Good morning, everybody. I'm Leona Murphy, Chair of the Board of Directors of Helia Group Ltd. I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet today, the Camaralgal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to Elders past, present, and emerging. Welcome to our 2025 Annual General Meeting. It's now 11:00 A.M., and I've been informed that the necessary quorum of shareholders is present for the meeting. I therefore declare this meeting open. Today we're holding a hybrid meeting. Shareholders attending virtually will be able to view a video broadcast of this meeting, ask a question, and participate through the online platform.
The Notice of Meeting and the Virtual Online Meeting Guide, released on the ASX on the 25th of March 2025 and posted on our website, set out the meeting procedures to enable attendance and participation in this meeting by virtual means. I will take the Notice of Meeting as read. My address as Chair, along with the CEO's address, can be found on our website. They were also released to the market prior to commencement of the meeting this morning. Before I proceed with my address and the formal business of the meeting, I would like to introduce my fellow directors: Andrea Waters, Chair of the Audit Committee; Duncan West, Chair of the People and Remuneration Committee; JoAnne Stephenson , Chair of the Risk Committee; Alastair Muir; and Andrew Moore, both non-executive directors.
You will hear from JoAnne, Andrew, and Alistair later in the meeting when they speak to the resolutions for their election or re-election to your board. Pauline Blight-Johnston, our Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, is also present with us at this meeting. Brady Weisel, our General Counsel and Company Secretary, is present, as is Mark Stavitt, our Senior Corporate Counsel and Assistant Company Secretary, who's going to assist with the meeting procedures. Leann Yuan, the Company's Audit Partner at KPMG for the 2024 year, is also present. Ms. Yuan is available to answer any questions in relation to the conduct of the audit and the auditor's report, the Company's accounting policies, and the independence of the auditor. I will now outline how shareholders can participate in today's meeting. You'll be able to ask questions on the resolutions that are to be voted on today.
For shareholders and proxies attending the meeting in person, you may raise your hand to ask a question at the relevant time. For shareholders attending online, you will be able to ask questions and cast your vote once you've registered for an electronic voting card. Please click on the Ask a Question box and follow the prompts. I encourage you to start typing your question now instead of waiting until later in the meeting. Shareholders that are attending virtually can also ask a question by audio simply by clicking the Go to Web Phone box. When I call for questions or comments on each item of the business, press star one on the keypad on your screen for the item of business that your question or comment relates to.
If at any time you no longer wish to ask a question or make a comment, you can lower your hand by pressing your virtual hand, that is, by pressing star two on the keypad. Although some shareholders are joining us by virtual means, I encourage everyone to participate in the meeting. The online platform and the web phone are now open for you to submit questions. You can submit questions at any time during the question time for the item of business to which your question relates. Now, all questions you submit through the online platform will be placed in a queue, and I will respond to those questions when we reach the relevant part of the meeting. We may aggregate questions if we receive multiple questions on the same topic.
Now, importantly, if you experience any technical issues using the online platform, please ring the help number that is displayed on the top of the page. If we experience any technical issues, I may need to briefly adjourn the meeting, and this will be communicated via market announcement and email to virtual attendees. Now I am pleased to address you for the first time as Chair of Helia. Helia's Lenders Mortgage Insurance, or LMI as we know it, performs a crucial role in supporting the home lending ecosystem and enables more Australians to realize their dream of home ownership. Since 2010, we have helped nearly 1.2 million Australians buy a home, accelerating their financial and emotional well-being. 2024 was another good year for Helia, in which we saw continued profitability, customer satisfaction, and growth in new business as a result of improved industry volumes and an increase in market share.
This positive momentum has been tempered, however, in the early months of 2025 with the news of the likely loss of the CBA contract from the end of this year, as well as the possible expansion of the federal government's Home Guarantee Scheme. In recent weeks, I've met with a range of shareholders listening to their positive feedback as well as their concerns. I've appreciated the time that these investors have given and the constructive interest and support that has been shown by them in Helia. Your Board acknowledges also that there have been votes lodged against the remuneration report and that these votes will most likely result in a strike. We also want to acknowledge the concerns that lay behind those votes. I can assure all shareholders that your Board is intently focused on navigating the challenges we face as well as taking advantage of the opportunities before us.
We will continue to work with management and focus on delivering great outcomes for our people, our customers, and of course, our shareholders. Now, turning the focus to today's meeting, Helia's 2024 performance. Now, during 2024, Helia worked with our customers and their mortgage broker networks to facilitate more than 31,000 home buyers. With Helia's support, those home buyers purchased a home on average 5 1/2 years sooner than they might otherwise have. At the end of 2024, Helia held over 810,000 policies in force and had insurance in force of AUD 235 billion. During the year, we also helped over 11,000 Australians experiencing hardship remain in their homes through loan deferrals and restructures. In these difficult times, with many families struggling to manage daily expenses, let alone buy a home for themselves, we're proud of the difference that we're making in people's lives.
Moving to capital management now, Helia remains well capitalized with a strong balance sheet. This enables us to support our customers and homeowners now and over the long term, whilst also delivering attractive returns to our shareholders. For the 2024 financial year, our capital management activities have returned AUD 345 million to shareholders. We've done this through fully franked ordinary and special dividends totaling AUD 0.84 per share and on-market share buybacks of AUD 113 million, which reduced the shares on issue by 9.4%. The payment of these dividends and completion of the remaining on-share buyback would reduce our capital ratio to a pro forma of 1.73x APRA's minimum prescribed capital amount, PCA. In 2024, Helia's total shareholder return was 18%, outperforming the ASX 200 by more than 6%.
As of the 31st of December 2024, Helia had significantly outperformed the index over three years and since its listing more than 10 years ago. The board will continue to focus on activities to bring the PCA multiple in line with our target range of 1.4x-1.6 x through a mixture of on-market share buybacks and special dividends. The expected absence of the CBA business from January 2026 will likely increase the level of organic capital generation and potential scope for further capital management activity. In 2024, we continued to embed our environmental, social, and governance commitments into our strategy and our operations, and we're pleased to have maintained net zero for both Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions. As we deepen our understanding of Scope 3 emissions measurement, we'll refine our strategies to minimize our carbon footprint.
The company continues to examine ways to respond to challenges presented by climate and resilience. During the period, we strengthened our modeling capabilities to precisely identify high-risk property locations, enabling us to improve portfolio exposure and support our customers. Our dedication to helping Australians achieve home ownership extends beyond the vital assistance provided by Helia's LMI. We continue to support St. Vincent de Paul Society, Youth Off the Streets, and Habitat for Humanity through funding as well as volunteering. These organizations work tirelessly to address barriers to home ownership and aid vulnerable members of our community to access housing support and other services. Our commitment to continuous improvement and the maintenance of a strong risk culture is core to the trust that you place in Helia. Maintaining an effective culture and positive behaviors that support our long-term goals remains a priority for the board as well as for management.
The board has been pleased to see Helia's risk culture mature and strengthen over recent years. Now, notwithstanding this, the board is aware that there has been some commentary relating to employee share trading. Helia takes all of its regulatory and listing obligations very seriously, as well as its commitment to meeting high standards of community expectations. Accordingly, the board has engaged an independent advisor to conduct a review of the circumstances surrounding employee share trading during the authorized share trading window that preceded the CBA announcement. This review includes a review of Helia's governance policies, processes, and procedures. Now, while the review is ongoing, based on our review work now conducted, the board believes there is no indication of any breach of law or company policy by Helia or any of its people in relation to these matters.
The review is highlighting opportunities to uplift Helia's governance, including our policies and our processes, and the board will continue to consider and work through the final outcomes of the review. In line with our remuneration framework, the board will be considering the expected loss of the CBA contract and the outcomes of this review when determining 2025 remuneration outcomes. During the year, Helia continued to work on board renewal and ensure that we continue to have a diverse set of skills and experience to address the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead. Last May, former Helia Chair Ian McDonald retired after eight years of service. On behalf of my fellow board members, I express our sincere thanks to Ian for his leadership and vision throughout his tenure.
I also wish to recognize the contributions of Gay McGrath and Gerd Schenkel, who retired during the year, and thank them for their service. In July, we were pleased to welcome two new board members, JoAnne Stevenson and Andrew Moore, to the board. Both are standing for election today, along with Alastair Muir, who will be standing for re-election to the board. Shareholders will have the opportunity to hear from JoAnne, Andrew, and Alastair shortly when they speak as part of their respective resolutions. Importantly, they have the full support of your board. Before closing, it would be remiss of me not to talk in more detail about the recent announcements proposing an expansion of the Home Guarantee Scheme and the impact on home ownership.
Now, if implemented in the form proposed, changes to existing income caps, property price limits, and an uncapped number of places are likely to significantly expand the existing program for eligible first home buyers. Now, it's important that we highlight that the extent of Australia's housing crisis necessitates a coordinated response from the public and the private sectors, working closely together to tackle supply, affordability, and accessibility. Home buyers who meet bank serviceability requirements can also generally afford a home loan using LMI without government assistance. Excuse me. Stimulating demand by providing assistance to home buyers who generally do not need it may push house prices further out of reach for Australians who really do need help to buy a home.
Now, with this in mind, Helia plans to proactively engage with the federal government as it finalizes the scheme's revised policy parameters so that collectively we can deliver more support for more Australians to achieve home ownership. In closing, I would like to thank shareholders for your ongoing support over the past year. I'd also like to express my thanks to CEO and Managing Director Pauline Blight-Johnston, the senior leadership team, and all of our people for their hard work, dedication, and commitment to helping more Australians into homes. Now, before we move to the formal business of today's meeting, I would like to invite Pauline to address shareholders.
Thank you, Leona. Hi, everybody. Good morning. Welcome. Thank you for joining us today. I'm Pauline Blight-Johnston, Helia's Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. I am delighted to be here with you today again to discuss Helia's 2024 performance as well as our recent business results and outlook for the business. Helia's purpose of accelerating financial well-being through home ownership has only become increasingly critical over the last 12 months. Ongoing house price increases and a shortage in housing stock are making home ownership even harder to achieve for a growing number of Australians. Over the last year, we continued to work closely with our customers to support more aspiring homeowners, delivering on our multi-year strategy to innovate our business, improve customer experiences, and deepen borrower and broker understanding of the value that LMI can create for them. In 2024, Helia again delivered a strong financial performance, demonstrating its resilience in spite of a challenging environment.
We reported a full-year statutory net profit after tax of AUD 232 million and an underlying NPAT of AUD 221 million, reflecting another year of focused operational excellence and benign claims experience. New business volumes improved, with gross written premium increasing 6% to AUD 196 million as we witnessed some recovery in high loan-to-value ratio lending, as well as the benefits of client wins in recent years, increasing Helia's market share. However, industry new business volumes remained subdued due to the ongoing impact of the federal government's Home Guarantee Scheme, as Leona has discussed. During the year, households continued to experience cost of living pressures and ongoing high interest rates. However, continued labor market strength has enabled most homeowners to continue to meet their mortgage obligations despite the increasingly challenging circumstances. Total incurred claims were again negative at -AUD 37 million.
As I've said previously, a negative claims outcome is a very unusual occurrence resulting from extraordinarily benign claims experience again in 2024 and not something we would expect to continue into the medium term. Helia's PCA coverage ratio increased to 2.1x as of 31 December 2024. This reflected strong profitability in 2024 and capital releases from in-force business exceeding requirements for new business. Importantly for our shareholders, the underlying return on equity for the period was 19.9%, and net tangible assets per share rose 5% to AUD 3.93 per share, with the sum of NTA and contractual service margin closing the year at AUD 5.58 per share. As noted in last week's trading update, similar trends have continued into 2025, with benign claims experience driving strong profitability and new business growth continuing.
This growth in the LMI industry, supported by Helia customer wins over recent years, should partially mitigate the reduction in new business from the expected loss of the CBA contract and the expansion of the Home Guarantee Scheme. In 2024, we progressed a range of strategic initiatives under our multi-year business strategy to deliver our purpose and create sustainable long-term value for our shareholders. We continued to innovate with our market-leading technology to strengthen our ability to service existing customers and enhance customer acquisition. A key initiative delivered in the period is an industry-first digital onboarding system that can reduce the transition time for new lender customers from months to only weeks, positioning us well to engage with prospective new customers. We invested further in technology to leverage automation, elevate our service delivery, and improve efficiency.
Over the year, we successfully delivered digital integrations for six customers and five industry platforms. These integrations make it easier and more efficient for LMI to be included as part of the loan process. Our industry-leading technology and customer service was recognized externally, with Helia winning—it's quite a list—the Australian Broker 5- Star Mortgage Innovator Award, the Informatica Innovation Award in the Risk and Compliance category, recognizing the quality and security of our data governance programs, and the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia Excellence Award for excellence across customer service growth and innovation. As you probably know, in most instances, LMI is sold in Australia via exclusive supply agreements with lender customers, with terms typically between three years and five years. Negotiation of these important contracts can take many months, and Helia is typically in discussions to retain existing customers and/or win new customers at any point in time.
In 2024, Helia retained 100% of customer contract renewals, and the trust and satisfaction of our customers was reflected in a strong and improving Net Promoter Score of +83, four points up on 2023. Against this backdrop of delivery service excellence and market momentum, we were, of course, very disappointed in March to hear the news that CBA had entered into exclusive negotiations with an alternative provider for its LMI services, most likely ending a 50-year new business relationship between Helia and CBA. Helia will generate new business from CBA at least till the end of this year, and we will recognize revenue from the in-force contracts for the coming 15 years.
We are confident that Helia retains a differentiated position in the LMI market and will continue to pursue opportunities to retain and strengthen our relationships with existing customers, as well as build and extend our market footprint with new customers. Given the nation's ongoing housing affordability and cost of living challenges show no sign of abating, we will continue to believe there is a need for LMI despite the proposed increase in the government's first home guarantee scheme. LMI remains an important tool for upgraders and investors. Key to unlocking this is improving the awareness and understanding of the benefits of LMI for lenders, borrowers, and mortgage brokers. In recognition of the important role that brokers play in home lending, last year we launched our inaugural Mortgage Broker LMI Sentiment Index to better understand the broker perceptions of LMI.
This research is assisting us to educate and support brokers in the use of LMI as a tool to help customers achieve their financial goals, such as through our current LMI Let's Meet In campaign. Those of you who have come to the meeting in person may have seen some of that material as you walked through the foyer. The company's achievements in 2024 were only possible because of the hard work of our talented and dedicated people. I'm pleased that in 2024 we achieved an employee engagement score of 78%, placing us in the top quartile of Australian financial services companies. We were also named a top insurance employer by Insurance Business. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion remains cornerstone to our culture.
We're especially proud to have achieved and maintained gender pay equity and are one of a small number of financial services businesses in Australia to have done so. We were also recognized as a Workplace Gender Equality Agency employer of choice for gender equality for the 10th consecutive years. As we look forward, Helia is well prepared and well capitalized to adapt to the evolving environment, supporting Australians to achieve the goal of home ownership. We continue to deliver our business strategy, including technology innovations, to ensure the company remains agile, adaptable, and efficient. These efforts position us to respond effectively to future economic and market conditions, the needs of lenders and aspiring homeowners. Our capital strength ensures we can continue to support our customers, invest in our business, and reward our shareholders.
In closing, I express my thanks to Leona, the board, the Helia leadership team, all Helia employees for your hard work. Thank you also to our customers and partners without whom it would not be possible for us to have the impact that we do. Thank you to our shareholders for your trust and support over the years. We're proud to have delivered strong returns for you and remain focused on that continuing. I'll now hand over to Leona to conduct the formal business of the meeting. Thanks.
Thanks, Pauline. At this time, I'd like to give shareholders an opportunity to ask any general questions that they may have. There will be an opportunity for shareholders to ask questions that relate to each business item as we move to that relevant part of the meeting as well.
I will first answer questions received prior to the meeting, followed by opening up for questions in the room and then from shareholders using the online platform and over the phone. Shareholders who wish to ask general questions online can submit those questions now.
Chair, we have received several questions from the shareholders prior to the meeting. The first question is, Helia defended the CEO selling shares before the stock went ex-dividend and before announcing CBA's intention of non-renewal, stating that the CEO sold shares before the CBA information was known. Was the CEO completely unaware of this issue at the time of selling shares?
Thank you for the que stion. As I mentioned earlier in my speech, this is a matter that the board recognizes has attached some commentary and some market attention and interest. I would like to reiterate two things from my earlier comments.
Firstly, your board, as is appropriate given our governance role, is undertaking an independent review of the circumstances and processes associated with the employee share trading happening at that time, including that of the CEO. The second is that based on the review today, the board has formed a view that there has been no indication of any contravention of company law or policy. Importantly, during the period of the CEO trades, neither the CEO nor Helia were in possession of any market-sensitive information that had not been disclosed. We are always alert and open to opportunities for improvement, though, and the independent review has identified areas where Helia can strengthen its governance processes, and we will continue to consider these opportunities more fully once the review is finalized.
In the interim, the board has implemented an additional procedure that requires written approval from the Chair of the Board prior to approving any share trading by the CEO. The second question received is, why does the board set a prescribed capital amount or PCA target range and declare it as a target owned by the board and then not hold management nor itself accountable for not achieving said range, and/or why does the board inhibit management's ability to achieve the target? Thanks again for your question. Helia's capital management principle is probably helpful to outline those in the first instance, to deploy capital at attractive returns for our shareholders, to return to, as I said before, and then operate within a target coverage range of 1.4x-1.6x APRA's PCA over time.
We also want to target a fully franked ordinary dividend and explore options to return excess capital through special dividends as well as on-market share buybacks. Now, over the period of the last three years, Helia has paid dividends of AUD 1.96 per share, equating to AUD 598 million, and bought back AUD 450 million of shares, representing 41% of issued capital. Notwithstanding this significant capital management initiatives, Helia has not yet returned to the target coverage ratio due to a combination of strong profitability and capital releases from in-force runoff significantly exceeding capital required for new business. Capital management, however, is included in our STI performance objectives and our scorecards and board assessment of how we consider performance, as the board seeks to ensure that capital is managed in a prudent and effective manner that encourages proactive management of the capital structure to optimize returns for our shareholders.
I think that's the end of the pre-questions, Mark's nodding for me. I'll now invite those shareholders in the room who would like to ask a question to raise their hand. Yes, sir.
Brian Ellison, shareholder. I was just wondering, are we totally reliant on the banks for our business, or do we source business from other areas? If so, how much of that reliance do we have on the banks?
Thanks so much for your question. That is an operational question for you, Pauline, to talk through how we engage with our banking and lending customers as well as borrowers.
Yes, all of our new business comes from lenders, not necessarily all banks. We also deal with non-bank lenders. The vast majority of our business comes from regulated banks, but we do have some business from non-bank lenders.
We do not engage directly with the public.
The non-bank lending is an expanding business, and how do you see that in the future?
Should I take that one too?
Go for it. Yeah.
We agree with you. The value of LMI comes to the fore when there is risk. We have seen over recent years that banks have become more risk-averse in their lending. Some of that riskier lending has headed towards the non-bank lenders, which has proportionately increased their need and desire for LMI, which we see as a market that we can provide valuable services to over time.
Do you have any idea of the percentage that is banks and non-banks, or?
It is close to the industry percentage of home lending, I would say, as a rough guide.
Okay. Thank you. Thanks so much for your questions. Thank you. Can you hear me? I can.
I do not know if others can. That is all.
A question on governance, if I could. Pardon me, I was a little bit of a fool. I want to talk about the tier two hybrid, the sub-debt that is out there. If we go back, the original notes were issued in 2015 with a 10-year term. These sub-debts were then refinanced in 2020, approximately five years ago. The term on it was another 10 years, five of which was a no-call principle. The difficulty I have with this is that this transaction was conducted when COVID was just beginning. Markets were volatile. The share price of Helia had pretty much halved, and the conditions were not ideal. There was no legal obligation for Helia, then Genworth, to actually redeem and then reissue on this transaction.
To exacerbate the issue, the interest spread being paid on these sub-debts was 3.5% at the time, and it increased to 5%. Over that five-year period, shareholders have paid an additional AUD 12.5 million in expenses for that interest expense. That's just under AUD 10 million—sorry, just under AUD 9 million on an after-tax basis. When you look at this, it's very difficult to understand from a governance standpoint how the board of directors—and there's one non-executive director remaining—I'd appreciate if they could comment on this. The transaction did not have to take place. The transaction has caused a transfer of wealth from shareholders to noteholders. My question is, obviously, there must have been an economic benefit for shareholders that was identified in that.
As I ask this question, I'd also like to ask very specifically, to what extent, if any, the former parent, Genworth USA, was a beneficiary of this transaction or any of its subsidiaries or any of its investment affiliates?
Okay. It's a very long question and comprises of many parts. What I might say in the first instance is, from a governance perspective, Helia goes through quite a robust process in considering its capital stack and what is going to be of value for shareholders and for the company. I just want you to rest assured that that is definitely a very robust process we go through in thinking through that.
Now, you said you had a specific question for—
The specific question is, what was the economic benefit for shareholders of refinancing the sub-debt at a higher interest rate when there was no obligation to, and you had five more years in which you could renegotiate a better deal?
Now, you did say you wanted one of the—if possible. Is that possible? I might ask Duncan West to address the meeting since he was a director at that particular time. Would you like to go? Thanks, Duncan.
Thank you. So there's a few questions in there. Firstly, you're absolutely right to point out the time at which this was done was incredibly complex with the oncoming of COVID. It is something the board debated at some considerable length at that time. Genworth, as a shareholder, were not a particular beneficiary of anything specific beyond any other shareholder.
I can absolutely make that clear. At the time that we did the transaction, we still felt that it was beneficial for all shareholders to have a degree of debt on the balance sheet compared to having no debt on the balance sheet because the cost of debt was lower than the cost of equity. That was the decision we took at that point in time, even though, as you rightly point out, the cost of debt was significantly higher than the previous tier two debt. That was the decision we took at the time, and we think that has worked out to be true through the period. Hopefully, that helps.
Thank you, Duncan. Thanks for your question. Oh, no, that's okay.
Chair Wimber, please. We will further questions through the online platform. The first of these questions is from Richard Henley. Richard asks, "Helia still has available headroom in the share buyback approved by shareholders to be buying back shares. I know that APRA has to approve any share buyback. Has APRA made any approach or raised in any discussion with Helia their desire to pause the share buyback for any reason whatsoever, or is the pause a 100% decision by board and management of Helia without any influence from APRA?"
Okay. Thank you for your question. As you can appreciate, it's very difficult for me to talk about engagements with our regulators, any of our regulators. I might pass on that particular question at this point in time. I will hand over to Pauline, and she can talk through the buyback from management's perspective.
Thank you for the question. As we have advised shareholders and investors and interested parties from time to time, we manage our buyback program by taking into account a number of factors on a real-time basis. We never intend to be in the market every day at all points in time, and there are a number of factors that go into the decisions as to how much we buy back and when. I would say that nothing has changed in the way we make those decisions or the way that we approach that program.
Thanks, Pauline.
Chair, the second question is from Saul Leighton. Saul asks, "Previously, I liked Helia very much because of its consistent high dividends. However, recently, with the announcement of the end of the CBA contract, the share price took a big hit. So I have two questions. One, how was CBA allowed to become 40% of Helia's LMI business?
I find this quite reckless and against best practice on concentration risk. And two, given there are four big banks and numerous other non-bank lenders, what is Helia doing now to reduce concentration risk amongst its major customers to, say, less than 20% each?
Great. Thank you. I just might highlight that the board is regularly discussing the broader risks that face Helia as an organization and are completely alive to the risk that you're talking about in relation to customer concentration risk. We have to be mindful, though, that CBA is the largest bank in Australia. With that comes actually a larger market share that they have and therefore a larger percentage of the loans that they write that would cover LMIs. I appreciate the question in the context of CBA.
Now, what we are pleased to see is that the share price has recovered since that announcement. Hopefully, as a shareholder, you also actually are pleased to have witnessed that. In terms of what we're doing with other lenders, including non-bank lenders, we work very closely with all lenders in the market to look at how we can satisfy their LMI needs and are continuously involved in various RFPs for new business as well as existing business for those lenders and believe that we offer a very valuable proposition from a service perspective to those lenders as well as the end borrowers.
Chair, the final two questions are from Bruce Bennett. I'll read them together given they're of a similar topic. Bruce asks, "Given Helia's superior IT capabilities, when can the company offer insurance directly to mortgage holders rather than limiting sales through mortgage brokers and financial institutions?" In the second question, he asks, "Why can we not deal directly with the public?"
Okay. Thank you for your questions. Obviously, Helia looks at the various ways in which it addresses providing LMI solutions to the market. I might get Pauline to talk about some of the operational initiatives that the team are working through, and we will be able to provide you with much more color on that.
Thanks, Leona. Yes, we've been doing a lot in our technology to help straight-through processing and speed to yes because that's where mortgage business is won and lost in Australia, as well as trying to embed or actually embedding LMI solutions into technology that is used by a number of lenders across the industry, again, to make it easier for new lenders to come to Helia because they don't need to build the connections to us. That's in the software that they're using already. That has been very, very beneficial. As to why we don't go directly, the nature of the product is actually to insure the lender, not to insure the borrower, which means that it's ultimately the lender that chooses where they want that insurance cover and protection from, which means the lender needs to be involved.
The Australian market has therefore grown through exclusive lender customers. There are other markets around the world that give the borrower some choice in that, even though the contract is always with the lender. That is something that may evolve in the industry over time. At this point in time, the lender will always need to be involved at some point because that is who gets the protection from the insurance.
Thanks, Pauline.
Chair, there are no further general questions at this time. Sorry, on the online platform, and we will move now through the web phone.
Great.
Chair, there are no questions on the web phone at this time.
If there are no further general questions, I will now briefly run through the formalities for casting your vote. Firstly, for those in the room, you have been issued with an attendance card. Yellow indicates a voting shareholder or proxy holder for the meeting. Blue indicates a non-voting shareholder, and red indicates a visitor also not voting. For shareholders attending online, if you did not vote prior to the meeting, you may do so on the online platform. Please click on "Get a Voting Card" and follow the prompts. Shareholders eligible to vote or their appointed proxies will be able to vote at any time during the meeting using the electronic voting card on your screen. Live voting on the platform actually will close five minutes after the meeting closes. Once voting has closed, all voting cards will automatically be submitted and cannot be changed. You cannot cast a vote over the web phone. Shareholders who were not able to attend the meeting also had the option of casting a direct vote or alternatively appointing a proxy.
As a significant number of our shareholders vote by proxy and direct voting, and we have received proxy votes or direct votes in respect of approximately 71% of our total shares, we consider it appropriate to recognize the votes both of those attending in the meeting today and those who have voted by proxy or direct vote. Accordingly, a poll will be called for each resolution today. I now declare the poll open. After each resolution has been moved, we will display the proxy and direct votes that have been cast prior to the opening up of the meeting and any questions before voting takes place. Where I, as Chair, have been appointed as proxy with a discretion on how to vote, I intend to vote all shares in favor of all resolutions.
The results of the poll will be declared and released on the ASX as soon as possible after the meeting has concluded. Now, there are six resolutions to be voted on today, and an opportunity will be given to shareholders to ask questions about each of these resolutions. The first item of business is the receipt and consideration of the company's annual financial report, director's report, and auditor's report for the year ended 31 December 2024. The reports were contained in the 2024 annual report, which was released on the ASX and Helia's website on the 25th of February, 2025. Hard copies were sent around to those shareholders that requested a hard copy of the annual report. I will take those reports as read.
There is no vote for this item, but I do welcome questions, and I'll respond to any questions specifically relating to remuneration when they come up as a resolution on the remuneration report. Ms. Lianne Yuan, our audit partner from KPMG, is also available to answer any specific questions you may have about the conduct of the audit. Helia did receive one question addressed to our auditor ahead of the meeting.
I will now get Mark to read that question out and then give Lianne an opportunity to respond.
Just a second, Chair. We'll just get the question.
No trouble.
Thank you chair. The question is, how does the auditor accept that Helia, now [audio disortion], states, "Return to," within its statements, "Return to," and then operate within board target range of 1.4-1.6 PCA when a public company they have never reported being within stated target ranges in audited financials since the IPO or in an official notification to the ASX?
Thank you, Mark, and thank you, Chair, and thank you to the shareholder for the written question. The question posed—the specific question posed relates to matters that I, as the auditor, am not required to consider in particular detail informing our audit report and our audit opinion over the financial statements as a whole. However, I will state that as the auditor, I don't opine specifically on the target capital or the target prescribed or PCA capital established by the company's board or management.
As part of my audit procedures, I, however, do consider and audit the actual capital requirements achieved at each balance date, which is disclosed in Note 5.2 of the audited financial statements. I note also the Chair has answered, has responded to an equivalent question before me, and accordingly, I have no further comments to add regarding this matter. Thank you.
Thanks, Leann, and thanks for the question. I now invite those shareholders in the room who would like to ask a question to raise their hand. Do we have any questions? No? I'll now take questions received through the online platform.
Chair, we don't have any questions received from the online platform, but we could move to the web phone.
Yeah. Finally, I will take questions on this item of business received over the web phone.
Chair, there are no web phone questions at this time.
There being no more questions, we'll move to the first resolution. The first resolution relates to the company's remuneration report for the financial year ended 31 December, 2024. The remuneration report, which forms part of the directors' report, was released on the ASX and Helia's website and sent to shareholders on request. I will take the report as read. Further details about the resolution were contained in the explanatory notes and accompanied the notice of meeting. I remind shareholders that this vote is advisory only and is not binding on the company. However, please be assured the board does take into consideration the feedback received from shareholders and listens to your voting. Before putting the resolution forward, I would like to advise shareholders that the company will disregard any votes as stated in the voting exclusion statement relating to resolution one as set out in the notice of meeting.
The directors unanimously recommend that shareholders vote for the resolution, and I now put forward resolution one, and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen along with the proxy and direct votes that have been received in relation to this resolution. I now invite those shareholders in the room who would like to ask a question to raise their hand. There do not seem to be any questions in the room. I'll now take questions received through the online platform.
Chair, we've received one question through the online platform on this matter. The question is from Stephen Maine. Stephen asks, "Which of the five main proxy advisors, ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS, and ASA covered us this year and did any recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions, including this remuneration report item?
If so, what reasons did they give, and did this translate into any material protest votes? Mr. Maine has suggested it would be unhelpful to refer to the confidentiality of such reports. He further goes on to state, "It is standard for companies to be across this detail on the voting recommendations and inform shareholders where relevant."
Yeah, thank you very much for your question. Of those listed, four out of the five actually cover Helia, with the exception of the Australian Shareholders Association. We have had all three out of four of those proxies voting for those resolutions, and we had one proxy voting against the remuneration report. We have been very transparent and disclosed where those votes are at at this point in time.
It is our view that the recommendations against the remuneration report have, in essence, been influenced by the matters that we discussed earlier in relation to the employee share trading that occurred prior to the CBA announcement. We stand by the belief that there has been no inappropriate trading and that Helia nor any of our people have breached any laws or any policies that exist within Helia.
Chair, there are no further questions for resolution one on the web platform. Okay, thank you. I will now take questions on this item of business received over the web phone.
Chair, there are no web phone questions at this time.
There being no more questions, we'll move to voting on resolution one.
Firstly, for those in the room, the persons entitled to vote on this poll are all shareholders, representatives and attorneys of shareholders, and proxy holders who hold yellow cards. On your yellow card is a section titled "Poll Voting," which details each of the resolutions being put forward at this meeting. Please record your vote by placing a mark in the "For," "Against," or "Abstain" box for resolution one on each card that you are holding. The barcode on the voting card is personalized, so you will be able to vote on the number of shares held as at the record date. You must lodge your voting card for your votes to be counted. Please hold on to your card and vote for the next resolution. Your voting card will be collected after the final resolution has been voted on.
For those attending online, to submit a full vote in respect of all of your shares, please ensure that you are in the "Full Vote" tab and record your vote by clicking either the "For," "Against," or "Abstain" box for resolution one on your electronic voting card. To submit a partial vote, please ensure that you are in the "Partial Vote" tab. You will then be able to enter the number of shares you would like to vote for the resolution. The total amount of the votes you are entitled to vote will be listed under each resolution. If you are a proxy holder and have only directed votes for and/or against, please submit your vote by clicking and marking either "For" or "Against" in the box for resolution one.
If you are a proxy holder with open votes, you need to click or mark either the "For," "Against," or "Abstain" box for resolution one to indicate how you wish to cast any open votes. As I said before, where I, as Chair of the meeting, have been appointed as proxy for a member entitled to vote, as detailed in the notice of meeting, I will vote all undirected proxies in favor of all resolutions. I'll pause briefly and give you an opportunity to cast your votes. Hopefully, that's given everyone time to work through the technology as well as the opportunity to vote here in the room. Thank you, everyone. I will now move to resolution two, which is relating to the granting of share rights to Helia's Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director, Pauline Blight-Johnston.
Shareholder approval is being sought for all purposes, including the purpose of the ASX Listing Rule 10.14, to grant the company's CEO and Managing Director, Pauline Blight-Johnston, 238,259 share rights for the LTI25 plan in accordance with the incentive plan rules and any additional share rights representing notional dividend equivalents for the LTI24 plan in accordance with the share rights and plan rules, as described in the explanatory notes accompanying the notice of 2025 annual general meeting. The grant of share rights under the share rights plan will allow Ms. Blight-Johnston to obtain ordinary shares in the company subject to meeting performance conditions at the end of the vesting period. Further details about the resolution and the terms and conditions of the grant of share rights were contained in the explanatory notes that accompanied the notice of meeting.
Before putting the resolution, I would like to advise shareholders that the company will disregard any votes as stated in the voting exclusion statement related to resolution two as set out in the notice of meeting. The directors, with Ms. Blight-Johnston abstaining, recommend that shareholders vote for this resolution. Ms. Blight-Johnston does not make a recommendation in respect of the resolution in view of her personal interest in this particular resolution. I now put forward resolution two, and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution. I now invite those shareholders in the room who would like to ask a question to raise their hand. While I quickly get a sip of water.
There do not seem to be any questions on this resolution in the room, so I will now turn to questions received through the online platform.
Chair, we have received one question through the online platform. It is from Stephen Maine. Stephen asks, "Could the CEO summarize her past LTI grants as to whether they have vested or lapsed or are likely to vest or lapse based on the current performance metrics?" Mr. Maine has asked Helia not to refer him to the annual report or previous ASX announcements or the complexity of the matter.
Pauline, shall I pass to you to answer that question?
Yes. Thank you, Chair. In the time that I have been here, I have been here for five years, and these LTI programs are four years each, so I have had two past their hurdle moments.
The first one, the 2020 LTI program, vested at 25%, being the ROE component, no vesting of the TSR component due to the impact of COVID-19 during those years. The second one, the 2021 program, vested at 100% as we met all hurdles from the ROE and the TSR component.
Thank you, Pauline. There are no further questions on this matter in the web portal.
Thanks, Mark. I'll now take questions on this item of business received over the web phone.
Chair, there are no web phone questions at this time.
There being no more questions, we'll move to voting on resolution two. The voting instructions are the same as for the previous resolution, so please record your vote by clicking or marking the "For," "Against," or "Abstain" box for resolution two on your voting card. Thank you. Hopefully, that's given everyone enough time to vote accordingly.
I will now move to resolution three relating to approval of further possible unmarket share buybacks. Shareholder approval is being sought for the purposes of Section 257C of the Corporations Act and for all other purposes to approve the company buying back up to AUD 60 million of the company's issued ordinary shares, representing approximately 22% of the company's issued shares as at the 20th of March 2025, in the form of one or more unmarket share buybacks to be conducted over a period of 12 months from the date of the 2025 annual general meeting. Whilst the company seeks the flexibility to buy back up to AUD 60 million of its issued shares, there is no guarantee that the company will buy back the full amount.
The company may buy back fewer than 60 million ordinary shares, and in the implementation and timing of the buyback program and the actual number of shares acquired will depend on market conditions. The directors recommend that shareholders vote for the resolution, and I'll now put forward resolution three, and the wording of this resolution appears on your screen along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution. I now invite those shareholders in the room who would like to ask a question to raise their hand.
Chair, just a matter of clarification in relation to this resolution. The resolution is to approve the company buying back up to 60 million of the company's issued ordinary shares rather than AUD 60 million of shares.
Sorry. I apologize, Brady, and shareholders. Thank you for clarifying that. It's hard work up here, everyone. Any questions in the room? No? I'll now take questions received through the online platform.
Chair, there were no questions through the online platform.
Thank you. What about questions over the web phone?
Chair, there are no web phone questions at this time.
Terrific. There being no more questions, we will move to voting on resolution three. The voting instructions are the same as for the previous resolution. Please record your vote by clicking or marking the "For," "Against," or "Abstain" box for resolution three on your voting card. Thank you. Hopefully, again, we've had enough time to do that. I now turn to resolution four, which is the re-election of Alastair Muir as director. Alastair was appointed to the board on the 1st of December 2021 and was elected at the 2022 AGM.
Alastair is an experienced digital executive and entrepreneur, and he has worked with a broad range of ASX and Fortune 500 companies to launch new digital products and ventures. Alastair has also advised government departments on AI and innovation, including the CSIRO. He holds a first-class honors degree in computer science from the Dublin Institute of Technology, also attended both Harvard Business School and MIT for executive education programs, focusing on disruptive strategy, innovation, and the business applications of AI. Alastair also currently serves as a director of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited. He is a member of the ASIC Consultative Panel, and for Helia, Alastair is a member of the Audit Committee, the Risk Committee, and the People and Remuneration and Nominations Committees. You can find a brief summary of Alastair's vast experience and qualifications on page 13 of our notice of meeting.
All the other directors of Helia unanimously recommend Alastair's re-election. I would now invite Alastair up to say a few words to shareholders.
Thanks, Liana. Good morning, actually, good afternoon now, ladies and gentlemen. It's been a pleasure to be able to serve as a director on the Helia board for the last three and a half years. I joined the board because I'm passionate about the company's role in making housing more affordable and in helping Australians build wealth through home ownership. During my time on the board, the company has faced many challenges. We've worked our way out of COVID, dealt with the cost of living crisis, and navigated global uncertainty, as well as a changing business environment here in Australia.
I've contributed my experience in tackling complex strategic challenges in a broad range of organizations to assist the board in dealing with the many complex scenarios we've had to work with and work through and the decisions we've had to take. As we look forward and are re-elected today, I believe my extensive experience in digital transformation, innovation, and AI can add significant value to the Helia board as we continue to drive operational agility and deliver results through world-class performance. If re-elected, I will continue to serve in the best interests of the company, for you, our shareholders, and for all of our stakeholders. Thank you.
Thank you, Alastair. I now put forward resolution four, and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution. I do invite those shareholders in the room who would like to ask a question on this resolution or a question of Alastair to raise their hand. No? I will now take questions received through the online platform.
Chair, we have received one question on resolution three, sorry, resolution four. The question is from Stephen Maine. Thank you for disclosing the proxy position to the ASX prior to the AGM commencing. There was a circa 22% protest vote against all three of the directors up for election today. Could Alastair please comment on any direct engagement he had with proxy advisors or institutional investors who might have delivered this protest vote against him? Does he believe the uniform against vote with all candidates today reflects general discontent about the recent performance and the CEO share sale, as opposed to individual concerns?
Thank you, Mark. Alastair, would you like to join me up here and respond to that question?
Thank you, Leana. Thank you, Stephen, for the question. I've had no direct engagement with institutional investors or proxy advisors on the lead-up to this. I think in terms of answering the question around whether it's specific to individual directors or more broadly, I think that might be a question for you, Leana, perhaps. Yeah, nothing further to add. Thank you.
Terrific. Thank you, Alastair. As I said earlier, I do think that the voting against that we're seeing against all resolutions, with the exception of resolution three, has been in relation to market commentary and concerns in relation to the matter that we've already spoken about, which is the employee share sales preceding the CBA announcement.
I stand again by the opinion of the board that actually there has been no insider trading that has occurred in those share sales and that there has been no breach of, therefore, any company law or any of Helia's policies.
No further questions, Chair.
I'll now take questions on this item of business received over the web phone.
Chair, there are no web phone questions at this time.
Thank you. There being no further questions, we'll move to voting on resolution four. The voting instructions are again the same as for previous resolutions. Please record your vote by clicking or marking the "For," "Against," or "Abstain" box for resolution four on your voting card. Okay. Hopefully, that gives everyone enough time. Thank you all. I now turn to resolution five, the election of Andrew Moore as a director.
Andrew was appointed to the board on the 15th of July 2024. Andrew is a financial services executive with more than 30 years' experience, including as Managing Director of GE Capital Home Lending in Australia and New Zealand and General Manager of St George Retail Bank. Andrew has experience in driving digital transformation and disruption, particularly through his work as CEO of Spaceship, a business that's focused on delivering innovative and engaging investment and superannuation products for young Australians. He's a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and a fellow of FinCEAD. He holds a Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Science from the Australian National University, and a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD. Andrew also currently serves as a director of RACQ Limited and other RACQ Group entities and Spaceship Capital Limited and its other related entities.
Andrew at Helia is a member of the Audit Committee, the Risk Committee, the People and Remuneration Committee, and the Nominations Committee. You can find a brief summary of Andrew's experience and qualifications on page 14 of our notice of meeting. All the other directors of Helia unanimously recommend the election of Andrew, and I would now like to invite Andrew up to say a few words to shareholders.
Thank you, Liana, and good afternoon, as you correctly identified before, Alastair. I'm very pleased to have the opportunity today to nominate myself for election to the Helia board. My background, as Leana explained earlier, spans over 30 years in the financial services sector, with a particular focus on home lending, consumer banking, investments, and superannuation.
My executive career has given me a strong and broad perspective on the experience of retail customers as they make decisions about financing their dream home or investing in their future. I accepted an invitation to join the Helia board in July 2024 because I believe my experience ideally positions me to positively contribute to setting and executing on the company's strategic agenda. My commitment as a board member is to work collaboratively with my board colleagues and management to ensure that the company is best positioned to respond to the changing economic and competitive environment and continue to deliver value for shareholders and all other stakeholders. I'm excited by the opportunities for Helia to extend its proud legacy of supporting Australians to secure and strengthen their future through home ownership. Thank you for considering my nomination.
I would appreciate the opportunity to continue serving on your behalf as a member of Helia's board.
Thanks, Andrew. I now put forward resolution five, and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution. I now invite those shareholders who are in the room who would like to ask a question to now raise their hand. Doesn't seem there's any questions in the room. I'll now take questions received through the online platform.
Chair, we've received one question for resolution five. The question is from Stephen Maine. Stephen asks, "Could new directors Andrew Moore and JoAnne Stevenson, along with the chair, comment on the recruitment process that led to their appointment to the board? Which headhunter was involved? Did the full board interview each candidate as a group or individually?
Did they interview any other candidates in a genuinely competitive process? Did either of the new directors know any of the existing directors before engaging with the recruitment process?
Thank you for your question, Stephen. I will take some time to talk through the recruitment process, which was lengthy. I do not think it is appropriate, firstly, for me to disclose which headhunter we used. What I can say is we went through a competitive tender process, and we considered three tenders. Based on the skills, experience, and competencies that the board was looking for to augment the board for the future, we actually chose one of those three recruiters.
Based on a very clear view of our skills matrix and what skills and experiences were falling off our board with the retirement of those directors that I wished well earlier today, we were very clear on the skills and experiences that we required for the board going forward. This influenced our decision-making process. We then had a subcommittee that was created that actually comprised of three directors, where we went through a long list, a very long list. There was a lot of interest in the Helia position, as you would expect. That long list contained people that we all knew from a variety of interactions, people that we had either worked with previously, people that we had either worked with currently, or people that we had known more broadly in the governance environment.
Based on that long list, we then deliberated as a subcommittee on who we would recommend to the board to move into a shortlist. We then shortlisted to, if my memory serves me correctly, it was either six or seven, six I'm being advised by one of my fellow subcommittee members, by six. We then put those recommendations to the board that we proceed with more formal interviewing with those six director candidates. The board then had a meeting and discussed both the long list as well as the shortlist and how we came to our deliberations for actually recommending that we take those six to interview. The subcommittee then interviewed all six candidates, and those interviews happened in the recruiters' offices.
Those interviews occurred over a period of two days, and we then worked through an exhaustive evaluation of the skills and experiences we were looking for as a board against the skills and experiences of the people who actually were shortlisted. We came to a final recommendation as a subcommittee, and that recommendation was unanimous to the board to appoint the two directors that we have today up for election. I think that answers the question. Quite a long and robust process. We take recruitment of who we put onto your board very seriously and would not be offering them up for acceptance by shareholders without going through that process.
No further questions, Chair.
Thank you. I now take questions on this item of business received over the web phone.
Chair, there are no web phone questions at this time.
There being no more questions, we will move to voting on resolution five. The voting instructions are the same as for the previous resolution. Please record your vote for, not for. I'm not going to tell you how to vote. Please record your vote by clicking or marking the "For," "Against," or "Abstain" box for resolution five on your voting card. I now turn to resolution six, and that is the election of JoAnne Stevenson as a director. Joanne. Oh, actually, no, I won't hand over to you yet. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, everyone. Joanne was appointed to the board on the 15th of July, 2025. Now, Joanne is an experienced non-executive director across private and listed entities. Her experience spans over 25 years across a range of industries.
Joanne was previously a senior partner at the advisory division of KPMG and has key strengths in finance, accounting, risk management, and governance. Joanne holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws honors from the University of Queensland. She is also a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Directors. JoAnne currently serves as a director of Qualitas Limited, Challenger Limited, Lifestyle Communities Limited, and SDA Investments Proprietary Limited. JoAnne is the chair of the risk committee and a member of the audit committee, people and remuneration committee, and nominations committee. You can find a brief summary of JoAnne's experience and qualifications on page 14 of our notice of meeting. All other directors of Helia unanimously recommend the election of JoAnne. I would now like to invite JoAnne up to say a few words to shareholders.
Thanks so much, Leona, and good afternoon, everyone. Lovely to see you here today. Thank you for the opportunity to stand for election today to the Helia board. It's been a pleasure to serve you as a director for the past six or seven months. I've accepted an invitation to join the Helia board because I really strongly believe in making housing more accessible and affordable. It's an area that I've worked on through my KPMG career, and I feel very strongly about it. My executive career, as you will have read, was with KPMG, so across the audit, insolvency, and advisory divisions in Australia. I spent a couple of years in the United Kingdom as well in the financial services industry. In the later years, I was a senior partner within KPMG, and I served on the National Executive Committee in running one of the large advisory divisions.
From 2012, I've been a member of listed boards with current positions, as Liana's mentioned, with Challenger, Qualitas, and Lifestyle Communities, in addition to Helia. Previously, I've served on the boards of MYOB, Asaleo Care, Japara Healthcare, and I chaired the Victorian Major Transport Infrastructure Advisory Board. In most of those cases, I've been the chair of either audit and/or risk committees in each of those companies. As Chair of the Risk Committee at Helia, I've been able to bring, I think, my deep experience in financial services, risk, and governance, and considering some of the changing strategic and operational risk landscape for Helia. In my executive and non-executive director roles, I've seen firsthand the evolving landscape of real estate investment and risk management, and particularly in the financial services industry.
As a leading provider of lenders mortgage insurance in Australia, Helia plays a really important role in helping people into housing and that, in many cases, they would otherwise not have been able to actually enter the housing market. I'm proud of what we do and seek your support to continue working to represent your interests as shareholders while supporting management in navigating the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. Thanks for your consideration of my nomination today.
Thanks, Joanne. I now put forward resolution six, and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen, along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution. I now invite those shareholders in the room who would like to ask a question to raise their hand. No questions in the room. I now will take questions received from the online platform.
Chair, we have received one question on resolution six. The question is from Stephen Maine. Stephen states, "I'm puzzled by the 21.4% proxy protest vote against JoAnne's election and suspect it was delivered by a small number of big investors. In light of this, when disclosing the outcome of voting on all resolutions, including JoAnne's election, please advise the ASX how many shareholders voted for and against each item, similar to with a scheme. This will provide a better gauge of retail shareholder sentiment and insight into the chronically low retail voting rate. The likes of Quintus, ASX, SunCorp, TabCorp, and ComputerShare all do this." Thanks very much for your feedback and comment,
Stephen. We take all feedback and comments from shareholders and consider those, and we will consider your feedback and comment in due course. Thank you.
No further questions, Chair.
I'll now take questions on this item of business that may have been received over the web phone.
Chair, there are no web phone questions at this time.
There being no more questions, we will move to voting on resolution six. The voting instructions are the same as for the previous resolution. Please record your vote by clicking or marking the "For," "Against," or "Abstain" box for resolution six on your voting card. Okay, hopefully that's given everyone enough chance to finish their voting. Now, that brings us to the end of the formal resolutions for the meeting. Now, is there any other business pertaining to their shareholding that a member wishes to bring before the meeting? If so, please raise your hand. For those shareholders joining us online, please submit your question through the answer-to-question box or the web phone.
Does any shareholder in the room wish to raise any other item of business? No? I'll now turn to other items of business received through the online platform.
No other business, Chair.
Thank you, Mark. I will now turn to other items of business received over the web phone.
Chair, there are no further web phone questions.
Thank you. As there are no further other business items to be brought before you at this time, I would like to ask shareholders to finalise and submit your voting cards. Hopefully, we've given you a lot of time during the course of the meeting to do that. Now, poll results for those in the room, we'll collect those from you if you like. As you exit, that might be the easiest. Or actually, why don't we bring the ballot box? There we are. I better do mine too. Here we go.
I have filled it out. I didn't tell you. Okay. Thank you, everyone, for submitting your votes. Now, poll results will be released to the market via the market announcements platform and will be available on the Helia website as soon as is possible, which is expected to occur later today. Before I close the meeting, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to holding this meeting. It takes a lot of hard work and effort by the team to actually make today possible, so thank you for that. I now declare the meeting and the poll closed. Thank you not only for your attendance, but for your engagement in the 2025 annual general meeting of Helia Group Limited. Thank you all.