my reponse, page-11

I am not sure exactly what you are trying to find out but in brief I have no personal or business relationship with Nick other than telephone conversations or the occasional email exchange I have had with him over the last couple of years - as have many shareholders. I had breakfast with him and a small group of other shareholders last year prior to the AGM at which we discussed the remuneration report and general direction of the business.

It should be pretty obvious however that even though the result for the end of last year was actually OK for a comparatively young chemicals company I thought that the constant reiteration of a target that was around double the final result was not exactly a glowing moment for any concerned. That combined with the problems with communication to the market and what was an obvious reset in the Petra report as well as a consistent pattern in comments from what we regarded as trolls provided a glimpse into an alternative view of the world.
.
As for Gavin - I have had email exchanges with him over the problems with communications to the market, and over the remuneration report and proposed remuneration. I believe that is well known. I followed up this year as well. I do believe that he has no love for me - and from the tone of comments he has made about me most probably regards me with a level of disdain or annoyance. I can't really tell you for sure though - maybe I could be wrong on that.

That is it!!!!

However if you are wondering why I write as I do it has far more to do with my work background and personal values. I have been used by a reasonably significant number of organisations in Australia and New Zealand to undertake major culture change and start up projects - from within at a senior management level and externally. You can't do that sort of work for the length of time I've done it without learning something about people, being prepared to be courageous and using your brain. If something comes up or gets raised, or there is a pattern to behaviour or comments I follow it up. I check things out. I do research. I ask for advice. Most of all I demand a level of integrity. An organisation can't proclaim a set of values and then behave differently. More to the point the senior management team can't proclaim the values and then expect others to follow them but set different standards for themselves. For example if they say that respect is one of their values they can't pick and choose to whom and when they show respect. That approach has bought me plenty of accolades and also made a few enemies I guess.

So all you are seeing really - in the comments I have made - is the result of years of training. It has little to do with any relationship I have or do not have. I thought hard about the personal requests I had from other shareholders to consider board nomination and about the hotcopper posts on the same matter. My responses on this thread reflect the thought process I went through. It should not necessarily be taken as meaning anything in particular about the business but merely how I regard good governance and my experience of the difference between being on the inside versus the outside.

There is one other matter that may be relevant. I suspect I am relatively unusual in being prepared to write in this way though I understand that AICD and regulatory bodies actually suggest that there should be more active shareholder engagement. Hotcopper thankfully provides a mechanism to share our views on the stocks in which we have shares. In the early days when I wrote I was moderated for writing posts that were regarded as overly supportive and representing the views of management. I hope I have learnt to indicate that what I write represents my perspective, even if that perspective is based on a fair amount of research.

I could of course take my shares and run if I have concerns but that would mean being passive. It would also mean giving up shares in a company that I actually believe has potential. I am at pains to try and distinguish the business and some aspects of the approach of the board that I believe to have hampered performance and most likely the share price.

What I express is only my opinion. Everyone can do their own research - there is much in the public domain - and everyone can form their own opinion. I apologize to anyone who takes offence from how I write, or feels that it is threatening. I don't really have fact because I am not an insider - and I have not been invited inside - so I can only make what I consider to be reasonable deductions on the basis of information available to me from a range of sources.

I am also not much good at saying something that is in conflict with what I think. In my experience running a story line for the sake of it, or whatever personal needs one has, becomes increasingly complicated and difficult to sustain - too easy to trip up, make mistakes or get confused. So what you see is what you get.

hope this helps you in some way.
Parsifal