A2M $3 Party, page-86

Hence the need in all probability for the firmer agreement with Synlait.

John Penno, CEO of Synlait, mentioned during a presentation I attended in October last year that Synlait produce to monthly orders, A2M for instance issue a month ahead order, Synlait arrange forward monthly production schedules and execute.

It's probable given the focus of Synlait at present that A2M and SML have sought to implement an improved agreement whereby Synlait can more confidently plan further ahead, and thus have greater lead in times in seeking a2 farm conversions to match required growth.

The difficulty in estimating expressed by A2M is, or rather was probably, just that, plus in addition, the ability to meet production rates accurately is with another company and thus A2M must be cautious, that is why they have for the first time issued guidance as a range.

FY16 revenues could be $300M, they could be $315M, or they could be somewhere in between, depending on the performance of Synlait in achieving farm conversions at the agreed rate.

And, given that guidance was issued only four weeks ago including xmas, new year plus a couple of weeks leave for many, it would be almost totally improbable that any developments planned for early January, such as a mysterious price point change, would not have been included comprehensively within their 2016 strategic plan and guidance.