New Zealand’s Fonterra logs 4.3% drop in full-year profit

(Reuters) -New Zealand’s Fonterra reported a 4.3% fall in its full-year profit on Thursday, weighed down by a higher tax expense after changes to how it treats shareholder distributions.

The world’s largest dairy exporter reported profit after tax of NZ$1.08 billion ($627.80 million) for the year ended July 31, compared with NZ$1.13 billion reported a year earlier.

($1 = 1.7203 New Zealand dollars)

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas and Jasmeen Ara Shaikh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)