- Times and locations of upcoming AGMs can be viewed here.
- To read all our voting intentions and AGM reports, click here.
- To learn how you can give us your proxies and set up a standing proxy, click here.
2024 AGM Season
The 2024 main AGM season is drawing to a close. A long season – 161 AGMs since 1 October, with our company monitors voting in excess of $2bn worth of proxies for more than 17,000 shareholdings. So far there has been 21 remuneration report strikes with Perpetual joining the Top 5 since 2013 in second place with an 88.08% against vote. ASA couldn’t stand up for shareholders without the 100+ volunteers who undertake this responsibility. Thank you for all you have done, you definitely deserve a Merry Christmas and a wonderful break! And thanks to the teams that are still going – ANZ and Elders will be our final AGMs for the year.
Voting Intention Reports published in the past week
This week, we have published the voting intention reports listed immediately below which you can read via the links on the headings
Elders (ASX: ELD) – AGM Thursday 19th December 2024
Elders produced a satisfactory financial result for the year, despite challenging weather in the first half. Net profit after tax was $45.1m and underlying profit after tax was $64m. There was a first strike on the remuneration report last year after the awarding of retention Service Rights with nil hurdles in two tranches to the MD Mark Allison. He had announced his retirement but was convinced to stay on when his replacement decided not to take the role at a late stage. The resolution to approve the issue of the service rights was voted down, and the board considered it was necessary to meet the contractually obliged payment in cash. We will vote against the remuneration report to due to a remuneration practice which issued the service rights without requiring hurdles, However ASA will vote against a board spill if there is a second strike. The existing board needs to focus on securing the next CEO.
We are supporting the election of Damien Frawley and re-election of Robyn Clubb. We await more information concerning Adelaide’s Sky City Casino fall from grace in term of regulatory decisions before deciding our vote on the election of Glenn Davis.
ANZ Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) – AGM Thursday 19th December 2024
We are disappointed with ANZ Bank’s decision not to hold a hybrid meeting again this year, with shareholders who are not able to attend the meeting in person, having to appoint a proxy at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.
Despite not matching the record results of FY23, ANZ posted a strong financial outcome for FY24, with a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $6.535 billion and a cash NPAT of $6.725 billion. The acquisition of Suncorp Bank was completed during the year and is expected to drive growth in the Queensland market. Key governance issues include ongoing regulatory interventions and cultural missteps, which have led to an additional capital overlay imposed by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority.
We will look for greater insight on the appointment of Nuno Matos, as CEO, effective July 2025. He is an external appointment and appears to bring extensive international experience, offering fresh perspectives as ANZ navigates the integration of Suncorp Bank and advances its strategic goals.
We will be voting in favour of the election of Scott St John, and re-election of Christine O’Reilly, but will wait to hear from Richard Gibb to further understand the attributes he provides to the Board and ultimately shareholders before we decide on his election.
We are voting for the remuneration resolutions. The board grappled with the appropriate consequences for cultural and non-financial risk issues that arose over the period for the CEO and Disclosed Executives, a summary of their application is outlined in the Annual Report. Based on information currently available, their approach appears reasonable and transparent, therefore ASA will support the approval of the report. We consider the simplification of the Bank’s scorecard structure will improve focus and accountability on key matters.
Voting Intention Reports published in the prior week
This week, we have published the voting intention reports listed immediately below which you can read via the links on the headings.
Orica (ASX: ORI) – AGM Tuesday 17th December 2024
Orica has delivered strong underlying profit, with the Digital Solutions group lifting 29% and the earnings before interest and tax from all regions achieving double digit growth. The company has achieved 47% reduction in Scope 2 emissions reduction, compared to its target of 45% by 2030. ASA will be supporting all the resolutions to be considered which include the re-election of Denise Gibson as a director, the adoption of the Remuneration Report, the grant of performance rights to the Managing Director and CEO under the Long-Term Incentive Plan, and the approval of potential leaving entitlements for directors of Orica subsidiary entities
National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) – AGM Wednesday 18th December 2024
This year, NAB has continued to focus on its customer-centric strategy, showing some positive results despite challenges. The bank’s Total Shareholder Return over the past three years was 51%, significantly outperforming its peers. However, cash earnings were 8.1% lower than the previous year, mainly due to margin pressure from home lending competition. On the positive side, NAB has made substantial investments in technology modernization and fraud prevention, including the development of BioCatch for scam detection. We will be voting for all the resolutions including the election of Mr Warwick Hunt MNZM who if elected will be an independent non-executive director of the Bank of New Zealand, a significant subsidiary of NAB. We are voting against the shareholder requisitioned resolution to alter the constitution. NAB has disclosed its customer transition plan assessment framework in its 2024 Climate Report, which will apply from 1 October 2025.
AGM Reports
Read about ASA at these AGMs: NRW, WH Soul Pattinson, Bank of Queensland
