Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Nigel Garrard, and I'm your Chairman for today's meeting of Ansell Limited. It's my great pleasure to welcome you to the 2025 Ansell AGM. Before I open the meeting, I would like to take you through the procedural aspects of today's meeting. The meeting is being held in person, as well as virtually via the Computershare platform, where shareholders, proxy holders, and guests can watch the live webcast of the meeting, and shareholders and proxies can ask questions and submit their votes online. A significant number of shareholders have already voted, appointed proxies, and submitted questions ahead of this meeting, and I thank them for doing so. Every effort has been made to ensure the meeting runs smoothly. Let's hope technology works well for the next hour or so. A full recording of this meeting will be provided on our website.
For those of you who might be interested in watching it twice, I'm not sure who would want to do that. I will start today by walking you through the guidelines for asking questions and for submission of votes for those people, both here, those people in the meeting today, and online. It is my duty as Chair to ensure that shareholders have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the items of business during the meeting. I ask that all questions and comments be concise, be confined to the relevant matters, and be informative, and shareholders as a whole be informative and respectful. I'll take questions from those physically present at the meeting first, followed by written and audio questions from participants who have joined online.
Depending on the questions asked, I'll decide whether I answer or if it's appropriate that I ask a member of management or the auditor to respond. I'll now move to the formal proceedings of the meeting. The Company Secretary has confirmed that a quorum is present, and I declare this annual general meeting open. Voting is now open on all items of business. Please submit your votes at any time, and I will give you a warning before I move to close voting today. The Notice of Meeting was released on the 25th of September, and with your approval, I'll take the notice as read. This is a shareholders' meeting, and only shareholders, their attorneys, proxies, and authorized company representatives are entitled to vote and ask questions at this meeting.
If you're attending as a proxy and have been instructed how to vote, I ask that you ensure that any vote you cast is in accordance with those instructions. Voting today will be conducted by way of poll on all items of business, and we have appointed Michael Hutchison, a manager of Computershare Investor Services, as returning officer for this meeting. For those of you attending the meeting online and who are eligible to vote, as the poll is open, a voting icon is now available on your screen. Selecting this icon will bring up a list of resolutions and present you with voting options. For those voting online, you are free to submit your votes at any time. To cast your vote, simply select one of the options. There is no need to hit submit, as the vote is then automatically recorded.
Please ensure that you cast a vote for all resolutions. You will receive a vote confirmation notification on your screen. To change or cancel your vote, click the link at any time until the poll is closed. Votes can be changed up until the time where I declare that voting is closed. For shareholders, proxies, and corporate representatives attending in person today, I will ask that you vote once we have gone through all items of business by completing the voting card, this one, that was provided to you upon admission. To be clear, white cards are for visitors only who cannot vote nor ask any questions today. Shareholders with a yellow card are not entitled to vote on the items of business. I will provide a warning to the room before I move to close voting at the end of the meeting.
Thank you to those shareholders who submitted questions in advance of the meeting today. Where appropriate, we have already replied directly to those shareholders, and we have also tried to cover those items in either my address or the address from the CEO. For those attending today's meeting in person who have a question, when I call for questions during each relevant item of business, please make your way to the nearest microphone, which we will move down when it comes time. When it's your turn, please state your full name before asking your question. There is or will be an attendant at each microphone, and I will now ask for the attendants to stand and identify themselves so you can see where they are. We have one down the front and one microphone.
Only shareholders, validly appointed proxies, and corporate representatives who are given a blue or yellow voting card upon entry are entitled to ask questions. For those attending the meeting online who wish to submit a question, you may do so at any time during the meeting via the speech bubble icon on your screen. Please type your question in the chat box on the right-hand side of the screen and then select send. Confirmation that your message has been received will then appear above. Please note that while you can submit written questions from now on, I will not address them until the relevant time in the meeting. While time constraints may prevent us from answering all questions, we will do our best to address all your questions as far as possible during today's meeting.
Today, Michael Evans, Ansell's Head of Investor Relations, will be helping to moderate any questions via the Computershare platform. Instructions on how to ask a verbal question are shown below the broadcast window on the online platform. If you are asking a verbal question, please state your full name before asking your question. Lastly, please limit your questions to only one or two at a time and then rejoin the queue to allow others to ask questions. That's the end of the instructions. Joining me today is my fellow Melbourne-based Non-Executive, Debbie Goodin, on the right, and our Company Secretary, Catherine Stribley. Joining us by video link today is Ansell's Managing Director and CEO, Neil Salmon, and other board members: William Reilly, Christine Yan, Leslie Desjardins, Randy Stone, and Christina Stercken.
Chris Sargent, who is sitting in the front here, who was KPMG's audit engagement partner on the Ansell account for fiscal year 2025, is present with us today and available to answer any questions during the meeting regarding the conduct of the audit and the content and the preparation of the audit report. Now, for my address. It's my pleasure to address you today as we reflect on the 2025 financial year, which was a successful year for us here at Ansell. Our results for FY 2025 were towards the top end of guidance we provided to the market at the start of the year, with adjusted earnings per share coming in at $1.261 per share, a significant step up to the $1.055 delivered in FY 2024.
Our performance in FY 2025 was enhanced by strong returns from recent investments we have made in new products, changes we have made to our organizational structure and manufacturing footprint through what we call the Accelerated Productivity Investment Program and the acquisition of Kimberly-Clark Personal Protective Equipment Business, or KBU for short. Our CEO, Neil Salmon, will provide more detail on the financial results and the outlook for FY 2026 shortly. I would like to make a few comments on a couple of our key sustainability objectives. Firstly, our net zero commitment, and secondly, delivering improved labor rights in our supply chain. In 2022, we declared a target to achieve net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, with a goal to expand this commitment to include Scope 3 emissions.
Last year, we submitted our targets for net zero emissions, including Scope 3, to the Science-Based Targets Initiative, and I'm very pleased to report that these have been formally validated. Our commitment now is to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions across our entire value chain by FY 2045, reflecting our long-term ambition to lead in climate action and deliver more sustainable solutions for our customers and for our employees and for our other stakeholders. Recognizing that Scope 3 emissions represent a significant share of our total carbon footprint, Ansell has set a target for 90% of our suppliers by spend to have science-based emissions reduction targets in place by 2030. This forms a key part of our broader climate strategy as we work to drive meaningful emissions reductions, not only within our operations but across our entire value chain.
Moving next to the topic of labor rights, our Supplier Management Framework, or SMF, has been in place since 2021, helping us to continuously evaluate and monitor supplier compliance with our code of conduct. At present, the SMF covers suppliers representing more than 85% of Ansell's finished goods and raw materials supplier spend, with improved labor standards evident amongst this supplier cohort. However, there remains work to be done to achieve the same progress amongst our smaller suppliers. Earlier this year, we became aware of labor rights allegations at MediCeram, a small Malaysian supplier of ceramic formers used in the production of our single-use gloves. Like all Ansell suppliers, the company subject to the allegations had signed our supplier code of conduct.
However, as both a very small supplier to Ansell, to give you an idea, representing less than 0.1% of our total global supplier spend and an indirect supplier providing materials or equipment used in the manufacturing process, the company fell outside the scope of our audits under our SMF. While working through the allegations raised in this case, we initiated a broader review of all of our ceramic former suppliers. We have chosen not to walk away from these suppliers and to continue to engage with them closely to ensure remediation plans are effectively implemented. Regarding MediCeram, I'm very pleased to report that all, I repeat, all recruitment fees for current workers have been fully reimbursed. Following these findings, we have initiated a review of our supplier management framework scoping criteria and our thresholds. As part of this process, we will expand coverage to include all ceramic former suppliers.
We're also addressing our broader network of over 1,600 small indirect suppliers to determine those who should be included in our due diligence program. We are also aware that a civil society representative has filed a complaint against Ansell with the Australian OECD National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct, which is OZNCP, regarding the allegation of workers' rights being adversely impacted at MediCeram, who I'll reinforce is a supplier of ours. The OECD National Contact Points provides a mechanism through which stakeholders can raise concerns in relation to human rights and other issues in multinational companies' operations and value chains. Ansell will continue to engage with that process in good faith. I want to reiterate, though, that Ansell remains steadfast in our commitment to upholding human rights and driving change across the PPE and glove industry across the world.
We at Ansell are focused on transparency and continuous improvement in identifying and addressing modern slavery risks throughout our supply chain. Further details on our sustainability priorities and efforts are outlined in our 2025 Sustainability Report and Labour Rights Report, which I encourage all shareholders to read. I would also like to address a recent cybersecurity matter. On the 14th of October, the company disclosed that we had identified unauthorized access to certain sets of company data. Importantly, there was no disruption to our operations. The incident was limited in scope and originated from vulnerabilities in licensed third-party software. Upon detection, we acted swiftly to contain the issue. Initial findings indicate that the majority of the access data consisted of non-sensitive business information. However, a portion did include confidential transactional data and personally identifiable information. The security and privacy of all information entrusted to us remains our highest priority.
We are working closely with leading cybersecurity experts and are coordinating our response with relevant government agencies and regulators, including here in Australia, the Australian National Office of Cybersecurity and the National Cybersecurity Coordinator. Ansell remains committed to transparency and continuous improvement in our cyber resilience, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect our data, our systems, and our stakeholders. Before I hand it over to Neil, I would like to touch briefly on the topic of tariffs in the United States. The United States is our largest market, and like the rest of the industry, our products are imported into the U.S. principally from Asia. Our teams have responded to the higher tariffs through price increases while also reducing our sourcing exposure to China, where imports are tariffed at a comparatively higher rate.
While this process is still ongoing and the broader economic effects of higher tariffs remain unclear, we believe that Ansell's industry leadership and competitive advantage position us to succeed through this period of change. We also retain flexibility within our manufacturing and supply network to respond to any changes in the relative attractiveness of our production or sourcing locations that might be triggered by trade policy shifts. In closing, I would like to thank and acknowledge the efforts of many Ansell employees over the past year. I would also like to take the opportunity to welcome Randy Stone to the Ansell Board of Directors, and Randy is due for standing for election today. Randy has extensive international experience, including with Avantor and DuPont, in industries that are closely aligned with Ansell's, and his insights and expertise will be valuable moving forward.
Randy replaces Morten Falkenberg, who retired at the end of May, and I would like to thank Morten for his contributions during his time on the board. I would like to now invite Neil to provide some further comments. Neil.
Thank you, Nigel, and good day to my fellow shareholders. I'm talking to you today from Ansell's office in Tokyo, Japan. I appreciate the flexibility that this hybrid format allows me. I regret not being with those of you in the room today in person, but I assure you that the time I have saved in not traveling to Australia on this occasion, I'm reinvesting in meetings with our customer base here in North Asia, a very important and growing part of the Ansell global business. Today, my goal is to provide you with a review of the company's performance and key milestones in the 2025 financial year, and I'll also give you an update on our outlook for the current financial year.
A recap, first of all, as we entered fiscal year 2025, I outlined three clear objectives: return the company to organic sales and earnings growth, build on productivity gains commenced and achieved in the year before fiscal year 2025, fiscal year 2024, as we entered the second year of our Accelerated Productivity Investment Program, or APIP for short, and thirdly, take the very important first steps to unlock value from Kimberly-Clark Personal Protective Equipment Business, which at Ansell we renamed KBU on our acquisition, which took place on the first day of fiscal year 2025. Today, I'm very pleased to report to you that we achieved all three of those objectives. Let me start by describing our financial performance in fiscal year 2025. Group sales exceeded $2 billion, up almost 8% on an organic constant currency basis, supported by good growth in both our industrial and healthcare segments.
Industrial sales grew almost 6% on an organic basis, a highly creditable result in what were subdued manufacturing and market conditions. This growth was enabled by strong sales of new products, particularly within our mechanical business, where we saw increased demand for Ringers impact protection products and HyFlex ultra-lightweight cut protection styles. In healthcare, we delivered over 9% organic sales growth, helped by a return to normalized demand following the long period of post-pandemic destocking, and this drove double-digit growth in our surgical and cleanroom businesses. The KBU business also contributed to this strong momentum with double-digit growth in the KimTech portfolio of cleanroom solutions in comparison to the prior year prior to Ansell's ownership.
Our fiscal year 2025 earnings before interest and tax was $282 million before significant items, and that was up over 40% on the prior year, or a 10% improvement versus 2024 on an organic constant currency basis. EBIT growth was driven by higher sales, improved manufacturing utilization, and increased savings from the APIP program, while also supported by a strong first-year contribution from the KBU. This improvement in earnings translated to adjusted earnings per share of $1.261, which was near the top of the guidance range I provided to the market at the beginning of the financial year. Turning to KBU now. On the 1st of July 2024, we completed the acquisition of the KBU, and this is Ansell's largest ever acquisition.
Also, a highly complex acquisition as we needed to carve this business out from the Kimberly-Clark previous owner, and that in turn demanded an intense upfront focus to ensure a smooth and timely integration into Ansell Systems. I'm proud to say that not only were we able to execute this transition to Ansell Systems seamlessly, but also ahead of schedule and with no disruption to our customers. We also achieved sales and earnings that were ahead of our business case. A true credit to the tireless efforts and dedication of many at Ansell, including our new KBU employees, over the course of the year.
The KBU business is now fully integrated into Ansell, and with this critical value-enabling step behind us, we can now sharpen our focus on maximizing the potential of our enhanced cleanroom, laboratory, and industrial safety solutions, some of which are behind me in this room in Tokyo. Earlier than expected, completion of integration meant that we were able to achieve $5 million in net pre-tax cost synergies in fiscal year 2025, and our greater confidence in the value creation potential of our now combined businesses means I'm now upgrading our fiscal year 2027 net pre-tax cost synergies target from $10 million to $15 million. Next, let me say a few words about our Accelerated Productivity Investment Program, or APIP.
We launched APIP midway through 2023, and as we described it at the time, this is a multi-year program focused on optimizing the productivity of our manufacturing resources and supply chain, also improving demand and supply planning, and finally unifying our ERP systems and repositioning our organization for growth. The program's organizational and manufacturing changes have now all been completed, and these changes successfully implemented helped realize savings of $47 million in financial year 2025, and we are firmly on track to achieve our savings target in this current financial year of $50 million. The focus of the program has now shifted to upgrading our commercial enterprise resource planning systems with implementations commencing in the second half of financial year 2026.
Once completed, Ansell will operate for the first time on a single modern ERP system, and I expect this to deliver a significant step up in our digital capabilities, further improve the experience of our customers, and also unlock additional productivity opportunities. Let me now turn to our progress against our safety and sustainability commitments. Nigel's already covered the status of key environmental goals and the continued progress ensuring our social compliance standards are adopted across our supply chain and with the role of our supplier management framework in achieving this. In my comments, I'll focus on two additional topics: our safety record and our innovation in sustainable products. After recording an increase in our total recordable injury frequency rate, or TRIFR, in financial year 2024, we were determined to get back on our long-standing improvement track in financial year 2025.
We were successful in this endeavor finishing the year with a reduced TRIFR rate down 16% on the prior year, and that puts the TRIFR rate back trending below our fiscal year 2030 target. I assure you we won't compromise in our effort to ensure consistently strong safety outcomes right across Ansell's operating footprint. With regards to sustainable products, we see customer demand for these increasing, and therefore a key focus of our innovation program is in enhancing additional product differentiation through sustainability differentiation through means such as reducing the environmental impact of our products. In financial year 2025, 80% of the new and updated products we brought to market featured reduced environmental impacts. For example, including incorporation of low energy consumption materials in the construction of the products or less packaging materials, enhanced product reusability, durability, and recyclability.
In addition, further initiatives are also underway to bring our Right Cycle product recycling program to more end customers, with our financial year 2026 goal being to achieve a 20% increase in customer landfill waste diversion through Right Cycle as we expand the program's capability and capacity. It was pleasing to see that our overall sustainability efforts were recognized for the second year running by leading sustainability rating agencies. For example, with Morningstar Sustainalytics including us in its ESG top-rated companies list. This is satisfying external acknowledgment of our industry leadership in providing safe, respectful, and inclusive workplaces and for protecting the rights of our employees and workers in our supply chain. Now let me provide a brief update on trading so far in this current financial year 2026. I'm pleased to say we are demonstrating good early progress against our goals for the year.
End market demand conditions have been largely as expected, while foreign exchange trends are proving more favorable than originally assumed due to the ongoing strength of key revenue currencies when compared to our reporting currency of the U.S. dollar. Therefore, our first quarter results tracked well versus our expected pace on solid sales, including in our U.S. business, and improved margins, partly arising from those favorable foreign exchange rates, but also lower freight costs in comparison to a high freight cost expense as we disclosed in the prior period. In addition, we see continued good KBU synergy delivery and further improvements in manufacturing productivity. In August, I outlined our plans to offset in full the cost of higher tariffs on imports into the U.S. market, and I'm pleased to say we are on track to execute the phased plan of price increases necessary to achieve this.
There remains speculation on the potential for further changes to U.S. tariff policy, and while we have low visibility on what may come next, we will continue to seek to respond to any further changes with the same goal of offsetting in full the impact to Ansell of higher tariff costs. Based on these factors, I'm pleased to be able to increase our guidance range for financial year 2026 with our guidance range for adjusted earnings per share originally $1.33- $1.45 and now increased to $1.37- $1.49. In conclusion, I'd like to add my thanks to those of Nigel. The contributions of our more than 15,000 employees are very significant. They've been key to our success in our financial year 2025.
We always knew, I certainly always knew, I hope you also had confidence that once the post-pandemic effects in our end markets had passed, the underlying quality of the Ansell business would become more clearly apparent again. The strong results in financial year 2025 are evidence of this, and I look forward to building on this momentum in collaboration with my colleagues at Ansell to ensure that in financial year 2026 we continue to see Ansell move ahead and deliver on our goals. Thank you for your time and continued interest in our company, and I'd now like to hand back to Nigel.
Thank you, Neil. They work pretty well from Japan, so the technology hasn't let us down. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now move to the formal items of business as set out in the notice of meeting. As I mentioned earlier, the poll is open on all items. The results of the proxy votes already received for each resolution will be displayed prior to inviting any questions in respect of that resolution. The final results of each resolution will not be displayed at the meeting, but we will lodge those with the Australian Stock Exchange following the meeting. The first item is to receive and consider the financial report and the reports of the directors and auditor of the company for the 2025 financial year.
This item gives shareholders the opportunity to ask questions or make any comments in relation to the financial statements, the directors' or auditor's reports, or the operations of the company. I ask that questions relating to the remuneration report be held until we get to that item later in the meeting. I will now take questions from the floor. For those attending in person, if you have a question on this item, please make your way to the microphone.
Thank you, Chairman. Introducing Peter Ed from the Australian Shareholders' Association.
Good morning. Today, I hold proxies from 138 shareholders with 269,000 shares. Does the U.S. Department of Commerce Section 232 investigation into national security impacts of imports of PPE and medical consumables and equipment impact Ansell? Secondly, given that the U.S. provides 46% of your revenue and the current political environment, how are you positioning to lobby and communicate with the U.S. government?
Thanks, Peter. We'll start with a good one. For those that aren't aware, the administration in the U.S. put tariffs on products from Asia into the United States, had a review period, and changed some of those tariffs, and they were in effect a few months ago. As Neil said and I also outlined, we are endeavoring to pass all of the costs of the tariffs onto our customers as is appropriate. Since that time, the administration has announced a Section 232 investigation into PPE equipment. That is a nine-month process where we as an industry will be making a submission to the investigation, and there'll be an outcome sometime next year once the nine-month period is up.
Our view is that there are no national security issues with gloves or gowns that we supply and that tariffs are already being applied to the products that we supply and import into the U.S. We don't expect there to be any material change, but we as an industry will make a submission to that effect. The second part of your question was how are we influencing and lobbying the administration? To the extent that you can do that, it's important that I think we as an industry do that as an industry rather than as a specific company to avoid any potential downsides and to ensure that there is a consistent approach across the industry.
We as an industry are making the appropriate submissions to the administration to prosecute our position that there are no further tariffs that should be applied to the products in which we import into the United States.
Thank you. Just one other. We've previously talked to you about further appointments to the Board, including Mr. Bevan's replacement, with the objective of improving your lower skill on the current Board, industry experience, and digital. Noting that you've appointed Mr. Stone on the retirement of Mr. Falkenberg, do you still intend further Board appointments?
Look, I think that we as a board have a detailed succession plan, and the most important things from a board when it comes to directors are appropriate skills and mix of skills, appropriate experience and mix of experience, and also a mix of tenure. What I mean by that is we don't want to have half the board needing to retire or choosing to retire at one period. We've got a breadth of tenures. You should expect there to be some board changes over the next 12 or 18 months as a couple of directors retire, and we will be looking to have appropriately skilled and experienced replacements for those. Frankly, that's just a normal process for any board. Yes, there will be some changes over the next 12 or 18 months.
Thank you.
Thanks, Peter. Are there any other questions? Yes, sir.
Thank you, Chairman. Introducing Ronald Guy.
Regional Trade Unions, Human Rights Shareholder Group. It's fantastic the work that you're doing on human rights issues and modern-day slavery. I think last year there was a mention of former Malaysian plant workers that had a case in court. I was just wondering for an update on anything that's been happening there and if there's been a cost to lawyers, etc.
That relates to the Brightway case, which was a finished goods supplier of ours. That case was dismissed in the U.S. court during the last six months. The appellant has appealed that decision, so there's a process going forward. It does not involve us in any legal costs, but the U.S. courts dismissed the case and there's been an appeal and that appeal is still underway.
Thank you.
While you're here, and I appreciate your interest, I just want to reinforce this is not an easy situation in labor rights in Asia. Unfortunately, I think sometimes Ansell is unfairly positioned. If you look at the history of what this company has done, in 2019, we were one of the first companies in our industry to decide to ensure that all recruitment fees were repaid and implement our supply management framework. Since that time, over 20,000 people have had their fees repaid as a result of the initiatives that we've taken and subsequently our industry taken to ensure that appropriate ILO provisions are implemented. We're not happy with what happened at MediCeram. We are absolutely determined that that 20,000 will continue until everybody has been repaid. I wanted to make the point, 20,000 is a lot, so it shows it's not an isolated incident.
I think for you as shareholders, I want to reinforce that our job's not done. We remain committed to ensuring that everybody has the fair right to be employed and not pay these recruitment fees.
Much appreciated.
Thank you. Are there any other questions from the floor? Michael, are there any questions online or any audio questions?
Chair, we have a written question from Ms. Gillian King. The question is, thank you for showing leadership with Ansell's new commitments to reducing climate-damaging emissions. Would you please explain your rationale for choosing 2045 as the target date for net zero emissions? Please provide more detail than just saying science-based.
I think there are two things. The science-based target initiative is a global initiative, which means that there's an independent body that validates the targets that companies set. For us, it's external validation of what we're doing. It's important there are three sort of scopes in emissions: Scope 1, Scope 2, which are things related to your own operations, which we can largely control or influence, and we have more aggressive targets on those. Scope 3 relates to the supply chain more broadly, and that means we've got to influence third parties who are not under our control. That will take some time to do. We've set 2045, by the way, which is five years earlier than many other companies who are sitting at 2050. We've made really good progress, and I hope we can get there earlier than 2045. We're quite unrelenting in our focus of that.
The way we look at it is to look at the things directly in our control and deal with those first, which is what we're doing, which is Scope 1 and Scope 2, and then influence and persuade others for Scope 3. Are there any other questions, Michael?
Chair, there are no further written or audio questions.
Okay. No more in the room. Yes, sir. Sure.
Yeah, sorry, just one more question. This is from another group that is with us. It's based around the concern of, I suppose, downstream waste, but the burning of plastics in Victoria. They're going to have an energy-to-waste plastic burning facility, which has been, since incineration has been banned in New South Wales and in the ACT. Australia signed international treaties and they're signatories to the Minamata Convention, the Stockholm Convention, and the Basel Convention. I suppose downstream waste of Ansell products, I guess the concern is that some of that might end up in that incineration if that eventually gets built in Victoria. That's the concern of the plastics being burnt and what chemicals are in the plastics. Maybe your expertise, you have an opinion on this.
Sure, thanks. Yeah, I understand the issue. I think the holy grail for us from a product point of view is can.
Repeat the question, please.
Okay, the question is largely in Victoria, they are looking at establishing a facility which will burn plastics as a means of disposing them. What's our position in relation to that? Is that a fair summary? Not all of our gloves are recyclable, and we are continuing to work to produce more recyclable gloves, which will avoid that. Unfortunately, some of our products are, for the time being, that is the only solution. I particularly talk to, say, surgical gloves, gloves that are used in surgery, which will have blood, potential infection, and those types of things. The only disposable options are burying them or burning them. I'm not sure we've got a solution to surgical gloves, but the others, the long-term solution, as much as we can, is to make them recyclable or biodegradable. We've certainly got quite a bit of R&D work going in that regard.
Thank you.
Okay, as there are no further questions and there's no formal requirement for a vote on this matter, I'll move to the next item, being the election of directors. The first director seeking election today is Randy Stone. Randy resides in the United States of America and joined the board as a non-executive director in August 2025. Randy retires in accordance with Rule 33B of the company's constitution and, being eligible, offers himself for re-election or for election. Actually, this is the first time he's been elected by shareholders. Randy's experience and board committee memberships are detailed in the notice of meeting, and I went through those a little earlier. The board considers Randy to be an independent director. Randy, would you like to say a few words?
Dear shareholders, my name is Randy Stone and I am honored to stand for re-election to the Ansell Board of Directors. My career has provided opportunities to work at industry-leading companies where I've consistently delivered strong business results and shareholder value. As President of DuPont's Mobility and Materials Division, I led a $5 billion global materials leader serving advanced mobility and diversified industrial markets. During my tenure, we achieved record earnings and free cash flow while doubling the enterprise value. Before joining Ansell's Board, I served as Executive Vice President of Avantor's Lab Solutions business, a $4.7 billion segment serving many of the same markets as Ansell, including life sciences, healthcare, and diversified industrials. As a board member, I also bring critical global and business investor experience.
I served over five years as Managing Director for DuPont in Shanghai, China, gaining deep insight into the complexities and the opportunities that Ansell is successfully navigating today. I also understand the dynamics of publicly traded companies, having worked extensively with institutional investors, analysts, and advisory firms as part of DuPont's investor relations and senior leadership team. This gave me valuable perspective on shareholder priorities and corporate governance. Finally, my global P&L experience, combined with my commercial and operational acumen, positions me well to help Ansell continue its growth journey. I'm honored by the opportunity to serve Ansell's shareholders and work alongside my fellow board members. Ansell has a strong team and a bright future, and I look forward to contributing my experience and energy to its continued success. Thank you for your trust and support.
Thanks, Randy. I now move that Randy be elected as a director of the company, and proxy results in respect of the election of Randy as a director are now displayed on the screen. I'll now take questions from the floor. Peter? Sorry.
Peter Ed from the Australian Shareholders Association. I'm not sure what your technology's like, but would Mr. Stone like to clarify the significance of his industry experience to Ansell and if he has particular skills and experience in the digital area?
Let's see how we go with this, Peter. Randy, that's Neil. Can we get Randy there? This is a good test.
An answer on behalf of Randy, but better if we have him on screen.
We've lots of activity at the back. There's Randy, do you want to?
Yeah, happy to do that. Thanks for the question too. First, let me just say I'm honored to be invited to join the board. As an executive at DuPont and Avantor, Ansell's a company that I've long admired. PPE and these types of industries, whether it's industrial or medical or life sciences, plays a really critical role, not just in the safety of employees, but also in operational excellence and continuity. Investment in PPE is a great investment in your people and in productivity, and Ansell's the world leader in that space. Regarding my background, I've got broad executive experience, as Nigel outlined, and you saw in the video, working in relevant markets at DuPont and at Avantor as well too. I bring deep commercial experience, financial experience, having worked with investors for three years on Wall Street and around the world.
Regarding the digital, it's a space where digital productivity and the use of digital assets, whether it's emerging technologies like we see with AI today or other digital productivity assets, and SAP and other S&OP systems are part of the everyday fabric of major corporations. I see great opportunities. We've got a good leadership team at Ansell. I'm looking forward. I think the company, as you've seen from the financial results, has done really well. We've got a very strong board and a strong management team, and I'm really looking forward to having an opportunity to contribute.
Thanks, Randy. I think from my point of view, in the short three months Randy has been on the board, he's already made a material contribution, and the benefit of his experience across DuPont and others is clearly evident. Michael, are there any online or audio questions?
Chair, there are no written or audio questions.
Okay. As there are no further questions, I'll move on to the next item of business, which is the re-election of Leslie Desjardins. Leslie also resides in the United States and joined the board as a non-executive director in November 2015. We've got three U.S.-based directors today, so Leslie's the second one of them. Leslie retires in accordance with Rule 33C of the company's constitution and, being eligible, offers herself for re-election. Leslie's experience and board committee memberships are also detailed in the notice of meeting. The board considers Leslie to be an independent director. Leslie, would you like to say a few words?
Good morning, shareholders. My name is Leslie Desjardins, and I'm seeking re-election to the board for what will be my fourth and final term. While the re-elected term is three years, I'll be stepping down after the first year as I near the end of the allowable tenure as a director. During this final year, I'm committed to supporting the board's succession planning and ensuring a smooth transition and an effective transfer of knowledge to incoming directors. With that in mind, I'd like to briefly comment on my background and how these relate to my role as a director in your company. I consider myself a finance professional with a strong sense of commercial pragmatism. My passion for numbers led me into finance.
As I grew my career within General Motors and Amcor, the one thing I valued about being in finance was that it enabled me to see all parts of a company and how they fit together, such as a company's strategy, operating model, culture, talent, and of course, the commercial aspects of how money is made. At General Motors, I gained deep financial governance and manufacturing operating experience while living and working in Canada, the United States, and Australia. Like Ansell, both General Motors and Amcor operate across global markets and have all the complexities of multinational businesses, such as matrix organizational structures, global manufacturing footprints, and from a financial and risk perspective, exposure related to multi-currencies and taxes. While my core experience lies in finance, I also held P&L and operational responsibility, managing General Motors' international export program from North America.
This kind of operating experience strengthened me as a financial professional and gave me an appreciation for end customer needs and other key drivers for long-term sustainable growth. Throughout my career, I've worked across all facets of finance, including internal control, financial performance, accounting, treasury, tax, M&A, debt, and equity funding. My roles in Australia as Chief Financial Officer for Amcor and GM Holden gave me a strong understanding of Australian regulatory bodies and listing rules, all of which are critical to ensure robust corporate governance for shareholders. These skills have served me well as the audit committee chair of both Ansell and ALS Limited. I valued my time as chair of Ansell's audit and compliance committee over the past eight years, and I'm confident that the new committee chair, Debbie Goodin, will continue that work with excellence. I look forward to contributing to Ansell's future.
I believe my business philosophy, grounded in hard work, customer focus, and bottom-line results, aligns well with Ansell's culture and shareholder value creation. Thank you for your continued support, both to me personally and to the company.
Thank you, Leslie. Peter, to your earlier question, I didn't want to preempt what Leslie was going to say, but clearly, Leslie's stepping down this time next year, so there'll be a replacement announced in the coming months to replace Leslie, who will have served 10 years as a director by then. I now move that Leslie be re-elected as a director of the company, and proxy results in respect of the re-election of Leslie as a director are displayed on the screen. Are there any questions from the floor? No? Michael, are there any written or audio questions?
Chair, we have a written question or comment from Ms. Gillian King, which is, "Thanks to the directors who are attending the meeting via video link instead of flying in. This is another way of showing leadership in reducing climate-damaging emissions.
Thank you. That's true. It reduces the climate emissions. It saves the company money. All of these directors are based overseas, and it's, you know, flights and accommodation are a costly thing, and the technology works well. Once we can find Randy on the screen. Thank you. As there are no further questions, I'll now move on to the next item of business, and that is seeking the re-election of Christine Yan. Christine also resides in the United States of America and joined the board as a non-executive director in April 2019. Christine retires in accordance with Rule 33C of the company's constitution, and being eligible, she offers herself for re-election. Christine's experience and board committee memberships are detailed in the notice of meeting, and the board considers Christine to be an independent director. Christine, would you like to say a few words?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dear shareholders, it's an honor to stand for re-election as a non-executive director of Ansell Limited. Over the past six years on the Ansell board, I've developed a deep understanding of the company's businesses, operations, strategy, markets, and people. The more I learn, the more impressed I am by Ansell's brands, culture, value, and purpose, and by the dedication and capabilities of its global team. In today's challenging and uncertain environment, the Ansell team has responded with agility and commitment. My experiences as a global executive at Stanley Black & Decker remain highly relevant to helping Ansell further grow as a global business. In today's fast-changing business environment, I believe a continuous learning mindset is essential to being an effective NED.
My portfolio career, serving as Non-Executive Director on three U.S.-listed companies and as a strategic advisor to a private equity portfolio company, gives me valuable insights into emerging technologies, innovation trends, high-growth markets, cross-industry best practices, and evolving governance standards around the globe. In addition, each year I invest over 50 hours in professional development, covering topics from AI to geopolitics to boardroom dynamics to committee effectiveness. These engagements help me stay current of the latest business opportunities and challenges and how they are captured and dealt with. I'd also like to address a question that sometimes arises: Do I have the bandwidth to effectively serve in multiple NED roles? My answer is a resounding yes. Without the day-to-day demand of an executive role, I'm fully able to dedicate the time and attention required to fulfill my responsibilities across all boards I serve on.
Ansell's board is highly engaged, and we take our fiduciary responsibilities seriously. Shareholder interests are at the heart of every decision we make. I've greatly valued the collaboration with my fellow directors and management over the past six years, and I remain deeply committed to contributing to Ansell's long-term sustainable value creation. Thank you for your trust and support.
Thank you, Christine. I now move that Christine be re-elected as a director of the company. Our proxy results in respect of the re-election of Christine as a director are displayed on the screen. I'll now take any questions from the floor. No? Michael, are there any written or audio questions?
Chair, there are no written or audio questions.
Okay. As there are no further questions, I'll now move on to the next item of business, which relates to the grant of performance share rights to the Chief Executive Officer, Neil Salmon, under the terms of the company's long-term incentive plan. This award is subject to the satisfaction of various performance conditions, as explained in the explanatory notes to the meeting, and entitles Neil to the grant of one ordinary share in Ansell Limited per performance right. Accordingly, shareholder approval is sought for the issue of 135,406 performance share rights to Neil Salmon and his management company under the plan, in accordance with ASX listing rule 10.14. I now move that approval be given to the grant of these performance share rights on the terms summarized in the explanatory notes to the meeting.
As set out in the notice of meeting and in accordance with the Corporations Act, any votes cast in favor of this resolution by Neil Salmon or his associates will be disregarded. Proxy results are now displayed on the screen. I'll now take any questions from the floor. Peter.
This is a little bit left field, but I note that all your long-term incentive goals are financial, while ESG goals only impact executive short-term incentives. Does this place some pressure on achieving medium-term ESG goals, and should there perhaps be an ESG gateway in your LTIs?
I think all incentive programs have a safety overlay, Peter. Let me start with that. I think that's really important and is consistent with what you see elsewhere. The ESG goals more broadly, sustainability and others in the STIs, are not just short-term related to one year. They may well be progression against a three or a five-year goal. We're comfortable that we cover that in the balance we have there. From an LTI point of view, I think it's important as much as we can we have quantifiable goals that are able to be calculated on a longer-term basis. Certainly from the board's point of view and management's, the goals included within the STIs are not just short-term. They're about achievement of a medium-term plan. Good question. Thank you. Are there any other questions from the room? Michael, are there any written or audio questions?
Chair, there are no written or audio questions.
Okay. As there are no further questions, I'll now move on to the next item of business. The final item on the agenda is a non-binding advisory vote for the adoption of the remuneration report, which is set out on pages 47- 70 of the company's 2025 annual report. Your Board commends the remuneration report to you, and I now move that the remuneration report for the year ended 30th of June 2025 be adopted. As set out in the notice of meeting, the company's key management personnel, including directors and senior management, may not vote in relation to this matter except as a proxy for a shareholder who is not prohibited from voting, or if the proxy is the Chair and the appointment expressly authorizes the Chair to exercise their proxy. Proxy results in respect of the approval of the remuneration report are now displayed on the screen.
I'll now take questions from the floor. Keep going, Pete.
Yeah, thanks. I note that you changed your mandatory shareholder policy for directors and executives, and, in fact, reduced the requirement. Would you clarify the reason for this change?
Yeah, I think we did a benchmark against other companies and what was reasonable and reflected that what we were asking for was unnecessary and unreasonable. From a Director's point of view, for example, our requirement is that we have one year of our director's fees held as a minimum shareholding in the company, and for executives it's two years. We believe that that ensures that us as Directors and management are aligned with the shareholders. If you look at it from a director's point of view, you've probably got to work for two and a half years to put your after-tax money into shares to meet that requirement. To do that over a five-year period we think is reasonable. Any more than that is frankly unreasonable. Are there any other questions from the floor? Michael, are there any written or audio questions?
Chair, there are no written or audio questions.
Okay. Are there any general questions that you wish to ask unrelated to any of the items of business? If you do have any of those, I invite you to do so now. Are there any questions from the floor on unrelated matters? No, Michael, are there any online?
Chair, there are no written or audio questions.
The good news is that means we're not far from coffee and morning tea. There appear to be no further questions, so that concludes our discussion on the items of business. The poll will close shortly. If you are ready, for those of you here in the room, Computershare with their lovely, what do I call that, purple box, are now circulating the room to collect your ballot cards. As I said earlier, the final outcome of the polls will be announced by notice to the ASX later today. There will be a five-minute period at the closure of this meeting during which you can finalize your voting. Ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to the conclusion of the business today. Thank you very much for attending. Thank you for your interest in Ansell, and good morning.