6 questions lodged at 2024 Megaport hybrid AGM
November 22, 2024
Below is the text of the 6 written questions submitted at the 105 minute Megaport hybrid AGM held on November 22, 2024.
Q1. Australia is currently in the midst of an unprecedented deluge of takeovers that has contributed to listed entities on the ASX falling by 176 or 7.5% to 2,118 since June 2022, including 21 straight months of declines. There have already been 27 major takeovers above $200m completed so far this calendar year with more in the works. 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?
Q2. Did any of the 5 main proxy advisers - ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS and ASA - recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions? If so, what reasons did they give give? 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.
Answer: The chair explained that ISS opposed the rem report but everyone else was in favour. She was disappointed after the previous year's strike led to reforms that she thought had fixed the years. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.
Q3. When disclosing the outcome of voting on all resolutions today, could you please advise the ASX how many shareholders voted for and against each item, similar to what happens with a scheme of arrangement? This will provide a better gauge of retail shareholder sentiment on all resolutions and insight into the chronically low retail shareholder participation rate. Others have already blazed the trail as this was a voluntary disclosure initiative adopted by the likes of Qantas, ASX, Suncorp, Tabcorp and Computershare during the current AGM season. You've got the data, so why not let the sun shine in?
Q4. The 5 most valuable US big tech stocks - Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Nvidia - are together worth more than $20 trillion. Could the CEO comment on how reliant we are on big technology and what would we do if any of them suddenly put their prices up by 30%?
Q5. Thank you for offering shareholders a hybrid AGM this year and will you commit to keep doing this in future years to maximise shareholder participation? Big companies like Bank of Queensland, BHP, Brickworks, Fortescue Metals, Harvey Norman, Origin Energy, Premier Investments, Ramsay Healthcare, Rio Tinto, Seven Group, Soul Pattinson, Whitehaven Coal and Worley all banned online questions and voting in 2024, so well done for showing them up. What was the experience like from your end?
Q6. The AFR's Rear Window column has taken regular pot shots at former chair and founder Bevan Slattery for the frequency and timing of his regular sell-downs of our stock, which are now out of sight after he both slipped below 5% and came off the board. With the share prices at $7.45 right now after today's 11% tumble, the buyers of Bevan's Megaport stock over the years are now down more than $100m. Could Bevan's successor as chair comment on whether she's comfortable with how all his sell-downs were handled and has she changed any share trading policies or board practices in lights of past experience.
Answer: Submitted with about 15 minutes to go in general questions as the end but the chair didn't do a final loop from the floor back to online questions so it wasn't asked.
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