Hi everyone,
Just back from the EGM and wanted to post something because I know everyone is keen to hear how things went.
I haven’t the time or energy to write up a detailed account tonight, but I do have very detailed records of the meeting and will start posting my thoughts from tomorrow.
I’m going to preface everything by saying absolutely clearly from the get-go: I am not a spokesperson for the company, I do not have an inside track to management, I know nothing more than the company has communicated publically and I make absolutely no claim whatsoever to know what the future of the company is or whether you should be invested. I’m just an ordinary shareholder (with a pretty large holding and sitting on a pretty large loss) who has attended public meetings and sent questions to management. I’m not trying to sway anyone one way or the other and I’m going to be as factual, unbiased and unemotional in my posting about the EGM as I can be.
So for better or for worse, I’ll start here.
Firstly, did the company directly answer all the questions put to them (i.e. “For your questions 1 – the answer is…..”), well no – and you couldn’t really expect them to. However, did they address basically everything we had put to them? – yes they did.
The proceedings went as follows.
Attending from the board were Sue, Gavin, Claire, Dirk. Dr Bob wasn’t there – but probably didn’t need to be given Dirk’s presentation.
Gavin chaired the formal part of the meeting – the vote on resolutions. All resolutions were passed (as you can see in the release from the company). A few questions were asked and I’ll cover those off in my more detailed postings from tomorrow, but there was nothing concerning in the proceedings. The directors will all take-up their shares from the SPP, so they all now have skin in the game (yes, I know for some of them it’s not very much) and they are all sitting on a loss so feeling (at least a little bit) some of the general shareholder pain. For Sue and Gavin, that’s reasonably significant.
Sue had prepared comments about her intentions for chairing the board and what she will implement – it covered all the questions we had put to her. Again, I’ll detail things from tomorrow.
After the formal proceedings closed, Dirk ran the presentation.
I would characterise it as informative, clear, measured, responsive and covering pretty much everything we had asked for clarification on (again not directly question by question, but through the content of his presentation). A number of questions were asked from the floor along the way and all were answered clearly and openly.
I see that there are a number of posters bagging the presentation slides on another thread. Personally speaking, as someone who was actually there, I found the presentation content rich and informative. No, there wasn’t an announcement out of left field that we have cracked a $100 million contract with NATO or that we’ll be putting FR on everything that could ever burn or that we’ll be applying Alexicool to the atmosphere to counteract global warming. Nor should anyone have expected there would be. Yes, the messaging is consistent with what we already know from the AGM and subsequent 4Cs, particularly the most recent one. This is exactly how you would hope it would be (IMHO).
The company seems to have worked out a clear strategy and there appears to be a clear focus. Yes, this is based on the “Cornerstone” priorities. This does not mean that other projects have gone away. It means that, with the limited resources the company has, this is where management and the board (the new board) have decided we can get best return on investment as quickly as possible. Other initiatives will be worked on as time and resources permit as long as it does not detract from the main focus. “Cornerstone” priorities will be reviewed regularly – there is scope for change or addition to them, but only if there is a solid business case for doing so that is ratified by the full board.
A number of thing have happened recently, some in the past week or two, and a number of things should continue to happen in the not too distant future. I’ll do my best to cover them all off as well. Are we likely to have a TH in the next week? - I don’t think so. But could some significant things happen reasonably quickly, it seems a strong possibility.
So, I walked away from the meeting feeling reassured that things are progressing and the company seems focused and in good hands. Of course, I’ve walked away from the past meetings with the same feeling only to watch the shareprice continue to be crushed. Will this be the turning point or the company? – I can’t say. But there is some reason to feel that there is more than just a flicker of hope that things can still come good.
Sorry to not post more detailed stuff tonight, but it will start to flow tomorrow.
Best wishes to all.
Alhotcop9
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