Barry New . . .’It has been often enough said that P&O has a desire to reduce its shareholding in P&O Nedlloyd.’ Alan Peat THE MD of P&O Nedlloyd in SA, Barry New, said that Nedlloyd’s proposal of a demerger “came as no surprise”. It’s nothing new, he added. Confirming what FTW has reported at least twice in the past, New said: “The demerger has been talked about for years. “I think it has been often enough said that P&O has a desire to reduce its shareholding in P&O Nedlloyd.” The time just has to be right, New suggested. The issue was raised in answer to a journalist’s question at the presentation of P&O Nedlloyd’s second quarter results last week. “But it was a rather leading question,” said an FTW source at the meeting. The line achieved an operating profit of US$11 million before restructuring costs of $4 million for the second quarter.