Alan Kohler provides an interesting commentary on whether the glass is half full or half empty. There is no conclusion which is an insight in itself.
After all the anaysis QF is still diving into murky water hugging the twin philosophies of 'we have to do something' and 'time will tell'.
The key issue in atomising the group as proposed, is the management of conflict of interests which could inhibit the ability of management to allocate capital more efficiently.
In order to achieve full-cost separation Geoff Dixon will have to be brutal in addressing the issue of corporate overheads. He must allow all the business units to build their own cost structures and this could well mean a substantial increase in unit overhead costs in the core business/holding company. Expect major pushback in this area.
One side effect of this break up, assuming QF is true to its word on independence of the 7 sisters and the 4 cousins, is that in order to reap its benefits QF has to dilute its critical mass.
Harvesting a franchise is well and good but continued harvesting requires long term committment to soil management.
Courage or desperation? I think a bit of both.