Good morning, everyone. It has just turned 9:30 A.M. and a quorum of shareholders is present. So, I am therefore pleased to formally declare this 40th Annual General Meeting of ARB Corporation Limited open and to welcome you all. It is nice to see so many familiar faces. Is the sound okay at the back? Everyone can hear me okay? Excellent. Thank you. My name is Robert Fraser, and I will be chairing today's meeting of our company. I also extend a warm welcome to all shareholders who are viewing and listening to today's meeting via the online webcast. I would first like to introduce your company d irectors. We have switched the order a bit this year. Second to my right is Founder and Managing Director, Andy Brown. Then, Independent Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee, Karen Phin.
Next to Karen is Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee, Founder Roger Brown. To Roger's right is Independent Non-Executive Director and industry stalwart, Andy Stott. Andy is retiring, as you would have seen or would have concluded from the notice of annual meeting. Andy is retiring at the conclusion of the meeting. Then, at the far right is Independent Non-Executive Director Adrian Fitzpatrick. Unfortunately, Independent Non-Executive Director Shona Faber is unable to attend today for family medical reasons, and she sends her apologies, but she will be listening online. I am also particularly pleased to welcome Ian Foston here today. Ian, if you could stand. Thank you. Ian has been nominated by the board for election at this meeting as an Independent Non-Executive Director, and Ian will be addressing the meeting later.
Also, in attendance today are our senior management team: the company's Chief Executive Officer to my immediate right, Lachlan McCann; o ur Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary, Damon Page; and Director of Manufacturing and Engineering, Dennis Horton. Thank you, Dennis. We have also got representatives from Deloitte Australia and particularly our new audit partner, Paul Schneider. Thank you, Paul, and Client Director Brianne Malseed . Welcome, Paul and Brianne. Then finally, from Computershare, we have got representatives there as well. Peter Renda at the back, I think you have become part of the furniture at these meetings, Peter. And as always, it is a delight to have former long-term director John Forsyth with us today. Thank you, John. At the conclusion of the meeting, there will, of course, be an opportunity for you to join the board with some light refreshments and talk to us after the meeting.
The Notice of Annual General Meeting has been made available to all shareholders, so unless there are any objections, I will take the notice as read. And I will just now take a moment to outline the agenda for this morning. We will commence with management presentations, which we normally do, from the three senior executives: Damon Page, Dennis Horton, and Lachlan McCann. I will then open the floor to questions and comments, and subject to time, we will try to cover as many of these as possible. For efficiency, we have included in the presentation materials our responses to any of the questions that we have received before today's meeting, which we always encourage if you do have questions. Once we have concluded the comments and questions, we will then turn to the formal items of business, where we will consider the receipt of the company's financial statements and reports. And th ere are three resolutions on today's agenda.
First, the adoption of the company's 2026 Remuneration Report, the re-election of Roger Brown as a Non-Executive Director, and the election of Ian Foston as a new Non-Executive Independent Director. The minutes from last year's meeting are available for inspection by contacting the Company Secretary. That was the meeting held on the 16th of October 2025. And the other formality is just the disclaimer, which Ben will get whoever's doing the slides to put on the screen. That's the formal disclaimer regarding any forward-looking statements. Thank you. That either I or the other directors or senior executives will be making today. You'll appreciate that any statements we make are obviously subject to uncertainty and therefore there's the formal disclaimer, which you can see on the screen.
We'll now turn to the management presentations and the company's performance for the year ended 30 June 2026 or FY 2026 as I'll refer to it. The demanding macroeconomic climate and the challenges in the Australian market landscape that were evident last financial year unfortunately persisted into FY 2026. New vehicle sales were affected by vehicle availability together with intense pressure on discretionary consumer spending. Despite this backdrop, ARB's Australian aftermarket sales were less impacted than other industry-wide declines. ARB's international sales offices delivered very mixed results, reflecting dramatic geopolitical changes in key export markets. Nonetheless, international export sales achieved growth and they remain a core pillar of our expansion plans. Sales, in particular in the U.S., continued their positive momentum and total export sales for FY 2026 accounted for approximately 38% of our total sales revenue, which was very near to a record.
ARB's business to the original equipment manufacturers or OEMs, as we call them, was the most significantly impacted segment, and this was due to the cyclical timing of new OEM platform releases which constrained the supply of key vehicles. Overall, while the board was frustrated that we did not achieve profit growth in FY 2026, the results do reflect the resilience of ARB's core business in the face of these very challenging market conditions. Moreover, ARB avoided the asset write-downs, the excess debt, the restructurings, and resets elsewhere in the Australian industry as seen overseas. We've been consistent in our business management and are backing long-term organic growth through our strategy of growing ARB's global product range, our distribution reach, and our brand strength.
The board held total fully franked ordinary dividends for FY 2026 steady at AUD 0.69 per share, with the final dividend fully franked of AUD 0.35 per share that will be paid next Friday on the 23rd of October. In terms of the future, we remain steadfast to ARB's core values of driving excellence with passion. We are very deliberate in responding to a change in car park, and our planning and decision-making focus remains on strategically positioning ARB for the longer term rather than reacting to short-term pressures. Four-wheel drive vehicles will continue to require the accessories that ARB manufactures regardless of where they come from or how they are powered, a nd our priority is to ensure that ARB has the best accessories for the best vehicles.
On behalf of the board, I would like to thank our global workforce, our senior management team, and all staff, and thank you to our shareholders for your continued investment in ARB throughout what was a very challenging year. The management presentations, which will follow, will highlight the strength, stability, and deep experience of the senior management team, which I believe are key competitive advantages. Damon Page, ARB's CFO and Company Secretary, will be the first to present, and he will cover the financial highlights for FY 2026. Following Damon will be Dennis Horton, who is our Director of Manufacturing and Engineering, to discuss these critical areas together with ARB's ongoing investment, and we are increasing our investment in engineering and research and development, which is the backbone for the future of our company.
To conclude, our CEO, Lachlan McCann, will cover all other operational matters and finish with an update on the company's first quarter trading and outlook. Lachlan's presentation will outline a clear and deliberate product-led strategy for ARB's future growth. Our strategy is to increase investment in engineering, manufacturing, and marketing with the objective of accelerating the volume, speed, and quality of new product releases, both domestically and overseas. Today's presentation will highlight the early benefits of these investments and the opportunities they create for our long-term growth. Our presenters, Damon, Dennis, and Lachlan, are all long-term employees of ARB, with whom I am sure you are familiar having them presented at previous meetings. Summary details of their backgrounds are on the screen, and they are available in the presentation, so I will not elaborate further on those in the interest of time.
However, in short, between Damon, Dennis, and Lachlan, there is 66 years of experience at ARB, and the strength of this management team, I believe, has led to a very successful transition of the executive team from its founders, while maintaining the very essence of ARB's corporate culture. With that, it is now with great pleasure that I would invite Damon Page to commence the presentations. Thank you, Damon.
Great. Thank you, Robert, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is wonderful to be with you. A warm welcome to our shareholders and business partners and guests that are joining us today, a nd also, to those who are participating via the webcast. I am pleased to present a review of the key financial outcomes for the financial year ended 30 June 2026. ARB delivered sales revenue of AUD 702 million in profit after tax of AUD 92.4 million during a challenging trading environment. Sales revenue on the left-hand side of the graph there declined by 3.8% compared with FY 2025. While this result was below the record sales achieved in the previous year, it was achieved in challenging circumstances, in challenging economic and geopolitical environment, and consolidates the significant step change in sales revenue of a few years ago.
The main factors influencing revenue during the year were softer new vehicle sales in a number of our key markets, particularly here in Australia, and continued pressure on discretionary consumer spending around the world. Most notably, sales to OEM customers reduced significantly during the year, declining by 27.2%, reflecting lower vehicle sales and model-specific program timing. I will speak to the sales performance by channel in a later slide. Sales have grown by an average of 7% compound average over the last 10 years. Turning to profitability in the center of the page, profit after tax was AUD 92.4 million, a decrease of 5.2% on the prior year. The decline in overall profit was essentially a result of lower sales volumes, noting the 3.8% decline in sales.
Significantly, while earnings were lower than FY 2025, ARB maintained historically strong margins despite a weaker Australian dollar and U.S. import tariffs throughout the financial year, with gross margins and operating expenses relatively comparable to the prior year. Profit after tax, excluding one-off transactions related to capital gains on property sales and a positive fair value adjustment of the MITS Alloy contingent consideration and prior year transaction costs related to acquisitions declined by 7.5%. Profit after tax has grown at an average compound rate of 6.9% over the last 10 years, broadly in line with the growth in sales. Importantly, the shape of the result improved as the year progressed, which I will talk to on the next slide. Now, to the right of the slide, the board's policy has been to maintain a dividend payout ratio of between 40%-60%, more recently at the higher end of this range.
Accordingly, dividends paid have generally tracked in line with profits made over the last 10 years. The fully franked interim and final dividends paid and announced in relation to FY 2026 were AUD 0.69 per share, consistent with the prior year. Last year, the company announced and subsequently paid a special fully franked dividend of AUD 0.50 per share, noting it had been 10 years since the previous special dividend, indicating that special dividends are not necessarily the rule. The final dividend for FY 2026 of AUD 0.35 per share will be paid to all shareholders on Friday of next week. All dividends, including the special dividend, were funded out of cash reserves. And the take-up on the dividend reinvestment plan remains around 15%. Overall, while FY 2026 presented a number of external challenges, ARB remained profitable, cash generative, and well-positioned to capitalize on future opportunities across both domestic and international markets.
Slide eight provides a comparison of first half and second half performance, highlighting the improvement in earnings momentum as the year progressed. Looking first at the first half, underlying profit before tax was AUD 58 million. This represented a decline of 16.3% on the corresponding period last year. As discussed at the half year results release, this reduction in profit was primarily attributable to two factors. The first was the weaker Australian dollar relative to the Thai baht, which adversely affected margins given the significance of ARB's manufacturing and distribution operations in Thailand. The second was the impact of factory overhead recoveries with the prior comparative period benefiting from increased manufacture and inventory levels that resulted in a higher recovery of fixed manufacturing overheads.
Despite these headwinds, net operating expenses were maintained at AUD 143 million, broadly in line with the prior period, reflecting disciplined cost management in what remained an inflationary operating environment. Turning to the second half, in the middle of the slide, underlying profit before tax improved to AUD 60.7 million and was down only 4.3% on the prior corresponding period. This stronger performance was driven by a recovery in gross margins as the Australian dollar strengthened against the Thai baht and returned to levels more consistent with the previous year. Net operating expenses in the second half were AUD 142.7 million, an increase of 2.8%, reflecting normal annual wage adjustments, together with additional costs associated with supply chain and freight disruptions arising from ongoing tensions in the Middle East. On a statutory basis, profit before tax for the second half was AUD 65.9 million, an increase of 1.9% on the prior corresponding period.
This represented a substantial improvement on the first half result, where reported profit before tax declined by 18.8%. On the next slide, the company generated cash flows from operations of AUD 103.7 million. The business continued to demonstrate strong cash generation during the year. Cash flow from operating activities of AUD 103.7 million was broadly in line with profit after tax of AUD 92.4 million, after taking into account depreciation and the impact of foreign exchange movements. Working capital movements were relatively contained, with trade debtors down AUD 7.7 million, inventory up AUD 6.1 million, and trade payables up AUD 2.8 million. Cash flow from operations essentially funds capital investments and dividends to shareholders. The company invested AUD 36.6 million in property, plant, and equipment, with AUD 24 million spent on property and AUD 12.6 million spent on plants and equipment.
Major capital items acquired during the year included the new powder coating line in Thailand, which Dennis will speak to very shortly, and the continued rollout of the retail flagship stores. I spoke to dividends as part of the first slide but note again that fully franked interim and final dividends have been maintained at AUD 0.69 per share, and t he payment of a AUD 0.50 dividend in relation to 2025 was paid during the 2026 financial year as well. All dividends were fully franked. The company held AUD 47.9 million in cash at the end of the financial year and had no debt. And net cash reduced by AUD 21.3 million during the year, essentially attributable to the payment of the special dividend.
This particular slide refers to the three sales channels that we typically report on, being sales into the Australian aftermarket, sales into export markets, and sales to the original equipment manufacturers. Sales into the Australian aftermarket declined by 3.3% to AUD 390 million, with sales of ARB's key Australian vehicle platforms down a little more at 4%. Results were mixed across the domestic sales channels, with the dealer and fleet channels most significantly impacted by the lower new vehicles delivered into Australia. The challenging consumer markets and constraints on discretionary consumer spending also weighed on the results. The Australian aftermarket represented 55.6% of total sales, broadly in line with FY 2025. Export sales grew 0.5% to AUD 268.4 million and represented 38.2% of total group sales, marginally up from the 36.6% reported in the year prior.
The stronger Australian dollar in the second half of FY 2026 resulted in a lower translation of export sales into Australian dollars. The Americas achieved growth of 10.2%, despite difficult trading conditions, including ongoing tariffs, while the U.K. was materially impacted by lower new vehicle registrations and trading conditions in both New Zealand and the Middle East remain challenging. Sales revenue to OEMs in Australia only were AUD 43.4 million and declined 27.2% and now represents 6.2% of the group sales, down from 8.2% last year. The decline in sales to OEMs is attributable to the timing of new contracts, with the prior year benefiting from new contracts initiated in FY 2025. Lower new vehicle deliveries in the second half of FY 2025 also impacted on OEM sales, with increased new vehicle deliveries expected through FY 2027. Thank you for your attention. I will pass the time on to Dennis.
Good morning, and welcome to everyone in the room and to those who are listening remotely. It is my pleasure to be presenting to you today on manufacturing and engineering at ARB during FY 2026. And importantly, I will kick off with an update on safety. It is an area that we are heavily focused on and continually improving. Last year, we added energy to our global safety teams with key resources added in Australia and Thailand, giving our safety team greater capacity to drive safety initiatives. We added a safety management system called Safety Champion and kicked that off with pilot programs in key locations. The safety management system gives us a number of advantages, including the collection and management of data and greater depth and breadth in our safety reporting. We also completed phase one of a structured program to update our domestic forklift fleet.
Safety performance is our priority, and we have seen another solid decrease in our total lost time frequency rate. We have focused heavily on lead indicators taking priority over lag indicators. Near-miss reporting is a good example of a lead indicator that is being prioritized. We are seeing the reporting increasing, and we expect that to continue improvement with the recent implementation of Safety Champion, which makes the process so much simpler. We increased the number of safety training modules that are mandatory for our employees, and we have also seen a positive increase in the completion rates. Moving on to engineering. One of our core strengths lies in engineering capability and capacity. We have worked on refining the structure of our engineering teams in Australia and Thailand to optimize the resources that we have available to us.
We have relocated and expanded the U.S. engineering team, adding capability and capacity through new hires and providing an increased footprint for new product development. Our engineering leadership teams have been strengthened with key new hires, and we have materially expanded our engineering teams globally. And the U.S. team has been an important part of that growth. As a result of these changes, we increased the volume of new product development compared to FY 2025. Our engineering leadership team has been putting energy into the development of our people and also robust systems to ensure we have solid foundations for continued growth. We are not done yet, and we are continuing on our growth phase with more recruitment planned and some already underway.
So, manufacturing is also at the core of ARB's strengths, and as you are no doubt aware, it forms a significant portion of our operations with factories in Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand. One of our core strategies is to be vertically integrated. In-house manufacturing gives us control of quality, volumes, timing, supply chain, materials, and various other advantages. With this in mind, in collaboration with the NACHO team, we have developed capability to manufacture lighting at our Thailand factory. So, we've installed a dedicated climate-controlled manufacturing facility. We've begun supplying NACHO lights globally from our factory in Thailand. We've established a robust supply chain that is heavily weighted towards Thailand suppliers. There's already a well-established lighting industry in Thailand. Everything we've worked on to date can be expanded and scaled as required to take on other lighting projects.
And we now have a solid team of people between ARB and NACHO with excellent lighting expertise. Roller drawer manufacturing has also been established in-house to support our vertical integration strategy. A market-leading drawer system designed and manufactured by ARB, with all manufacturing methods and tooling designed by ARB. There has been investment in new capital equipment, including processes that are also new to us. Around AUD 4 million has been invested in this project to date. The product is being rigorously tested to ensure suitability for harsh off-road conditions, with production preparations during quarter four of FY 2026 and production commencing during this current quarter. Manufacturing capability and capacity has seen continued investment, and our new coating facility in Thailand is a good example of that. With around AUD 16 million of investment, it's a high-capacity advanced coating line that allows us to discontinue outsourcing of coating.
The line consumes around 6,000 sq m of space at our factory four in Thailand. With improved surface treatments and the addition of electrodeposited paint, the new coating line will improve product quality and provide Tier 1 OEM-level corrosion protection for both OEM and aftermarket products. The line has automated powder coating technology, highly efficient paint transfer, and best practice paint reclaim technology. We've also installed leading-edge inline automated coating thickness measurement equipment. Our current Thailand capacity is extended by two to three times with this installation. The line is designed for our low volume, high complexity product mix. Installation is being completed now in this current quarter, and production commences on the new line in quarter three of FY 2027. Thank you for your attention. To continue and finalize our presentation, I'll hand over to our CEO, Mr. Lachlan McCann.
Thank you very much, Dennis, and good morning, folks. Lovely to have you all here, and welcome to this year's AGM. As Rob noted, financial year 2026 was a frustrating year for a number of reasons. While external factors played a part, our leadership team has remained focused. That's all I got. Our leadership team has remained focused on what we can control and on positioning ARB to capture the opportunities that emerge in such a challenging environment. Today, I'll outline those key areas of focus. Before turning to the Australian aftermarket, we'll show you a short video from the Melbourne 4X4 Show . At this event and other major 4x4 shows around Australia, ARB takes a prominent position to showcase our complete offering, engage with thousands of customers over four days, and gather really valuable market insights. We'll play the video.
I think most of the people in the room are Melbourne-based. If you haven't made it out to Flemington to attend the show, I really recommend you do. Okay. Let's start and take a look at Australian vehicle sales and those vehicles core to ARB's business. The new financial year has begun with many of the same vehicle supply challenges that affected us in financial year 2026. Sales of ARB core vehicle platforms in the broader 4x4 market were down 16% in the first quarter of financial year 2027 compared with the prior corresponding period. Importantly, more than half of that decline relates to known supply issues affecting Ford and Toyota rather than a broad deterioration in demand. Ranger volumes were impacted by the airbag recall during August and September, while selected HiLux variants were affected by a recent stop sell.
These issues are expected to be resolved in the short term. Despite the disruption, Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux remained the dominant platforms sold in Australian pickup market. Ranger reclaimed its position as Australia's top-selling vehicle in September, which highlights the underlying resilience and demand for the largest platform in Australia. The Toyota Prado and BYD SHARK both recorded strong growth in the quarter, while volumes of the very important LandCruiser 70 series remained heavily constrained. Toyota continues to forecast a strong finish to the 2026 calendar year, and although that improvement has not yet flowed through to the domestic market, we expect it imminently. As previously communicated, ARB's Australian recovery remains closely linked to improved Toyota volumes. We remain confident in the underlying demand for the right 4x4 platforms, but the timing of that recovery will definitely depend on vehicle availability.
ARB's store network now comprises of 80 stores nationally. ARB's 4x4 accessories require specialist knowledge, specialist facilities, and specialist skills to sell and install our product. And to deliver on our brand promise, ARB customers expect a premium experience in store. We have built the best 4x4 specialty aftermarket distribution network in Australia, and we are confidently driving expansion of this proven formula. In financial year 2026, we completed two flagship upgrades and three all-new flagship sites. Clear evidence of our confidence and the confidence of the network in the future of ARB is the 3,527 sq m flagship store in Townsville, Queensland, the newest and the largest store in Australia. Congratulations and thank you to Mike and Kelly Elliott on the opening of their new Townsville store. I think there's a couple of us headed up to Townsville to join Mike in celebrating the opening of that store.
A significant step this year was the establishment of our first dedicated fleet fitment center in Auburn, New South Wales, extending our specialist model to the growing fleet channel. Fleet represents a healthy portion of ARB's Australian sales, and this new center in Auburn provides a seamless one-stop shop solution for our fleet customers. We have a long list of independents wanting to invest in future stores, alongside a strong pipeline of our own new developments. And on to a new initiative that I alluded to in the year-end result presentation. The next phase of our Australian network expansion is the ARB Preferred Partner Program, a new 2027 financial year initiative developed in response to strong demand from independent regional operators seeking closer alignment with ARB. The program enables specialist 4x4 businesses to deliver ARB flagship experience at a budget that meets the size of the local market opportunity.
It has been developed with our regional stockists and is open to both new and existing partners with the right product knowledge, fitment capability, and customer service standards. So, hopefully, there's a call out to those great businesses in regional areas. If you fit those categories, we look forward to hearing from you. The model allows for each business to retain its local identity while adopting the ARB customer experience. Partners receive a strong product access, launch support, demand generation, and e-commerce click and collect via arb.com.au, as well as access to fleet and licensed accessory opportunities. The Cowra site shown here on the screen is the first completed Preferred Partner location. A reminder that it is a new initiative. Two further sites are in progress and there are five in final review with a target this year in the financial year 2027 for 22 sites to be complete.
This is a capital efficient way for ARB to extend our national coverage, particularly in regional markets, while protecting the specialist capability and the premium customer service that differentiates our network. On to e-commerce. During the last financial year, ARB migrated its Australian website to a state-of-the-art integrated Adobe e-commerce platform. The site delivers a seamless customer experience supporting customer journey by product or by vehicle, providing a single source of product information, price, pricing, purchasing, and the use of an integrated database to guarantee accessory suitability. It is a true omni-channel offering with direct click and collect, online quoting requests, all directly integrated to our private store network and inventory management. And it's really important to point out the integration of that independent network was primary and a really challenging task to overcome. But we have integrated that whole independent network into this program.
Importantly, it gives us great insights to our customers with detailed analytics on our customer experience, which products and which platforms they're searching for, which drives smarter decision-making on marketing and product development across the business. The transition has been a success. ARB has maintained its position as the number one visited 4x4 accessory website in Australia. Nearly twice as many customers now use the site to find their local store or stockist, and we're seeing early strong growth in direct-to-consumer sales. We have a strong pipeline of enhancements underway for the website, with international expansion to follow. Today, I'm delighted to announce that Ford and ARB have agreed to extend our multi-year agreement through to 2031. This is only just hot off the press, and it didn't make the presentation, but we got some final information through overnight, and so very, very pleased to announce the extension of that program.
Work has already commenced on the new product design and engineering for the 2028 model Ford Ranger, which is a facelift. This is the most successful OEM accessory program of its kind globally, and this extension of the contract is an endorsement of the partnership and a positive outcome for both Ford and ARB. ARB's relationship with Ford continues to broaden across three important pillars: build, thrill, and adventure. With build, ARB and [inaudible] are accredited through the Ford Pro Converter program, supported by the largest network of improved converters in Australia. This extends our capability into integrated vehicle solution for business and fleet customers. With thrill, ARB's involvement in Ford's motorsport demonstrates the capability of our products in demanding operating environments and reinforces the performance credentials of the brand.
And I think Andy Brown did the Dakar 1000 in a Ford Ranger, and he's still shaking as a result of it. And within adventure, ARB continues to provide an extensive range through the Ford Licensed Accessory program. The breadth of the range means that ARB is exceptionally well-positioned to provide Ford customers with a genuine one-stop-shop solution. ARB's future with Ford is bright. With opportunities including the expansion of the program through our new South African business, we are confident this business will continue to grow. We will now move on to international. ARB is a global brand, and we continue to invest in our brand and product marketing to be locally relevant in all parts of the world.
Despite the current geopolitical issues, the Middle East is a focused region where we swap pickups, driving through mountains and rivers, to a product and marketing focus of sand dunes and large SUVs. Unfortunately, not many people heading over to the Middle East at the moment for recreation, but it is a fantastic part of the world. ARB's export business recorded a net increase of 0.5% in FY 2026, in a challenging international environment now represents 38.2% of the business. The U.S. was again a major growth region, with sales growth through wholesale, our 4 Wheel Parts and ORW networks, e-commerce and other channels all delivering growth despite economic and tariff headwinds. Asia was the other strong contributor this financial year, partially offsetting declines in the U.K., the Middle East, and New Zealand.
The strong Australian dollar in the second half also reduced the translated value of export sales in Australian dollar terms. On to some emerging markets. ARB China, a wholly owned subsidiary, commenced operations in May, with local and Australian dignitaries attending an official opening. Establishing a local presence is a major step in the growth of our business in China and the recognition of this as a key future market for the business. Initial demand has been strong, and we continue to see month-on-month growth. Our presence in China also provides a foundation for a strengthening relationship with local OEMs. Being important to Chinese OEMs in Australia is important to us, but the larger opportunity is to become important to those manufacturers in the home market. Similarly, Africa represents an opportunity similar to Australia, where high overall 4x4 vehicle sales are very, very strong.
Today, we do have lower accessory attachment rates in South Africa, which remains the opportunity. We have more than 30 years of heritage as a premium brand in Africa, supported by local customers, established distribution partners, and vehicle platforms that largely mirror Australia. We now have our own direct in-market wholesale operations in South Africa, along with a team. We took possession of a warehouse in Gauteng last month and our first, s orry, Paul, have I got the pronunciation right? Okay. We had our first containers arrive and we have begun invoicing. I am not sure if all of you are aware, but South Africa is a build location for a lot of the pickups.
So, the Ford Ranger, the HiLux, the D-MAX are all actually manufactured on a CKD basis in Africa for the rest of the African market and largely are also the export location for the European market. We continue to work with our established distribution partners while improving local availability, strengthening the brand and building on positive engagement with local OEMs, particularly Ford, as we previously mentioned, or I previously mentioned. We are targeting a meaningful step change in African sales over the short term. We now move to our U.S. business. Despite the ongoing economic and political challenges facing the U.S. market, ARB recorded growth in U.S. dollars of 13.5%, which I think is outstanding in this environment. All channels performed well, including the wholesale business buoyed by the ORW, 4 Wheel Parts relationship, Latin America e-commerce, and the OE business through Toyota U.S.A.
Poison Spyder has performed well in the first year after relaunch, with demand outstripping supply and a strong inventory pipeline now positioning the brand for ongoing growth. Our U.S. engineering center is now fully operational and continuing to scale, with additional engineers and new equipment supporting local prototyping and product development. This brings development closer to the market and is accelerating our expansion for U.S. pickup bed products or ute tubs as we would call them here. We've recently released our Tacoma canopy in the United States and later in the presentation you'll see our canopy for the new F-150 Ford. Later in the presentation, we've got a number of examples on a product basis where you'll see this strategy coming to life. There we go. Our joint venture with Off Road Warehouse and 4 Wheel Parts continues to go from strength to strength.
We've achieved high double-digit growth in ARB sales driven primarily by increased sales of ARB accessories, including the expanded range from our engineering teams, and the business continues to operate profitably. The ARB store-in-store rollout is progressing well, with eight stores completed to date and a further 22 stores being worked on now. And we remain on track for the full rollout of those ARB store-in-store across 47 stores in nine states. Our new 4wheelparts.com Adobe-driven e-commerce website is now live, and the cutover was a great success. We're planning to transition 4 Wheel Parts to a focused premium retail aligned with the ARB brand experience from financial year 2028, and we'll continue to grow ARB product availability across the network. I know there's a couple of people in the room heading over to the U.S.A. shortly for SEMA, so hopefully, you get to jump into one of the 4 Wheel Parts stores.
We now move on to our original equipment business. Sales to OEMs were AUD 43.4 million in FY 2026, down 27% on financial year 2025, and presented as 6.2% of group sales. Please note that this does exclude sales to OE customers outside Australia. But to reflect the jerky nature of our sales, later in the presentation, I'll go through the Q1 result, which has swung back the other way, fortunately. Importantly, this decline was cyclical, driven by a lull between major vehicle programs and constrained supply on key vehicles, rather than any change in ARB's competitive position. We've not lost any OEM contracts for any specific product fitments. A partial recovery emerged in the second half of the year, and Toyota have enhanced materially improved vehicle supply in the first half of FY 2027 on models core to our OE business, which will drive further recoveries.
Now, on the 50th year journey, as we previously mentioned, we had insights from employees, customers, and industry leaders that we were touched by. Today, I just wanted to provide a quick, abridged version of a couple of statements by Harry Wagner, who's a bit of an off-road icon in the U.S., who tells a story about his ARB experience.
So, as a kid in 1998, I was working for a shop in Central 4 Wheel Drive . ARB had built this snorkel for Cherokees. So, I put in an order for an Australian-built snorkel, and it was going to be a special order. I was so stoked to have that snorkel as my first ARB product, and then it just dovetailed. I would argue that ARB as a brand and as a company still has the products you want. They've just maintained such a high brand level of product offerings. It's like they just always have the premium product that you want.
And that is an abridged version of about a three-minute spiel that he gives that's really worth watching. It is on YouTube. Go out and have a look at it. It's the U.S. 50th year trip. Okay. Now, Rob alluded to our product strategy, and products remain the foundation of ARB's success. And our focus is on using the competitive advantage built over many years to deliver more innovative products on more vehicles in more markets. This slide addresses ARB's key sustainable competitive advantage, again, being product. And they're core competencies that the business has built over time to make us sustainably better than our competition, control higher margins, but importantly, to support our vision of future growth.
ARB is an incredibly vertically integrated company, which makes us a more complicated company, but it does provide depth and breadth, and that's hard to replicate across six competencies that ultimately support our product-first strategy. Our globally recognized premium brand, ARB, is instantly recognized by customers, giving them confidence across diverse categories, which allows us to accelerate adoption of both new and established products. Our investment in global infrastructure for distribution of ARB products gives us the ability to access customers quickly through specialist retail, wholesale, e-commerce, and OEM channels across multiple markets. Our scaled engineering team combines highly specialized knowledge with OEM-level capabilities. Working alongside our manufacturing operations, the team can develop integrated solutions with speed, quality, and flexibility demanded by both aftermarket and OEM customers.
Our manufacturing capability, as Dennis had mentioned, allows us to invest in innovation, intellectual property, and process that are difficult for our competitors to match. Our people reputation continues to attract talent from within the industry and from broader market professionals. And finally, ARB's profitability, cash position, and debt-free balance sheet gives us the capability to fund these opportunities for substantial long-term growth. As Rob noted, ARB is a product-first company. We have committed to increased product investments across engineering, manufacturing, and marketing to support sustainable growth in both revenue and profit. And now, we'll have a look at some of those examples. This slide demonstrates the breadth and cadence of our current vehicle development program across established leaders and important emerging platforms. For the BYD SHARK, we've made commitment to develop a full line of products for this vehicle, and we've delivered.
Additional marketing spend is being made on the platform. And whilst the sales results are slower than traditional Ford Ranger and HiLux customers, we are executing on this strategy, and we are focused to being relevant to this new buyer. For the Ford Ranger Super Duty, we were the first to market with a comprehensive range and further products, including the Ascent canopy and Air Lockers are coming soon. The attachment range for accessories on this vehicle have been higher than we've previously seen on any other model, reinforcing the value of prioritizing the right vehicle platforms. We bought the Nissan Y63 Patrol across from the Middle East, t his vehicle is not available yet in Australia, to enable early development ahead of its local launch in Australia. And also, of course, to be quick to market in the Middle East for this popular platform.
This vehicle has been on display at the various 4x4 shows nationally and has been incredibly well-received, including newly styled Sahara Bar. And consistent with our relationship of more than four years with Toyota, ARB has worked with Toyota Motor Asia, as previously presented on an official accessory lineup for the new mini FJ Cruiser in multiple international markets. We've now also brought this vehicle across to Australia, and we are currently developing aftermarket accessories for it. Today, showcasing some of those investments out of the engineering resource in the U.S.A., w e have and are producing a stronger pipeline of products designed specifically for the world's largest truck market. At SEMA in November, ARB will debut the Rancher- style protection bar for full-size trucks, beginning with the Ford F-250.
This bar was developed in consultation with a number of Ford dealership groups, ranch owners , and other F-250 ownership groups, mainly focused in Texas, to ensure we hit the brief for the market on this product. This F-250 will be at SEMA and will also feature the MITS Alloy, which is going to go on debut at the show at SEMA. We also debut an F-150 Ascent canopy, bringing ARB's color-coded OE level canopy design to the world's number one selling truck. And it's important to note, we are a significant player in the back of pickup bed space in Australia, but this strategy is reasonably new to us in the U.S. and represents a significant growth category.
The U.S.A. has recently announced the release of the Ford upper control arms to improve suspension geometry, handling, durability on lifted trucks, and to complement our Old Man Emu suspension range, and probably reflects a little bit of the Californian style dressed up vehicle. In addition to which, the team also will debut, at SEMA, the full-size truck lift kit, initially on the F-250, 350, including the first MT64 suspension fitted with a remote reservoir. These are important steps in repositioning ARB and Old Man Emu more strongly in the high-valued U.S. full-size truck market. Our product growth is not limited to vehicle-specific protection and suspension. We are also investing in substantial new categories and renewing important ranges. The new GT Earth Camper reflects a significant investment in the platform, incorporating customer feedback, substantial upgrades across comfort, functionality, durability, and self-sufficiency.
ARB is launching a completely redesigned roller drawer platform, as Dennis mentioned, designed, engineered, and manufactured in-house. The new system introduces updated styling, electronic release locking, multiple configurations, and deeper integration with ARB's canopy and touring products. For IP reasons, we cannot show the image of the new drawer, but it is a cracker and it will be released at SEMA. ARB's first winch is a significant expansion of our recovery portfolio. It has been designed for modern vehicle integration and to complement ARB's protection and recovery products, while opening a substantial category for the brand. We are also launching the next generation Elements Fridge Freezer with updated styling, simple operation, app-based control, improved transportation hinges, and a bunch of other features, including dual zone configurations. And again, this product will be at SEMA. Okay, we are wrapping up shortly. So, on to the Q1 FY 2027 update.
Sales declined 6.1%, with single digit declines in the Australian aftermarket and export markets were partially offset by strong growth to our Australian OEM customers. Notwithstanding the decline in revenue, unaudited profit before tax grew in the quarter. Sales margins remained resilient and continued to trend in line with the overall result achieved in FY 2026. The stronger Australian dollar against the Thai baht was beneficial, although this was partially offset by factory overhead recoveries, resulting in softer sales from the factory. Australian aftermarket revenue was also affected by several temporary issues. The mounting bracket recall on the N90 HiLux bull bar affected and the affected field fix activity, the Ford Ranger airbag recall, and the recent stop sale, as mentioned on the Toyota HiLux variants. While the sales reflect a challenging start to year, the growth in profit before tax demonstrates the resilience of ARB's margin and operating model.
ARB's aftermarket business performed ahead of new vehicle sales in the first quarter, despite the challenging economic and supply environments. Fleet and Ford Licensed Accessory businesses continued to outperform, and our corporate retail stores delivered strong growth, w hile independent stores, dealerships, and our wholesale business were slower. For the balance of FY 2027, we will pursue a more aggressive product-first marketing program to convert the significant pipeline of new vehicle applications and broader product launches into sales. Export performance remains mixed. Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia achieved growth, while vehicle supply continues to affect the U.K. and demand in the New Zealand market. The U.S. aftermarket business continued to deliver strong growth in the first quarter. This was offset by declines in U.S. OE sales as current contracts mature, but the strategic foundations we have established continue to support positive to medium-term outlook.
Early sales to the Australian OEM customers show strong signs of recovery, which we expect to continue based on OEM projections for those key platforms mentioned. We have also secured new OEM contracts, including in the United States, in the United States, sorry, which we expect to commence in FY 2028. The Thai baht is hedged through to February 2027 at rates that compare favorably with the prior year. So, in summary, the board believes ARB is well-positioned for long-term success through continued expansion of the Australian and New Zealand aftermarket, strategic OEM partnerships, a growing export business supported by a U.S. distribution, and a strong balance sheet with AUD 47.9 million of cash and no debt as of June 30, 2026. We are backing these advantages with increased investment in engineering, manufacturing, and a substantial product pipeline, and a well-balanced management team combining longstanding ARB experience with newer executives to the business.
Before finishing, I would like to thank the team at ARB for their continued efforts and commitment to the business. FY 2026 was a tough year that tested the business, but the resilience and the results are a credit to the people across every market and every function. We remain ambitious about our continued growth and are excited about the product-first execution strategy. On behalf of the management team, I would really like to congratulate and thank Andrew Stott for his contributions to ARB over more than 20 years, and certainly welcome to Ian today as well. Thank you. I will now hand the presentation back to Rob.
Thank you, Lachlan. I know there is a lot of preparation and thought that goes into the information that we provide shareholders, which I am sure you appreciate. We certainly still do have challenges to navigate, and I note that of that entire presentation, the words "diesel prices" were not mentioned once, but they are certainly not helping either. But we are in very good shape for the long term. So, I would like to thank all of the board and our shareholders. On behalf of all the board and the shareholders, I would like to thank Lachlan and the senior management team for your leadership. We have now got time for presentations. We are making good time. So, questions on the presentations. Hopefully, we have covered most of the pressing questions that you may have. But please, we would welcome any other matters.
If the questions relate to the agenda items to come later, such as the Remuneration Report or the election of directors, if you could just hold those over until those items. There will be plenty of time before we vote on those. And please be reminded that only shareholders and proxy holders, and so that is those people with a yellow or a blue voting card, may address the meeting. If you could just raise your hand if you have any questions and state your name and, if relevant, the organization that you are representing. And of course, in the interest of time, if you could keep your questioning succinct, that would be appreciated. Who would like to kick off the questions? Please. Yeah, sorry. Who has got the microphone? We are just getting it. Thank you. Yeah. All good. Sorry about that.
That is all right. Thanks for the opportunity. [Ray Tollison], long-term shareholder and a member of Teaminvest .
Good to see you, [Ray].
Yeah, I am not speaking on behalf of Teaminvest, but just some questions. Interested in a bit more detail about the South African move. Are there actual stores envisaged, or how is the product to be got to market?
Yeah. Thank you for the question. South Africa, we have been present in South Africa, as mentioned, for over 30 years. Our distribution partner for that period of time is a company called 4x4 Mega World, and they have 22 stores across South Africa. They have a retail business to run, and we have a brand to grow and develop. We will continue to work and partner with them, but we need to invest ourselves in our own brand development, particularly in South Africa, but surrounding sub-Saharan markets as well. We monitor the performance of those markets relative to the vehicle population, and it is our belief there is further growth and opportunity for expansion. And I suppose the comment about the vehicle manufacturing on a CKD basis in South Africa really makes it a hub where we should be seeing higher levels of sales and growth. So, we are taking that responsibility on ourselves.
The relationship with 4x4 Mega World is fantastic. We had the guys out here for a week recently. They are aligned with the strategy, and we are pushing hard. On recent visits, we also identified that our pricing was not probably where it needed to be, and so we have worked with our South African distribution partner to realign at a lower level, the market pricing of a number of our accessories, which we think is going to help fuel future growth. So, hope that answers the question.
Yeah. So, you are not envisaging opening actual ARB stores?
No, not at this early stage. Certainly, the partnership with Ford is a cornerstone of this as well, because they have asked us to step in. They are part of the relationship. They have seen the success of the FLA program in Australia, and Ford South Africa desperately wants that delivered by us in the local market.
Oh, thanks. Just one more about China. Presumably, you are not expecting to sell much actual product in China?
Oh.
Is that the case?
Of course we are.
You are?
No, absolutely. Yeah.
Oh, dear. Okay. I obviously do not know enough about China.
It's being, to give it context, it's being, I will not give you specific numbers, but it has been and still is a multimillion-dollar market for us, so, and t he brand is particularly strong. We have worked with distribution partners in China, which comes with its own complex and challenges. And again, we are taking the responsibility. Jason and Lily, we have had a couple of staff members in China now for the best part of five years. We have grown that team to a team of five, and they are out there acting as wholesale developers. We have engaged warehousing. We are putting the product in there ourselves. Obviously, we have incorporated locally. And so, again, we are controlling our own destiny. We have a little marketing team, and we are putting the brand out there in the Chinese environment a lot more strongly.
And in a short amount of time, you will see a more Chinese-focused product strategy to make sure that we are attending to that consumer the right way.
Thank you.
Thank you.
[Ray], I might just add to that. As Lachlan said, without revealing any numbers, certainly, our business five years ago in China was materially higher. So, there is definitely opportunity there, and it certainly gives us presence in that market to develop product. With respect to South Africa, should also, I just wanted to mention that it is a very big market, and it's not something, this opportunity we've taken is not the first one that we've looked at. We have been looking at this market for quite some time, and we felt that this one's the best opportunity. But we did explore various avenues to get into the market, but we're very happy with the one that we've now arranged.
Thank you.
Hi, morning, gents. Stephen Mayne. There's a lot of private equity activity in the market at the moment. Cleanaway, Reliance Worldwide, a whole range of them. Are we ready if someone comes knocking? Have we got a defense advisor on the books, and have we heard any noise?
I think the best way to be ready, Stephen, is to increase our profitability. I mean, as a corporate advisor myself with a long background in mergers and takeovers, acutely aware of perhaps the vulnerability that we've had. We've probably been protected from it in previous years when the P/E ratios are significantly higher. To some extent, we probably still are because our P/E relative to other automotive companies around the world that have had major debt issues or restructurings, we don't have that. But we're certainly aware that we need to perform as the best way to, the best defense that we can have. But no, we haven't engaged a formal advisor.
Have you wargamed it at all in terms of how you would react and how you'd play it?
We've certainly got advisors that we have spoken to in relation to various corporate matters, so I won't go into specific details. But there are certainly people that follow ARB that are in regular contact with us that we could engage with if we needed to at short notice.
Yeah. Okay. Now, last year, there was a nearly 20% vote against your re-election.
Yes.
What was that all about, and have there been any similar material against votes today?
Certainly. Look, we covered that last year, Stephen. It was mostly in relation to perceived overboarding, which for anyone that knows me would realize that that's a pretty unfair comment because my board's an absolute priority, and I give it everything, and I certainly wouldn't take on a board unless I had the time, and I make it a great priority and a commitment. But in, since that period, I've relinquished my chairmanship of Magellan Asset Management. That was 18 months ago, and to be perfectly honest, that was taking up more time than any of the boards that I've been on. And my executive role within Taylor Collison has been scaling down over the years and will continue to do so. So, I think that's been addressed.
As to has there been any similar sort of protest vote, and I think that's sort of what it was last year, the answer is no. I think you'll see the proxies later. So, perhaps, I'll disclose those. I think the proxies, because, as good practice, we disclose those proxy figures before shareholders vote anyway, but I think Ian's at 93% and Roger's at 87% off the top of my head. So, I don't think we've had the same level of protest vote.
Okay. Just the last question.
Sure.
And I will come back and have another go later.
Right.
Over the long journey for the Browns, have you ever been, [inaudible] and Roger, have you ever been on the opposite sides of a non-unanimous vote in the board?
No.
Has there ever been a non-unanimous vote in the board overall?
Could you sit down, Stephen, please? That is enough, okay? You have had your turn. I have watched you at other meetings, you know. Just sit down, please.
Chair?
I'll take the.
Well, you're the Chair.
I'll take the question. Well, Roger's answered the question. The answer is no, there has never been. That's absolutely not to say that there aren't very vigorous debates and discussions around the boardroom table, but once a decision is taken, I think you strongly support a decision, and that's what we do as a board. So, the.
Oh, I'm just inquiring.
It is just.
I am just inquiring on the challenging culture within the board. That is all.
No.
I am not inquiring on that, or?
It is all right. I think, look, I think I have answered that. As I said, we have very vigorous discussions, even between individuals.
But I think as we've just seen, it must be very difficult disagreeing with the Browns.
Well, that's an observation. I wouldn't agree with that observation.
I guess.
But you're certainly entitled to it. There's no issue. I have no issue with you asking the question. Any other? I'm sure there are other questions.
Hello, my name's [Peter Calliero], and I know Adrian from the Aussie Broadband board. I'd like to ask a question, which I think was asked seven years ago, and I think it's time to revisit the question. Now, I'm aware of the hybrid BYD SHARK, but my question is, with the increase in electric vehicle demands, have you noticed any change or are we prepared for the increase in electric vehicle? And my second part of the question, sometime in the future, there will be more self-driving cars. Are we prepared for that situation?
Yeah, great question, and very happy to answer that one. Yeah, our strong belief, having partnered with various OEMs, including Rivian, which is the North American electric vehicle manufacturer, including Ford on a number of electrical platforms, including Toyota on some of their electric platforms, w e do take great guidance from OEMs because they spend a lot of money researching these areas and have capital allocated that we don't see, and their strong view is that people don't stop recreating because they drive one version of a vehicle, whether it's ICE or another version of the vehicle, whether it's electric. Now, some accessories, snorkels, long-range fuel tanks, they're going to struggle to sell on an electric vehicle. But we certainly think that it is going to create a huge amount of opportunity for us to innovate on electric vehicles and provide probably accessories that we don't do today.
And, you know, strong acknowledgement of that question comes in the form of Ian Foston joining the board. You know, we want to get deeper insights into the volume of work the OEMs spend on how customers are going to use their vehicles over the next 10 years. And we confidently invest in engineering to differentiate ourselves to make sure that we've got the right product platform. So, that's more of a detailed answer, but to simplify it down, we genuinely believe that people, irrespective of drivetrain type, will want to continue to go and visit the outdoors and drive beyond in Australia and internationally.
Okay. Thank you. Just one other question in this part. ARB, without question, is a premium brand. It is a premium product. One of the issues that in some industries premium products have found is counterfeit goods.
Yep.
Are we actually having an issue with that, or are we prepared if we see a rise in that?
Yeah. I do not have the numbers at hand. Damon can probably quickly grab our legal costs as a business over recent times, but we spend a great amount of time and effort, including monthly meetings with our IP lawyers, and we do look across the world. We have definitely got companies out there looking to replicate our products, and we defend our position rigorously. We spend a lot more time in understanding the best ways that we protect our IP as well, and it is a really complicated area. You know, it is not just about, okay, we have got an innovation patent, or we have got a design registration. You actually have to understand the detail about how to best protect that in every market around the world. So, it is a very strong area of focus.
And certainly, for us, where we spend in excess of AUD 20 million per year on engineering and innovating, we have to be able to protect it. So, absolutely.
I will come back to you, Stephen. I am happy to take the question. Is there any other ones or any other questions? Stephen, please feel free.
I'll stay seated this time. Just a question on AGM process.
Yep.
I was hoping to go to four AGMs today. AUI, Treasury Wine, Cogstate, all having hybrids in Melbourne. And obviously, you are having a dinosaur physical meeting with no ability for online questions. Just wondering if you would be able to make a commitment to allow for online written questions next year. You have everything set up. You are doing the webcast.
I will look at.
You're hiring the speakers. You've hired the room.
Yeah.
There's not actually a big cost difference in just bolting on online questions.
Yeah.
So, I'd just like to ask if you could actually make that commitment for next year.
I won't make that commitment that we will hold it in that format, but I will make the commitment that we will consider it. And I don't mean to fob off the question. We actually do consider it very carefully every year. If there are four AGMs all on the one, I'm not sure that having a hybrid would allow you to.
At home you can.
Yeah. [crosstalk]
Having to turn up means you can't go to a whole bunch of other meetings today because I'm here.
All right. We look at it absolutely every year. We continue to think that is the most appropriate format. You can say that we're a dinosaur, but that means there are a lot of dinosaurs still in Australia because as you know, not all companies are on that format. In fact, there's still a significant, t hat's still a significant format of them.
If I could just ask some.
Well, if I could just answer the question a second. Thank you. We, I think just recently, we did extend the coverage. I know it doesn't necessarily help you in terms of your online questioning, but we extended the coverage right way through the meeting rather than just do the actual formal presentations. We put it through. And we also, we encourage, I said in my address earlier, we encourage shareholders to send any questions before the meeting. If you have genuine questions, we can include them in the presentation and responses or write to you directly. This year, we've also appointed Ben Mitchell, Ben down the front here, as an Investor Relations Manager. So, we've significantly increased the accessibility of the company to investors. We didn't have that previously, so we've engaged that resource. And of course, it does allow to maximize the time and the room for people to ask questions.
And as you said, there is an additional cost involved, so you could debate the benefit. But I know you're not the only one with that view. ASA has expressed that view. I'm a member of the ASA, so I understand their position fully. But what I can commit is that we will review it again next year and every year in the future.
Okay. To see a subtle factor as thrown into the situation. You did mention a lot of other companies don't do it. I've actually nominated for close to 50 boards in the last six weeks, and 25 companies so far have negotiated a withdrawal of the nomination by adding online questions. I didn't do it to ARB because I love you and you're a great company.
Yes.
I don't want to annoy you.
Yeah.
But everyone is moving.
Yeah.
I don't want to have to do that next year. I just think it would be great if you could offer it.
Yeah.
And final general question.
We'll speak offline.
Yeah, sure. Okay. It'd be great if you could just.
You make the point and I said it's a point that's shared by a lot of people.
Final general question is, as I've asked this many times of directors, it's Andrew Stott's final AGM. So, it's always good for shareholders to have access to some exit reflections from departing independent directors. So, I'm wondering if Andrew could just share with us what he regards as maybe the best two decisions that he thinks that ARB has made during his long journey on the board, and if he had his time again, would he, should ARB have done anything differently? Does he have any regrets after his long experience representing us independent shareholders?
Why don't you take that offline? Put the question to Andrew. Andy, I think he's quite happy to chat afterwards about that. But Andy's declined to comment on that question. I can only say that he's been a tremendous resource, and I will say a few words a little bit later. His industry knowledge is exceptional, and his involvement with ARB goes to committing weeks on end setting up race events. He's the first at the track. He's the last out, taking ARB banners and other things and promoting the company and the product and the industry and our contacts. So, in terms of, apart from Andy Brown, I mean, he's more involved in the industry and the four-wheel driving community than anyone on this board. So, he's going to be sadly missed. But I think if Andy feels he would rather keep those reflections private, I think that's, I respect that view.
Any other questions? I'm looking at you. Okay, if there are no further questions, we'll move to the formal part of the business. As I said, there'll be plenty of time to ask questions on each of these resolutions. We've received proxies up until 9:30 A.M. on Tuesday, which is the 13th. That was the cutoff for proxies, and we'll show a slide with each of the proxies for each of the resolutions. In my capacity as Chairman, I intend to vote all available proxies for all three resolutions in favor of the resolution, subject of course, to the voting exclusions. The constitution of the company together with the Corporations Act, provides that a resolution put to the vote at a general meeting shall be decided on a show of hands unless a poll is demanded.
A poll can be demanded by the Chairman, and in that capacity, I am requiring that each of the three resolutions today be decided by way of a poll, and that's also in accordance with our corporate governance statement. So, I now declare the poll open. In order for your vote to count, you will need to complete your yellow voting card and then place it in one of the ballot boxes which will circulate at the end of the three resolutions around the room. And shareholders who wish to vote should of course, mark the relevant for, against, or abstain boxes in relation to each of the resolutions on the voting card. Abstentions will not be taken into account in computing the required majority for the poll. If you are a proxy holder, you must comply with the direction of the shareholder appointing you.
I hereby appoint Peter Renda from Computershare as the Returning Officer to conduct this poll. Please let me or Peter know if you have any difficulty completing the card and we'd be happy to assist. We'll arrange after this meeting for the votes to be counted and the results will be lodged with ASX and of course, on our company website, as is our usual practice. I'll only close the poll, as I said once, there's been plenty of time for discussion and the votes are tallied. The results of each resolution will be released to ASX later, as I said. All right, the first resolution.
It is not actually, it is a resolution, it is just to consider the adoption of the company's financial report together with the Directors' Report, the independent Auditor's Report for the first year, the consolidated sustainability report, all for the financial year ending 30th of June 2026. No resolution is required in relation to this agenda item. However, those reports are open for discussion. Does anyone have any questions on the accounts? And also, Paul Schneider from our auditor, our new audit partner from Deloitte, is present to answer any questions. Stephen?
It is the first year for the sustainability report.
It is.
I am wondering if we can hear from Paul, as to what percentage of his time on the overall audit was spent on the sustainability report. We heard from, I think it was Origin yesterday, about 15%. This is obviously a first in the market. And I would be interested in hearing from you, Chair, as to what the board discussion was like. You are hearing some feedback that lawyers and sometimes conservative directors are trying to reduce the amount of stuff going in there. So, how rigorous was the debate within the board about how extensive was the disclosure to be in the first ever sustainability report? Do you think it has been a useful process? And again, from the auditor as to how detailed and involved the process was for the first time.
Certainly, we are aware of the requirements coming in, and I think one of the things that streamlined the process was the fact that we were aware that it was coming in and we were well- prepared. So, we hit the ground running at the end of, the beginning of last financial year, so that we, it was not going to be a big task to collect the data. Various people, and I am not going to individualize it, but put up their hand to take on extra responsibilities in getting the preparation of the report done. That came under the audit committee, and we got actively involved in it. So, we did not find, the process was very time-consuming, but certainly, through our Scope 1 and Scope 2, it was relatively straightforward.
I am looking forward to hearing Paul's answer because I hope that he says it is a very large percentage of his time based on the costs to the company. I will ask Paul to address that.
Thank you, Stephen, for the question. I think if we look at it reflectively over the whole period, we spent about 15% of our time was focused on the sustainability report. I think it is important to call out that the required rigor around how we perform an external audit is slightly different to the requirements for limited assurance. So, accordingly, 15% roughly is the time that we spent on sustainability reports.
Okay. I will now turn to the items of business requiring a formal vote. Each of the three resolutions on which we will be voting was in the notice of meeting and will appear on the screen as we consider each resolution. So, I will take the resolutions as read. As I noted previously, I will be voting all undirected proxies or all available proxies in favor of the three resolutions. Resolution 1 concerns the company's Remuneration Report, which forms part of the Directors' Report contained within the Annual Report. For good corporate governance, I advise that the Remuneration Report of the 2025 AGM of the company is carried with a vote in favor of that resolution of 98.57%. The board unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution 1. Before I open the floor to questions, I would like to address the proxy position for this resolution.
As displayed on the screen behind me, the proxies received ahead of today's vote indicate that more than 25% of the votes cast are against the adoption of the Remuneration Report. Consequently, if the final poll reflects these proxies, the company will incur what's known as a first strike under the Corporations Act. Although the vote on this resolution is advisory only and does not bind the company or its directors, we certainly take the results of and feedback in relation to this resolution into account when setting the company's remuneration policies. I want to state clearly that the board acknowledges and respects this feedback. We take our obligation to align executive pay with shareholder wealth very seriously, and indeed, given that the board collectively are substantial shareholders, that goes without saying.
The company's remuneration structure was designed in good faith to meet the specific needs of the company during this vital period of management transition from a founder-led business. Moreover, the senior leadership team have been tireless in their efforts over the past few years in the face of very difficult market conditions. We have engaged with stakeholders over some years to explain this approach, and we have benchmarked the remuneration outcomes. It should also be noted that ARB's remuneration philosophy and framework have been in place for some time, and there were no material changes from last year, and the proxies received were almost 99% in favor. In these circumstances, we certainly understand that the vote reflects broader investor frustration regarding our share price performance and remuneration alignment, particularly this last financial year.
Nonetheless, we generally respect and appreciate the feedback we've received during our engagements with shareholders and hear the message clearly. We have received detailed feedback and the board will be reviewing all aspects of the remuneration framework. We are fully committed to addressing this feedback transparently, and we will outline the specific actions that we are going to take to ensure we do not receive a second strike. In the meantime, we're going to remain focused on improving the company's financial performance, which ultimately drives shareholder outcomes. With that background, I would like to invite any questions or comments from shareholders on the Remuneration Report. I'll take that, thank you.
Mike Middleton, Australian Shareholders' Association. I am the ASA's Monitor for this company. It relates to the remuneration increase for the CEO. After listening to the CEO's performance, I can see that he justifies his salary well, and he's obviously very enthusiastic. But we do have an issue with retail shareholders. Retail shareholders are struggling, as is many of the community at the moment, and it's difficult for some of them to grasp how three years of profit loss or diminution of shareholder return can justify any form of increase. And we ask whether the board would consider this aspect when reviewing the remuneration for next year.
Yeah. Thank you, Mike, and also appreciate the feedback that we've had over the 12 months from you on other matters. The answer is absolutely yes. The environment, as you've noted over the last couple of years, this is some of where the difficulty at rem does come into play during the COVID period. I mean, our profits pretty much doubled overnight, and this last year, they've retreated. And yet, when I look at the effort that the management team have put in, comparing those two periods and the stresses and the challenges, it's not reflective. It's one of the reasons why we've probably pushed back on STIs, for instance, the lack of an STI, which is one of the factors that probably contributes to that proxy position. But we will be looking at that. We did benchmark before deciding on that salary increase. We did benchmark.
There was about 1/3 of companies gave no increase at all. But the average increase was slightly above the increase that we gave, and given the effort that was involved, we felt that that was appropriate. But I certainly hear the pain as a shareholder. I have experienced that myself and acutely aware of it. But as I said, Mike, thank you for the feedback. That will be absolutely taken into account. Thank you also for the other comments you've made during the year. I'll take [inaudible].
Peter again.
Yeah.
Peter again. Just a simple feedback. I notice you've got the results in two columns, the number of votes and the number of shareholders, which is great. But my mathematics isn't that good trying to figure it in the head. Is it possible to have a third column of the percentage of votes in future so that if it gets closer to 25% mark, I can easily see it rather than trying to figure it out in my head?
Yeah, sure. I think, Damon, I think it is 41%, is it? That percentage. But yes, Peter, I will take that on board. I am not sure if the format is exactly the same as previous years or not, but I am certainly happy to do that. The announcement that will go into the ASX today, I should state, will not only have the proxies, it will have the votes from the floor, and it will be expressed in percentage terms. Although you will not have the number of shareholders, it will just be a percentage. But thank you for the comment. Stephen.
Just a process question first. Are the Browns excluded from voting on the Rem Report?
Yes, they are.
Right. Okay.
And have, okay, it's not on the ones that have been excluded, but yes, they are excluded.
Yeah. Probably wouldn't have changed the result because 41%.
It would still be a first strike. You're correct.
That's right. It's still material.
Yeah.
So, which of the proxy advisors recommended against?
Glass Lewis, CGI Glass Lewis, and I am not sure about ISS. Certainly, Ownership Matters didn't, and ACSI was also supportive, but I think it was primarily Glass Lewis.
And it looks like AustralianSuper have joined the protest. They are our biggest shareholder with over 11%. I am guessing that your largest shareholder has voted against that. It is not a secret ballot, so you should know that.
I do know it. I wouldn't make that assumption if I were you. But I am also not going to, as a matter of respect for individual shareholders, disclose which way they vote.
That's fair.
I don't think you should make assumptions about any shareholders, how they vote. There's a lot of nominees on the register. There's a lot of index funds. There's a lot of overseas shareholders now who don't do anything else other than just blindly follow what a bot says to the way that should be voted.
Well, proxy advisors are not bots.
No, they're not bots.
No, they are not bots.
Yeah.
They are professional governance advisors.
They will not look at it effectively. They will just, they will run their program over it. They will take the proxy advisor's advice and whatever they do not. Yeah.
It sounds like ISS have voted against as well because Ownership Matters is probably the most powerful player. If they have supported it to get to 41%, it is not just going to be one proxy advisor. But I agree, it is puzzling. Not much has changed.
No, nothing.
You have gone from 99% to 58%.
Yeah.
So, this is very unusual. I was a bit puzzled by your September 18 announcement of a 5% pay raise for the CEO.
It was 3.5%.
3.5% .
Which was actually below.
AUD 67,000. It was much.
It was below. Yeah. It was below market benchmark. Yeah.
Why did you make that announcement? Were you pressured by the proxy advisors to actually put it on the record of what you are doing? Like, that was unusual just to have a specific announcement on a tiny pay raise for the CEO.
Well, I think under the listing rules, we need to disclose any changes. I think they need to be material changes, so you could argue. But look, I mean, that is going to appear in the Rem Report next year. It is going to be on the public record. I do not know that there is any reason not to disclose it. I mean, in hindsight, that might not have optically been a great thing. But we are just trying to for full disclosure, that is all.
Yeah. And thanks for doing the headcount data, which you started last year. That is great because we get to see retail shareholder sentiment, not just what the big 10 shareholders do. And just one final process thing.
Yep.
Next year, could you do the proxy disclosure to the ASX with your 50 slides? I do not see any reason for taking out the proxy slide from your slide pack. Allows for a more fully informed debate, fully informs the market earlier on something as material as this. And why do we never have an LTI vote? Vast majority of public companies, you have Rem R eport, then you have the annual LTI vote. Why are we different?
Well, I need to take that one on board, Stephen. But I don't believe that it's been required in terms of the way it's been done. But let me take that on board. I think, actually, I think the answer might be because our CEO is not a director. I think that might be the technical answer, but I don't want to second guess that. Adrian's saying that's correct. And certainly, in terms of your , we'll take that on board as well. I'll have a look at that. Okay. We'll now proceed to voting. As Chairman, I exercise my power to direct that the vote on Resolution 1 be taken by way of a poll. If you could just take the time now to record the vote on the back of your cards, these yellow cards, and I will do the same. Peter, I think, have they? Yeah, thank you.
We'll get that organized before. So, we'll move on to Resolution 2, which is the re-election of Roger Brown. He retires by rotation and offers himself for re-election. The board, other than Roger, who abstains given his personal interest in the resolution, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution 2. Before opening the meeting to discussion on this resolution, I'd like to place on record the board's appreciation of Roger's deep and ongoing contribution to the company and the board. Roger remains a torchbearer of our core values of driving excellence with passion, and his industry knowledge and experience are second to none amongst the non-executive directors. The continuity, longevity, and stability of the board have long been long-term contributors to the company's success. A board transition plan is in place for the future. However, we are most appreciative that Roger has offered himself for re-election on this occasion.
The proxy results are on the screen. I think my maths wasn't too far out. Does anyone have any questions or comments on the resolution? Stephen?
Roger recently retired from the AMCIL board.
Yes.
First question is, is it his intention to serve a full three-year term here?
That is his current intention, yes.
All right. And there's been a material, it is very unusual to get a 13% protest vote against a founder. I can understand the arguments about he is not independent, box tickers, et cetera, but does he recognize that with the Browns owning about 6% and having 25% of the directors, that the founding family are actually overrepresented on the board in relation to their shareholding? Does he recognize that that may be an issue? And could he also, it is good for directors to listen to this, I thought the shareholders have paid for a microphone in front of Roger, so it would be good if he could respond to this, h as he had any direct engagement with any of the proxy advisors or the major shareholders leading into this vote?
I can answer all those questions, Stephen. In terms of the perceived overrepresentation, the Browns are representing no one other than shareholders. If their shareholding is 1%, it would make no difference to me whatsoever in terms of the contribution they could make to the board. If their shareholding was 50%, I would not expect them to have a third person on the board if that person was not going to contribute. Both of them are there solely on merit. So, I do not see the overrepresentation argument as being relevant at all. And the protest vote, yes, it is a little unusual, but I can put it into some context. I think all of the resolutions, we are getting a protest vote today. You will see that for the Resolution 3, when the proxies come up there, Ian Foston, I think we have got a 7% vote against a new director that is incredibly well- qualified, that we have selected and very fortunate to have after a global search.
There is a 7% vote. So, when I look at the difference between perhaps Roger and a completely new director where you would expect, I think there is just a protest element, but that is all I can say on that. In terms of Roger's engagement directly, the answer is no. Okay. We will now proceed to voting. Again, if you could please mark your voting cards, the yellow voting cards. On those proxy figures, in fact, is replicated in the final result. Well, congratulations, Roger. Really fantastic to have you serving another term. Okay, election three. That concerns the election of Ian Foston. The board has nominated Ian for election as an Independent Non-Executive Director, and this election, if approved, will take effect at the close of this meeting.
The board's nomination of Ian was the outcome of an extensive global search for a suitable non-executive director. Ian was a standout candidate with an impeccable career. He had senior positions in global automotive engineering and manufacturing, experience across a wide range of vehicle platforms, including ICE and EVs, and he has demonstrable commercial discipline. Ian is a dedicated four-wheel driving enthusiast or perhaps more accurately for someone who owns five four-wheel drive vehicles, I would say he is a four-wheel drive nut. He has over-landed extensively across six continents, and he is passionate about ARB's products and the company's potential. We are delighted to be unanimously recommending that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution 3, and the proxies appear on the screen. But before I ask for any questions or comments, Ian has offered to address shareholders, and I would like now to invite him to do so. Thank you, Ian.
Good morning, everybody. Thank you, Robert. Thanks to the board for their support in my nomination today, and obviously looking for shareholder support for my election as a Non-Executive Director. So, my experience, I have spent 30 years, over 30 years working around the globe. As Robert kindly pointed out, I have managed very significant product introductions across all those different continents for a number of different auto manufacturers. So, I think some of the questions earlier were very important. Things are changing in the industry. There are clearly threats from everywhere, and there is definitely a change in how customers use their vehicles, especially in the off-road space. But my background in terms of four-wheel driving, I mean, I, like everybody else, love four-wheel driving and experiencing new things, seeing new people, going to places where normal vehicles cannot take you. And that is the spirit of adventure that I have personally.
When I first started overlanding in my Land Rover Defender, I realized that actually the OE spec vehicle just was not really up to the job. After extensive research, the products I came up with were ARB products. And that is like 25-30 years ago when I first started my journey of going into overlanding and off-road adventure. Some of those parts we talked about yesterday are still fitted to my truck today. Testament to how good they are. And to me, the compelling part about what ARB delivers is a commitment to customers, and customers trust the products that are executed and sold worldwide, and they can rely on those when they are in difficult situations. So, for me, you know, ARB has got a fantastic pedigree, premium supplier of off-road products that customers really love.
There are many challenges going forwards. And I am so honored to be here to represent my experiences, to help the company navigate the next decade and continue to grow. So, I thank you for your time, and happy to take any questions. I am outside later if you want to have a chat. I can talk all day about Air Lockers and suspension upgrades, and also where I have been around the world as well on my off-road adventures. So, yeah, thank you.
I asked Ian to focus on his personal involvement and connection with ARB, but certainly professionally, up until a couple of months ago when he was with Ford. He was overseeing a staff of over 2,000 people at five manufacturing, automotive manufacturing plants around the world. So, we are delighted to have Ian on board. Did anyone have any further questions? Peter?
Thank you. Welcome aboard, Ian. My question is not just for Ian, but it is to the board members as a whole. Every business I know is going to be affected one way or the other from artificial intelligence. What are we doing to improve the skills in artificial intelligence for our board members? And do we have a board member who is the go-to person if there is any issues with artificial intelligence?
I would like Ian to address that. I will certainly then address it from a board level, but let Ian give you his insights there.
Gosh, the rise of AI, and it's been a very interesting journey the last two to three years. It's become part of everyone's daily life. So, my experience is, three years ago when I started my operations roles in Europe with Ford for the Transit programs, t he one thing we've installed now into plants, in cameras, and augmented AI in terms of looking at areas where we can improve quality of the product going to the customer is now commonplace. It's just the standard now in manufacturing operations at an OEM level. Some of that experience and knowledge would be great to see if we can apply that onto some of the more small batch off-road accessories. Be very interesting to see the relevancy of that. Like many of you, I use AI every day.
One great system that now exists is the number of automakers that provide information that's available. We can very, very easily look at our parts that we manufacture. We can very easily look at the material composition of what we've done, and we can actually do very quick analysis of suitability of that part to an application. Something where it would have taken us three or four weeks now takes us three hours. I think AI is going to be a way of helping us improve efficiency for all manufacturers globally. And it's a way of helping our engineers and our manufacturing teams actually be more efficient and really produce the best quality products we can give to those customers. So, yeah, I think it's, to me, something to embrace, not to be scared of it. It certainly doesn't replace people, and it does not replace decision-making.
But it's an assistance to making the right decisions by getting information in a quicker way. So, yeah, the future is definitely going to be heavily driven by AI, and used in the right way, I think it's a real benefit.
Certainly, Peter, the board, I mean, we can do all the training that we like, but it's that sort of experience. That was one of the things that we actually grilled Ian on and was fascinated by his insights, particularly in the manufacturing area where AI is being used to cut down on mistakes, improve efficiencies, and so on. So, I think you can see probably where from that response who our go-to person is going to be. Sure, Stephen.
Firstly, thank you for respecting the shareholders by not appointing Ian as a casual vacancy.
Yep.
And instead waiting for the mandate from shareholders. That's.
That was deliberate.
That's very unusual, and it's really good practice. So, well done for that.
Thank you.
Did we use a recruitment firm?
Yes, we did.
Yeah. Okay. Did the board interview multiple candidates?
Yes.
Great. All right.
Not all of the board, obviously, the Remuneration Committee. But the board met Ian before the final appointment, but the recommendation was made to the board, yes.
Great.
We had multiple meetings.
All right. Could Ian just comment on whether he knew any of our directors or KMP before engaging with the recruitment process?
Absolutely.
Yeah. I mean, people know my history. They can look it up. But I worked extensively at Ford in Australia. I am a proud Australian, and I have had dealings with ARB in the past. So, something which I am very proud of is how we have partnered with ARB as a company. And the products that we managed to put onto, at the time, the Ford vehicles, the Rangers and the Everests that we sat in, and Broncos, t hat was something which, you know, I was a key part of. So, of course, during that process, I have spoken to a number of the individuals on the board. Obviously, Andy, specifically as well with Lachlan as a CEO, on some of those business dealings in the past decade. Yeah.
Certainly, Stephen, there is no relationship between any of the directors. I have never met Ian before. Do not think Roger had ever met Karen, Andy, Adrian. None of us have met Ian before, so it was a very thorough process. We did use the recruiter. We had over 50 or 60 people. We went and narrowed that down to 30, then shortlisted that to a dozen, then interviewed and then right through. So, it was a pretty extensive process, and we are just delighted with Ian's CV. Mike.
One of the things that the Australian Shareholders' Association is very interested in is that directors have a skin in the game. In other words, the number of shares in the company they own. I have just forgotten how many you own, but I assume if you could advise me, it is your intention to maintain an ever-increasing number of shares in ARB. We certainly appreciate those board members who do have the very large skins in the game.
Yeah. Well, certainly, my shareholding to date is zero, for various reasons, especially working with Ford and my commitments to that company. My contribution or my shareholdings with other automotive partners is very closely monitored, and it was not allowed in this part of my duties at Ford. Now, I have left Ford, and I am an independent. That is something I can consider going forward. Again, as I said before, I have got a lot of confidence in ARB as a brand and as a company, so.
I think it is board policy that directors should hold equivalent to their director's fees by one year within a period of two years of taking on a position in the board. So, you might keep that in mind.
Okay. I will speak to.
Thank you very much.
Robert and the rest of the board. Thanks. Yeah.
Okay. You have been very quiet today. You saved it till the end. Excellent.
[John Lancel], an ASA member. Perhaps you could start by today with the ARB shares down 4.5%.
I am not going to comment on the share price other than that.
No, well.
We're getting into the market to prop it up.
I'm inferring a good day would be today to buy them for yourself.
Thanks, John. Yeah, good point. All right. Thank you for that. Ian's appointment and certainly on the proxies. We should now proceed to the voting, of course, so if you could fill out the proxy forms. But certainly, on the proxies so far, it looks like Ian's going to be elected. So, congratulations, Ian. Ian's appointment represents a vital renewal of the board's expertise following the decision of Andy Stott to retire from the board at the conclusion of this meeting. I've got a slide here, hopefully. Andy hasn't seen this. Andy's been on the board of ARB for the past 20 years, almost to the day, and it is with great sadness that this will be his last meeting. He's been a legendary, colorful history in Australian off-road racing and is a revered figure, particularly in the ARB Australian Off Road Racing Championship community.
I've attended many of those events, and I can certainly vouch for that. His most famous racing legacy centers around the iconic Australian off-road vehicle named Dundee, which appears on the screen there. This was a highly unusual, one-of-a-kind Statesman Caprice 4x4 Overlander. Andy entered this vehicle in four consecutive Wynn's Safaris , with the Wynn's Safari being the precursor to the Australian Safari, which is a grueling cross-country rally akin to Dakar. That was between 1985 and 1988. Along with his co-driver, Andy achieved the rare feat of finishing all four brutal Safaris in the Overlander. In the 1992 Australian Safari, this time in a rugged Nissan Patrol, Andy recorded a brilliant second-place in class finish. You can see there on the bottom left of the screen. It was second place. Andy, do you recall who pipped you at the post?
I think it was only by an hour and 14, but who.
Three minutes.
Three minutes. Andy Brown, do you remember who beat him?
It comes to mind.
Yeah. Okay. In the 1995 Mobil 1 Round Australia Trial, Andy Stott and our Managing Director, Andy Brown, were both selected to lead the high-profile multi-car team Nissan factory effort. It is fair to say this fierce, decades-long rivalry and mutual respect on the dirt was effectively what led them working together and Andy being on the board for the last 20 years. Andy, you have made a very valuable contribution not only to ARB but the four-wheel drive and off-roading community. We will miss you greatly around the boardroom table, Stotty, but we are going to have no hesitation to seek out your wise counsel in the future. Thank you for your dedication and commitment, and in recognition of your contribution, I would like to award you this certificate, recognizing 20 years of unwavering service. Julie? All right. To conclude, we will just circulate the ballot boxes around the room.
If you could lodge your proxy votes, please. Just allow plenty of time to do that. Does anyone need a hand with those? A couple up the back there too. You got mine, Peter?
I just closed the poll.
Thank you. It's a bit easy this year without having to be signed. As all voting cards have now been placed in the ballot box, I declare the poll closed. Thank you, Peter. The votes cast have been tallied, and as I mentioned before, they will be released to ASX as soon as possible and posted on the ARB website later today. There being no further business, I declare the Annual General Meeting of ARB Corporation Limited closed. I wish to thank you again for your attendance and for your continuing investment in ARB. I look forward to joining you after the meeting for some light refreshments and to have further chats. Thank you very much.