Technology.
Thank you.
All right. Thank you, Charles. Again, I will say we're very pleased to have shareholders and attendees at the Annual General Meeting, both online and also in the meeting room here. Joining myself, Andrew Bonwick, we have members of the board, so Ian, Mike and Shaun, Richard, Leanne, and we also have Ian Hooper in attendance from BDO. Ben Tranier is our Chief Executive, who you will recognize, and I would also like to welcome Jason to his first annual general meeting. We confirm that the notice of meeting has been duly given and the meeting has been properly convened. Please note that only shareholders, proxy holders, or shareholder company representatives may vote. As there are a quorum present, I will declare the meeting open. I will now give the chairman's address and advise that a version of the address was submitted online to the ASX this morning.
With pleasure, I am able to report that the Energy One Group has achieved its 12th consecutive year of profitability and continuing growth of organic recurring revenues. In financial 2026, the Energy One Group delivered continued growth in recurring revenue, up 17% to AUD 63.5 million. Total revenue up 14% to AUD 69.9 million. Underlying cash EBITDA up 42% to AUD 14.9 million, a margin of 21%, and underlying NPAT up 56%. Statutory net profit increased 38% to AUD 8.1 million after absorbing AUD 1.5 million of one-off costs, primarily associated with the CEO transition. The board is very pleased with the progress made during the year.
Our core markets remain underpinned by the long-term structural changes occurring across global energy systems, including increased renewable generation, electrification, environmental markets, and the growing sophistication and speed, particularly, of wholesale trading operations. These trends continue to create attractive opportunities for Energy One's software and services. The group's recurring revenue base remains a key strength and continues to provide a stable foundation from which the company can invest, innovate, and grow.
We are fortunate to support a diverse customer base across multiple geographies and market segments with our products and services embedded within many of our customers' critical operational processes. I encourage shareholders to review the FY 2026 results presentation online, which highlights the continued growth of recurring revenues, the breadth of our customer relationships, and the ongoing investment in products and technology platforms, including the increasing utilization of specific AI processes within the company. The presentation also demonstrates the balance we seek to maintain between growth, profitability, and investment in long-term shareholder value. The international energy transition continues worldwide and remains a powerful long-term tailwind for the company. Our breadth of products, market expertise, and geographic reach position us well to benefit from these trends.
Looking forward, the company entered FY 2027 from a position of strength, closing FY 2026 in a net cash position and with approximately AUD 5.1 million of contracted ARR not yet billed. Our underlying business continues to perform well, and we see opportunities to further expand our presence within existing customer accounts, extend the product footprint, and increase the value delivered to customers across the energy trading life cycle. While customer attrition was elevated in parts of the business during the year, management has been focused on improving retention through continued investment in customer success and cross-sell initiatives. A significant milestone for the company has been the proposed acquisition of GMSL, which shareholders approved earlier this month.
The acquisition represents an important step in Energy One's ongoing growth and strategy and further strengthens our position within the European wholesale energy markets. GMSL brings highly complementary capabilities, customers, and market expertise to the group. The transaction will establish Energy One as the clear leader in European scheduling and market access solutions, an important step-up in scale and our market position.
We will broaden our product offering using existing EOL and GMSL products and services, taking advantage of existing and upcoming EOL integration products like enFlow. The transaction creates additional opportunities to cross-sell to an increasingly complex and interconnected energy landscape, an established capability of Energy One. As previously mentioned, the transaction is also financially compelling, expected to increase earnings per share by 35% on a pro forma basis before any revenue or cost synergies. GMSL has significant expertise in its customer-facing capability, and Energy One will bring synergistic sales capability and overhead support, driving efficiency and sales effectiveness. The board believes the acquisition is strategically compelling and consistent with the disciplined growth strategy that has underpinned Energy One's success over many years.
The board remains focused on capital allocation as well. We continue to balance organic investment opportunities with selective acquisition opportunities that strengthen long-term prospects for the business. Financial 2026 was also a significant year from a leadership perspective. During the year, Ben was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, succeeding Shaun Ankers after 15 years of outstanding leadership. On behalf of the board and the shareholders, I would again like to thank Shaun for the enormous contribution he made to this company. Shaun played a pivotal role in building the company from a small Australian software provider into an international software and services business, serving customers across Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe. His leadership, vision, and commitment helped establish the strong platform from which the company now operates.
We are pleased that Shaun continues to contribute to the company as a Non-executive Director, and he is standing for election at today's meeting. I would also like to acknowledge Ben's contribution to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer. Ben and the executive team, a number of whom are here today, have continued to execute through the period of transition, and the board is encouraged by the opportunities that lie ahead for our company. I would like to thank my fellow directors for their guidance and support during the year. I also thank Ben, the executive team, and all of our employees across Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Their dedication, expertise, and commitment to our customers continue to underpin the company's success.
Finally, I would like to thank shareholders for their ongoing support and confidence in Energy One, and I look forward to discussing the company's progress with you today and answering any questions. Thank you. Yeah, moving to the resolutions. The resolutions for consideration today may only be voted on by shareholders, proxy holders, and shareholder company representatives. I propose to call a poll on each of these resolutions. Those in attendance who have not submitted a proxy vote may only vote on the provided AGM voting form. That form is to be handed in at the end of the meeting, please. Resolutions two to 10 set out in the notice of meeting are to be considered ordinary resolutions, and as such, must be approved by a simple majority of shareholders voting today and voting on the resolution.
We note that resolution seven is made up of three separate resolutions to be voted on separately. Resolution one, the financial statement and reports. There' s no requirement in the Corporations Act or the constitution of the company for shareholders to approve these results. I will, however, move that the shareholders approve the directors' report, financial statements, and the independent audit report for the financial year ended 30 June 2026. There have been no questions provided in advance. Are there any questions from those present or online? There being no further questions, I seek approval from those present for the annual report containing the financial statements for 2026 on a show of hands, please. The annual report is adopted on show of hands. Resolution two. I will note that for resolutions two to 10, they'll be placed as a poll.
The poll will be resolved after the meeting, and that closes five minutes after the meeting closes. The results will then be released to the ASX later today. Resolution two, I move that the remuneration report for the financial year 30th of June be adopted. There have been no questions provided in advance. Are there any questions from those present, please, or online?
No.
No? Thanks, Anastasia. The undirected proxies will be voted in favor of the resolution. I now put the motion. Please fill in the poll voting card if you are in the meeting today. Resolution three, the resolution of Mr. Ian Ferrier as a director of the company. I now move that Mr. Ian Ferrier, in accordance with the EOL constitution as well as ASX listing rules, and being eligible, offers himself for re-election to be elected as a non-executive of the company, be adopted. There have been no questions provided in advance. Are there any from those here present? There being no further questions, we put the resolutions to a poll. Thank you.
Resolution four, re-election of Mr. Michael Ryan as a director. I now move that Mr. Michael Ryan, in accordance with the EOL constitution as well as ASX listing rules, and being eligible, offers himself for re-election, t o be elected as a non-executive Director of the company be adopted. There have been no questions in advance. Are there any from the room, please, o r online? Thank you. As there are no further questions, we will put the resolution to a poll. Please vote on the form. Undirected proxies will be voted in favor of each resolution.
Resolution five, re-election of Mr. Shaun Ankers as a director. I now move that Mr. Shaun Ankers, in accordance with the EOL constitution as well as ASX Listing Rules, and being eligible, offers himself for election, be elected as a non-executive director of the company be adopted. There have been no questions or salutations provided in advance. Are there any online? Thank you. There being no further questions, we will put the resolutions to a poll.
Resolution six, grant of performance rights and service rights to the CEO, Mr. Ben Tranier. I now move that for the purpose of ASX Listing Rule 10.14, and for all other purposes, shareholders approve the issue of performance and service rights to the value of AUD 3.1 million to the CEO, Ben Tranier. There have been no questions provided in advance. Are there any in the room, please, o r online? Thank you. There being no further questions, we put the resolution to a poll. Undirected proxies will be voted in favor of the resolution.
7A, grant of service rights to Mr. Ian Ferrier. I now move that for the purpose of ASX Listing Rule 10.14, and for all other purposes, shareholders approve the issue of service-based share rights valued at AUD 50,566 to Mr. Ian Ferrier. There have been no questions provided in advance. Are there any in the room, please, or online? No. Thank you. As there are no further questions, we will put the resolution to a poll. Please vote in the room on the polling form. Undirected proxies will be put in favor of the resolution.
Resolution 7B, grant of service rights to Mr. Mike Ryan. I now move that for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.14, and for all other purposes, shareholders approve the issue of service-based share rights valued at AUD 23,796 to Mr. Mike Ryan. There have been no questions provided in advance. Any in the room, please, o r online? No? There being no questions, we put the resolutions to a poll, please.
The last one in this group, Resolution 7C, grant of service rights to Richard Kimber. I now move that for the purpose of ASX Listing Rule 10.14, and for all other purposes, shareholders approve the issue of service-based share rights valued at AUD 50,566 to Mr. Richard Kimber. There have been no questions provided in advance. Are there any in the room, please, o r online? No? There being no questions, I will put the resolution to a poll. Undirected proxies will be voted in favor of the resolution.
Resolution eight. I now move that for the purpose of ASX Listing Rule 10.17, Section 11.9 of the company's constitution, and for all other purposes, the total aggregate amount of directors' fees payable to non-executive directors is increased by AUD 200,000 per annum from AUD 700,000 to AUD 900,000. There have been no questions provided in advance. Are there any in the room, please, o r online? Thank you. There being no questions, we put the resolution to a poll. Undirected proxies will be voted in favor of the resolution.
Resolution nine, approval of the Energy One share plans. I now move that for the purposes of Listing Rule 7.2 E xception 13, and for all other purposes, shareholders approve any issues of securities under the Energy One Limited equity incentive plan, the Contigo Software Limited share incentive plan, which is the U.K. company, performance share rights for key employees of eZ-nergy, excuse me, which is the French company, 2024/2025 performance share rights plan for key people of EGSSIS, which is the Belgian company, and the sub-plan for share allocation for the employees of EGSSIS, being the Belgian company. The approval of the share plans will be considered as a single resolution to be voted on by shareholders. There have been no questions provided in advance. Are there any in the room, please, o r online?
Thank you. There being no questions, we will put the resolution to a poll. Please vote on the form here. Undirected proxies will be voted in favor of the resolution.
Resolution 10, approval of leave of benefits for key office holders. I now move that for the purposes of Listing Rule 10.19 and Part 2D.2 of the Corporations Act 2001 , and for all other purposes, approval be given for the giving of benefits by the company to key office holders in relation to amounts paid on termination of employment as set out in the explanatory memorandum. There have been no questions provided in advance. Are there any in the room, please, or online? There being no questions, we put the resolution to a poll. Undirected proxies will be voted in favor of the resolution. As I stated before, the final results of the poll will be announced at the ASX later today. The poll will close five minutes after the closure of the formal part of this meeting.
Shareholders present are reminded about the yellow card voting, please. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. That brings the formal part of the meeting to a close. We will now take questions. There has been one advance question. I will take them from the meeting first. Are there any questions out of the floor, please? Hooray. Thank you.
Hi. Thanks, Andrew. My name is [Sean Burns]. I have been a shareholder for a few years. This is sort of just a general question. I think the old CFO had, I may not get the exact wording right, but it was in terms of operational leverage in the business, said that basically revenues was going to, costs were going to grow at half the rate of revenues. You' ve got the acquisition coming on, which probably blurs that a fair bit. But just in terms of, can you just speak generally, and I noticed that sort of dropped a bit out of the narrative. Can you just talk generally about operational leverage going forward in the business?
Yep.
How you see that? Thanks.
No, it hasn't dropped out of the statements the company has made. We still expect revenues to grow at 15%-20%, and the cost to grow at about half that. That's been very successful in the company under both Shaun and Ben's leadership. That's been very successful. The acquisition of GMSL will add significant profit and revenue to the business, but it is important for shareholders to see the progress as we continue to grow operational leverage within Energy One. Part of that is coming from improved efficiency and effectiveness within the business. Part of it's coming from AI, and part of it's coming from a focus where the employees know, and as they are all shareholders as well, that it's important to shareholders.
But we will report GMSL and Energy One separately over the next year or so, so that shareholders can see that progress without clouding it by Energy One. You want to make some comments about improving operational leverage, Ben?
No, I mean, I do agree with you. On the business as usual basis, so without GMSL, we still expect as Andrew said to grow 15%-20%, and the cost pretty much half of that. The goal is also, again, to report both separately for the next few upcoming half years. For the shareholders, you will be able to see the synergies, you will be able to see the organic growth on both sides and the combined effect on it. In term of operational leverage, we're definitively making progress with AI, so we're a lot more efficient. We don't need to hire that many people compared to before to develop new software, a nd definitively keeping an eye on our spends and to make sure that's the case. So aligned with our statements.
Yeah. Hope that helps. But thank you for the question. A lot of people will be thinking the things that you ask, so yeah, it was great. Any other questions from within the room, please? There's no questions from online, but there's a previously provided question, which I'll read out. Thank you for offering the opportunity to ask a question at the AGM, but that's important because transparency is an important part of the way that you see how the company runs. I'd like to offer the following question in relation to the change in power systems as renewables become affordable, but create a mismatch in deployment. As electrification accelerates, many households and businesses are increasingly constrained, not by their ability to generate electricity, but by their ability to export, store or monetize them.
As a shareholder who experiences this firsthand, how does Energy One intend to capture value from the growing mismatch being distributed between energy production and grid capacity? How do you see export constrained solar, batteries, and EVs becoming a material growth opportunity for the company over the next five years? I'll answer the question from an energy policy point of view, and a lot of it relates to smaller businesses and residential customers. Basically, the electricity transmission and distribution system worldwide has developed over the last 150 years basically to take electricity from large power stations of high voltage through to customers at lower and, in residential case, 240 volts. That design does not suit well the wish of modern customers to actually have own generation and solar and to push the energy back the other way.
Basically what happens is you force it back up the system. That creates a number of problems. When you're driving home and you look up in the street, you see power distribution systems and the transformers on the top of the poles, and that's a major problem. There's a lot of research going on worldwide, a lot of companies working on how do you actually manage that system to get more solar out, and Australia's right at the edge, in fact it's been over the edge, of getting access to that system, which is why your solar system is constrained. It doesn't apply to the large wholesale, which is where our company operates. But a lot of customers are moving from behind the meter to, major customers, to in front of the meter so they can take advantage of our systems, and that is an important growth.
Correct. An EV owner will not be a customer of Energy One, right? We're not going into the retail business. But what we'll be able to see is actually also the creation of what's called energy communities. So different houses with solar panels and EV owners that will be aggregated, not into dozens, but more into thousands, and they would actually go and cross the meter and access the market. It's actually very positive for us because there will be new market entrants. We'll be able to sell them our solutions and our services, right, both. It will also create some volatility in the markets because we can't rely on them plugging their cars and charging, discharging into the grid, which means that they will need more frequency response services, and that's also a vertical where we play. So, definitively positive.
The electricity trading and energy trading border has been changing, well, changing in the past few years, and we've always been there for providing the right services and solutions. In the past, it's been like LNG, batteries, virtual power plants. Now it's all these small consumers crossing the meters, and we're definitively here to provide them services and software.
But I think there is a point worth noting that a very large proportion of our revenues and even more when GMSL joins the company in a couple of days, that Australia is still very, very relevant. There's a lot of innovation coming out of Australia. A lot of our design is split between Australia and Europe in terms of development. A lot of companies are still looking at things that happen in Australia, like congested solar, to work out what happens in regions like Europe that haven't quite progressed quite as far as our residential solar program is. So it's very positive to the prospects of the company having research and development and developers in both parts of the world. So it's really good.
I made a comment there about GMSL. So the conditions precedent on GMSL were approval of shareholders for the issue of the consideration shares and approval from two regulatory bodies, basically the competition bodies in Australia and in the U.K. The shareholder vote last week was 86% in favor, so that constraint has passed. The competition bodies have accepted that they'll take no action, which was mentioned at the meeting last week, but I just mentioned it today for clarity. Our anticipation at the moment is that GMSL will transfer at the end of this month, in 10 days, rather than at the end of November as we thought four or five months ago. Hope that's helpful. Do we have a question from online?
Yes, we do.
I shall hear that as well.
Claude Walker has a question.
Thanks a lot, Andrew. I just was wondering, a couple of years ago, I guess, if you look back at when you bought CQ Energy, a big part of the plan there was doing the 24/7 trading desk kind of option. On top of that, back then everybody had their best guess about how the rollout of renewable energy, like say, new wind farms or distributed solar, how would that roll out. I know in the intervening years since then, I've just noticed in the newspaper from time to time stuff about how due to maybe transmission network constraints or for whatever other reason, oftentimes you have seen delays with renewable energy developments coming up. I am just wondering if you can reflect on, I guess, how reality has fared versus what the company was thinking back then.
Also, if despite the last few years, if the 24/7 trading desk, if that's starting to pay off as expected back then.
Yes. Claude, it's definitely paid off. It's very powerful. I think we mentioned at the last results presentation that we have a customer that, if I get this right, has electricity operations out of France, gas operations out of Belgium, their ETRM is managed out of the U.K.
The night shift.
The night shift is done out of Adelaide. So that we have customers that have taken advantage of that. I think more importantly to your main point about expectations, we're not a company that sells one product because Shaun built a structure that if you're not buying an ETRM this year, would you like to buy something else from us? We sell a broad spectrum of products. The advantage of that is that it's turned into a solution set, not a product set, so that customers are always needing solutions, and we can go to them and provide them a variety of different solutions. That's become relevant in terms of improving our margin, as discussed before.
But it's been noted even in the GMSL transaction that we have a number of customers that we can now go to and bring them solutions that they wouldn't previously have seen. So the structure that Shaun and Ben have built means that, yes, there will be delays. There's always delays in customer decision-making, in policy, in whatever. So if you've got a resistance or a delay in this area-
But in terms of winning that business when it comes off, when-
You go to another area. Sorry, I missed that, Claude.
Oh, just on that exact point you were saying, yes, there might be delays in the wind farm or whatever, but when that wind farm comes, when it does get built and online, you're still sitting pretty to get that business.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
As the battery started up in Australia, we signed up for a number of those, and as they come on, they are our customers. It is slower than you would like, but we put our attention elsewhere into other products with other customers. So, yes.
Right.
We are well set up that way.
Excellent. Thank you very much.
Absolutely. We' re seeing actually now the batteries are coming online in Europe. So they started in Australia, they will come in the next upcoming years in Europe, s o definitively a new market in Europe for us. On your question on the 24/7, we're actually seeing more traction. So GMSL is also providing 24/7 services. What we're seeing with all the automations is actually there will be more companies outsourcing their operations. Because you still need a human in control when something goes wrong, a human liable for the actions and really operating the assets. But you need less in-house. So we're actually seeing a movement of the industry towards services and managed services.
Excellent.
To join the last two questions together, Claude, the large industrial customers that we've mentioned in the full year and half year results presentations, both are using a spectrum of our services, but also a spectrum of the products as well.
Yep.
Their solution set's not a product sell.
Cool. All right, great. This is on track.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Good questions.
Are there any further questions, please? Okay. Well, thank you very much. As I mentioned, we will publish the poll later today. I thank all shareholders for their support and for their attendance at the meeting, and I look forward to talking to you shortly. I declare the meeting closed. Thank you.
Thank you.