Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the board, I would like to welcome you to the 2023 annual general meeting. There's only a small crew, but I don't think we need to wait for too many more. My name is John Rothwell, and I'm the non-executive Chairman and the principal founder of Austal. Notice that this meeting was given on the 26th of September, 2023, in accordance with the provisions of the company's constitution and the Corporations Act. The notice included an agenda specifying the resolutions to be proposed at the meeting, an explanatory memo, memorandum, providing further details on these resolutions. This is a shareholders' meeting, and only shareholders, their proxies, attorneys, and authorized representatives are entitled to speak at this meeting. This meeting is being webcast to shareholders who are unable to attend in person.
As it is a webcast, virtual participants will be able to listen to the meeting live and view the presented materials, but will not be able to ask questions, make comments, or vote through the webcast facility. The minutes of the last annual general meeting, held in November 2022, have been approved and copies are available from the company secretary if you would like one. I've been advised that the necessary quorum is present, and I therefore formally declare the meeting open. I would like to introduce my fellow non-executive directors, who you can see at the table beside me. Next to Paddy, our CEO, is Sarah Adam-Gedge. Sarah was appointed as a non-executive director of the company in August 2017, and in August 2019, the board also appointed her as deputy chair.
Sarah sits on our nomination and remuneration committee and has chaired our audit and risk committee since December 2022. Sarah is also a non-executive director of Codan Limited, Kinetic IT Pty Ltd, and Cricket Australia, as well as being an independent audit committee member for the Australian Sports Foundation. In August 2023, Sarah was appointed as non-executive director of Bravura Solutions Limited, and in October 2023, she was also appointed as non-executive director of Emeco Limited, a West Australian company that most of you would know of. Next to Sarah is Chris Indermaur. Chris was appointed as a non-executive director of the company in October 2018, and joined the Audit and Risk and Nomination and Remuneration Committee in 2019. He has been chair of the latter committee since December 2022.
Chris is also a non-executive director of Austin Engineering Limited and Mayur Resources. Did I say that right? Mayur Resources Limited, Chris. Beyond Chris is Lee Goddard. Lee has joined the board in January of this year, following the retirement of former board member Giles Everist, who you may well remember, and was immediately appointed to the Audit and Risk Committee and Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Because he is new to Austal and therefore to our shareholders, I will spend a bit of extra time on Lee's employment history, which contains significant Royal Australian Navy expertise. In fact, Lee continues to serve as a Royal Australian Navy active reserve officer with a rank of Rear Admiral, following 34 years of full-time service up until 2021.
In April 2022, he was appointed as the inaugural CEO and executive director of, the Australian Missile Corporation. He's also a non-executive director of the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, an advisor to Minderoo Foundation and, Ocius Technology, and the chairman race director of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Prior to assuming his current industry roles, he was dually, dual appointed as a commander, Maritime Border Command and Operation Sovereign Borders, which was responsible for the law enforcement and operational oversight of Australia's maritime, economic, and security zones. This was preceded by a two-year secondment into the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. At the end of our table is Mick McCormack. Mick was appointed as non-executive director in September 2020, and to the Audit and Risk and Nomination and Remuneration Committees in April 2021.
Mick is also a non-executive director of Origin Energy Limited and chairman of Central Petroleum Limited. He's also a director of the Clontarf Foundation, and we know all about here in this state. As you will have seen from the notice of the meeting, the company has put Mick forward for re-election today in accordance with the rotation provisions of the company's constitution. As you will also have noted, the same scenario applies to myself, and I, too, will be up for re-election at this meeting. Next to me here is Paddy Gregg. Paddy, finally at the table here with me, of course, is Paddy Gregg, I should have said, Austal Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. Paddy has a separate presentation for you shortly.
Each of our board members present is able to assist in answering your questions, and a period for discussion will occur later in the meeting. We also have Dave Newman from Deloitte, who are the auditors responsible for the audit of Austal. Also in attendance is Paul Branston, representing our legal advisors, Herbert Smith Freehills. Prior to Paddy's detailed presentation, I will take a few moments to provide my brief overview of Austal's performance for the year and outline the company's pathway forward. If ever there was a year full of highs and lows, financial year 2023 provided it. I will address the highs, and there are lots of them, first, before also discussing the low, which was the write-down of the T-ATS, as you may have seen in the news contract, and its impact on our 2023 financial year earnings.
Moments that have made me personally very incredibly proud at Austal are many and extensive, but the commissioning of the Austal-built littoral combat ship, USS Canberra in Sydney, with the Harbour Bridge and Opera House looming large in the background, was an experience that I will never forget. I could not have envisaged some 35 years back that Austal would not only be building warships for the U.S. Navy, but one named USS Canberra, would sail through the Sydney Heads. It was a fantastic moment for all shareholders. But in my case, as I've said, it really came home to me. I was particularly proud after all these years. It was the first time ever that a U.S. naval vessel has been commissioned outside of the U.S., which is a testament of the relationship that exists between our two countries.
And Austal epitomizes that relationship, now working on 11 different vessel programs in the United States for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, an amazing feat for an Australian shipbuilder. There was a nice moment in the ceremony where the captain, the captain of the USS Canberra, was presented with a large kangaroo silhouette to adorn each side of this vessel's superstructure. It was painted in the U.S. red and blue and affectionately bestowed the monogram of Star Spangled Kangaroo, and I think we're gonna get a picture of that somewhere, are we? That didn't work somehow. No. So let's... On a more business-focused front, there are three things that stood out to me for in financial year 2023, all of which are related.
First and foremost, was the growth in Austal's order book to $11.6 billion, if all contract options, option agreements are exercised. $11.6 billion is a tremendous and unprecedented order book and would set Austal up as part of the U.S. defense industrial landscape for the next decade and longer. There were two programs which contributed to the substantial growth in our order book. The Offshore Patrol Cutter program for the U.S. Coast Guard and the Ocean Surveillance Vessels, better known as T-AGOS, for U.S. Navy. We are contracted to build up to 11 of these Coast Guard cutters and up to 7 T-AGOS vessels of...
If these options are all exercised, and the process in the U.S., which you're probably well aware of, is that you get a, a contract, but each year they have to reestablish themselves for the next one and exercise them. So it normally proceeds as planned, but certainly can't ever be guaranteed. We are contracted to build up to, I have done that. The second major business highlight was the commissioning of Austal's new steel manufacturing facilities in Mobile, Alabama. The decision to move into steel was critical, was a critical enabler to secure steel vessel construction programs, including the OPC and T-AGOS vessels I just mentioned. While our U.S. heritage is building aluminum vessels, and we will continue to do so, steel vessel capability provides Austal with the ability to tender on a much larger array of vessels and therefore win more contracts.
When the U.S. government offered to fund half of the $100 million capital investment required to move into steel, we were confident that the government and the Navy saw a future for Austal in steel, and to date, that confidence has been well placed. Third business highlight has been the diversification revenue. When I stood here in 2021, at the 2021 AGM, Austal had an order book of AUD 2.5 billion and was building two vessels in the United States, the littoral combat ship and the EPF, or previously called the Joint High Speed Vessels. Now, in addition to being contracted on 11 distinct vessel programs in the USA, we are also working in the areas of autonomy and construction of submarine modules.
Our support business, which hit a bump during COVID-19, has resumed its upward growth trajectory, with AUD 227 million in revenue recorded in the USA and AUD 144 million in Australia. We are well on the way to hitting our AUD 500 million target for this segment. So on to the downside. Paddy will provide you more information on this, but it's important that as chairman, I also address the downgrade of the T-ATS program and its impact on our earnings and profit. Prior to our profit downgrade in June 2023, we had previously told shareholders that the program had encountered changes in specification and general cost inflation pressures.
However, as the build progressed, it became clear that the efficiency assumptions for the new, newly commissioned steel manufacturing line, such as labor hours and consequentially, the recovery of overheads, did not meet the forecast and therefore required substantial revision. The exercise of the option to construct the fifth and final vessel in the contract has also added in the associated cost issues to the own-risk contract. Austal USA has submitted a request for equitable adjustments, REAs. It's a, it's a well-recognized process in the United States, where if you believe that you've been dealt with unfairly by the U.S. government by way of specification or other reasons, they have a, a, a process where you can apply for these REAs.
So we'll seek to get some recoveries of some of the additional costs incurred in the T-ATS project, but the precise timing and success of those claims remains uncertain, and any successful REA will benefit Austal's financial year 2024 results. However, accounting standards require the company to the company to bring all project losses forward and encompass the entire program, including the updates I mentioned earlier in financial year 2023 reporting. In response to this issue, we've made some changes to our reporting structures and processes, and we're looking to fast-track learning from the first-in-class vessels to the remaining first-in-class vessel to the remaining vessels. One question I've been asked is whether this type of issue is likely to occur in other vessel programs we we have won.
The answer to that question is, other steel shipbuilding programs in the portfolio included substantial cost escalation protections, giving us confidence that the T-ATS issues are isolated and the learnings from T-ATS will benefit the future programs. ESG. In 2022, we published our first ESG report, which we followed up with this year. Our 2023 ESG report adopts one of the widely accepted international standards, the Global Reporting Initiative. Accordingly, we have now set our targets for 2030 to reduce our embodied emissions by 50%, and we have also outlined a 2050 net zero commitment consistent with science-based targets. The 2023 ESG report also contains a target of 30% female directors by the end of financial year 2024. We genuinely, genuinely wanted to achieve that figure in financial year 2023, and although we were focused on achieving it, changing circumstances prevented us from doing so.
You will notice that when it comes to the vote of my re-election later this afternoon, that, more shareholders than I would have liked voted against it. That's because the two proxy advisors recommended against my re-election based on Austal's failure to meet the board diversity target, and several, several of our institutional investors are mandated to follow those recommendations. Regardless of what they recommend, I'm determined for Austal to meet this target in the coming year. Back to the financials. Our balance sheet remains healthy, and along with capital investments in the Mobile shipyard, Austal was able to declare a final financial year 2023 unfranked dividend of AUD 0.03 per share, adding to the AUD 0.04 paid previously.
Finally, on behalf of the board, I would like to thank all members of our 5,000-strong team for their collective efforts in helping to build a bridge towards a new phase of growth for Austal. I would once again like to sincerely thank you, as shareholders, for your continued loyalty... We have established an amazing platform for growth in the past two years, and we're now focused on safely and efficiently delivering the construction projects we have won, while keeping our eyes fixed on future opportunities. I'm going to invite Paddy Gregg to provide a more detailed overview of our performance in the financial year and the company's outlook in a minute.
But before he does, I'd like to show you a video of the commissioning of our LCS ship, USS Canberra, in Sydney earlier this year, which program made us all so very, very proud.
Good afternoon, everybody. The credit to that video goes to Paul, who's sat at the back of the room. He puts together a lot of these functions, and I'll show a short corporate video after this. But it really was an incredibly special day for us, and I hope you agree from the footage. Really impressive in terms of just understanding how that relationship between the United States and Australia is building, and Austal being uniquely placed to capitalize on that. And I'll touch more on that in my presentation today. And if you like the video, I believe they're all on YouTube as well, so you can go home and download those, and show your families and show them where you've been and what we do all day.
So I think, starting with the financials, as John said, the T-ATS program really torpedoed what would've been a very, very good set of results in the year. Particularly disappointing. But if we look at some of the underlying things and some of the positives that we can take from it, you know, still a very healthy cash position in the company, despite significant investment, giving us the confidence to continue paying a healthy dividend. Good operational cash flow, net cash. And really, that's what gives us the confidence in the work that we've done and investment we want to make in the future, the underlying performance of the business being fairly sound. Just an overview of the company. Really, we see the revenue growing again.
We're coming through a transition, moving off the end of the LCS and the EPF vessels, into all the programs that we've won. Moving from two long-standing programs to 13 programs that we sit on today. You know, so a great opportunity for us to really focus on the execution of the business. Some of the leadership changes we made on the back of T-ATS are really around focusing on execution and delivering the tremendous order book that we see in front of us. You know, that order book sitting at $11.6 billion with all the options exercised, a record for us, and really sets up the US to focus on the execution and put 10 years of hard work in, build a business.
That translates to some 43 ships that are on contract or under construction at the minute, and nine ships delivered in the year. If I look at our yard in Henderson, one statistic I like to use with the Commonwealth, that we're incredibly proud of, in the last five years, we've delivered 28 ships out of the yard here in Henderson, despite COVID, despite all the challenges of the world. So tremendous credit to the team that have remained focused, and something we're very proud of, and something that will stand us in very good stead in the future whenever we come on to talk about Defence Strategic Review and Austal's position in Australia... 4,300 employees or so, growing every day.
With growing revenue, we need people to deliver that revenue, so a target of 1,000 people to recruit in the United States, taking us somewhere back to close to where we were at peak levels. Again, not quite peak, but giving us confidence that we've done it before. It's about bringing those people back. It's about training new people as we're in this phase of growth again. Five shipyards in 4 countries, recognizing the 2 shipyards we have here in Perth, the Hope Valley Road facility, where we build the Guardian-class boats, and then the waterfront facility down at Henderson. Service centers continuing to grow, and some of you might have seen in the media, Ian was in Trinidad, opening the service center over there.
You know, really trying to support the two Cape-class vessels that we delivered to them a couple of years ago. Commercial boats that they've ordered, and over the years, they haven't been great on maintenance, and really trying to give them a world-class solution to keeping their fleet operational in country. That amounts to some 60 vessels in total that we now have on sustainment contracts around the world. If we look at the segment breakdown, you know, shipbuilding disappointing for T-ATS' purposes, as we've talked about. Disappointing, we see the decline in Australia and commercial at the minute. Commercial on the back of COVID, but confident that will recover in coming years. But commercial's a relatively small part of the business these days.
While we have the capability, we have the facilities, when the orders come back, we will execute them. But, you know, 98% plus of the business is now focused on defense, and we've made that transition over the years into defense shipbuilding and the support of those vessels. I think the encouraging thing about this is, both in the US and in Australia, seeing the support business grow and the margins grow. You know, a real focused effort on that. A few years ago, we set a target of getting to AUD 500 million of revenue by FY 2027, and again, later in the presentation, I'll touch on that a little bit more. If we look at the overall cash, you know, slightly down on the year before, but actually, you know, some one-off events.
We bought a piece of land in Alabama, $30-odd million, ready for future expansion, investment, and capitalizing on the steel vessels that we've won. Some prepayments we made to suppliers on the OPC program to secure preferential commercial terms. On a like-for-like basis, actually would've seen a really healthy cash position again in the business. Again, allowing us to give us the confidence to pay the dividends that we did. Obviously, in the year, continued investment, finishing off the steel facilities, opening the San Diego yard, and having the floating dock delivered. Again, I'll show you that in a picture in a couple of slides' time. You know, just trying to get some trends and looking historically where we've been with that.
You know, the share price has fluctuated and has trended down since results. Not on the back of any bad news whatsoever. In fact, the only real news is that we won the LCU 1700 Landing Craft program in the US. You can see where the EBIT would've been if we hadn't had the T-ATS issue. You know, again, it would've been a very healthy position. But you'll see over the last five years, kind of operating in that sort of 5%-8% EBIT margin range.
And then the order book we've talked about, but then trying to get an idea of how that revenue is just going to grow year on year on year, as the programs mobilize and increase in volume as we go through. So if we look at shipbuilding, still wanting to expand shipbuilding, very focused on shipbuilding. You know, for us, it's really about executing all the programs that we have won, continuing to invest in the facilities, whether it's the steel facilities in Alabama, whether it's the opportunities in the support business. In time, we'll start talking to you more about technology and some of the technical things we're looking at to keep finding new revenue streams for the company, very closely related to defense. But we're not done.
You know, there are a lot more programs that we can still bid for. Despite the fact we've put a whole lot of breadth and longevity into the US business, there are still quite a number of US programs that we will be assessing and working out whether we bid for them as a prime, whether we partner with others. But again, you know, good future opportunity for growth, in the steel yard. And for years, you know, we'd only bid for work as a prime, and, we've moved away from that. Much more collegiate, collaborative. It just opens us up to, additional programs that we wouldn't or couldn't do in our own right, has the potential to reduce risk as we go through.
You know, typically, we've traditionally gone for a design and build program, where you take risk on the design, you take risk on building, the ship to the design, and then you take risk on the performance of the vessel to the design specification. So the opportunity to partner with others might actually help us reduce the risk profile in the business, while being able to increase the revenue. Australia, pretty frustrating at the minute. You guys will have seen in the news, the Defence Minister has kicked decisions downstream. You know, a few years ago, we were excited by the Force Structure Plan and what that looked like in terms of ships and where they were gonna be built. We then had to wait for the Defence Strategic Review, which was delivered back in May.
Defence Strategic Review was very exciting in terms of what it called for, you know. So confirming that Tier Two ships would be built in Western Australia, recognizing the importance of a need for continuous naval shipbuilding, making statements like an immediate need for medium and heavy landing craft. Fantastic. We got very excited. And then a second review was called for around the size and shape of the fleet, based on the decision to buy nuclear submarines. We were expecting the output of that in October. That output came, but unfortunately, was kept out of the public eye, and the Defence Minister announced that they would be reviewing that with government in line with budget. You know, so there've been a number of things in the press recently about a lack of decision-making in government.
So while I'm not happy with the decline in the defense shipbuilding in Australia, I think the future is very positive, and it's not as if others are winning work that we're bidding for. There is just no work being let. So, you know, based on that, 28 ship delivery I talked about up front, based on the capability we've got, based on the statements that were being made, I think we're getting fairly close to an exciting future in Australia, where we can put that longevity into the order book, into the business, in the same way we've done it in the United States. Just some good pictures then. You know, bottom left shows you the sheer size and scale of the Independence, the floating dock that we've bought for the San Diego business.
That will allow us to not only work on ships that are afloat, but to be able to lift ships out of the water as well. All part of the plan to increase the revenue towards that bottom right-hand corner of AUD 500 million by FY 2027. You see the little ripple in there for COVID, when ships weren't being deployed and work wasn't being undertaken, but really, we're growing in confidence that we're back on track to achieve that target. As we deliver ships in the US, and as we deliver more ships in Australia, that helps increase the size of the pie and helps us hit those growth targets going forward. AUKUS has been in the news a lot, and a huge amount of the focus has been around nuclear submarines, and the Virginia-class.
You know, a lot of statements made about Australia will be getting the Virginia-class submarines. And I'm really pleased to say that we are building submarine modules in the United States for the Virginia-class submarines. Nobody has explicitly made the link between the fact Australia will be getting Virginia-class submarines, and isn't it great that an Australian company like Austal is building modules for those submarines? But I'm confident that as we demonstrate our capability, there'll be an opportunity to really grow that revenue stream in the United States around submarine module building. And building that relationship between the United States and Australia, we're uniquely placed as a company to be able to do that and have a long history in that space. AUKUS is not only about submarines and modules.
You know, autonomy, additive manufacturing, the ability to train people and swap our workforce between Australia and the United States, bringing them up to speed with submarine quality requirements and, and skills. There are a number of unique positions we've been able to present to both government in Australia and in the United States to really maximize whatever's gonna come out of AUKUS. Indeed, looking at some of the requirements we understand that are coming in the United States, whether it's landing craft, there are landing craft programs that we are winning and working on in the United States that I think Australia could benefit from. And thinking about the service world, you know, our yards in the north are qualified to work on U.S. warships.
So as more ships are stationed here, as geopolitical tension rises, I think there'll be an opportunity to build that, political and, global relationship between Australia and the United States, with a potential to grow the business here as well. So just to finish, you know, strategically, it's all about executing the order book in the United States. You know, we've got to own the tax issue. We've got to work through that. We've got to focus on execution. We've made changes in leadership to be able to do that. We will be bolstering the team, as John talked about, the processes, the people, the capability in the U.S. to really make sure that we knuckle down and spend 10 years delivering that excellent order book that we've won.
We have the ability to win back some of that profit that we've lost through the Request for Equitable Adjustment, and we've engaged specialists in that process to really try and maximize whatever we can get back. The underlying financial results we talked about, you know, still strong performance in the business in terms of delivering ships, delivering quality ships, and satisfying our customers. Austal has had a, you know, a very long history of focusing on delivering on its commitments, and that's something we continue to do, both in the United States and with Ian and the team over here.
AUKUS and the Defence Strategic Review , I think, will open up opportunities, and the sooner the Defense Minister starts making decisions on future programs, the better, and as I said, I think we're excellently placed, for a long, bright future with those programs. Support revenue growing, you know, so general growth in the business, good opportunity for us. New vessel programs, both here and in the United States. You know, good opportunities to capitalize on the investments we've made, both in, in steel in Australia, steel in the United States, in the support business in the U.S., in our yards in the north, and carry on winning, winning that work, profitably growing the business.
The great order book, we, we've talked about, and the ability then, with an $11.6 billion order book, to continue to invest in our facilities to make sure we are absolutely well-placed for anything that we could bid for in the future, whether it's steel shipbuilding, whether it's support, whether it's submarine modules, or indeed, new revenue streams and technologies that we're looking at in the future. So tax, very disappointing. Big focus on execution. Great opportunity with the order book we've got in the US, and I think a great opportunity coming with, the Defence Strategic Review in Australia, so watch this space. I'd like to... attempting to showcase all the capabilities in Austal, and, we'll play that now.
At the heart of the global shipbuilding industry, a uniquely Australian company with a true customer focus, a commitment to excellence, the highest integrity, and a genuine sense of teamwork, has transformed commercial maritime transportation and naval capability. Through the design, construction, and sustainment of revolutionary commercial and defense vessels for the world's leading operators, Austal has gained a reputation for innovation and quality that delivers exceptional performance at sea. Commencing operations in Henderson, Western Australia in 1988, Austal embarked on a journey to build high-speed aluminum vessels for the commercial market. The expert team quickly gained international recognition, developing game-changing monohull, catamaran, and trimaran designs, and advanced modular manufacturing techniques to deliver over 350 ships to more than 120 operators in 59 countries.
Pursuing both commercial and defense opportunities at home and around the world, the Australian-based design and engineering team has been responsible for some of the world's most iconic ships, including the Independence-variant littoral combat ship and benchmark Cape-class patrol boats. The Australian operations are a key capability partner to the Australian Defense Industry, the Royal Australian Navy, and defense forces across the South Pacific, as the prime contractor delivering both the Evolved Cape-class and Guardian-class patrol boat programs. Austal's Henderson shipyards are a great demonstration of Australia's sovereign shipbuilding capability, collaborating with well over 1,000 supply chain partners from across the country and around the world. In the late nineties, Austal established what is now a state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Alabama.
The strategically located shipbuilding and repair facility on the Gulf of Mexico is the largest employer in Mobile and the fifth largest shipyard in the United States of America. The advanced 11,000 square meter modular manufacturing facility features production lines capable of constructing multiple aluminum vessels under one roof, harnessing the latest in computerized and robotic fabrication processes. Steel manufacturing facilities opened in 2022, with the support of significant investment from the U.S. government, has further enhanced Austal USA's shipbuilding capabilities. The new facility is enabling the delivery of multiple vessel projects for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, including 11 Offshore Patrol Cutters, 5 Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ships, and up to 7 Ocean Surveillance Ships.
Originally designed by Austal in Australia and constructed by Austal USA since 2006, the remarkable Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship and Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport ships are enhancing U.S. military operations wherever they are deployed. Austal is well positioned in Asia, with shipyards in Vietnam and the Philippines that have become internationally renowned for quality, efficiency, and safety. Featuring modern shipbuilding and repair facilities, Austal's Philippines shipyard has delivered 20 ships in 10 years, including the largest commercial vessels ever constructed by an Austal shipyard, 3 times. Austal's Vietnam shipyard is a competitive facility with a skilled workforce and a growing portfolio of commercial deliveries that continue to impress operators from around the world. Supporting our customers 24/7, the Austal Group has service centers located throughout Australia, the U.S., and Asia, and a U.K.-based team supporting European operators of high-speed craft.
With the skills, knowledge, expertise, and tools that come from being a successful shipbuilder, the Austal team offers unrivaled support to operators and their crews wherever they are operating throughout a vessel's life cycle. Our team is Austal's greatest asset. Austal continues to shape the Australian and global maritime industry by investing in a holistic pathway of employment for skilled tradespeople and professionals alike. With opportunities for trainees, apprentices, graduates, and veterans, Austal is attracting and retaining talented people from diverse backgrounds to create a collaborative and supportive culture. In the company's thirty-fifth year, Austal's team is still pushing boundaries, implementing new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to support rapid hull optimization and customization.
Testing, researching, and developing new green energy solutions to improve seakeeping and fuel efficiency, while also working closely with both the Australian and U.S. governments on the development of autonomous ships to meet the challenges of the future. With a proven track record of delivering fast, efficient, and effective ships, systems, and support for commercial and defense operators across the globe, Austal truly is innovative on land, exceptional at sea.
You know, I look at videos like that, and I think, "Where have the years gone?" But it's a phenomenal ride, and we're still on it. But, interestingly enough, we have an employee on board at that work. Quite a number of those have been there for 30 years, more so for 25 years, and it's... We have a phenomenal depth of skill in the company, and frankly, our... In the US, it's clearly we only started there in 2000, but that is 23 years ago, and we've got a number of employees that we've been able to retain in that business. So, I now welcome questions from shareholders present relating to Paddy's presentation.
So that everyone may hear you, would you please stand to ask your question, and wait for a mic to be brought to you, and state your full name. Excuse me. I'll give it a little longer, but it's looking like an easy one, isn't it? Here we go.
When you first set up in the U.S., you had a training facility there for employees. What have you done? Have you had something similar like that for the steel shipbuilding program? And how do you see the problem starting up with the aluminum program compared with the steel program?
So the facility that you're talking about is adjacent to our shipyard, and was, in fact, from memory, paid for by the state of Alabama. A phenomenal facility, and it continues today. Now, the steel training isn't anywhere near as... When we first arrived in the U.S., aluminum shipbuilding wasn't a big deal, and there weren't a lot of experienced people. Many of our people in the U.S. at the moment have come from a steel shipbuilding background. So it is, our issues that we're having in the U.S. have been substantially around new equipment, new processes. But the facility is still standing, and the facility is still providing training. Now, exactly the courses, I'm not sure. I'm not sure whether you're more in detail, but yep, we train young people there predominantly. Do we have anyone else? Thank you.
We'll go to the fun and formal part of the meeting. I now move to the next item on the agenda, which is the directors' report and the financial statements of the company. The annual financial statements of the company for the year ended 30 June 2023, together with the directors' report and auditors' report in respect of those statements, were released on ASX on the 31st of August 2023, and were sent to shareholders who so requested. We also have copies of these at the meeting, should any shareholder require a copy. There is no voting on this item of business. Instead, shareholders have the opportunity to ask questions about those reports.
We have, as introduced earlier, we have auditors and directors and, of course, our directors in attendance, and we'd welcome questions from shareholders present relating to the company's financial statements, including any questions of the auditors relating to the company's financial statements. Are there any questions on the financial statements set out in the company's annual report or for the auditors generally? Okay, then, being no questions, we will now proceed to the resolutions to be considered at the meeting. All resolutions will be put to a poll. However, there will be an opportunity to ask questions relating to each resolution before the poll is taken. Resolution one is for the adoption of the remuneration report. The resolution set out on the screen next to me, and I'll give you a moment to read it.
In respect of this resolution, I draw your attention to the voting exclusion statements contained in the notice of the meeting. I also note that a vote on this resolution is not binding on the company. The proxies, as shown on the slide beside me, have been received in respect of the resolution. Although I'm personally excluded from voting on the resolution, I will vote the undirected proxies I hold in favor of the resolution, making 98.1% of eligible votes in favor of the resolution. Are there questions in relation to this resolution? Thank you. As mentioned, we will proceed to a poll on this resolution. I will ask a representative from the company share registry to conduct the poll at the end of the meeting, after all resolutions have been considered. We will now move to Resolution Two.
As that is an effect of myself, or it affects me, I'll ask Paddy to take over while we do that.
The resolution is set out on the screen next to me, and I'll give you a chance to read it. I and the rest of the board recommend John's re-election as a director of Austal. The proxies shown on the slide beside me have been received in respect of the resolution. I will vote the undirected proxies in favor of the resolution. This makes 87.45% of eligible votes in favor of the resolution. Are there any questions relating to the resolution? Thank you. We will again proceed to a poll on this resolution after all resolutions have been considered. I'll hand you back to John now as we move on to Resolution Three.
Thank goodness, I still appear to have a job. Resolution Three concerns the re-election of Mick McCormack as a director. I pointed Mick out earlier, he's at the end of this table. The resolution is set out at the screen. I'll put my glasses on, or I'll be able to read it. The resolution set out on the screen next to me, and I'll give you a chance to read it. I and the rest of the board recommend Mick's re-election as a director of Austal. The proxies shown on the slide beside me have been received in respect of the resolution. I will vote the undirected proxies in favor of the resolution. This makes 96.52% of eligible votes in favor of the resolution. Are there any questions in relation to this resolution?
Again, as is, the practice, we will again proceed to a poll after all resolutions have been considered. We will now move to Resolution Four. Resolution Four concerns the election of Lee Goddard as a director. Lee reminded me that he'd left his jacket behind, so he's a scruffy guy with no jacket. I and the rest... Sorry, the resolution set out on the screen next to me, and I'll give you a chance to read it. I and the rest of the board recommend Lee's re-election as a director of Austal. The proxies shown on the slide beside me have been received in respect of, of the resolution. I will vote the undirected proxies in favor of the resolution. This makes 96.5% of eligible votes in favor of the resolution. Are there any questions in relation to this resolution? Thank you.
We will again proceed to a poll on this resolution after all other resolutions have been considered. We will now move to Resolution Five. Resolution Five, Six, and Seven deal with the issue of share rights to some of the non-executive directors of Austal. At the last 3 annual general meetings, shareholders approved the grant of share rights to non-executive directors, so that participating directors will be remunerated through a combination of 75% cash and 25% in share rights. Resolution Five, Six, and Seven seek shareholder approvals to continue the grant of share rights for 12 months following this annual general meeting. Resolution Five concerns the approval of the issue of share rights to Sarah Adam-Gedge. I and the rest of the board recommend the approval of the share rights.
In accordance with Listing Rule 14.11, the company will disregard any votes cast on this resolution by Ms. Adam-Gedge and any of her associates. The proxies shown on the slide beside me have been received in respect of the resolution. I will vote the undirected proxies in favor of the resolution. Nix- this makes 96.8% of eligible votes in favor of the resolution. Are there any questions in relation to this one? Thank you. As with the others, we will again proceed to a poll on this resolution after all resolutions have been considered. We will now move to Resolution number 6. Resolution 6 concerns the approval of the issue of shares, share rights to Chris Indermaur. I and the rest of the board recommend the approval of the issue of share rights to Chris.
In accordance with Listing Rule 14.11, the company will disregard any votes cast on this resolution by Mr. Indermaur and any of his associates. The proxies shown on the slide beside me have been received in respect of the resolution. I will vote the undirected proxies in favor of the resolution. This makes 96.7% of eligible votes in favor of the resolution. Are there any questions in relation to this one? We will again proceed to a poll on this resolution after all resolutions have been considered. We now move to Resolution Seven. Resolution Seven concerns the approval of the issue of share rights to Lee Goddard. I and the rest of the board recommend the approval of the issue of share rights to Lee.
In accordance with Listing Rule 14.11, the company will disregard any votes cast on this resolution by Mr. Goddard and any of his associates. The proxies shown on the slide beside me have been received in respect of the resolution. I will vote the undirected proxies in favor of the resolution. This makes 96.7% of eligible votes in favor of the resolution. Are there any questions in relation to this resolution? Once again, we will proceed to a poll on this resolution after all resolutions have been considered. 8. Resolution 8 concerns the approval to issue of LTI rights to Mr. Patrick Gregg. The resolution set out on the screen next to me, and I'll give you a chance to read it. I and the rest of the board recommend voting in favor of the resolution.
The proxies shown on the slide beside me have been received in respect of the resolution. I will vote the undirected proxies in favor of the resolution. This makes 88.5% of eligible votes in favor of the resolution. Are there any questions on this resolution? Thank you. I now direct that the poll be held in relation to each of the resolutions. Lyndall Weston from Link Market Services Limited, Austal Share Registry Provider, will conduct the poll. I retain the right to make all final decisions on who may vote, the votes cast, and the declaration of the result of the poll. I ask Lyndall to come forward to announce the direction on my behalf in relation to the conduct of the poll procedure.
Good afternoon, everyone. The persons entitled to vote on this poll are all shareholders, representatives, and attorneys of shareholders and proxy holders who hold yellow voting cards. On this card, you will find a series of boxes for voting. Please indicate on your card how you wish to vote by ticking appropriate square for resolutions one through eight. You must mark either the for or against box for your vote to count. Once you have finished marking your card, please place it in one of the ballot boxes circulating the room. If there are any aspects regarding the voting on which you are uncertain, please do not hesitate to ask one of the team circulating the room now. Thank you.
Thanks, Lyndall. Oh, you want me to put that one in? Oh, sorry. I didn't sign it. Oh, the other one, sorry. I looked for a pen before, and I couldn't find it. There's your signature? Oh, I took them off. Yeah, took them off. Oh, I see. Okay. Yep. We're all done. I believe that those persons who wished to vote in the poll have now done so. If there is anyone present who has not yet had their completed poll paper collected from them by the Link staff, would you please raise your hand? Just give me a bit of water, please, Paddy. If all persons have now voted, I declare the poll closed. Excuse me. I do not intend to keep the meeting open while the poll results are collected.
Results of the poll will be announced to the ASX as is required. There being no further business, I now declare the meeting closed, and thank you for your attendance. I would like to invite you to enjoy afternoon tea and refreshments. Also, please be advised that we must vacate the premises by 5 P.M. this afternoon. I thank you all very much.