Shares in New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra have plunged to historic lows over recent months after the farmer-owned co-op announced it would report losses of between €340m to €390m (NZ$590m to NZ$675m) for its 2019 financial year.

Fonterra said the losses came about after it was forced to write down the value of several of its assets to the tune of €475m to €500m (NZ$820m to NZ$860m) in August. As a result, the co-op said it will not pay a dividend to its shareholders this year.

In response to the difficult situation, investors in Fonterra’s have sent the company’s share price down sharply below NZ$3 (€1.70) per share – the lowest share price in the co-ops history.

When Fonterra first floated a portion of its shares on the New Zealand stock market in November 2012 shares traded above NZ$5 (€2.90) before peaking at NZ$8 (€4.60) in 2013.

Fonterra announced it had agreed a deal to sell its 50% share in DFE Pharma

As recently as January 2019, Fonterra shares were trading at NZ$4.85 (€2.80) but have since lost almost 40% of their value.

On Tuesday this week, Fonterra announced it had agreed a deal to sell its 50% share in DFE Pharma, a joint business venture with Dutch dairy giant Friesland Campina, for NZ$633m (€363m). Along with the recent sale of its Tip Top business in New Zealand, Fonterra said the sale would give it more than NZ$1bn (€573m) in cash to reduce its heavy debt burden. Fonterra shares inched marginally higher to NZ$3.22 (€1.85) in response to the news.