7 questions submitted at 2024 Lindsay Australia hybrid AGM
November 8, 2024
Below is the text of the 7 written questions submitted at the 32 minute Lindsay Australia hybrid AGM in Brisbane on November 8, 2024, plus a summary of the answers and some video grabs via Twitter. Confusing half-baked proxy disclosure in the formals and circa 10% rem protest with no percentages included in announcement.
Q1. Australia is currently in the midst of an unprecedented deluge of takeovers that has contributed to listed entities on the ASX falling by 177 or 7.5% to 2,119 since June 2022, including 21 straight months of declines. There have already been 27 major takeovers above $200m completed so far this calendar year. The ASX is losing long standing names such as CSR, Boral, Blackmores, Newcrest and Crown which have all disappeared over the past 3 years. There is a clear mis-pricing between public markets and private markets. Why are public markets not valuing ASX listed companies like ours more highly and what are we doing to avoid being gobbled up like so many other companies. Does the chair agree this is a problem for the nation, particularly with so few new floats replenishing the ASX ranks?
Answer: The question wrangler and some lawyer from McCullough Robertson combined to not even see this answered, then they stumbled into the IR owner-drivers question. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.
Q2. The Federal Government keeps making industrial relations changes which make like tougher and less flexible for business. How are we coping with all the changes and what is the situation with evolving owner-driver laws in the Australian transport market. How important are owner-drivers for our business.
Answer: We follow the law, said the CEO who said the sub-contractor owner-drivers currently comprise about 18% of the fleet but have the same safety support. Watch video of exchange via Twitter which is bolted onto the botched takeovers question above.
Q3. Do any of the proxy advisers cover us and why were only 253 proxy votes lodged representing just 12.93% of issued capital. Normal voting on rem reports is normally above 50%. What did we do to try and encourage more shareholders to vote?
Q4. Which of the 5 proxy advisers in the Australian market - ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS and ASA - issued a report ahead of our meeting and did any of them recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions, including the re-election of Matthew Stubbs? If so, what reasons did they give and how are you going to respond. Please don't say they are confidential. It is standard for companies to be across this detail on the voting recommendations and inform shareholders where relevant without publishing the full proxy adviser reports, of course.
Q5. Who are our 3 biggest competitors and do we believe there would be ACCC issues if any of them tried to buy us?
Answer: This one really set the alarm bells ringing in Brisbane but eventually we got an answer despite the butchering of the question. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.
Q6. Will the archive of the AGM webcast be published on your website. If not, why not?
Answer: The question wrangler declared this would be taken on notice without even putting it to the chair. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.
Q7. Normal request for additional voting disclosure.
Answer: Question wrangler badly botched it again even through I sent the following message through after earlier paraphrasing and editing: "C'mon, please just read my questions in full without offering commentary as to whether they are relevant or should be broken into parts. It's a question reading job, please don't complicate it."
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