Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and my fellow shareholders. Welcome to the annual general meeting of GrainCorp Limited. I'm Peter Richards, Chairman of the Board, I'd like to thank you for actually joining us today without the need to having to go virtual. Thank you very much. Today's meeting is also being webcast. I'd like to those who are listening online, it is 10:00, the nominated time for this meeting. I've been advised by Anneli that we have a quorum. We do. Thank you. I declare the meeting open. Before we commit to the official business of the meeting, a reminder that cameras and recording devices are not to be used during the meeting. Media reps are welcome to remain in attendance.
However, as this is a shareholders meeting, questions during the meeting will only be taken from registered shareholders or proxy holders. In the event of an emergency or an evacuation, please exit via the doors at the back of the room and follow the instructions of the hotel staff. This morning, I'd also like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land in which we meet, namely the Gadigal people of the Eora nations, past, present, and future, and recognize the strength and resilience of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this land. I'd now like to introduce you to the GrainCorp board of directors. Obviously, on my right is Robert Spurway, our Managing Director and CEO. Non-exec directors, Kathy Grigg, Nicki Anderson, and Dan Mangelsdorf. Clive Stiff is available, but he's unable to be here in person.
He is online, and he can hear us, and if necessary, can speak. Welcome, Clive, from a distance. Our company secretaries, Anneli Squires and Stephanie Belton. Our chief financial officer, Ian Morrison. Also in the room are our many members of our extremely capable executive and senior leadership teams. We've also got Luke Thrum, our investor relations manager. We have Eliza Penny, a partner from PwC, who's our external auditors. Of course, we have representatives from Link Market Services, our share registry provider. All welcome. Thank you. Turning to the agenda.
For the meeting, I'll deliver the chairman's report, Robert will present a report on FY 2022, an update on our strategic priorities and initiatives and the outlook for the current financial year, which if you had the chance, was released to the ASX this morning. We'll then proceed to consider the resolutions in the notice of meeting, I will outline the voting arrangements ahead of that section. There will be an opportunity for shareholders to ask questions during the formal business items as they relate to the resolutions being considered. Okay. Ahead of that, formal, I'll go on to my address. Obviously, FY 2022, Robert will expand on it, was an outstanding year and a record-breaking year for GrainCorp.
The company delivered earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization, otherwise known as EBITDA, of over AUD 700 million, up 112% on another record performance in FY 2021. Net profit after tax was AUD 380 million, up 173%. This was by far the strongest financial result in our history, driven by strong execution, as I said, by extremely capable management team, higher volumes, and robust global demand. It was achieved amid significant disruption to global grain markets, obviously caused by geopolitical instability, COVID and regional weather events, including droughts and floods. You may be a farmer. Our teams worked diligently throughout the year, driving our supply chains to peak capacity to deliver essential food and feed around the world.
As we pass or nearing the passing of 12-month anniversary of hostilities in Ukraine, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the strength and resilience of our Ukrainian team. They have shown remarkable stoicism and commitment to our business despite the devastation of unfolding across their country. We continue to work closely with our Ukrainian colleagues, providing practical support and relocation opportunities where appropriate. We are now four months into the new financial year. As Robert will discuss shortly, the 2022, 2023 ECA winter harvest was challenging. Significant but challenging due to both adverse weather and ongoing logistical road and rail transport issues caused obviously by the weather.
While total grain production was not at the record levels seen over the past two years, it was again well above average, and we expect this to support another strong financial result for GrainCorp in this financial year. Turning to safety, we strive to embed a strong safety culture and promote a mindset of awareness, continuous improvement, and accountability. In FY22, we were pleased to see our Recordable Injury Frequency Rate improve from 8.9 to 6.7. However, our lost time injury frequency rate increased from 2.3 to 2.6. We remain committed to improving this performance through initiatives focused on risk management and behavioral awareness. Turning to strategy, we refreshed under the leadership of Robert, our approach in 2020 and split into two clear components, strengthening our core business and pursuing targeted growth opportunities.
In the core area, we are leveraging our capabilities and driving our existing assets with the objective of lifting our return on invested capital. I was pleased to report that in FY22, our return on invested capital was 28%, up from 11% in the prior year, which is obviously an outstanding result for the group. We have also identified several strategic themes which we believe can drive the next phase of growth for GrainCorp. We've spoken about these previously, areas such as agri energy-Digital and agtech, animal nutrition and alternative proteins. Each with strong macro drivers and significant opportunity for innovation. They are also areas we believe GrainCorp has a strong right to win, where our existing assets, capabilities and customers are in strong alignment. Robert will provide more detail shortly on the progress we've made in these areas.
In terms of capital management and shareholder returns, the significant uplift in financial performance in FY 2022 allowed the board to declare a final dividend of AUD 0.30 per share, fully franked, bringing total dividends for FY 2022 to AUD 0.54. This was up from AUD 0.18 the prior year. We also completed a share buyback, returning an additional AUD 50 million to our shareholders. The significant cash flow generated over the past 2 years has enabled us to increase capital returns to shareholders while remaining in a strong financial position. For example, as at the balance sheet date in September last year, GrainCorp had core cash of AUD 177 million on the balance sheet, up from AUD 1 million of core debt in the prior year.
As a result, we are well-placed to continue investing in our business while also further returning capital to shareholders. ESG is also very topical, and in August 2022, we established a new Sustainability Committee with Clive Stiff appointed as chair and committee members comprising myself and Kathy Grigg. Our decision to elevate sustainability to board level reflects the importance we place on this important initiative, global initiative. During the year, we continued to advance our ESG strategy and developed a roadmap of activities. In addition to the board committee, we have a new sustainability governance framework, allowing us to coordinate an ambitious work program while building internal capability and processes. It's excellent to report our sustainability report for 2022, and I encourage you to have a read. Robert will also talk in more detail about this shortly.
Our success as a business relies on thriving and vibrant rural and regional communities. We look to contribute to the social connection of these communities by investing in the local infrastructure and community initiatives that bring people together. During the year, the GrainCorp Community Foundation supported more than 100 community groups in areas such as community improvement projects, disaster relief, sport and recreation, and health and safety. We also have progressed several new silo art projects and look forward to seeing these completed in the months ahead. Now turning to our board. We regularly review our board's composition to ensure we have the right mix of skills, experience, attributes and diversity. In October 2021, we welcomed two new Non-Executive Directors to the board, being Nicki and Clive. Having seen our long-standing director, Donald McGauchie, step down after last year's AGM.
Kathy Grigg is seeking re-election today in accordance with the 3-year rotation cycle. Kathy joined the board in December 2019 and was first elected by shareholders at the 2020 AGM. She is currently the chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, a member of the Rem Committee, and also a member of the Sustainability Committee. Since joining GrainCorp, Kathy has made and continues to make a significant and welcome contribution to the board and our committees, and we, the rest of the board unanimously endorses her re-election today. In conclusion, I have great confidence in GrainCorp's outlook, and I'm very proud to be standing here. With our businesses and management performing exceptionally well and the company in a strong financial position. We are progressing our strategy, delivering improved financial returns and creating value for our shareholders.
On behalf of the board, I'd like to thank our people for their ongoing commitment and their contribution to such an outstanding result. I also extend this appreciation to our Managing Director and CEO, Robert Spurway, and his senior leadership team for the hard work over the past year. I'd also like to thank you, our shareholders, for your continued support. As I said, it's really great to see you here today. Robert, can I invite you now to deliver your presentation?
Thank you, Peter. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is a real pleasure to join you today and to see shareholders in person for, as Peter said, the first time now in 3 years. This morning, I'd like to run through the following updates for you. Our operational and financial performance in financial year 2022. A brief update on our strategy to deliver long-term sustainable growth for shareholders. The progress we've made with sustainability and ESG more generally. An update on the East Coast Australia winter harvest, of course, our outlook and earnings guidance for financial year 2023. Before I start, I do just wanna share a video with you that showcases some of the exciting and innovative progress our amazing team of people at GrainCorp have made over the last year.
FY 2022 was an historic year for GrainCorp. With record-breaking results and a resilient and innovative workforce driving our success, we cemented our position as a premium supplier of sustainable commodities, ingredients and services. Favorable weather conditions on Australia's East Coast drove another bumper winter crop, which was delivered to domestic and international markets through our end-to-end supply chains. We expanded our extensive upcountry receivable network, adding significant new storage capacity to support growers delivering their crops. Our international trading teams connected with emerging and established markets, delivering Australian grains and oilseeds to customers around the world. This drove a strong increase in our export program of 9.2 million tons through our 7 East Coast ports. We broke our own oilseed crush records, converting Australian canola seed into the vegetable oils we see on our supermarket shelves today.
Working in partnership with Austrade, we began exporting our unique Pinnac le range of plant-based edible oil blends across the Asia Pacific. Our Pinnac le products are what customers are looking for today in Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand. In a strong operating year, we continued to invest in technology, processes, and people to lead the way in a new era of food security and sustainability. GrainCorp is driving operational efficiency with artificial intelligence and machine learning in our new advanced analytics function. On-farm trials with digital startup Hone will deliver quality measurement solutions for farmers in the field. GrainCorp Ventures' investment in Zetifi will help to bring consistent 5G internet to rural communities by bridging the connectivity gap in the bush. Throughout the year, GrainCorp's scientists, chemists, and food technologists continued their commitment to building a sustainable future in agriculture.
Our teams are spearheading industry-leading research into solutions for the cattle industry, with breakthroughs in the handling and delivery of methane-reducing animal feed supplements. Our research into alternative proteins continues to help meet the growing global demand for protein with plant-based ingredients. As a leading supplier of feedstocks for renewable fuels, including tallow, used cooking oil, and vegetable oils, we're building our position in this rapidly growing market. Our commitment to supply chain excellence and innovation, and our partnerships with growers, producers, and regional communities places GrainCorp at the heart of Australian agriculture.
I do just want to acknowledge that that video was produced in-house, and some of you might recognize the voiceover, our very own Jess Simons, who's in the room here today, our head of communications and corporate affairs at GrainCorp. Moving to our financial and operational results. Starting with our financial performance. As Peter mentioned, GrainCorp delivered a record result in financial year 2022, with EBITDA of AUD 703 million and a net profit after tax of AUD 380 million. This equated to a return on invested capital of 27.9%. These numbers represent an outstanding result and a record for GrainCorp, something we're extremely proud of. Going through our business segments and some of the key metrics outlined on the slide behind me here.
In agribusiness, our East Coast Australia, or ECA, handled 41.1 million tons of grain, up from 34.4 million tons the prior year. The exceptional performance from this business reflects the value of our infrastructure assets and our ability to move grain efficiently to global markets. High global demand for Australian grain was also an important factor, and this supported the strong supply chain margins. Our international business achieved strong origination and export margins from Western Australia, however, was also adversely impacted by drought in Canada. Our feeds, fats, and oils businesses performed well with Auscol, our used cooking oil collection business benefiting from the high global demand in biofuels and those associated markets. In the processing segments, oilseeds had an excellent year with record crush volumes of 471,000 tons.
This enabled us to capture the favorable gross crush margins and benefit from the substantial demand we see for vegetable oils. Our foods business also increased its sales volumes, supported by an increasingly diversified customer base and solid demand for refined vegetable oils. Overall, we finished the year in a strong financial position with AUD 177 million in core cash. To summarize, financial year 2022 was an outstanding year for GrainCorp. We are doing what we said we'd do, and we're delivering on our commitments. Turning to strategy, this slide summarizes our vision, our purpose, and our strategic priorities, which are centered on delivering for growers and customers and are designed to create sustained shareholder value.
A key part of our strategy involves strengthening our core, driving our assets harder, leveraging our capabilities, and delivering higher returns on invested capital. The second part of our strategy involves pursuing targeted growth opportunities in areas with strong potential and where GrainCorp has a right to win. We are ultimately seeking to create value for the future by investing in our people, our capabilities, and our assets. We're improving our underlying performance and positioning the business for growth. Moving to some more detail and the progress we've made in financial year 2022. In our core area, we invested in the East Coast Australia network to improve the service offering to growers and to enable the network to handle consecutive bumper crops. During the year, we built additional storage capacity at several key sites, and we've also upgraded our mobile fleet of equipment. All of that improves our service levels.
With our port assets, we continue to diversify our product and customer mix by broadening our bulk materials offering. Our joint venture, GrainsConnect Canada, is a key part of our international business and our diversification of grain origination beyond Australia. Through this joint venture, our Canadian supply chain was completed during the year with the Fraser Grain Terminal in Vancouver commissioned and now operating at capacity. In our processing business, we lifted our oil seed crush volumes and food production to record levels. We are maximizing the output from our assets. In growth, we pre-progressed several growth opportunities during the year, some of which are listed on the slide behind me. In our work on alternative protein, we have an industry research collaboration underway focused on the plant-based protein market and domestic supply chain opportunities.
We are actively exploring opportunities in the agri energy space, an industry that is growing rapidly. We believe agri energy has a significant opportunity for GrainCorp due to the growing demand for renewable fuels globally and the increased requirement for renewable fuel feedstocks. GrainCorp is already a leading supplier of these feedstocks in Australia, including used cooking oil, tallow, and canola oil. We're uniquely positioned to participate in the market's growth. We're currently looking at several opportunities to expand our business, including adding capacity and supply to our feedstock offering. In the digital and ag tech space, we launched GrainCorp Ventures, a corporate venture capital fund that will invest up to AUD 30 million in ag tech startups over a 3-year period. Our first investment is in a business called Zetifi, based in Wagga Wagga in New South Wales.
Zetifi helps to plug the gap in digital connectivity for farmers in rural Australia, a problem many growers and regional communities face daily. We believe this business has significant potential, and we're excited to be a part of it. Turning to sustainability and ESG more generally. At a global level, our industry must work to feed a growing population in a challenging climate with fewer resources. This is a significant challenge, but one we believe is achievable through continuous improvement and innovation across the industry and sector. We believe firmly that GrainCorp not only has a responsibility to support this goal, but an opportunity to drive best practice and change in this area. Our ESG approach has advanced significantly in the past two years. We've driven this by investing in our people, structure, and processes.
The slide behind me provides a snapshot of the progress we made in financial year 2022. As Peter said, we have a new board sustainability committee, a sustainability management committee, and working groups to address our material ESG topics. Sustainability is being increasingly integrated into every part of our business and strategy at GrainCorp. During the year, we assessed the risks and opportunities of Scope 3 emissions across our supply chains. We're now modeling the emissions reduction pathways and preparing roadmaps for Scope 1, 2, and 3 to support accelerated decarbonization in the years ahead. We're supporting sustainable practices in food and agriculture through our work with global customers, Australian growers, industry experts, and ag tech startups. We're also investing in our people and communities. We have health and wellbeing programs for our employees and contractors. We are well advanced in developing our reconciliation action plan.
Last year, we supported over 100 community initiatives through the GrainCorp Community Foundation. Moving to safety, as Peter said, our commitment is to achieving zero harm. Our safety culture is continually reinforced by strong leadership, combined with systems and processes that ensure continuous improvement and accountability. The slide shows our performance across the two key measures, and clearly, we've still got some opportunities to improve. There are many initiatives underway across the business supporting this goal. Looking to the harvest for the current crop and the impact on financial year 2023. ECA grain production overall has again been well above average despite a challenging and delayed harvest. On behalf of everyone at GrainCorp, I personally want to acknowledge the difficult weather conditions and flooding events that disrupted the harvest for many growers and has challenged communities, including several of our own staff in regional Australia.
In some cases, the flooding has caused crop abandonment, damage to local roads and infrastructure, and logistical challenges both for GrainCorp and the growers in our supply chain. Notwithstanding these challenges, as of this week, we've received a very strong 11.9 million tons of grain into our network for the 2022/2023 harvest. Year-to-date export volumes are 3 million tons, down slightly on last year due to the disruptions experienced in the first quarter and the delayed harvest. With the high level of inventory we're carrying over from last year, our total inventories will ensure another large export pro-program for financial year 23. We're again forecasting exports of between 8.5 million and 9.5 million tons.
Growers across Queensland and Northern New South Wales have now started to harvest their summer crops, with ABARES forecasting a strong ECA sorghum harvest of 2.6 million tons. On our outlook, I'd like to finish with our financial guidance for financial year 2023. We expect to report EBITDA of between AUD 470 million and AUD 530 million, and net profit after tax of AUD 180 million-AUD 220 million. This would be another outstanding result for GrainCorp and the company, demonstrates the value of your company, our people, and our assets. In the agribusiness segment, we are once again experiencing above average ECA grain handling volumes, as I said, the continued delivery of our core operating initiatives.
The earnings guidance reflects our expectation that good global demand for Australian grain will continue, however, at slightly lower margins than we saw in financial year 2022. Our feeds, fats, and oils business continues to benefit from strong demand for renewable feedstocks. In processing, our oilseeds business continues to increase its crush volumes and outputs, and is also benefiting from the strong demand for vegetable oils. In summary, we're pleased that all of our operating businesses continue to have a strong, positive outlook. In concluding, I'd like to thank all of our people for their commitment and resilience in a challenging, yet highly successful year for GrainCorp. On behalf of all of us here at GrainCorp, thank you again to our customers and importantly, our growers, as we continue to partner with you across Australia. Finally, thank you to our shareholders.
Thank you for your ongoing support. Thank you, Peter.
Thank you, Robert. We'll now move to the formal items of business as part of this AGM. The notice of meeting and explanatory notes were lodged with the ASX and posted to our company's website. I will take the notice of meeting as read, and as set out in this notice of meeting, there are 4 items of business today which are displayed, I think, on the screen behind me. There you go. Item 1 is for consideration only with no vote required. All other items are ordinary resolutions which require a shareholder vote. Shareholders, proxies, and corporate representatives who had registered to vote today should have received a yellow card. Shareholders, proxies, and corporate representatives that are not voting today should have received a blue non-voting shareholder card.
Only those holding yellow voting cards are eligible to vote. Only those holding blue or yellow cards are eligible to speak at this meeting. Anyone with a red card is not able to ask questions during the meeting or vote on the resolutions. I can confirm that where undirected proxies have been given in favor of the chairman, those shares will be voted in favor of all resolutions to the extent permitted. Voting on all items of business will be conducted by a poll. I now declare the poll open for each of the resolutions in the notice of meeting. Sumit Singh of Link Market Services will conduct the poll as the Returning Officer. Your voting cards will be collected by Link at the conclusion of the formal business.
If you need to leave early, please complete your voting card and present it to Link staff members at the door. That would be much appreciated. As Chairman of the meeting, I will ensure that there are opportunities for separate deliberation concerning the items of business. Please hold questions on exec remuneration, for example, until we get to the exec remuneration resolution. To enable all shareholders to participate, it is important that comments and questions are succinct and restricted to the subject matter of the business and resolutions set out in the notice of meeting. We have two roving microphones in the room, and when we come to questions during the meeting, please raise your hand to ask a question, and if you could please announce your name. During the meeting, we will display and discuss each resolution.
We will then display the number of direct and proxy votes that we've already received on each of those resolutions prior to the meeting. Votes cast during the meeting will be then counted by Link after the meeting closes. Results of the poll will be released as soon as available on the ASX and will also be displayed on our website. Okay, now moving to item one, which concerns the consideration of the financial statements and the reports of the directors and auditors for the financial year ended 30th of September, 2022. The reports are contained in the annual report, which was posted to the GrainCorp's website on the 16th of November last year, and a hard copy was sent to those shareholders who specifically requested it. Shareholders have also had the opportunity to view the statements and reports on the company's website.
I will take the reports as read and now formally lay them before the meeting. The purpose of this item is to provide an opportunity for shareholders to ask questions and make comments about the company's performance, operations, and management. Shareholders were invited to submit questions in advance of today's meeting to our auditors on the conduct of the audit, the preparation and content of the auditor's report, the accounting policies adopted by GrainCorp relating to the preparation of the financial statements, and the independence of the auditor in conducting the audit. No questions were received by PwC or the company. Would anyone like to ask a question or express their view on the financial statements and reports or the presentation from myself and Robert?
A reminder that only holders of yellow or blue cards are entitled to ask questions, and as I said, if you can please clearly state your name. Happy to take questions. Yes, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name Roman, long-term shareholder. I would like to thank you and your great team who did a great job. Well done, guys. Just continue to do so. Thank you.
Thank you much for your sentiments. I do recall your questions in the past too, sir, so it's great to have you back.
Giles Edwards, humble shareholder. A great year. Full marks, as per the previous speaker, and also I'd like to say thank God for a very clear glossary at the back. It makes the share, readings of the annual report so much easier when some of the acronyms are not regularly in currency. It can't get much better than this. Previously, we've had the maltings business from about 12 years ago to stabilize a lot of the earnings, and that's now been hived off as United Malt. What... Do we have a plan B? Because we're such a reactive company to suppliers, and then that's dependent on weather, fly, floods, whatever. Do we have a, sort of, another United Malt, or would the agri oils that, Mr.
Spurway mentioned possibly be a second string to our bow to normalize or at least, reduce some of the fluctuations of feast and famine in the grain industry? Do we have a plan B or a second string similar to United Malt?
We should acknowledge that the chairman of United Malt is sitting to the side here. We welcome Graham. I can assure you that plan B doesn't involve you, Graham. I think you would have seen from Robert's presentation that there's two key areas of our strategy. One is to strengthen the core, and you would have noticed through the year that we invested again in the available capacity to take in the additional grains that have been afforded us over the last few years. We've also really improved the structure of the supply chain to deliver that product so that we've lowered our costs over the longer term, which is building a sustainable higher earnings base for the company.
Just as importantly, you would have seen that there's some key targeted areas for growth. I would say that that involves plan B, C, D, and E, in terms of how we're looking to invest the available capital that's available to us in building a more sustainable and higher platform of earnings going forward. I can assure you that there's many opportunities that are being viewed by the board, and hopefully we'll have more to say on that in the coming year. Any further questions? Robert and I will be available post the meeting too if you wanna approach us directly. Thank you for those questions. There's no requirement for a vote on item one. I now move to the items of business which require a formal resolution.
Okay, moving to item 2, which concerns the adoption of the remuneration report, and the resolution is now displayed on the screen. The remuneration report is set out on pages 38 to 51 of the 2022 annual report and provides disclosures relating to director and executive remuneration. As stated in the notice of meeting, the vote on the remuneration report is advisory only and does not bind the directors or the company. The board will, though, as usual, take note of the views of shareholders in relation to our remuneration policies. Last year, I can confirm that shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favor of our remuneration report. We remain, as a board, committed to ensuring that our approach to executive remuneration aligns with our business strategy and growing our platforms B, C, and D.
With the interests of our shareholders that is fair and competitive to enable us to attract and retain talent that we need to manage our business effectively to meet our strategic objectives. I now invite comments or questions with regard to the remuneration report. No? Thank you very much. The direct and proxy votes received on this item are shown now on the screen. As you can see, again, thank you very much for your support, as shareholders of this great company.
Moving to item 3 on the notice of meeting, which concerns the reelection of Kathy Grigg, who, in accordance with the 3-year rotation cycle under the ASX Listing Rules and our company's constitution, is scheduled to retire this AGM and being eligible, offers herself for reelection. I said before, Kathy joined the board in 2019 and elected by shareholders in February 2020. Kathy has brought to the board and continues to excel in relation to areas in finance and operational management and strategic development. Further details of Kathy's qualifications and experience are set out in the explanatory notes to the notice of meeting. Kathy, I might just ask you to say a few words to the shareholders.
Thank you, Peter. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. As Peter mentioned, I joined the board of GrainCorp in November 2019, was very fortunate to be part of the demerger or following the demerger of the malt business in early 2020 to be involved in the development of the strategy you've heard further about today of the core and growth businesses. As outlined in the annual report, I've had significant executive and non-executive experience, mainly in agriculture and financial services, as chair of Audit and Risk Committees, including the chairing the committee now at GrainCorp. With the ever-increasing focus on risk and compliance, the Audit Committee has a pivotal role in ensuring high standards are achieved in these areas, which you would expect as shareholders, I'm committed to ensuring that this is the case at GrainCorp.
I'm also delighted to be a member of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee and the Sustainability Committee, which is newly formed, as Peter mentioned, which has a role of increasing importance to shareholders and to the wider community that GrainCorp is involved with. I'm also on the board of Agricultural Innovation Australia, which is a newly formed body to advance important cross-sectoral innovations in Australian agriculture. With your support for re-election to the board, I look forward to continuing to work in the best interest of GrainCorp to deliver on the opportunities and continued sustainable growth of the business. Thank you.
Thanks,K athy. I now invite comments or questions with respect to this resolution. No questions. You'll now see the direct and proxy votes are shown on the screen, and I'm assured by Cathy that she's searching for that 2.4%. I will now move to the final item of business which relates to the grant of performance rights to our Managing Director and CEO, Robert Spurway. The notes of the meeting provide a summary of the performance hurdles, vesting mechanisms, and other conditions applicable to the FY 2023 long-term incentive performance rights. Your board believes that the offer of these performance rights under the long-term incentive plan is an important part of Robert's overall remuneration package, as it is designed to provide long-term incentive to pursue the continued growth and success of GrainCorp, which in turn is directly aligned with shareholders' interests.
I now invite any questions or comments with respect to this resolution. Thank you. The votes are as shown on the screen now. I now ask if shareholders, proxy holders, and corporate reps holding the yellow voting cards to complete the card if you have not already done so to finalize your votes. Sir, would you please come forward to collect the voting cards as the returning officer.
Shareholders, please put your voting cards in the collection boxes as they are brought around. If you don't have a voting card or require assistance, please see Link at the door. Are we all done? Okay. Thank you. I now declare the polls on the resolutions closed. Link will now count the votes and results, as I said, will be available on the ASX platform later on today.
This now completes the formal items of business. Again, I'd like to sincerely thank you for attending today's AGM. In addition, I'd like to thank our shareholders and customers, the executive leadership team and the staff of GrainCorp, the company's advisors and auditors, and of course, Link. I now declare the meeting closed. Despite the fabulous year that we've had, unfortunately, we've had a little glitch with respect to our catering, which might be available, what time, Annalie?
About 20 minutes.
Apparently it's arriving in about 20 minutes. Please stay around and approach any of the directors for questions. Again, thank you very much for joining us today. Thank you.