The following members of the Board of Healius: Paul Anderson, our Managing Director and CEO. Sally Evans, Dr. Michael Stanford, Gordon Davis, Charlie Taylor, and Professor John Mattick. The agenda includes the following items of business: Sally Evans and I are standing for re-election today. There will be an advisory vote on the Remuneration Report. And your approval is sought to the proposed changes to the Healius Constitution. A few brief housekeeping points: if you need assistance in the room, please raise your hand, and one of the Computershare team will assist you. For those online, a guide on how to participate was made available with the Notice of Meeting and how to access assistance if required. I declare the polls in relation to all items of business are now open, and we will confirm when voting is about to close.
Votes in the room will be collected at the end of the meeting. Questions will be addressed through the course of the meeting. General questions can be asked in the first item, and then questions on the resolutions as they are addressed. Please try to keep these questions relevant to the resolutions. Having covered the procedural matters, I would now like to take a moment to say a few words about the past year. It is good to regularly remind ourselves of the purpose of your company. Australia has one of the best healthcare systems in the world, and diagnostics is a critical part of our nation's health infrastructure. The pathology sector sees 1 million Australians each week, and imaging sees another 500,000.
In pathology, the sector has a critical role in the diagnosis and management of most diseases, and furthermore, early screening and diagnosis is fundamental to reducing patient treatment demands and downstream healthcare costs. As one of Australia's leading diagnostics operators, Healius is fundamental to our healthcare system. Our people are proud of that, and we hope that you are too. Having said that, it has once again been a challenging year for your company. We have undertaken a strategic review, which culminated in the announcement in September of the sale of Lumus Imaging to Affinity Equity Partners. There were important leadership changes during the year. As shareholders are aware, Maxine Jaquet resigned as CEO in March this year, and Paul Anderson was appointed as the Healius Group CEO and Managing Director. Our then Deputy CFO, Steve Humphries, replaced Paul as the Group CFO.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank Maxine for her contribution to Healius over eight years with the company. We wish her all the very best in her next endeavors. In selecting Paul as her replacement, the Board felt that his experience was crucial to lead the Strategic Review and also to provide continuity in leadership at the executive level at a critical time. Paul has stepped up the tempo and focus of the company, and the Board believes he is well placed to lead the company through this next period. He is very focused on the successful delivery of the outcomes of the Strategic Review, including improving the performance of the pathology business. The Board is also pleased with the refreshed executive leadership team under Paul's leadership.
We have had five new people join the leadership team, and they are all aligned around delivering improved results for your company, with some early green shoots observable in the FY24 results, but a lot more remaining to be done. Some of the external factors include no indexation in pathology for 25 years and cost pressures, which continue due to inflation, providing ongoing challenges. The board was very pleased with the outcome of the Lumus sale process. Lumus Imaging is a great business, and this was recognized by those who participated in the process. The transaction is expected to settle early in calendar year 2025. Paul will provide some further detail on its progress in his address. The other key outcome of the strategic review that the board undertook in March and April of this year was the development of a new operating model and a refocus on our pathology operations.
Healius will continue to be a leading provider of pathology services in Australia. Our rapidly growing bioanalytical laboratory services business, Agilex, is also of growing importance. Assuming we can conclude the sale of Lumus Imaging as planned, the proceeds will alleviate balance sheet pressures and allow the business to focus solely on executing a new pathology strategy. That work is underway, and we plan to give a more detailed update once we have received the proceeds from the sale, likely to be in the first quarter of calendar year 2025. There will be some transitional service obligations post that period, and Healius plans material reductions in head office, infrastructure, and other costs as we become a smaller and leaner business. Our plan will be to use the proceeds of the sale to refinance and reduce the Healius debt facilities.
The board intends to also prioritize the distribution of surplus proceeds to shareholders in a tax-efficient manner. The form and timing of this distribution to shareholders will be communicated closer to the completion of the sale. Also, and in light of all that was happening in May this year, the board asked me to accept the role of chair on a permanent basis. Your board and I felt that the company needed continuity at this level through this next phase to support management to deliver the outcomes of the strategic review, the implementation of the new pathology operating model, and the continued growth of Agilex. In FY24, the board welcomed two new directors, with both Dr. Michael Stanford and Ravi Jeyaraj elected as non-executive directors at the last AGM.
Michael has brought a wealth of medical and health administration skills to the board, and Ravi brought his deep commercial acumen and health experience. Ravi's recent appointment to an overseas-based role meant that he needed to resign from the board in August 2024, and we thank him for the contribution he made to the board during this time. Your board continues to consider the right size and balance of skills and experience to guide the company through its next chapter, and we are close to finalizing a candidate to take over as chair of the Audit Committee. We expect to continue thoughtful board renewal over the course of the year ahead. Sally and I are the directors up for election this year, and I am happy to confirm that these resolutions are unanimously supported by your board.
For my part, I would say to you as shareholders that I am committed to working diligently over the next period to conclude the sale of Lumus Imaging, to improve the performance of the pathology business, and to support the growth of Agilex. Sally will say a few words on her re-election when we get to that item on the agenda. Let me just reiterate that Sally is a highly regarded member of the board. She makes a huge contribution, and the board is fully supportive of her re-election. The other items on the agenda are the adoption of the Remuneration Report, and I am disappointed to note that we have received a lower-than-expected vote. If the resolution does not receive 75% of the votes in favor, we will note this as a first strike.
We believe this is primarily due to the bespoke nature of the CEO remuneration package that falls outside the expected or more usual split between cash and equity components and the incentive targets. These were designed specifically for the circumstances that the board were addressing in March of this year. We have set out the arrangements and the reasoning for the remuneration package in the report. Your board believes that this was and remains for now the right arrangement to implement the change needed through the completion of the sale of Lumus Imaging, the simplified operating model, and the return to sustainable pathology margins, which will ultimately deliver value to our shareholders. We have explained our reasoning to shareholders and proxy advisors, and on the whole, shareholders are supportive.
The board is very happy with the direction of the company under Paul, and we will, of course, continue to communicate with and advise shareholders of any future changes to his tenure and remuneration package. The final resolution concerns approval of changes to the company's Constitution that your board believe are necessary to update it to comply with regulatory changes, align with developments in corporate and commercial practice for ASX-listed entities, and to improve administration of the company's affairs. As set out in the notice of meeting, they address the director resignation requirement and nomination period, flexibility around the payment of dividends, small holdings, and unclaimed dividends, voting on a poll, majority director resolutions, and restrictions on restricted securities. A version of the marked-up Constitution can be found on the Healius website, and a copy is tabled to the meeting.
I would like to finish by acknowledging the dedication of the entire Healius team that has faced several challenging years and their unwavering effort and dedication to the business. I would also like to thank my fellow board members and management team for their support, and I look forward to the year ahead and to delivering to our shareholders on the outcomes of the strategic review. I would also like to thank you, our shareholders, for your patience during these challenging times and your continued support for the business. I will now hand over to Paul, who will give us his address.
Thank you, Kate, and good morning, everyone, and thank you very much for joining us here today. Along with the board today, we have various members of the Healius management team in the room, including Dr. Phil Lucas, our Group Executive of Lumus Imaging, and Steve Humphries, our Chief Financial Officer. In this last financial year, we've made a good deal of headway on initiatives that we believe will make a real difference to our business. As you would be aware, in March 2024, I was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Healius. At that time, the management team were asked to undertake three specific tasks. The first task was to refinance our bank debt. This was completed in May 2024, and we now have bank facilities of AUD 680 million expiring in March 2027.
It is our current intention to refinance these debt facilities in 2025, following the completion of the sale of our imaging assets. The second task was to undertake an operating and strategic review of the assets of the business. This resulted in the announcement of the sale of Lumus Imaging to Affinity Equity Partners for a headline price of AUD 965 million on the 23rd of September this year. This transaction is expected to complete in early 2025, subject to a number of conditions, including Foreign Investment Review Board approval. And the last and most important task as part of the operating and strategic review was to redefine the strategy for our pathology business, with a focus on doing the basics well and repositioning our operations for both current economic conditions and future growth.
The five strategic priorities are improving the customer service for our patients and referrers, modernizing our network of laboratories, using digital technology as an enabler right across our business, embedding our new national operating model through people and our ways of working, and capitalizing on new and emerging diagnostic opportunities. Our 2024 annual report sets out more details on each of these very important priorities. Since the sale of the Lumus Imaging was announced, there has been considerable shareholder interest in the progress of our pathology strategy, our future capital structure, and how we will utilize the proceeds from the sale. We plan to hold an investor day in the first quarter of 2025, and at that time, we'll provide a detailed update from the management team on the progress of the pathology strategy and our transformation plans.
Reflecting the fact that Healius is in the relatively early stages of its pathology transformation program, the company intends to maintain a conservative capital structure post the sale of Lumus Imaging for the near term with minimal levels of debt. Over time, Healius will continue to assess its capital structure with the objective of reducing its overall cost of capital while maintaining the flexibility to grow the business and pay an ongoing dividend to shareholders. In terms of returning cash to shareholders, Healius has AUD 161 million of franking credits. So, within the context of maintaining minimal levels of debt in the near term on the completion of the Lumus Imaging sale, it is our intention to return the majority of these proceeds following the repayment of debt to shareholders via a special dividend.
We will provide shareholders with further details on this once the exact proceeds of the sale are known. As we stated at the announcement of the Lumus Imaging sale, with the simplification of its operations, Healius will undertake a robust approach to streamline its corporate cost base, and planning for this has well progressed. We are conscious that the new pathology strategy, focused on revenue growth and completing our digital program to enable efficiencies in the medium to long term, is going to take time to embed in the business, and we will provide more detail along with the progress that we are making at our upcoming investor day. In terms of a trading update, pathology volumes have increased by 4.5% for the year to date, with revenues growing by 5.9%.
While this is pleasing, it is worth noting that this does not translate immediately to earnings due to our investment in growing revenues as a key pillar of our strategy, along with labor cost pressures for EBAs and other inflationary increases. We expect pathology EBIT for the first half of 2025 to be broadly in line with 1H24. Importantly, we believe that our market share has stabilized over the past six months as we roll out our new strategy with its focus on revenue and investment and collection center performance. As was the case in FY24, we anticipate a material increase in pathology earnings in the second half of 2025, based on the volume skew between the first and second halves of the financial year and the benefits of our transformation plans translating to earnings.
Lumus Imaging has continued its strong growth, with exam volumes up 16% and revenue up 11% for the year to date. We expect EBIT to increase by approximately 40% for the first half of 2025, compared with the prior corresponding period. At our investor day in 2025, it is our intention to set out medium-term financial targets and timing for the pathology business. As a guide, we believe that high single-digit EBIT margins are achievable, and we intend to provide more detail on this at the time. Lastly, I would like to make some comments about indexation, or more importantly, the lack thereof for the past 25 years in the pathology sector. Australian Pathology's Keep Pathology Bulk Billed campaign continues to profile the need for indexation on all pathology rebates.
Throughout the course of this year, the campaign has generated more than 70,000 emails to the inboxes of our members of Parliament. Unfortunately, the federal budget for 2024-25 provided with one hand while taking away with the other. While the budget provided delayed indexation for only one-third of pathology items to the tune of AUD 174 million, it introduced efficiencies in the order of AUD 356 million. We know that efficiencies are political speak for cuts, and it did not take long to learn that the government is exploring cuts to both vitamin B12 and urine tests. This is alarming because these tests are commonly accessed across the population, but it's more alarming when we consider that 66% of all people who undergo these tests are women. These cuts are not evidence-based and are in direct contrast with the government's commitment to women's health.
Without full and fair funding, pathology providers will have little choice but to introduce co-payments or close collection centers and laboratories. Neither is palatable, neither is a palatable choice when we know that pathology is the last remaining bastion of bulk-billed healthcare in this country. What is continually lost in the mix is that early screening and diagnosis is fundamental to reducing downstream healthcare costs in Australia. The clinical reality is that 100% of all cancer diagnoses rely on pathology, and 70% of all treatment decisions rely on pathology. We need to continue pressing the importance of this issue and see it through until the federal government, of whichever political persuasion, reverses the cuts and locks in indexation for all pathology items. In wrapping up, it has been a very busy and important year for your company.
We have listened to you, our shareholders, and over the past six months have reshaped the strategy and the capital structure of the business, with a detailed plan to create further shareholder value through rebuilding the pathology business. Finally, I would like to say a special thank you to the entire Healius team right across the country for their focus, hard work, and dedication over this past year, and to you, our shareholders, for your continued support. I look forward to updating you on our progress in the coming months. Thank you, and I will now hand back to Kate.
Thanks very much, Paul. We will now move to the formal part of the meeting. The notice of meeting was provided to all shareholders. In accordance with usual practice at our AGMs, I will take the notice of meeting as read. The minutes of the previous meeting of the members of Healius Limited, which was the annual general meeting held on the 24th of November 2023, were approved by the board and signed by me. The original minutes are tabled, and a copy of those minutes will be made available for inspection at the registration table and to those shareholders who request a copy. The meeting will consider each item of business in turn. The proxy position will be reported, and there will be an opportunity for shareholder questions before the item is formally put to the meeting and voted on.
In the interest of efficient meeting management, shareholders will be limited to asking one question at a time. This year, we will be taking shareholder questions on each item of business in the following order. First, questions asked by shareholders attending in person. Second, written questions asked online. And finally, spoken questions asked via the phone line. When we invite questions from the room, please walk to the microphone at the center of the room, and we will take the questions in order. Please confirm you are a shareholder by showing your blue or yellow attendance card. Before asking your question, please give your name and, if you represent an organization, the name of that organization. Mary Weaver, our Group Company Secretary, will then ask questions that have been submitted via the online platform.
Finally, our conference moderator will then proceed to ask callers in turn to ask any questions over the phone. For shareholders in the room who have not voted, you will need to complete the back of the blue card, which will be collected at the close of the meeting. For shareholders online, the voting icon is on your screen. When you press this icon, the voting screen will appear, and you will see votes available for items two through five. To cast your vote, press the button of your choice, and to change your vote, simply press your new selection. Whichever option you have highlighted at the time the polls closed will be recorded as your vote. Following the close of voting, at the end of the meeting, the results of each item of business will be determined and posted on the ASX and the company's website.
The number of proxy forms received by the company's registry, Computershare, by 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, the 13th of November, was 430. All proxy appointments have been ruled as valid. In accordance with the Corporations Act, the minutes of this meeting will record in respect of each resolution in the notice of meeting, the total number of proxy votes exercisable by all proxies validly appointed, the directions in the proxy forms, and the total votes in favor, total votes against, and total of abstentions. To ensure a full representation of our shareholders in the hybrid meeting environment, I have determined that each item of business will be decided on a poll. Maria Djupelic of Computershare will act as returning officer for the poll.
Subject to any required voting exclusion, I will be voting all proxies available to me as the Chair of this meeting in favor of each item of business. Likewise, subject to any required voting exclusion, any open proxies received by the directors or other key management personnel will be voted in favor of each item. I will now move to item one in the notice of meeting. The company's financial statements and the reports of the directors and auditors for the financial year ended 30 June 2024 are before the meeting. Item one in the notice of meeting concerns the receipt of the company's annual financial report. Turning to the 2024 annual financial report of your company, I note that shareholders may ask questions on the reports or the management of our company. Our auditor, Ms.
Katrina Zdrilic is in attendance today, and should there be any questions in relation to the preparation or conduct of the audit, she is available. To ask a question, please walk to the microphone at the center of the room. As there were questions submitted in advance of the meeting, we will start with the first question from Natasha Lee, followed by the other submitted questions from shareholders via Computershare.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I think this is on.
I think so.
Okay, that's fine. Natasha Lee, shareholders, as you said, while the process is underway to sell Lumus Imaging, could you explain the reasons for the sale process, and if successful, how will the sales proceeds be used? I note that the contribution to EBIT from imaging last year was significantly higher than EBIT from pathology, and it seems that the more profitable part of the business is being sold. I note that since I issued this question in advance, you have addressed part of that question in your opening address, but.
Thank you, Natasha. Thank you for your question. As you mentioned, Paul said in his opening address, the proceeds from the transaction are proposed to be used to refinance and reduce Healius debt facilities. We will also prioritize the distribution of proceeds to shareholders in a tax-efficient manner, and the form and timing with the exact distribution will be communicated closer to the completion of the transaction. In terms of the rationale for the sale, we're very pleased with the outcome that we got, and we think that in the circumstances, it's the better value-creating opportunity for shareholders.
Okay, thank you.
We also had a question from Vost Consolidated. I'm not sure if there is anyone representing them here in the room. I can't see anyone. Would you like to read out the question, Mary?
With the radiology sold, what steps are being taken to reduce the corporate overheads of the company, and what benefit does the company have continuing to be listed?
I think in terms of the Lumus Imaging sale, as we have said previously, the simplification of our operations, the robust approach that we can now take to streamlining our corporate cost base and simplifying the business are very important and are being progressed. And as Paul said in his opening remarks, we'll provide more detail along with the progress that we are making at our upcoming investor day. And for the time being, the company has no plans to delist. There was also a pre-lodged question from Mr. Jeffrey Saw. I'm not sure if he's here either. Maybe not. Maybe he thought it was more efficient to pre-lodge. Mary, would you like to read out his questions?
There is a section in the annual report on animal testing. What strategy does Healius have to take full advantage of alternatives that are becoming available and in other ways to completely phase out animal testing?
Thanks, Mary, and I know this is a topic that you're very passionate about. Unfortunately, currently, there is no substitute to running some small number of preclinical studies through animal models. Agilex are aligned with best practice in this space, and we'll transition our business model accordingly as the area develops, which is code for when we can move away from it, we will. There is a facility in Brisbane that does perform rodent studies through the preclinical phase of pharmacological drug development. We're not involved in any cosmetic drug development, and all studies are approved by a registered external and independent animal ethics committee, which has animal welfare representatives to ensure animal treatment is global best practice.
We're also looking at opportunities to partner in CSIRO's investigation into the use of artificial tissue and its potential to eliminate animal testing in future clinical trials, although I'm told that is still some years away. They were the other pre-lodged questions. I know you had some more questions, Natasha, so feel free to ask your next question, or others who have questions, feel free to head towards the microphone, and we will take them in order. Yep, you go next, and then we'll have this gentleman.
That's fine. Thank you very much. The cash flow and gearing positions appear to have improved in terms of net debt and interest cover, though I note that there's still inflationary pressures limiting margin growth, and the government does not seem to be responsive to improving their contribution to technology. It seems your response has been to invest in technology and improving efficiencies. If that doesn't increase, can it be expected that the amount of interest being paid would decrease in future? However, how much of the maintenance and growth CapEx is allocated to these efficiencies, i.e., laboratory modernization, and what is the expenditure profile going forward and expected payback period?
So there's a lot in that question, Natasha, so I will try and take it in parts. In response to your first question about indexation, we will keep going with our bulk bill campaign because we think it's the right thing to do, and we will advocate for indexation, but obviously, we don't control what the government of either political persuasion ultimately decides to do. In terms of technology and improving efficiencies, FY25 will be the third year of our digital program, which has been quite an extensive investment in upgrading platforms and building new capabilities on top of them. Post that time, the end of FY25, we expect to return to what we might call normal levels of investments in digital capabilities because we're still going to need to do some, but we will have completed the major upgrade program.
So we will be able to be in a position to say more about that when we get to our investor day in March. The sale of Lumus Imaging will definitely alleviate the balance sheet pressures, and you've heard us say now a couple of times that part of that plan is to pay down debt, so we should be paying less interest. And we will be able to focus much more heavily on the rollout of our new pathology strategy. And as Paul has outlined, improving customer service, modernizing laboratories, and completing the investment in digital are all very important to that strategy. And most importantly, we want to be in a position to provide better services to our patients. We don't expect that there's going to have to be a significant extra capital investment required over and above the ongoing existing growth CapEx plans for the pathology business.
As I say, we can give you more detail when we get into the March investor day.
Yeah, you said that sort of the major transformation program's coming to an end, and you expect the CapEx to taper off. So what's the estimated payback on that investment from your transformation program?
I think in answer to that, I should just say we can describe that in more detail when we get to the investor day because some of these, the truth is, some of these elements are just foundational elements, so you have to do them to actually be able to have a business that can function in a modern digital world. But over and above some of those platform elements and things that we've invested in, things like improved data privacy, cybersecurity, and things like that, there are also a bunch of initiatives that go to improving the way that we service our referrers and our customers.
It's hard to sort of pull that out and give you an aggregate amount, but we can certainly give you a lot more color and movement when we come to the investor day in March and how those digital initiatives map back into the overall plan for pathology.
No, that's okay. I suppose that just because you're a bit of a heads-up of what you probably should be including in your investor day presentations.
Yep.
Thank you.
Thank you.
That is Patrick Shareholder.
Hi there.
I just have a question about the selling of the Lumus Imaging. It looks to me like we are getting rid of the better part of business from the margins point of view. On the gross revenue of AUD 500 million, it made last year AUD 42 million, and with the pathology, AUD 1.3 billion, we made actually less, AUD 38 million. So obviously, the margins will go down when we have a business in a later stage. But my question also is around, did we actually make money on this? What was the cost of acquiring this business or building up that business, and are we selling it at a good price? So kind of two questions. Thank you.
I'm not sure that we've gone back and done a full reconciliation of every dollar that's been invested in that business over time. And it actually would be quite a hard thing to do because like the pathology side of the business, there's a lot of small businesses effectively that have been agglomerated to create Lumus Imaging. But are we sure we got a good price? I think we're very confident that we got a good price. I don't know if you want to add anything to that, Paul.
No, I think, I mean, once the sale completes, it will make a considerable profit on sale. So I think there's kind of two parts to that. Are we happy with the price? Yes. And there is a profit on sale, yep.
We were very mindful as we went through that process that there was a point below which we wouldn't sell it because it wouldn't be a good return for shareholders, and we well and truly got ourselves into the space of being happy with what we got.
With the margins on the pathology business, how do we compare with our competitors? Are we doing well on that?
No, so generally, we are below the margins of our competitors. We're very mindful of that, and as Paul mentioned, we know we've got a lot of work to do to get back to what you would regard as acceptable margins.
Okay, thank you.
Good morning, Chair. David Kingston, K Capital. Much smaller group here today than last year. Must mean that the shareholders are happy.
Let's hope so.
I made some fairly critical comments last year, but I'm actually going to compliment the board today. I think, to be honest, for the previous three years, the board and the management did a very poor job in this company, but let's look forward. I think in the last year, well done to everyone. I think the sale of Lumus Imaging was a very good sale, well above market expectations. It's terrific to hear from the CEO that you are going to be able to distribute a fair part of that as a franked dividend, which is very effective for shareholder value. So that's pleasant news. So congratulations to the board. I think you are finally prioritizing shareholder value. I think your strategy is becoming pragmatic and sensible. And I think thanks for the honesty. Yes, the margins in pathology have been, to be honest, the dunce of the class.
You've been barely at break even in the last few years. But look, it's encouraging, and we recognize it's not going to happen overnight, but encouraging that you are aspiring to move up to high double-digit margins, high single-digit margins, sorry.
Thank you for that clarification.
Being a bit ambitious, but from pretty close to zero. Well done. I think congratulations. I think it's been a good year by the company. Wow, Paul, you've got a huge impact on the market. You should become a stock broker. As soon as your CEO address came out, the stock plummeted literally this morning from 160 to 135. However, people overreacted, which is often the case in the stock market, and it's back to 145. Look, I don't have a problem with the honesty. It is pretty unfair by the government to not index pathology. You've been honest about that, which I think is fine. Wow, did the market react today? Sometimes the market gets things wrong. There was nothing new in what you said, but wow, they're listening to what you say, Paul. Made a big impact.
My only comment is that, look, it's good to hear there's a strategy day. I'm pretty experienced in business, real-world businesses, but it's not easy to go from low single-digit pathology margins to high single digits. So it'll be interesting to hear what the plan is. That's not going to happen quickly or overnight. Maybe you should have a look at what Elon Musk is going to do to remove the 7% fiscal deficit in the U.S. And he probably can do it, following on what he did with X to retrench over half the people. But look, good luck, Paul, on that. I think the board's moving in the right direction. Well done on focusing on shareholder value. And you've already succeeded in that. Last year, we had a AUD 1.20 emergency rights issue. Really, on average, the stock's been trading around about AUD 1.60. It got up to AUD 1.80.
Let's ignore today's knee-jerk reaction, but that's a good effort by the board, focusing on shareholder value, taking the hard decisions, making real changes, and shareholders have benefited, let's say, to the tune of 20%-25%. So well done. Thank you. That's all I've got to say.
Thank you very much. I'm not sure there was a question in there, but I'll just respond by saying we do have shareholder value at the front and center of all of our thinking and what we're doing. I appreciate your acknowledgment that it does take time to turn these things around, and that's probably a message that we did want to get across today because it does take a long, it's likely to be another couple of years. I think we said last year it'll be at least three years to turn the pathology business around, and I think that's still about right.
And what we really need to do is sort of stick with it because there are a thousand and one small initiatives, as we've talked about previously, and we do want to make sure that we stick with what we know is the right strategy and keep on executing on it and not get distracted by things along the way.
Look, that's great. Just a final comment. I do think it's great that the new board has got shareholder value first and foremost. But as I mentioned last year, I think the strategy for the previous three years was terrible. And using medical terminology, hopefully there's been an epiphany and that period of really poor, wasteful strategy won't return. But everything you've done the last year is good. Well done. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Are there other questions? We might be back to you, Natasha. I think you had another couple of questions.
Thank you. You've stated that Agilex is well placed to take advantage of global pharmaceutical research and development opportunities. Could you just elaborate on what this means and what are the implications?
Look, I would start by saying Agilex has had a very strong year. Revenue grew by 20.8%. EBITDA increased by 102.3%, admittedly off a low base. And EBIT nearly tripled to AUD 5.1 million for the year. We've signed a number of new commercial agreements with international partners where together we can offer global phase one to phase three testing propositions to the market, and that is panning out quite well. These agreements not only open new channels of work across different regions, but it also underpins the business's above-market growth in the bioanalytical sector. And the plan is to keep going with that effort. The team's also proven that they can exercise quite strong cost control, and they've matched labor to required capacity because a lot of the flow of this work depends on what's coming in and how long it takes to do it.
They've been able to manage to cut back their costs when the workflow goes down and increase their resources when the workflow goes up. We've flexed our scientific team across departments to improve productivity. The leadership team is focused on a client services science-first approach, and this is very important in that part of the world that we've got highly skilled scientists who are well regarded and respected. I think Agilex is well placed to take advantage of global pharmaceutical research and development opportunities as it gains traction with some of those global partners. I mean, I think the reality is some of them will come and go depending on what's going on in external markets and what these people are focusing on. I think they're very well set up to elevate their status as a preeminent science-focused bioanalytical laboratory service provider.
We're very pleased with the progress on that.
Right, thank you. I suppose if there's no other questions in the room, I might just do the last question.
Yep.
I saw a report that some of the private health insurance companies are providing telehealth consultations and wonder if this is an avenue that's been explored to increase provision of pathology which can follow a medical consultation.
I think we're kind of watching some of those developments. Some are going well, some are going sort of not quite so well. And so we just need to be thoughtful about how we respond to those developments. We're certainly working with GPs and specialists to improve the efficiency of our offerings, making sure we can tap into different ways of patients accessing pathology and accessing our collection centers, and also a big focus on the reports to doctors and patients, which we expect will evolve over the next few years. And as I said before, we'll continue to invest in the right type of digital applications to make sure that we can work well with whatever way patients are choosing to access those sort of health services. And when pathology is relevant, that we can get easy access into those sort of telehealth initiatives.
Okay, thank you very much.
Yep, thank you.
Hi, Charlie Kingston. I'd also like to reiterate. I think it was a great sale so well done on Lumus, and great to hear about the release of the franking and the potential dividend going forward. That would be a great outcome but just maybe a question around once those franking credits are distributed, a potential buyback. Just noting with context, ACL, our other listed peer, is currently buying back their shares but if we look at the relative valuation between the two, Healius and ACL, it's swinging around a bit given the volatility in the stock today so my numbers are probably a bit off but Healius today, we've got a market cap of around about AUD 1.1 billion. We had AUD 360 million of net debt prior to the sale, AUD 800 million of cash, obviously before any sort of distribution or dividend.
But our enterprise value, once you adjust for those cash proceeds, is around about AUD 650 million. ACL, again, a much smaller peer. I think they have round about half the revenue that we do. They've got a market cap of around about AUD 680 million, AUD 30 million of net debt. It's probably, again, rough numbers given the swings today, but their enterprise value is actually higher than ours today, which is probably why they tried to bid for us given the apparent undervaluation. But I suppose that the key difference clearly is that they are making very healthy EBIT margins. We are not in the pathology division, which is key going forward. But is there any prospect noting that apparent valuation or undervaluation? Clearly, Healius, if we can deliver on the pathology margins going forward, it looks very undervalued.
But noting, again, under the previous management and board, I think we were buying back stock, which probably wasn't the right thing to do up towards AUD 4 historically. But as we trade today with that apparent undervaluation relative to our peers, is a buyback going to be considered once we have distributed those franking credits, please?
Look, I think the answer to that is we're constantly considering these things for the time being. I think the board and the management team and with our advisors agree using up the franking credits and issuing a special dividend is sort of the most tax-efficient way to do things for the time being. I think we would like to take a bit more time to get the pathology business back to where we think it should be. And we don't want to leave ourselves short. I'm not making that mistake again. So we'll certainly consider those things. We need to see exactly where we land at the end of the Lumus sale, what else we need to be managing. And we'll always keep those things open, but at the moment, we're not planning a share buyback.
Thank you. And just on the margin point, could you just elaborate? Because my non-expert industry understanding is that pathology is a scale game. Again, I think we're twice the size of ACL. And the rumors are that the much smaller player 4Cyte is making good margins. Please correct me if I'm wrong. That's just the rumor. But my understanding is pathology is a scale game, and we are twice the size of ACL, and they're making 9%. We're below that, and I appreciate there's been a lot going on, a lot of change at the management level, and clearly we're heading in the right direction. But structurally, is there anything different between the businesses that would prevent us from earning a similar, if not greater margin to ACL given that scale advantage?
I think all the money we've spent on IT systems, I forget the various names that that investment has been called over time, but I think historically the target was sort of 12%-13% EBIT margins for the pathology segment. So is that, yeah, are there any sort of structural issues as to why we can't sort of beat our competitors given they are a lot smaller? And is double-digit a fair longer-term target once you've gone through the strategy day and all the other things you need to work through?
Look, if I could just say, I think we'd be happy with high single digits for the next little while because that's going to be hard enough to achieve. There are some what you might call structural differences in terms of the parts of the market that we play in. Like we have a much bigger proportion of the GP market, and generally margins are better in the specialist part of the market. So we're looking to see how we can get more share of that market. People are not going to just say, "Okay, I'll move across to you now." So that all takes time, and we have to make sure we've got the right product offerings and the right service offerings to get people to use us.
I would also say we've probably got more contracts where across the contract, some bits of it are profitable and some bits are not. So we need to work on some of that as well. And that's why, and I'll let you say what you want to say, Paul, this has to be quite a carefully managed program of work with 1,001 little things that need to come together better. I mean, I wouldn't underestimate the importance of the changes in the operating model because the other overlay that is an added cost for us is historically this has been run as a bunch of sort of relatively independent small businesses. So now we're saying we need one operating platform. We need some standard ways of doing things so that we've got a better ability to sort of move work around the network.
All of those things eventually should get us back to high single digits, but it's a lot of hard work, and it's going to take some time to get all of that happening. Do you want to add anything, Paul?
No, I was just going to say that, I mean, look, I think scale should be your friend in this industry. Clearly, mix of revenue is a very important part of that. And we have almost two-thirds of our revenue comes from the GP referrals, which is the margin is lower. So I think our focus, and we've tried to make this point, has to be sequential about revenue, generating revenue, and getting things right in our collection centers, finishing our digitization and automation program, which we are well progressed. And then the efficiencies come out of that, but we need to do them in that order. So I think everything else that Kate said, I think is true. And having that ambition to have that high single-digit margin is first and foremost.
Thank you.
Okay, if there are no other questions, am I passing to you, Mary?
There are no questions on the platform, Kate.
Okay, no questions online.
We'll now just check the phone line.
Madam Chair, there are currently no questions on the phone.
Okay, well, as there are no further questions, thank you very much for the questions in the room. I will close this question session. As item one is a non-voting item, we will now move to item two. Item two in the notice of meeting concerns the adoption of the 2024 remuneration report. The position as to proxies and direct votes is shown on the screen. The vote on the resolution will be advisory only and non-binding. However, the board has carefully considered the remuneration structure, and although it is unusual, we believe it is right for this stage of the company. We have heard the feedback from proxy advisors, and we will take that feedback into consideration. We will now open questions on the remuneration report. Please walk to the microphone at the center of the room if you've got any questions in the room.
David Kingston, look, I'll just make a general comment. I think the proxy advisors are a little bit yesterday's story. I think they're being very picky, a lot of them. I think a lot of them are being uncommercial. I think there's a lot of remuneration structures, which I think are very fair, but the proxy advisors are recommending against. If you move to private equity, the remuneration is huge. If we look at David Di Pilla, pulling AUD 350 million out of his new float and offering a 1.5% fee to all the retail brokers to support it, huge amount of money, which is perhaps a bit questionable. But all I'd say is I would support the remuneration report, and I just think a lot of the proxy advisors are over the top. Thanks.
Thank you very much for that. Are there any other questions on the Remuneration Report in the room? Sally, any questions on the platform?
No questions on the platform.
Any questions over the phone?
Madam Chair, there are no questions over the phone currently.
Okay, as there are no further questions, I will close this question session, and we will now move to the vote on item two. I note that I have notified the meeting of the proxy and direct voting status of this item. I now put the motion that the Remuneration Report for the year ended 30 June 2024 be adopted. As previously indicated, we will proceed directly to a poll. We will now move to the next item of business. And as it deals with my re-election, I will vacate the chair for the resolution, and I will hand the role of chair to Charlie Taylor, the Chair of the Audit Committee. Thanks, Charlie.
Thank you, Kate. I will assume chair duties for resolution three. So item three in the notice of meeting concerns the re-election of Kate McKenzie, the position as to valid proxies and direct votes in relation to Kate's election. The position as to proxies and direct votes is now shown on the screen. Item three is now open to questions. To ask a question, please raise your hand, and a microphone will be brought to you or moved to the center of the room. Please remember to show your blue attendance card and to identify yourself and what organization you represent, if applicable. We will now move to questions.
Hi, Natasha Lee, shareholder. Yeah, Kate, I've known you for a while. I'm happy to support you in your re-election for a number of reasons, but just the general comment. I know that you've made a comment or made in your address that there's still one vacancy to be filled among the board. I think that there is a need for the board to look at the range of diversity, not just gender diversity, but other forms of diversity, which is important, and I just ask that the board remains mindful of that, bearing in mind the difficulty of finding the appropriate skills mix and everything else. I'm not advocating for a bigger board, but just to make that point that as part of the selection process, you should be more mindful about all forms of diversity on the board so that it does better represent the community in general.
Yep, I would agree with that. So thanks, Natasha.
Thank you.
David Kingston, look, obviously you've been an excellent chair, Kate, so we all support that. But I would just say that I don't think the board should be any bigger than it is. The company is much smaller now. I think too many boards are too big. And personally, we're in an era with Donald Trump, like it or not. I'm not sure that diversity is as important as perhaps some people think. It's a personal view. But certainly in America, a lot of DEI is disappearing very quickly. And I think that's probably going to be a worldwide trend. But that's a personal view. Everyone's got their own opinion. But certainly, I don't think the board should be any bigger given the diminished size of the company. Thanks.
Thanks very much. And look, I'll just say, you know, we're constantly thinking about these things. Obviously, I am a believer in diversity, so I'll just put that on the table. But there's plenty of people out there who've got the right skills mix as well. So we're primarily looking for people who are going to be a good addition to the board. I take on board what you're saying. We don't need a lot more people on the board. It's just about making sure we've got the right skill set for where the business is and that we've got a good plan for refreshing. And it does take a while.
Thank you. Any other questions? Any online?
There are no questions on the platform.
On the phone?
Chair, there are currently no questions over the phone.
Thank you. So as there are no further questions, I will close this question session. We'll now move to the vote on item three. I note that I've notified the meeting of the proxy and direct voting status of this item. I now put the motion that Kate McKenzie, who retires by rotation in accordance with clause 13.6 of the constitution of the company, being eligible, offers herself for election, is elected as a non-executive director of the company. As previously directed, we will proceed directly to a poll. The poll will remain open for the remainder of the meeting. We will now move to the next item of business, and I will hand the chair back to Kate.
Thank you very much, Charlie. Instead of popping up and down again, I might just stay seated for this bit because item four in the notice of meeting concerns the election of Sally Evans, and I invite her to say a few words to the meeting.
Thanks, Kate, and thank you all for the opportunity to put myself forward for another term as a director at Healius. I am committed to the strategy discussed by Paul today and ensuring the strategy is delivered to optimize investor outcomes as discussed by Kate. Aligning the strategy, operating model, and remuneration arrangements with investor interests is my major focus while ensuring the company manages its risks and opportunities. Thank you for considering my nomination. It's a privilege to serve you.
Thank you, Sally. The position as to proxies and direct votes is shown on the screen. And item four is now open for questions. And once again, to ask a question, could you walk to the center microphone, and we'll take any questions in order. And please remember to show your blue attendance card and to identify yourself and what organization you represent, if applicable. Questions? It doesn't look like there are any questions in the room. Are there any questions online?
No questions from the platform.
On the phone?
Madam Chair, there are no questions on the phone.
As there are no further questions, I will close this question session. I note that I have notified the meeting of the proxy and direct voting status of this item. I now put the motion that Sally Evans, who retires by rotation in accordance with clause 13.6 of the constitution of the company, being eligible, offers herself for election, is elected as a non-executive director of the company. As previously indicated, we will proceed directly to a poll. We will now move to the next item of business. Item five in the notice of meeting is to consider, and if thought fit, approve the amendments to the constitution of the company as described in the explanatory notes to the notice of meeting to be approved with effect from the close of this meeting. The position as to proxies and direct votes is shown on the screen.
Item five is now open for questions. Once again, if you're in the room, if you could walk to the center microphone if you've got any questions. Clearly, people were very riveted by the changes to the Constitution, and I think we've got a pretty overwhelming vote in favor. I can't see any questions in the room. Mary.
There are no questions on the platform.
Any questions on the phone?
There are currently no questions on the phone.
Okay, moving through very swiftly then. As there are no further questions, I will close this question session, and we now move to the vote on item five. I note that I have notified the meeting of the proxy and direct voting status of this item. I now put the motion that the amendments to the constitution of the company as described in the explanatory notes to the notice of meeting and as set out in the document tabled at the meeting and signed by the chair of the meeting for the purposes of identification be approved with effect from the close of this meeting. We will proceed directly to a poll.
As we have now reached the conclusion of the formal business of the meeting, I will now pause for 60 seconds to allow those shareholders yet to vote to finalize and submit your vote, and then I will formally close the poll on all items of business. Please hand your cards to our friendly person in the green dress.
Thank you. And the question from over here.
Thank you, Sally. I'm sorry. Mary, you will tell me when our 60 seconds is up. I needed every one of those seconds. Okay. It just remains for me to say thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I now declare all polls on all items of business closed, and that concludes the business of the meeting. The results of today's polls will be published on the company's website and to the ASX, and I now declare the meeting closed. And thank you all very much for your attendance and your questions. See you next year.