Good afternoon, everyone. I actually didn't bring my watch in, so I'm actually not sure, but I think we're right on 2:00 P.M. So welcome, everyone. My name is Tim Poole, and I'm Aurizon's Chairman. It's with great pleasure that I introduce Caitlyn Gallagher, a very valued Aurizon employee, who will do the Acknowledgement of Country today. Caitlyn?
Thanks, Tim. Yama, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Caitlyn Gallagher, and I am proud Gomeroi. On behalf of Aurizon, I'd like to acknowledge the Yuggera and the Turrbal people, who are the traditional custodians and caretakers on the land in which we gather today. We pay our respect to their elders, past, present, and future, for they hold the memories, traditions, the culture, and the hopes of Indigenous Australia. As a proud member of Aurizon's Indigenous Reference Group, and to be asked here today to acknowledge the country in which we meet, is a great honor for myself. As even though I am of Gomeroi descent, it was on this country in which I was born.
I started with Aurizon in 2017 as a trainee train driver, and in 2021, I started a new role in the office that was better suited to my little family's lives. It was during this new position, I was approached and asked if I'd like to join Aurizon's Indigenous Reference Group to help oversee the commitments Aurizon has made in our Reconciliation Action Plan. However, being a member of the IRG has helped me so much more. Growing up, a part of my family history was never acknowledged, nor was it celebrated like it should have been, and I'd love to be able to share with you stories of my Indigenous heritage that have been passed down to me. But I have none.
All I can tell you is that even though we knew we were of Indigenous descent, we were asked not to speak of it, or we were told that it doesn't matter anyways. However, now this has changed for me, as I am now part of a group that is committed to making a difference, engaging with my workmates and local communities, recognizing and promoting our beautiful culture, and creating awareness, and most importantly, being proud of who you are and encouraging everyone around you to be proud of themselves as well. For this, I have Aurizon to thank for giving me the confidence to speak up and show up on matters that are important to me. I'm passionate about my culture and my people, and extremely passionate about employment opportunities for First Nations people, and similarly supporting the communities in which we work and live to strive for reconciliation.
So thank you, Aurizon, for playing your part in reconciling Australia. Please remember that no matter what the future holds, let's all promise to respect each other and all the cultures of this beautiful country, and work together to close the gap. In closing, Gaba-nginda, which is thank you for giving me this opportunity today to present the Acknowledgement of Country and for the opportunities that you have presented to me, both on a professional and personal level. Thank you.
Thank you, Caitlyn. It's an absolute highlight of our AGMs to have one of our Indigenous employees do a Welcome to Country. So thank you, Caitlyn. That was wonderful. We'll now have a representative of Karstens Brisbane, Tanya Miles, conduct a short briefing to explain the emergency and safety procedures for this venue we're in today. Tanya.
Welcome to Karstens. It's a pleasure to have you here today. In the event of an emergency, you will hear a sound system go off that will come down from the top of the building. It's beep, beep, means get ready. So, let's just get everything ready, and the staff will come around and help you. Whoop, whoop is the emergency evacuation for leave immediately. Your evacuation door is straight outside here, so it's very, very easy to get to. It is 24 floors, so we do advise you to pace yourself and use the banister. There is hand sanitizer down the bottom. We'd rather you use the banister. We meet in Post Office Square, and we'll come and make sure that everyone's okay. If anyone, during an emergency, can't evacuate, just come to one of the staff members, and we'll assist you. Okay, thank you.
Thank you, Tanya. On behalf of Aurizon's Board, welcome to the 2023 Annual General Meeting. It was on the eighth of September 2023, setting out the items of business for today's meeting. I would now like to introduce your Board of Directors. Joining me today on my right is Sarah Ryan, Lyell Strambi, Tim Longstaff, Samantha Tough, Russell Caplan, Sam Lewis, Marcelo Bastos, our Company Secretary and Chief Legal Counsel, David Wenck, and our Head of Investor Relations, James Coe. Andrew Harding, our Managing Director and CEO, is also with us today. He's actually not in the room with us today. He tells us that he has quite a life-threatening influenza. I understand from his wife it's more like a sniffle, but he is contagious, and because of that, he's doing the right thing.
He's actually on this floor in another room, and he will participate in our meeting shortly. So welcome, Andrew, online. Members of the company's executive committee are also in attendance today. Matthew Donaldson and Allison White of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the company's external auditor, are also in attendance and will be available to answer questions regarding the audit of the company's financial report for the year ended June 30, 2023. I'll now turn to my address to the meeting. The last 12 months has seen the Aurizon team deliver several important initiatives. Many shareholders joined the webcast for our Investor Day in July, and also for our 2023 results presentation in August, where we shared detailed information on our business strategy and progress with these initiatives.
Here's a brief recap: We successfully integrated the AUD 1.4 billion One Rail acquisition into our business. We sold East Coast Rail for AUD 425 million, fulfilling a commitment we gave as part of the One Rail transaction. This sale also saw the purchaser assume all of East Coast Rail's debt obligations. We established a new Containerised Freight business unit after securing a long-term contract with Team Global Express. This is the largest non-coal contract in Aurizon's history. We built a business case and a new growth opportunity for the land bridging of freight by rail from the Port of Darwin to Southern capitals. We will take a staged, low-risk approach in developing this business. These initiatives have been delivered by the business despite a very challenging operational year for Aurizon.
From an operational standpoint, prolonged wet weather affected many parts of our business during the 2023 financial year, particularly on the East Coast of Australia. This was compounded by mine production issues for some of our customers, a major third-party derailment, and labor shortages for critical roles such as train drivers. Collectively, these factors significantly reduced tons hauled by our trains and across our networks compared to the previous year. As a result, underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization for the 2023 financial year of AUD 1.428 billion was at the lower end of our revised guidance range. The Board declared a final dividend of AUD 0.08 per share, 60% franked, which was paid to shareholders on the twenty-seventh of September.
This took total dividends for the 2023 financial year to AUD 0.15, representing a dividend payout ratio of 75%, which is at the lower end of our payout range. The dividend payout ratio is consistent with our commitment to maintain strong investment-grade credit ratings during the current growth investment stage of Bulk and Containerised Freight businesses. As a reminder, since the 2016 financial year, Aurizon has returned over AUD 5 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. The Board is pleased with continuing improvements in the safety performance of the Company, particularly in relation to potential incidents that may have serious consequences. There is also a significant program of work underway across Aurizon to support the health and well-being of our employees.
This is important in continuing to build a healthy and resilient workforce and appropriately supporting them in times of need. Andrew will provide more detail on safety and other initiatives in his address shortly. Returning now to the longer-term repositioning of Aurizon. As mentioned, it has been a very productive 12 months as we have executed several key initiatives. We see significant opportunity for growth in Bulk and Containerised Freight businesses, and for continued high performance from our cash-generative Coal and Network businesses. With the acquisitions we have made in recent years, Aurizon now has a national footprint, with assets in every mainland state and the Northern Territory. We have more than 5,000 km of rail infrastructure, Australia's largest fleet of rolling stock, and a growing number of port terminal assets. Together with our highly capable team, the Company is well-positioned to execute on our growth strategy.
As we capitalize on growth opportunities in existing and emerging markets for the Australian economy, you will see new investments being made and contracts being secured with new customers in new geographies. And Andrew, again, will share some more details in his address shortly. We all know this is a time for change for the global economy. The energy transition is driving demand for critical minerals such as copper, bauxite, nickel, lithium, and rare earths. These are vital inputs for battery and electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines, and telecommunications infrastructure. Australia is rich in many of these resources and has the opportunity to become a leading global supplier of these commodities, in the same way we have developed world-class sectors in coal, gas, and iron ore. Likewise, we are seeing increasing demand for high-quality Australian food and agricultural products for export, such as grain and phosphates.
These growth dynamics are underpinned by Australia's proximity to the rapidly growing economies and rising living standards in Asia. Aurizon's operational footprints, footprint means we are well located to support the transport needs of these products moving to markets here in Australia and also offshore. This includes our newly acquired rail corridor from South Australia to Darwin in the Northern Territory, which sits adjacent to more than 250 resource projects from exploration through to pre-production. Our railway goes right to the wharf at the port, where we have a lease and a stevedoring license. This integrated rail port supply chain opens up further opportunities for import and export traffic through Darwin, Australia's closest port for our Asian trading partners.
During the year, our non-executive directors, including new directors, Tim Longstaff and Samantha Tough, have continued to get out into our business to meet our regional teams. We find this incredibly valuable in seeing operations firsthand and in being able to understand more about the business from our employees. We discussed and learned from employees about that pipeline of opportunity for the new Bulk Central business in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Likewise, in regional Western Australia, where our business is expanding to support growing exports such as grain and magnetite. While there, we traveled to the Karara mine, East of Geraldton, to mark rail haulage milestones with our valued customer, KML. Karara is the largest mining operation and the first major magnetite mine in WA's Mid-West.
It produces a premium, high-grade concentrate, which is less carbon intensive during the steelmaking process and therefore is in very high demand. In recent weeks, we've been to Queensland's North and Northwest, to Townsville, Cloncurry and Mount Isa, where Aurizon has a strong local presence. This is a corridor serving the Carpentaria Minerals Province, home to not only great reserves of copper, lead, and zinc, but also emerging new economy, new economy commodities such as vanadium and high-grade phosphate. Getting out to the front line also reaffirms to me the high-level capability and assets we have in our Company, as well as the economic strength and significant opportunity that continues to exist in regional Australia. This is where more than 80% of our 5,000 strong employees live and work.
In closing, I'd like to acknowledge the ongoing efforts and commitment of Aurizon employees in delivering safe and reliable services to our customers. The Company is fortunate to have such a dedicated and skilled workforce. I also thank Andrew and his senior leadership team for their work during the year in leading strong operational performance in challenging conditions while delivering on our strategic initiatives. During the year, you will have seen that we announced changes to the Aurizon Board as we continue to renew and add diversity to our Board composition. Tim Longstaff, a chartered accountant with a 25-year career in investment banking, joined as a non-executive director on the June 1st, 2023. Samantha Tough, a lawyer with extensive experience as both an executive and a non-executive, joined as a non-executive on our director on the September 1st, 2023.
I'd also like to acknowledge two outstanding directors for their contribution to the Company over many years. Firstly, Kate Vidgen, who retired as a non-executive director on the May 31st this year after seven years of service, and Sam Lewis, who's here with us today, unfortunately, for the last time, before she retires after nine exceptional years working with us on the Aurizon Board. I'd sincerely like to thank, on behalf of the Board and on behalf of all shareholders, Kate and Sam, for their exceptional dedication, hard work, and immense contribution over their many years of service to the Company and wish them all the very best for the future. So, thank you, Sam, in particular today. Finally, to our shareholders, thank you for your continued support through a significant period of change and transformation.
The strategic repositioning of the business, supported by targeted investment, is providing Aurizon a solid platform for growth and success. The Board is excited about the pathway ahead and is committed to deliver on the opportunities before us. Thank you, and I'd now like to, technology willing, pass over to Andrew, for his m anagmng director and CEO address. Andrew?
Thank you, Tim, and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to build on the Chairman's comments and to share more detail on the work underway across Aurizon to grow and improve our business. This includes investments made to support growth in emerging markets, new contracts won by the business, and the significant work underway to decarbonize our operations. Firstly, to operational and safety performance. As the Chairman has detailed, our frontline teams experienced a challenging year, with prolonged wet weather impacting our business and also our financial results. While we are disappointed with the reductions in tonnages and revenue during that year, our teams maintained their operating discipline and their focus on safety. Safety is absolutely paramount for Aurizon in protecting our people, our customers, and the local communities in which we operate.
During FY 2023, we saw a 2% improvement in the Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate, a 1% improvement in the equivalent Lost Time measure, and a significant 56% improvement in the Potential Serious Injury and Fatality Frequency Rate. Level crossing risk is one key area of focus for us at Aurizon, and the rail industry more broadly, with a range of measures in place and more initiatives underway. We're stepping up education and awareness activity in the communities where we operate, as well as advocacy and engagement with key stakeholders. We're also extending our work to support health and well-being for our employees, including mental health initiatives. This recognizes the benefit in investing in a healthy workforce and healthy local communities. For example, we have supported the establishment of a network of volunteers qualified in providing mental health first aid.
This network is now 160 strong in depots and offices across our national footprint. In times of need, you know you can reach out to a colleague to have them listen and to help you access professional support. Aurizon remains committed to supporting communities through the Community Giving Fund. This fund has provided more than 570 charities with grants since it opened in 2011. We support grassroots organizations in the areas of education, community safety, environments, and health and well-being. During the year, we were pleased to provide a number of grants into our new operating areas in South Australia and the Northern Territory. In July, together with our senior leadership team, I was pleased to host an Investor Day in Darwin.
This was a great opportunity to provide a deep dive into our business strategy and demonstrate how we are tapping into emerging markets. We also showed investors some of the great assets we acquired in Central Australia, including rail infrastructure, freight facilities, and the terminal at the Port of Darwin. We see the 2,200 km Tarcoola to Darwin Railway as a nationally significant corridor, feeding into the closest port to Australia's largest trading partners in Asia. These assets are absolutely key to the future growth of Bulk and Containerised Freight businesses. We are supporting them with targeted and disciplined investments in locomotives, wagons, and port equipment. In FY 2023, investments totaled AUD 212 million.
In FY 2024, we expect to invest a further AUD 250 million-AUD 300 million, with investment beyond that, with investment beyond that contingent on new contracts and growth of the business. Key investments include more than 30 new heavy-haul locomotives, more than 500 container wagons, and mobile harbor cranes and reach stackers for the movement of containers. Aurizon will leverage these new assets as we look to develop land bridging solutions for customers. We shared the concept of land bridging at the Investor Day in July, and I'm pleased to report we continue to have positive engagement with the market. The cranes we're installing at Port of Darwin represent a significant milestone in realizing our stage one aspirations with land bridging and provide confidence in our capability to deliver the new supply chain offering to potential customers.
Our target for stage one is 100,000 TEUs, twenty-foot equivalent containers per year. That's within a market of some 8 million TEUs of throughput at major Australian ports annually. We estimate that our supply chain for land bridging will be up to 40% quicker when compared to key shipping routes into Australian ports. In this context, we believe our aspirations are very achievable. We're taking a staged approach to land bridging to effectively manage business and investment risk. Limited additional rolling stock is required for stage one, and it is the exact same rolling stock that we currently use Bulk and Containerised Freight. I will now speak to the major contract wins for each of the three above rail businesses during the year. You can see a summary of these wins on the screen. Just a couple of call-outs here.
The new national line-haul service we're providing for Team Global Express is the largest-ever non-coal contract secured by Aurizon. We are currently ramping up to full-service profile for TGE, for East-West Melbourne- Perth services, and the North-South services for the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane corridor. With TGE as the cornerstone customer, we're building volumes with other customers along these corridors. You can see the spread of products and geographies for the Bulk business, including contracts for those future-facing commodities that the chairman mentioned in his address. This includes the transport of phosphate from Northwest Queensland to Townsville Port for Centrex, with Aurizon providing a full pit-to-port solution, and the railing of copper concentrate from the Northp arkes mine in central New South Wales to the Port of Newcastle. After year-end, in August, we announced a contract with Northern Iron for the transport of magnetite from Tennant Creek to the Port of Darwin.
There's also been some great work in securing contract extensions and renewals across our portfolio. In Coal, we secured some valuable long-term haulage contracts, including Malabar and SIMEC in New South Wales and New Wilkie in Queensland. We're also pleased to win an important contract for rolling stock maintenance work with the BMA Rail fleet in central Queensland. This is an excellent demonstration of leveraging our considerable capability and assets to create new revenue opportunities. I would also like to reinforce the Chairman's comments about the inherent value of our Coal and Network businesses, which serve Australia's coal sector. They are high-performing, cash-generative businesses for Aurizon. The last 12 months has been an exciting time for Aurizon in the sustainability space. In May, we launched our project to build an emissions-free, capable freight locomotive. This is an Australian-first initiative, constructing a homegrown battery-powered locomotive that is suitable for Australian conditions.
The prototype project is now well underway in a workshop in Southeast Queensland with our technology partners, Progress Rail. When completed, we plan to trial the prototype locomotive on freight hauls for a key customer, which we expect to start in early 2025. If we are successful with developing a new battery-powered freight locomotive, it will deliver major benefits for our customers and Australian supply chains, as well as the environment and local communities. This is an exciting and potentially transformational project. You can read more about this project and the extensive work with our initiatives in our Climate Strategy and Action Plan and our 2023 Sustainability Report, available on our website. Before closing, a brief update on performance so far this financial year.
We maintain the guidance range provided in August at full-year results for FY 2024 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization of between AUD 1.59 billion-AUD 1.68 billion. At the midpoint, this is an uplift of just over AUD 200 million compared to the prior year and is supported by an uplift in Maximum Allowable Revenue for the Network business and an expected recovery in volumes from existing and new customers for Coal and Bulk. The results seen in the first quarter of the financial year align to this outlook. Finally, I extend my thanks to our teams right across Australia for their efforts and dedication over the past year. It has been an extremely challenging time for many, with prolonged wet weather impacting both our business operations and the local communities in which our people live and work.
To deliver safely and reliably for customers day after day requires commitment and focus. Thank you to all the Aurizon teams across the country. I'm also delighted with the progress we've made in recent times with repositioning the business so we can tap into emerging opportunities across our national footprint. We have a strong, resilient business and a team excited and energized about the next phase of growth for Aurizon. Thank you.
Thanks, Andrew. Well done. We now come, ladies and gentlemen, to the formal business of the meeting. So each item will be introduced, and shareholder questions will be taken on each of those items in turn. Shareholders or proxies attending in person who wish to ask a question should raise your hand at the appropriate time with your white or blue shareholder admission card, state your name, and then ask your question. Online attendees can submit questions at any time by selecting the Q&A icon on your device, or to ask a question verbally by following the instructions below the webcast window. We've also received a number of questions from shareholders in advance of the meeting, which will also be addressed at the appropriate time.
The moderator, who is James, will not read out repetitive or irrelevant questions and may aggregate questions based on their subject matter to ensure as many questions are able to be addressed as possible today. Now, voting today will be conducted by a poll, and Lewis Brimelow of Computershare is appointed as the Returning Officer. Voting will be open shortly and will remain open until the close of the meeting. For those online, when voting opens, a polling icon will appear on your device where you cast your vote. You can change your vote at any time until the poll closes. For attendees here in person, you will have received a colored admission card at registration informing you about your individual right to vote and ask questions today.
For those with white cards, your voting paper and instructions, including any relevant proxy voting instructions, are on the reverse side of that card. Voting cards will be collected at the end of the meeting by the Returning Officer and his colleagues. All eligible shareholders have had the opportunity to vote in advance of the meeting. Details of the proxy voting received prior to the meeting for each item of business will be displayed at the relevant time on the screens in the room here with us, and also online. Subject to the voting exclusions detailed in the notice of meeting for Items 3, 4, and 5, and shareholders having marked the appropriate box, any open proxies will be voted in favor of each resolution. I now declare voting open on all items of business.
For those who need to leave early, you can cast your vote online at any time while voting remains open or complete your voting card and hand it to a Computershare representative as you leave the room. Okay, so the first item of business listed in the notice of meeting is to receive and consider the Financial Statements, Directors' Report, and independent Auditor's Report of the Company and its controlled entities for the financial year ended June 30th, 2023. There is no vote on this item, but I am happy to take any comments or questions in relation to the Financial Report or the Management of the Company in general.
For this item and all remaining items of business, we'll start with taking questions in person from the floor, and then move to the moderator to address any additional questions received prior to the meeting or for those attending online today. So can I first see whether there are any questions from the floor? Yes, David. Have we got a microphone? Thank you.
Good afternoon. Can everyone hear me? Yeah.
Yep.
My name is David Loosemore, and I'm a volunteer for the Australian Shareholders Association. Today, we hold proxies from 119 ASA members for approximately 916,000 company shares. My first question is, the dividend policy of high return on capital, 70%-100%, is partially franked dividends. Does this high return of capital limit the growth opportunities?
Yeah, thanks, David. Look, the short answer is no. And I think what's probably good to do is look at recent history. And recent history would suggest that we have been able to demonstrate in recent times that we have been able to Bulk and Containerised Freight growth through investment. We've been able to maintain that 70%-100% dividend payout ratio, and importantly, we've also been able to maintain a very strong BBB+ credit rating. So we have in recent times been able to do that, and we expect to be able to do that going forward.
All right. So I'm used to holding it. So, strategy in the Bulk segment will change the company, particularly in terms of the risk profile of the company and, and, also how you see the impact of El Niño over the next few years.
Yeah, sure. In terms of the first part of that question, so Bulk growth and how that might change the company, both in terms of maybe returns and also risks. Our CFO, George Lippiatt, actually stood up in Darwin, and there's a very good slide in our Investor Day presentation, where we talk about the types of returns we're looking for from all parts of our business but also the Bulk part of our business. And we talk in there about a hurdle rate of low double-digit type IRRs. So that's very much our hurdle. We're certainly striving for better than that, but you know, even at a low double-digit type return, we'll still be generating good shareholder value.
We find the returns in that part of the market attractive, which is why we're interested in it. In terms of risk, in the Bulk business, we are trying to do more for our customers, so we are trying to offer more services. Obviously, rail is at the center of that. And we're used to hauling commodities by rail across our business. But we are taking on some other services like, you know, stevedoring and storage and other things. So that has the potential to increase our risk profile slightly, but, you know, we've got a management team who is very skilled in those areas. We've brought in some expertise where we've had gaps.
It is a slightly different risk profile in some senses, but we think that's a, that's a set of risks that are well managed. It's also a different customer mix for us. So that does introduce, you know, some different counterparties to, to our business. But when you have a portfolio of counterparties, again, we think that's a, a risk that we can manage. In terms of the part of your question around the way it changes the company, probably the most important thing we see is in many. In historically, in many of the areas, of our business, the outlook for those commodities has been somewhat muted. Whereas in the Bulk side of the business, we're excited about it because many of the commodities, we're either hauling or intend to haul going forward, have a really exciting growth profile.
For us, that's a key change to the business. We can actually see commodities which have long life. You know, they're growing. And so that's why we're excited about, you know, that part of the business. It provides an exciting growth platform for our business. In relation to the second part of your question on El Niño, yeah, it's interesting. I mean, we've obviously. It's been well documented. I've spoken about it, Andrew's spoken about it today. There's a lot of material in our annual report and investor presentation about the impact of the prolonged wet weather over the last 12 months, particularly the first half of the 2023 financial year. We think that the El Niño weather patterns, if they play out as expected, we'll see probably a drier period of time.
Around the edges of our business, that will have the impact. For example, we might not see as much grain in our business, you know, come across our, you know, requiring haulage, across, you know, for our business. But in terms of most of our business, less wet weather and, you know, a reasonable run of dry weather will actually be beneficial for volumes across our business. There are some things that we'll probably need to continue to do very well.
You know, our network team is expert at monitoring weather and weather patterns and protecting our infrastructure. You know, and just one example of that, you know, our network team monitors the temperature of our tracks, and where it gets extreme, you know, we might impose speed restrictions for trains across the track. So, you know, those things might come into play, but net-net, I'd say, you know, a dry period of time, you know, should be net-net beneficial for our business.
I've got one more question for this segment.
Sure.
Could you tell me what is it about Aurizon that keeps you up at night, and particularly in terms of all the various IT issues that we've had over the last 12 months?
Yeah, the biggest, the biggest thing. T here's, well, there's probably two things that I, that, that, that, you know, concern me the most. One, one is the safety of our people. You know, we've, y ou know, the, the director sitting in front of you and the team, obviously, that are here today, we, we spend a lot of time in our business, and when you go on site, and, and whether it's, you know, you know, acid trains in North Queensland recently, and while she was doing that, I was on a road train, from Mount Isa, 200 km, you know, South. You know, our, our people are, involved with very significant pieces of equipment. They're, they're interacting with the public in terms of cars and trucks and across level crossings.
It's the safety of our people that I probably worry about the most, you know, because where there are incidents, they can be pretty significant incidents. That's probably the thing that I worry about the most. You know, don't probably get me talking about the share price, because, you know, that's probably the thing that, on a financial side, probably, you know, concerns me the most in terms of making sure that the very good work that we're doing ultimately shows up on the scoreboard, which is the share price. You know, in an environment where companies in our sector, which is the infrastructure-related sector, you know, do get taken over from time to time. You know, that does worry me as well. Thanks, David. Can I ask, are there any other questions in the room? Yes, sir.
My name is Francis Hart. I go by Frank. I'm not sure if this is the time to ask, but, in regards, 'cause since you're the CEO, is the infrastructure set up at the Port of Darwin for the increase of freight traffic? Because, I mean, you know, it's, I've been there, it's out there.
Yep.
Are you set up, though, for all of a sudden quadrupling the freight traffic through there?
Yeah, so we, a nd by the way, thank you for my promotion to CEO. Delighted. We'll keep Andrew in the back room again, and I'm happy to take over as CEO. I can see some very worried management faces down here. But in terms of capacity at the Darwin Port, and many of us have been to Darwin Port over the last six months or so, as I said in my address, the rail actually goes onto the wharf. So, it's beautifully set up for us. And as I also said in my address, we now have a stevedoring license, so we can take over actually the operation of between the train and the ship. So, you know, we can actually do end-to-end solutions now.
For what we would call stage one of our ambitions, the infrastructure that is already there is sufficient to deliver that stage one that we'd like to first do. If we're more successful in terms of volumes and we can move on to stage two, there will be some infrastructure required. There will be some more infrastructure required on our side in terms of rail infrastructure and some passing loops, and there'll be some more infrastructure required to be invested by the port. At this stage, for what our initial plans are, that Andrew and I both talked about, the infrastructure is in place, and also our rolling stock and equipment at the port is also in place. That's one of the reasons why we're excited about it.
You know, we have a lot of trains that go up to Darwin at the moment, very full, and they come back less full. There's a lot of capacity at the moment. Thank you. I think there's. Yeah.
Good afternoon, Chairman. My name is Gary Bielby, shareholder. Before you start, before I start with my question, I just indicate that it's very difficult to see what was on the screen down here. Your managing director did talk about your contracts, and I couldn't see a thing, and I think there was other people who couldn't see it from here. At the onset, I must state that I applaud Aurizon's desire to grow non-coal revenue streams. I also see in your chairman's report that Aurizon has now completed the acquisition of One Rail Australia and Central Queensland, now called Bulk Central.
In recent months, there's been talk by Aurizon about the land bridge, bridging goods from Port of Darwin to the rest of Australia to increase the non-coal revenues, and we've spoken about that, and you're speaking about that, too. But I also note in early 2000s, Chris Corrigan and Aurizon's competitor, Patrick Corporation, said the return on capital employed would be, quote, "smaller than a tick's testicle," and the idea would never take off. FreightLink tried this land bridging approach and went into voluntary administration in 2008. Can you give the current situation in regard to meeting targets and what those targets are?
Yeah. So, what I can say, and Andrew talked about the fact that we have been really pleased so far with the level of discussions that we've got going on in relation to the land bridging concept. We have signed four MOUs with operators who may become partners to bring freight through, through that hub, and be our first set of customers for the land bridging operation. So, you know, it's early days, but at this stage, you know, we're really encouraged with the market's response to what we talked about at our Investor Day in Darwin.
Target-wise, meeting targets, not meeting targets?
Yeah. So what we've said, what we said in Darwin at our Investor Day, and we've recommitted to that, is stage one, we'd like to see 100,000 TEU brought into Darwin, and on the back of our rail.
That's likely to occur?
Well, with all of these things, when you're starting up new operations, you know, until it happens- it hasn't happened. So are we confident that based on the level of discussions that we've got going on, are we confident? Yes, we are confident. I mean, we wouldn't have committed the capital that we have if we weren't confident. But the thing I should also point out is, if it takes off, we'll be using capacity on the rail that we've already got. The capital that we've actually put into Darwin is actually quite modest. Most of that will all be able to serve other, you know, product going through the port. And if it all turns to custard, we can take the equipment that we have acquired and put it into other areas of our operation.
One of the things that our management team have worked on and done an exceptional job on, is making sure where we've made strategic investments, if it doesn't quite go to plan, we can take that equipment elsewhere in our operations. So they like to call it, you know, it's a technical term, they like to call it fungible equipment. But you know, in short, it's basically if it doesn't work there, we can take it there and we've been very successful at that portfolio approach, and it's something we'll continue to do.
Okay. Can I just ask one more question?
Sure.
Okay. Bearing in mind what I said earlier that I applauded the decision by Aurizon to grow non-coal revenue streams, I had trouble finding the words cattle transport service on reading the annual report. When Queensland Rail was sold, there was a transport services contract with the state, under which there would continue to be rail-based livestock transportation services. This contract expired December 31st, 2015. According to Media Reports, Watco East-West , jointly owned by Watco Australia and East- West Road and Rail, operates cattle rail transport services and is attracting cattle into loading points as far North as Winton and Clermont, as well as building greater volumes from the North to the West. It also has grain operations.
In March this year, the CEO of Watco said, quote, "This once shrinking market," that is the rail, cattle rail transport services, "is rapidly becoming a core business for Watco Australia since landing its first livestock contract in 2021." My question is: Is there a future for cattle transport by Aurizon?
We, we lost that contract. You know, we were disappointed to lose that contract, but when you've got a business with, you know, hundreds of contracts, you will occasionally lose contracts. One of the things that we've been quite vigilant about as we've repositioned our Bulk business is making sure we participate in contracts where we're, we're earning a sufficient return for the risk we're taking and the service we're providing. Unfortunately, we weren't able to come to terms in relation to the renewal of that contract, and we were unsuccessful when there was an open tender. Could that contract come back to us over time? You know, we'd love to consider taking that contract back on at a future point in time, if the moon's aligned in terms of risk and return and opportunity. So it's very much a possibility for the future.
It is a possibility?
Yes.
Okay.
Sir, I should say also, in relation to your first comment on not being able to see, I apologize for that. All of the material that we've got on display today will be on the ASX website. So if you want to go onto the ASX website, under the AZJ code, you will be able to see on your computer, you know, a hard copy of what we've put up today. So thank you for your questions.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ken Ryan is my name. I'm a long-time shareholder in Aurizon since the float, and I think this is my first time I've engaged with Aurizon since the pandemic. Before that, I used to come regularly, so I'm a bit out of date. I'm pleased to get an update here today, and to hear that the company is expanding. Something caught my attention in your Sustainability Report. There's a good map of Australia there with all these red dots showing where the business is operating. Of course, many of those locations are in indigenously populated parts of Australia. Looking at, you say that the company has about 5,700 employees, and most of them in regional Australia. Could you give me any idea at all as to how many of those employees might be indigenous?
Yes, I can. About 7% of our workforce is indigenous.
All right, and the second part of my question is: could you give me a rough estimate as to how many of those 30% might be in reasonably senior management roles?
That's a good question. I'm not sure I've got the answer to that. Andrew, have you got that number top of mind?
Can you hear me, Ken?
Yeah, we can.
Yeah. Look, I don't have an actual percentage of in management roles. The most senior person who identifies as Indigenous is in a manager-level role. There are others in more junior roles than that. Indeed, we run, over the last couple of years, leadership training programs to help Indigenous people come off the shop floor or entry roles into higher levels of responsibility in the organization. What I'm basically saying is, it's work in progress.
Thanks, Andrew. There's a question down the, Sir, did you have a question?
Oh, my name's Floyd. Several years ago, you said the East Coast container traffic was unprofitable, and it was sold off. Recently, I've seen that you're running another operation from Melbourne to Brisbane, which the first one ran nearly empty. So what makes you think you can make a profit? And secondly, you're talking about a shortage of train drivers, but just in the last year, there was many made redundant. So I just wonder about the long-term manpower planning.
Yeah, thank you. So, you're right. I have stood before this meeting before and talked about our intermodal business, which we reviewed many years ago and then closed down. The Containerised Freight business that we have started in more recent times and are keen to expand is a much different business. The Containerised Freight business will have a much smaller number of very significant freight forwarding customers. The intermodal business that we tried many years ago was almost like the way I described the Bulk business.
It was the end-to-end solution for a container, from basically either the port to the customer distribution center or the reverse, and we were trying to do all of that supply chain, which was very difficult, very competitive, and we didn't have the skills or experience, you know, to make a good fist of that. And that's why we came to the decision to exit that part of the business. And just to give you a sense of it, when we did close that business, we had something like 600+ customers. So, you know, very large number of customers we were trying to service, and we were trying to do the end-to-end. With the Containerised Freight business, it's, as I said, it's a very different proposition.
We are trying to do the rail line-haul piece of that. So, the freight forwarders do everything else, and we do the long-term line haul, which is the rail piece. And our ambition is to work for a much smaller, tighter group of very significant freight forwarding customers. We think that's very viable. We think, you know. And again, the proof will be in the pudding in terms of how the business performs in over the next two or three years. But to be able to sign a contract of the size of TGE, Team Global Express, the old Toll Express business, out of the box, has given us scale from day one.
A gain, that's a very significant contract that we weren't able to have when we ran the business called Intermodal historically. So, we're excited by the business. You know, we think it's a real opportunity for us. We think it complements the One Rail acquisition that we made. We certainly didn't make the One Rail acquisition because we thought we would do Containerised Freight, but now having that asset, we think it complements our ambition in Containerised Freight exceptionally well. Thank you for your question.
Uh, sorry.
Sorry?
Shortage of train drivers.
Sorry, the shortage of train drivers. Thank you. Yeah, so we, we... I'm not, I'm not aware, and I'm happy for Andrew, for you to chip in in a moment in terms of redundancies, but we are actively pursuing train driver schools around the country. You know, when we were in Cloncurry, 10 days or so ago, we have a training school in Cloncurry, and we had a meeting with the mayor of Cloncurry, who was, who was, who was, you know, very interested in what we're doing. He knew a lot of the people involved in the training program. Around Australia, we have training schools. We are trying to accelerate the number of drivers we have. We have two constraints to the very exciting growth profile we have.
One is equipment, and the second is train drivers. We are trying to fix both of those. So Andrew, I'm not sure whether you've got any comment on the question around redundancies for train drivers.
Yeah, but look, it's an easy question to ask, and obviously a confusing one when you understand that we're trying to train as many train drivers as we are. The reality is, when you lose a contract, which has happened from time to time, that contract will have attached to it train drivers that are based in a certain area. So for example, let's say we lost a contract that had train drivers based in Toowoomba. Now, we asked people: "Would you move somewhere else, let's say Mackay?" And they don't want to move somewhere else. So as part of the enterprise agreement, you then go through a process of redundancy. So it's tied to the depot and the winning or losing of contracts. And the fact that people, unlike rolling stock, are not fungible, and you can just move them wherever you feel like you want to move them.
Please.
Nobody's mentioned anything about this, but if Inland Rail eventually gets to Queensland, what impact can you see it has on your business?
Yeah, it's actually a really good question. The short answer is, it will be positive, because it will assist our ambitions in the Containerised Freight business. It should attract modal shifts, so you should see less trucks on the road and more containers on trains. So net, that's a real positive for our business. But in the shorter term, the piece of Inland Rail that we're barracking for really strongly is the first stage, which is the stage that the government has committed to post-Kerry Schott's review. And that's the Melbourne to Parkes route. Because once Melbourne to Parkes is built, you will be able to take a double stack train from Darwin to Melbourne. And that will be a game changer.
At the moment, trains can't come from Adelaide to Melbourne, double stacked because of, because of bridge restrictions. But, you know, once that first, piece of, or stage one of, Inland Rail is built, that's going to be a real game changer. So we've been very barracking really hard for that. We're delighted the government is committed to that. We've got a terrific relationship with the, National Intermodal Corporation, who's, playing a role in that. And we're very supportive of that project. Thank you. Sorry, sorry, we'll come back to you, sir. There's a question up the back.
Oh, thanks. Hi, my name is... Can you hold it up a little bit higher? Hi, my name is Michael. I'm a blogger. I've been engaged with the Queensland Competition Authority for the last couple of years, and I had a question that relates to prudential concern regarding new coal haulage facilities like the Carmichael Rail Network. The Queensland Competition Authority recently decided that the Coal Network Capacity Company, which has two former Aurizon staff on its leadership team, is "independent," quote, unquote. And I'm also aware that the Queensland Competition Authority, under the act, that Aurizon's not actually compelled to inform the authority when it's made an access agreement. So, its oversight over future coal rail facilities that it might be regulating is limited.
Whereas, the Coal Network Capacity Company has people with inside knowledge from a couple of years ago when they were employed by Aurizon, that they can apply to the consideration of those future facilities and third parties as they come along. So the question I want to ask today is, which Adani entities have you made a, has Aurizon made access agreements with? And I would include Carmichael Rail Network Proprietary Limited, the proponent and the operator, or Bowen Rail Company, which also has rail operator accreditation. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you for your question. So, look, under our access arrangements, we aren't able to comment publicly on specific contractual arrangements. But what I can say is this, which I have said at previous AGMs: the Central Queensland Coal Network that we run, and is regulated by the Queensland Competition Authority, is an open access regime. So, the network is open access, so if you apply and you meet all of the requirements to get access, and they are extensive, you can get access to the system. So, it's no secret to see the range of companies that haul or have hauled for them their coal across the Central Queensland Coal Network.
You know, they're, they're-- the, the, the trains are out there to see, and the, and the mines are out there to see, but we can't comment on them specifically other than to say that it is an open access regime. If you, if you meet all of the criteria, the very extensive criteria, as I say, then you can get access to the system, and that's what we're required to do under, under law. I think there was a question down the front here. Thank you.
Thank you. George Bomber, director of Fair Cas. Before, when you were commenting about Darwin, you were asked a question about Darwin and the port, you said- if it succeeds, shouldn't that be when it succeeds?
Well, there are laws about making forecasts that I need to walk a fine line through. Look, we're, as I say, we're confident about our success, but there are no guarantees in life. Until we see, you know, I talk to our institutional shareholders, and Andrew, and George, and James do all the time. You know, everyone understands that these are well-considered plans, and they're well-thought-through plans, but no one's gonna give us credit, and we're not gonna claim credit until we actually see, you know, trains with, you know, full of commodities or, or containers. Until that happens, we're not gonna say it's, it's done.
Yeah, but we need to be positive. The other question was, you spent a fair bit of money TV advertising earlier this year. What was the purpose of that? What was the cost of it, and what was the end result of your advertising?
Yeah, and, and Andrew, I might get you to speak on this in a moment as well, but, you know, one of the things I said before, there are two things to our, you know, two significant constraints to our growth. One is equipment, and the second is people. The advertising campaign, which was quite modest in the scheme of things, but nonetheless, I thought it was exceptional, and I'm glad you saw it, was directed at trying to raise Aurizon's profile. Plenty of people have heard of Queensland Rail. There's a smaller number of people that have heard of Aurizon. And so we felt it was important, as we try to increase the number of employees that we appeal to, to have a stronger brand presence. And also remember that we're now a national company.
You know, we've expanded to new geographies, and so a lot of the work we did was targeting some of those areas where we're less well-known, we haven't been before, to try and raise our profile. And as I say, the attraction of people is a key part of that. Andrew, is there anything you'd like to add? And maybe also, Andrew, you can comment on, you know, your views on the success of the campaign to date.
Yeah. Thanks, Tim. So look, the original decision to undertake an advertising campaign was formed on the back of a qualitative and quantitative assessment that we did, surveys across the country to answer a number of questions relating to, in, how what people knew about us from an employee point of view, how well, you know, what we were doing from a corporate responsibility point of view, and how we could improve that, and many other issues were covered in that survey.
As a result of processing that information and looking about at how, ways that we could actually respond to that, it became quite obvious, particularly, and Tim's picked it up, the key thing was getting employees, particularly out of Queensland, to understand that Aurizon wasn't just a Queensland-based coal company, that we're a national, freight operator, and that a career with Aurizon would be a very good and sensible thing to undertake. Particularly with the shortage, not just of train drivers, but engineers, electricians, and the like, that was... I deem that as a very, very sensible thing to undertake. That's what we've been doing for the best part of a year now. To date, it's always a little early to actually call victory on these sorts of things , 'cause you're dealing with lagging indicators.
The feedback we've got and some notional move in some indicators would say that, the program has been well targeted. But, for me to actually, stand up and say, you know, "Quantitatively, I can show you these metrics have improved," that will take another, 6-12 months, as I understand it. I say that, and I'm not an advertising, executive by background. I'm just basing that on my understanding of the indicator timing.
Thanks, Andrew. Thank you, sir. There's a question in the middle.
This might be more to the financial accountants here. With regards to the performance overview, page one of the annual report, it states under "Other," down AUD 44 million, quote, "Recognition of a AUD 15 million long service leave provision adjustment." What's that all about?
Yeah, so there was actually a change in legislation that related to the way long service leave is calculated and awarded, which actually predates Aurizon as a public company. So it is actually a very historical issue. And based on that change of legislation, we needed to make an adjustment to the provision that we carry for our employees. So that's what it's about. David, I'm not sure whether you wanted to add anything from a, in terms of the legal side of things?
No, that's, that's sufficient. I think it was a change in law that necessitated a recalculation of the long service leave entitlement.
Thank you for clarifying this one.
Yeah, there you go. That's, that's the high-integrity thing to do. Are there any other questions on this agenda item? James, can we check online whether there are any questions online?
Yes, I've got a number of questions, both Tim, and some questions that have come online as well. First one from shareholder Natasha Lee: "Both borrowings and interest paid has increased this year. Can you please explain how this is occurred?
Yeah, sure. So, as I think we've talked about quite a lot in our material and also today at the presentation, so we made a very significant acquisition with the One Rail investment, and we've also followed that with some growth capital that we've spent in the business in terms of investment in our Containerised Freight business and also our Bulk business. So between those, that acquisition and the additional growth capital, there has been an expansion of borrowings for the group. And secondly, we have seen, as everyone would be aware, a rise in interest rates. So those two things, higher debt levels and higher interest rates, has seen an increase in our interest expense during the 2023 financial year.
I should note, I think it's important for shareholders to note that, offsetting that is we have been a very significant beneficiary of the increase in interest rates through the resetting of our WACC for our network business. So the return we get in our regulated network business, it's a monopoly asset, regulated, as I said before, the return we get is very much linked to interest rates. Historically, for the last four or so years, the return, the weighted average cost of capital was around 6.3. The WACC will increase to circa 8.6 for the next four years. So... And that's a direct reflection of the increase in interest rates. So on the negative side, we've seen higher, higher, interest expense, but we are gonna be more than compensated by the increase in revenue in our, in our network business. Back to you, James.
Another question, also from Natasha Lee. "The cost to audit and review the financials has increased this year. Can you please explain what has driven this?
Yeah, there's a couple of things going on. Firstly, with the One Rail acquisition, we obviously had to increase the scope, in terms of, you know, we had a new geographies and new assets which had to be examined by the auditors, so that increased the scope. And secondly, as you can imagine, when you make a very significant acquisition, the accounting and, and business combination accounting, can be very complicated. And some of you will have seen that from, deep in our financial report, the, the acquisition accounting was very complicated. And there was a one-off, additional fee, for Deloitte to, basically sign off on that very complicated accounting. So that was the other reason why, we had a higher fee in 2023. Thanks, James.
Great. Thanks, Tim. A question from Kevin Daley, who's from online: "How feasible is it to modify the existing diesel locomotives to run on hydrogen stored as ammonia?
Our resident expert on the battery electric locomotive trial, given he gets asked to speak at every conference around decarbonization in the country, is Andrew. Maybe that's why he's got a sniffle. Andrew, can I direct that question to you?
Yeah, certainly, Tim. So I'd say it's probably—it's to be fair, it'll be quite a long way down the ranking of feasibility. The reality is what we're trying to do with alternatives to a really great system of driving locomotives with the diesel electric or the electrified with overhead solution, which have been around forever. You're trying to match the demand that you have against the available technologies and how those technologies you deem will progress. And to date, what we've found is battery electric is a useful solution.
Battery electric augmented with hydrogen fuel cell technology is probably the solution we'd have for the much longer haul requirements across the country and that sort of thing, 'cause you've also got to put in whether it's flat running or whether it's over mountainous country, that has an impact on your solution as well. And those solutions by themselves will probably yield most of the result that you need. The benefit of moving to ammonia would have to offset the quite significant downsides that you'd see from a safety point of view.
I doubt currently seeing if there was a very big gap between what we need to do and what the technologies as a battery electric and hydrogen will deliver, not that all of that's been developed yet, then we might move down the pathway to something else. But at the moment, I'd say it'll stay fairly a long way down the list. We'll continue to look at it. The world's gonna change, technology's gonna change, so we'll have to continually refresh. One day it might move up the list, but the safe operation of ammonia stored locomotives across Australia in all the various different requirements and through great strong population centers and that would take a lot of work before it became very feasible. Hopefully, that helps.
That's great. Thanks, Andrew. James, back to you.
Yeah, another question from Kevin Daley. "Has there been any impact on coal rail links of the New South Wales Coal Reservation Scheme?
Yeah, that's an interesting question. So, we haven't seen material changes to our volumes as a result of the Reservation Scheme. We have seen a little bit of extra railing to our customers in the Hunter Valley, but nothing material. So very modest impact to date. Thanks, James.
A question from Lloyd Hensby: "Is it possible to have a dividend reinvestment program for shareholders wishing to participate rather than receiving a cash dividend?
Yeah, that's an interesting question, and one we've thought about from time to time. When it at its essence, a dividend reinvestment plan is a capital raising. So you are raising equity. Historically, and I've talked about this at previous AGMs, we've felt that our balance sheet has been under-geared. So that, you know, if anything, we'd be looking to take on more debt and certainly not raise equity.
We've now taken on more debt to do the One Rail acquisition and also some of the growth capital opportunities that we've talked about. So, you know, our debt is probably around the right level now. But we certainly, as I said in response to David's question earlier about the payout ratio, we don't foresee a need to raise capital. If we don't see a need to raise equity capital, then a DRP is not relevant for us at the moment.
Thanks, Tim. One final question before I check if there are any on the phone line. This comes from two shareholders, so I won't read out individual names. Does Aurizon make donations to political organizations?
We have an anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy, which is available on our website. That policy allows Aurizon to make political donations, but under our delegated authority framework, that requires Board approval. The current policy of the Board is not to make political donations. In the eight or so years that I've been on the Board, we have not made a political donation, and that is our current policy of the Board.
Thanks, Tim. No further questions online or emailed through, so I'll ask the operator if there are any questions on the phone line.
There are no phone questions at this time.
Thank you. David, have you got another question?
Yeah, I just wanted to follow up from that, dividend, DRP question. I'm not an expert, but my understanding is you can buy the shares on the market to avoid increasing capital.
You can. You can. And so what you're really then doing is offering shareholders the ability to potentially buy at a small discount. You know, the market is probably a 2%-2.5% discount. You know, is that an efficient use of our time and resources for probably modest amounts? I'm not convinced about it. So, in the event that down the track, 'cause you can never predict the future, that we did raise capital, then, you know, that might be one of the tools we look at. But at this stage, as I say, we've got no requirement in the foreseeable future to be raising capital, and so that's the bucket that we put the DRP in. All right.
If there are no questions, more questions on the general management of the company, we'll move on to our... Sorry, I should say that, given we have addressed a number of questions, I declare that the reports have been received and considered. And let's move on to the next item of business, which is what I always think is an interesting item of business, which is the election and re-election of directors. And today we have four directors seeking election by ordinary resolution, with each of these to be voted on separately. So Sarah Ryan and Lyell Strambi each retired by rotation and are seeking re-election at today's meeting. And Tim Longstaff and Samantha Tough have recently been appointed as directors by the Board and are seeking election today.
You will have seen the details of each of the directors' qualifications and experience are set out in the notice of meeting. The Board, with the relevant director abstaining in each case, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of each of the resolutions. So Item 2A relates to the re-election of Sarah Ryan. Sarah has been a director of the company since 2019, and I would now ask Sarah to say a few words. Sarah?
Thank you, Tim, and good afternoon, everyone. So I was delighted to be invited to join the Board of Aurizon back in 2019, is that I thought that with my background, which is in energy and mining operations and contracting technology and engineering, I could contribute as a non-executive director. So soon after joining the Board, the company was faced with the enormous challenges of COVID, soon to be followed by a couple of years of extreme wet weather. Interesting times. It did cause disruption and difficulties over the next couple of years.
However, I would like to mention that the dedication of the people of Aurizon to customers and to safe operations over this time was absolutely commendable, and proved to me that my decision to join was the right thing, as a high integrity company that always does the right thing by the shareholders and by its people. In addition, over the past few years, Aurizon has been developing its path forward for the future to not only survive but thrive in a world where Australia's energy transition minerals and other of its key commodities, like agricultural commodities, are in strong demand. You've heard update and detail about that today from Tim and from Andrew. It's a very exciting future. I am a geoscientist by training. I am currently on the Board of two other ASX-listed companies, being Transurban and Viva Energy.
I'm also on the Board of the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre. So I believe my background and experience position me well to keep contributing to this company, and I'll be delighted to be reelected by shareholders today. Thank you.
Thank you, Sarah. The resolution before the meeting is that Sarah Ryan, who retires by rotation and being eligible, be reelected as a director of the company. Are there any questions from the floor? Yes, David.
Save us the holding it. The skills matrix for the Board on page eight of the annual report is good at covering what skills are required for the Board, but it's nonspecific to each director. Other companies list which directors have strengths in each skill, putting directors on one axis of the matrix instead of an overall score. So, the Australian Shareholders Association expects a matrix where shareholders can see individual director skills so they can judge for themselves if there are necessary skills on the Board. Would the company consider improving the Board skills matrix?
Yeah, thanks, David. It's a good, it's a good point, and, from time to time, it's something we have thought about. And it's interesting, I was reading some of the proxy reports that are prepared on behalf or for the use of institutional shareholders, and I noticed that some of those proxy reports actually try and do exactly what you'd, you've asked for, themselves, because, you know, they know us a bit, so they've actually tried to, to do that exercise for their institutional clients. And I think what you're asking for is for us to do that for your, for your members. I mean, historically, we've taken the view that a Board is a collective, and a Board is made up of a range of skills and experience, and so that's why we've tried to present it that way.
We understand the point, and we will certainly commit to taking it on Board and considering it for next year. Whether we change it or not, we'll see during the course of the year, but we'll certainly take the feedback on Board. Thank you. Are there any other questions in relation to this Item 2A? James, have we got any questions online?
I don't, yes. Is there any... This has come from online from Kevin Daley as well. Is there a conflict of interest between Dr. Ryan's role as chairman of the Future Battery Industries CRC and Aurizon's choice of future locomotive power source?
Yeah, look, the short answer is there's not. But, Sarah, it might be worth you just explaining a little bit more about what the Cooperative Research Center does. I think shareholders would be interested in what it does and the advisory role it has.
Thanks, Tim, and thanks for the question. So the Future Battery Industries CRC is a Cooperative Research Center. It's funded by the federal government, and the idea is it brings together researchers from industry, from academia, and from the government to do these joint research projects around various topics of particular interest for Australia. This one is about future batteries. So it has a range of projects across the whole battery value chain, everything from battery minerals through to battery recycling. The Board is a governance and advisory committee. I'm not the chair. I chair the audit and risk committee, and I'm a member of the Board, so I don't see that there's any conflict of interest. In fact, I think the view I see across battery development is actually very beneficial for Aurizon. Thanks.
Brilliant. Thanks, Sarah. James, any other questions?
Yeah, just one final question. What is the Board's strategy regarding increasing female representation on the Board? And will Aurizon commit to a 40% target for female representation?
Yeah. So, obviously, with the loss of Sam today, we'll be dropping below our target. We have a Board policy that supports 30% appointments for each gender, and then above and beyond that, we're looking for a range of diversity in terms of skills, experience, geographies, now that we're a truly national business. So our Board-approved policy is 30% of each, and then look for the very best skills and additional diversity. In terms of, you know, we think we'll need two directors, two additional directors over the next 12-24 months to come onto the Board, and you should expect that the first of those appointments would be a woman, to restore the appropriate balance. Above and beyond that, as I say, we'll be looking at additional diversity in terms of skills, geography, experience, and so on. Thanks, James.
No further questions have been sent in or online, so I'll ask the operator if there are any on the phone.
There are no phone questions at this time.
Okay. If there are no questions, I'll put the resolution to the meeting. Details of the proxies received in relation to the re-election of Sarah Ryan are now displayed. So please cast your vote via the online voting icon or mark the reverse side of your voting card in relation to I tem 2A. The next item of business relates to the re-election of Lyell Strambi. Lyell has been a director since 2019, and I'll now ask Lyell to say a few words. Thanks, Lyell.
Thanks, Tim, and good afternoon to everybody here with us today. And thank you for making the time to be here. As Tim said, I've been on the Aurizon Board for four years now, and I'm really pleased to be standing for re-election. Aurizon is a terrific business. It has an enormous depth of talent within the organization, and it's got a very bright future. Now, that said, the company is not without some challenges. The environment we operate in is changing, and of course, we must adapt with that environment. We face a really unusual situation where our legacy operation in the coal supply chain will diminish as the use of coal diminishes globally. Now, no one knows when that's going to occur, when that day will come. And the demand for coal is likely to continue very strongly for many years yet.
While it does, our Coal and Network haulage business remain really important contributors to our organization and to the broader Australian economy. We must really keep our focus on running these parts of our business efficiently and optimizing this as we move forward. However, we're also duty-bound to think ahead. As I said, the world is changing around us, and we have to position our company for success in a world where coal is no longer the mainstay of the organization. As a director, this two-dimensional strategy is both exciting and quite demanding. My background was predominantly in the aviation sector, and I've been fortunate to work in large organizations whose operations spread well beyond the simple operation of aircraft and carriage of passengers.
You probably appreciate aviation is enormously complex, it's ferociously competitive, it's very capital intensive, and it must be customer service or customer service-oriented. And it's also, like Aurizon, very dependent on the people who deliver day-to-day for our customers and broader stakeholders. I believe my deep aviation background will give me a set of experiences and insights that I can bring to bear and help the team navigate through the opportunities that lay ahead, and I would be delighted to have your endorsement to do so. Thank you.
Thank you, Lyell. The resolution before the meeting is that Lyell Strambi, who retires by rotation and being eligible, be re-elected as a director of the company. Are there any questions from the floor?
One quick one. Is this a sole directorship?
Lyall?
I've got the answer from here. Can you hear me? Yep. At the moment, yes, it is. That's about to change, but I can't announce it just yet. But at a personal level, I don't want to spread myself too thin, and I want to just maintain a few directorships, so I can give due focus and due attention to those organizations.
Thank you. Are there any other questions on the floor? No. James?
No questions online or emailed through, so I'll throw to the phone operator again.
There are no phone questions at this time.
Okay. If there are no additional questions, I'll now put the resolution to the meeting. Again, details of the proxies received in relation to the re-election of Lyell Strambi are now being displayed. Again, please cast your vote via the online voting icon or mark the reverse side of your voting card in relation to Item 2B . Item 2 C relates to the election of Timothy Longstaff. The Board appointed Tim as a director with effect from the first of June, two thousand and twenty-three, and I'd ask Tim to say a few words, please.
Thank you, Tim. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I'm honored to have joined the Aurizon family in June this year and to be standing now for the first time as election for a director. As I've met with colleagues and traveled to see Aurizon's operations, both here in Queensland and across in Western Australia, it's clear that Aurizon is a significant national business. Aurizon plays a pivotal role in getting Australia's Bulk commodities that are the foundations of our export earnings and our national prosperity to markets. We're also an integral part of regional communities, and led by our talented management team, we provide skilled, quality jobs to 5,700 loyal, hardworking people right across Australia.
2023, as you've heard today, was a tough year for Aurizon, driven mainly by externalities, especially weather and the impact of this on Aurizon's business and financial results. But building on a resilient Coal and Network business, there is a solid plan to deliver better performance in future years. Some aspects of this are near term, like building on our Bulk business and establishing the capability of the Bulk Central business, which has just been purchased by the business. Other initiatives are gonna take a bit longer, such as in Containerised Freight, and particularly the transformational land bridging business that again, has been discussed today, that's enormously exciting. So Tim Poole has asked me to partner with Andrew and the management team and bring three key skills to bear to help Aurizon achieve its considerable potential.
The first are financial skills, including serving on the Audit, Governance, and Risk Management Committee, building on my experience as a chartered accountant. Secondly, offer around capital skills, including the structure, sources, and optimization of capital, and the relationships with the providers of capital, drawing on my experience as an investment banker. And lastly, government skills, including effective management of this key stakeholder at both state and federal levels, drawing upon my time serving with a senior federal cabinet minister. So I'm delighted to join you all as a fellow Aurizon shareholder and would appreciate very much your support. Thank you.
Thanks, Tim. The resolution before the meeting is that Timothy Longstaff, being eligible, be elected as a director of the company. Can I see whether there are any questions from the room? James, any questions online?
No questions online, so I'll ask the phone operator if there are any questions on the phone line.
There are no phone questions at this time.
Okay. Given there are no questions, I'll now put the resolution to the meeting. Once again, details of the proxies received in relation to the election of Tim Longstaff are now being displayed. Please cast your vote via the online voting icon or mark the reverse side of your voting card in relation to Item 2C. Item 2D relates to the election of Samantha Tough. The Board appointed Samantha as a director with effect from the 1st of September, 2023. I'll now ask Samantha to say a few words.
Thank you. I am the last of these little speeches, you might be glad to know. But you might also have noticed that we all use very similar adjectives when we talk about our association with Aurizon. We're privileged, we're honored, it's authentic, we're delighted, and it all comes from a very true place. And I will make the same statement, that I'm delighted to offer myself for election for the first time at this AGM. The annual report shows my portfolio, but I thought I might just briefly talk about the very strong cross-pollination that I get in that, in that portfolio and the opportunities it gives. I do have an executive role at the University of Western Australia, which they call the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Industry and Commercial.
Essentially, I'm responsible for the commercialization of research and strategic industry partnerships for the University of Western Australia, which is one of Australia's Go8 universities. That's how they describe them. That role also support a Board portfolio, so that I can continue my strong industry connections through that journey. I've got a portfolio, I think it says over 20, I suspect actually it's 25 or more, but beside the point, in a whole range of industry sectors, which have included energy, resources, engineering, agriculture, and investment in the clean energy future. My current Board portfolio is 4 Boards, of which Aurizon, if you support me, is one. Includes the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Something I always say to everyone I talk to, as Australians, we should all be very proud of.
It's the AUD 30 billion fund in the clean energy future, and it is globally one of the largest government-owned funds in that sector. I also chair Horizon Power, which other than providing a tongue twister with Aurizon and just tripping everybody up, Horizon Power provides the energy to the regions in Western Australia. It's a fully integrated energy utility, quite unique, and we're right at the forefront of implementing a whole lot of microgrid solutions. For example, Southern Hemisphere's first hydrogen electrolyzer will be commissioned this quarter, if I remember, that will power all of Denham together with a wind solar, a fuel cell, a battery, and a hydrogen electrolyzer. Excellent knowledge there and a building of skills in that sector.
I'm also a director of a private company called Rumin8, and that has a globally scalable solution for methane reduction in the agricultural sector, and is in fact, Bill Gates' first investment in Australia. The cross-pollination, though, between these roles and Aurizon is very real and it will strengthen over time. Aurizon and Horizon, other than I said, providing good tongue twisters, both have the corporate objectives of building the regions in Australia. The approach to people and to workforce challenges in the regions is common to both. The CEFC, as it's commonly known, provides insights into the technologies and the flow of capital in the emerging energy and decarbonization markets.
Rumin8, I said, a private company, has attracted global capital looking for the solutions to the clean energy future, and it understands something called the ACCU market, the Australian Carbon Credit Unit regime, that may end up playing a role in Aurizon's future also. I also believe my knowledge of WA, its regions, industry players, and relationships with government, both at state and federal, will benefit Aurizon. A knowledge of research capability as that elevates in importance in the contribution to industry decarbonization pathways, particularly in the natural capital sector, will provide a further advantage at the right time. My Board experience does include chairs of various people and culture committees, including at the CEFC and Saracen Minerals, which is now Northern Star Limited, and a member of a number of audit and risk committees, and I bring that to Aurizon.
I do want to thank my chair, Tim Poole. I want to thank my fellow directors and shareholders for supporting my nomination to the Aurizon Board. Aurizon's role in leading the long-haul transport sector in Australia, and the contribution that sector will make to the regions and its cleaner future, cannot be underestimated. I'm delighted to play a part and contribute to that journey, and I'd appreciate your support.
Thanks, Sam. So the resolution before the meeting is that Samantha Tough be, being eligible, be elected as a director of the company. Are there any questions from the floor?... James?
No questions online, so I'll pass on to the phone operator.
There are no phone questions at this time.
Okay, thank you. I'll now put the resolution to the meeting. Once again, details of the proxies received in relation to the election of Samantha Tough are now on our screens. Please cast your vote via the online voting icon, or mark the reverse side of your voting card in relation to voting Item 2D. Okay, let's move on to Item 3, which is an ordinary resolution which relates to the grant of performance rights to the managing director and CEO. As explained in the notice of meeting, these performance rights will be granted in accordance with the terms and conditions of the company's long-term incentive plan. The resolution before the meeting is set out in Item 3, in the notice of meeting, and the Board, with Mr. Harding abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of the resolution. Are there any questions from the floor? Yes, David.
Could you please outline why the Board chose TSR relative to the ASX 100 over simple TSR? And, probably better explain to everyone TSR, in case they're not familiar with that.
Yeah, sure, sure. So, TSR is a total shareholder return, so it includes dividends paid and capital appreciation over a period. It's interesting, there are, there are... When I talk to shareholders, both retail and institutional, there are relative TSR believers and non-believers. We find that in our institutional shareholder base, there are, there's a large chunk of our shareholder base who is very keen to see relative TSR as part of our LTI mix, for the long-term incentive for our senior executives. The reason being is relative TSR is effectively what the institutional shareholders are being judged on in their own portfolios every month, every quarter, every year. And so given that they're being assessed that way, they like to assess the companies that they invest in and the performance of their management teams in a similar way.
It's the purest form of alignment between an institutional shareholder and a management team. So that's the theory. We're happy to have it as part of a portfolio. You know, we've got the three metrics. We're happy to have it as part of our portfolio, as I say. Coming to your question, David, about relative TSR or simple TSR, there's always positives and negatives. The downside with a simple TSR is, let's say the simple TSR is a 10% return over a four-year period. And our team delivers 15%, and so you would say that's a great outcome, the LTI should vest. But let's say the market did 20%. So our business underperformed by 5%, compared to the market.
That's where, you know, certainly our institutional shareholders would get cranky because we, as a stock, would be underperforming, but our LTI would be paying out on that measure in full. And so that's the downside of the measure. We weigh all that up. We're probably more aligned to the relative TSR being the purest measure vis-à-vis the market. Some very good shareholders or investors around the world like to say that over a four-year period, you know, the market doesn't lie. So if the business is performing well, then your relative TSR performance should be strong, and therefore, you know, the management team should get paid for it. So that's the argument that we run with, but I do acknowledge that nothing's perfect.
Having selected Relative TSR as one of our three, I think the key thing we focus on is getting the comparator group right and making sure that what we're testing ourselves against in a relative sense is the best comparator group. And that's where we do spend a lot of time. So, I hope that answers your question. Are there any other questions on this item? No. James?
No questions online, so I'll again, pass to the phone operator.
There are no phone questions at this time.
Okay. Given that, I'll now put the resolution to the meeting. Again, details of the proxies received in relation to Item 3 are displayed on the screen. I should note that a voting exclusion applies to this item, as set out in the notice of meeting, and any votes cast by those who are excluded from voting will be disregarded. Please cast your vote online, or mark the reverse side of your voting card in relation to Item 3. Let's move on to Item 4, and Item 4 is an ordinary resolution which relates to the approval of potential termination benefits to those who hold a managerial or executive office in the company. The resolution before the meeting is set out in Item 4 in the notice of meeting, and the Board, with Mr. Harding abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution.
Can I ask were there any questions from the floor? James?
No questions online, so I'll pass to the phone operator.
There are no phone questions at this time.
Okay, so I'll put the resolution to the meeting. Again, details of the proxies received in relation to Item 4 are there on the screen for us to see.... And once again, I note that a voting exclusion does apply in relation to this item, as set out in the notice of meeting. Any votes cast by those who are excluded from voting will be disregarded. Please, once again, cast your vote online or mark the reverse side of your voting card in relation to Item 4. Item 5 relates to the adoption of the remuneration report for the financial year ended June 30, 2023 , as contained in the company's 2023 annual report. The remuneration report sets out the Board's remuneration policy for its executives, employees, and directors.
The resolution before the meeting is set out in Item 5, in the notice of meeting, and the Board recommends that shareholders vote in favor of its adoption. Can I ask whether there are any questions in the room in relation to Item 5? James?
Yes, I have one question that has been sent through from the Kennedy family. Given the difficult financial times being faced by the majority of Australians, what is being done by the company to limit the pay increase for directors, executives, and the managing director and CEO?
Yeah, I think all of that is well set out in the annual report and remuneration report. But in summary, so the directors have not received any increase in director fees over the last 12 months. So that's as set out in the REM report. In relation to the CEO, and if I can call it our more established senior executive key management personnel, and when I say established, they're established in role and have been in role for a reasonable period of time. I think you'll find that the increases in fixed remuneration were around or below CPI over the last 12 months. And certainly, that's around the level that we've approved in relation to the new financial year. So very modest increases in relation to fixed remuneration.
In relation to some of the newer members of our key management team, you know, there have been some larger increases, but they're in relation to specific roles where they are new to role or recently new to role. But other than that, the increases made have been quite modest. James, any other questions?
No, no further questions. I'll pass to the phone operator.
There are no phone questions at this time.
Okay. I'll now put the resolution to the meeting then. Again, details of the proxies received in relation to this Item 5 are on display. Again, a voting exclusion applies in relation to this item, which is once again, is set out in the notice of meeting, and any votes cast by those who are excluded from voting will be disregarded. Can I please ask you to cast your vote online with the voting icon, or again, mark the reverse side of your voting card in relation to Item 5? So, this completes the consideration of all of the items of business, for this meeting. As the poll will soon be closing, I'll now pause, for a few moments to allow everyone time to finalize casting your votes.
Once the poll is closed, shareholders, proxy holders, and other representatives will no longer be able to submit votes through the Computershare platform. So please ensure that you have cast your vote on all resolution, resolutions. For those in the room, please complete and sign your voting cards as required, and put them in the ballot boxes held by Computershare attendants as you leave the room. If you require assistance here in the room, please raise your hand and one of the Computershare representatives will come and be delighted to assist you. Does anyone need assistance or any more time? I've been told to wait two minutes, but I'm not sure we need two minutes.
I think we can see one-two minutes.
Okay, I think we're done. Given that, I'll now declare the poll closed. And as is our usual practice, the results of the voting will be notified to the ASX and placed on our website, as soon as they become available. Given there is no further business, I declare the meeting closed. Thank you for your attendance today. And for those in the room, please, join us, outside for afternoon tea. Thanks, everyone.