Guinness Peat Group, the cash-rich owner of profitable thread-making business Coats, is still muddling through arrangements for its UK pension obligations before returning capital to shareholders.
The New Zealand investment company is still in talks with the UK Pensions Regulator as to whether it will have to provide more money to its Coats pension schemes, and is exploring its options, chairman Rob Campbell says.
If GPG can't reach a settlement with the regulator a hearing won't be held earlier than the second half of this year, and could drag out to the end of 2015 if appealed.
"Any decision on the future capital structure of Coats and further cash distributions to shareholders continues to be deferred while these matters are being resolved," Mr Campbell said.
The board was as frustrated as shareholders about the delay in distributing profit, he said.
As at December 31, GPG valued the pension scheme deficits at STG178 million ($A331.32 million), down from STG281m a year earlier. In 2012, the agreed funding deficit with the pension schemes' trustee was STG215m.
GPG has generated about $NZ1.4 billion ($A1.31 billion) from the asset sale program it embarked on in 2011 after a shareholder revolt over plans to split up the company along regional lines saw a board shake-out.
It had cash of some $NZ773m as at December 31 from $NZ490m a year earlier, and shareholders' funds of $NZ896m, up from $NZ876m at the end of 2012.
The investment company returned to profit with earnings of STG23m in 2013 compared to a loss of STG29m a year earlier, as it banked gains from the liquidation of its portfolio and its Coats unit was back in black.
Coats, which GPG has previously said it plans to rebrand, lifted annual sales three per cent to $US1.7 billion ($A1.90 billion) in 2013, and turned an operating profit of $US124.2m from a loss of $US11.1m.
The thread-maker turned a net profit of $US29.2m, from a loss of $US146.4m after facing a European Union fine for fixing prices in the haberdashery market. Coats generated free cash flow of $US44.8m in the period.
