outline plans to spend $3 billion over a decade, two-thirds of that on drilling to supplement New Zealand’s declining natural gas fields and the rest to undertake large-scale solar farm investments.

To the company’s horror, the hacks did what we always do: recorded and transcribed the speeches for news stories.

However, unscripted public utterances are not part of the Todd DNA. Invitations have dried up since.

But five years on, two abandoned mega-projects in Western Australia and Louisiana and one board and senior management shake-up later, the plans for NZ that Young laid out that evening are largely intact.

After all the recent turmoil and value destruction, Todd Corp has drawn a simple enough conclusion: stick to what you know. Basically, that means: invest in New Zealand and its energy sector.

“In recent history, Todd’s strategic focus has been on energy as the primary driver of revenue and earnings,” Todd told BusinessDesk.

“We remain committed to our core New Zealand energy assets, but the strategic realignment is an opportunity for renewal and improvement.

“We have reviewed our operating model and made changes to prepare for challenges and opportunities in the energy sector.”

Read more in this two part series on BusinessDesk.co.nz