moaners and groaners unite!, page-18

Hombry
While I am not a professional investor like yourself, I am serious about my investments.

My attempts to get more information on the APG Employee Share Purchase Plan, were in the end mainly unsuccessful, and have left me with a deep scepticism of whatever APG management SAYS.
I have found that what APG management SAY can be different to what they will put into company releases.
Management SAYING something to someone, who puts it on Hotcopper, can easily be UNSAID by latter SAYING something different to someone else who puts that on HC.

This not a criticism of recent posts by David, Humms and Kosenar where they have posted information that they have been TOLD by APG management. I have read their posts with great interest, but really the place for important information is also in a company release.
By putting such information into a company release it has the stamp of legitimacy, and will reach all shareholders who want to access it.

2 recent examples of releasing important information through HotCopper, but not putting it into last weeks quarterly report are:
“all material needed to finish the plant is on site awaiting construction and fully paid for.”
&
“the plant should be completed around the end of this quarter and into production during the second quarter.”

APG management and directors have a duty to keep all shareholders informed – not just those who ring the company, and not just those who read HotCopper.
APG management and directors are doing a poor job of keeping shareholders informed. Poor disclosure, and disclosure via HotCopper blurs the picture – which makes analysis of the effectiveness of management and directors more difficult.
I think todays post by Kosenar where he is talking to Mike Turbot says it all. Mike said “they (APG) had stopped putting out the forecast completion schedule etc because issues had come up that caused delays and people became upset.”


On another point.
Some posters have criticised other posters for being critical of APG management on HotCopper but NOT indicating their displeasure with management via their vote at the AGM. This is a valid point.
As you can see from the 2013 voting figures below, APG management was hugely well supported – why should the directors think shareholders are unhappy.

Voting 2013 APG AGM
1.Adoption of Report & Accounts
For 293,491,740
No 3,196,699

2. Re-election of Chairman T. Cuthbertson
For 293,878,407
No 2,810,032

Being a serious investor, I voted all my APG share against both resolutions – no surprise.
No 2, 285,032

While I never expected that either resolution would be defeated, I was surprised at the small number of No votes (apart from my own No vote).
In 2013 ,Managing Director, Mike Turbott’s annual payment increased by $40k (10.5%) from $375,987 to $415,270.
I was surprised, in the light of the APG management’s failure to control time and cost overruns at the Newcastle Plant, that more shareholders didn’t want to send a message to management.

Wilcox