Only one of three resolutions put to shareholders passed at this morning's AGM for McAleese. Another issue evident today is when does a company incur a strike. I've previously discussed this issue in this note from 2014 (VIEW LINK) When you read today's note, scroll down to the other AGMs and compare the results for Hunter Hall Global Value Limited (all passed on a show of hands) with that of Troy Resources (passed on a show of hands but conceded a strike against the remuneration report). Some proxy voting positions really demand a poll to make the outcome clear. The Daily AGM Note for today is available at this (VIEW LINK) and updated throughout the day.
Patrick Poke
Why do you think there was such a strong showing against Hunter Hall for the proxy votes? Presumably these would be the most informed voters (I assume most proxy voters would be professionals like yourself?), and the 'against' vote was very strong. It seems hard to believe that after 64% of proxies could be voting against yet the resolution would still pass.
Kym Sheehan
Taking the second queston: When voting on a show of hands each shareholder present, in person or by proxy, has one vote irrespective of the size of the shareholding. Proxy votes really come into play when a poll is called and there is one vote per ordinary share. A poll would ideally have been called for on this proxy voting position. Why the proxy vote against? I don't cover HHV so I can't say whether there are other issues. A quick look at their 2015 remuneration report indicates non-executive director fees were increased in FY2015 as the Board is trying to phase in increases in line with 'market' data which showed the Board fees were well below the market.
Patrick Poke
Thanks Kym, always appreciate your detailed responses!