Iress Limited (ASX:IRE)
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Apr 28, 2026, 4:10 PM AEST
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EGM 2022

Sep 29, 2022

Roger Sharp
Non-Executive Director and Chair, Iress

To the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I'd also like to pay my respects to their elders, past and present, and Aboriginal elders of other communities who may be here today. Online via the Computershare meeting platform, or here with us at KWM in Sydney. For those of you attending in person, a little housekeeping. There are two exit points from the building outside this room. The closest exit is via the Sky Bar, located via the same route through which we entered. From this room, turn right and the fire stairs will be on your left. For the other exit point, turn left through the corridor, past the elevator lobby and the fire stairs will be on your left. If there is an emergency, please exit out of both doors to avoid congestion.

Fire wardens will be present to assist with evacuation and direction to the assembly area. Before we move to the formal business of today's meeting, some important introductions. All directors join us here today, some in person and some by video link. In person, we have to my left Michael Dwyer, Marcus Price, non-executive director and our incoming managing director, and of course, and CEO. By video link, we have three non-executive directors, Niki Beattie from the U.K., Trudy Vonhoff, who is also Chair of our Audit and Risk Committee, and Julie Fahey, who is Chair of our People and Performance Committee. Now, I can't see my colleagues, but I'm going to assume that they're there in ether somewhere.

Also in attendance today are Peter Ferguson, our Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary to my far left, John Harris, our Chief Financial Officer, a number of the Iress team. Welcome and thank you for coming. I'd also like to acknowledge Joe Muraca, a representative from our legal advisors, King & Wood Mallesons. Joe. There are three resolutions to be considered at today's meeting, relating respectively to proposed grants to the incoming Managing Director and CEO, Marcus Price, of equity rights, performance rights and options. I'm advised that due notice of the meeting has been given in accordance with requirements of the Corporations Act, the ASX Listing Rules, and that a quorum is present. I'll take the notice of meeting as read. A slide should now be going up which outlines the process for asking questions online.

There'll be an opportunity to ask questions on all items of business, and I'll take questions from those attending in person first, followed by online questions. This will allow for a bit more time for online participants to formulate and submit any questions. For those attending in person, we ask who wish to ask a question, please raise your hand and we'll bring a microphone to you. We ask that you state your name, who you represent, prior to asking your question. We're using a microphone to ensure audio quality. For those attending online, questions can be submitted at any time. As previously mentioned, the process for asking questions online is outlined on the slide. Further information for online participants, including the help number in the event of difficulties, can be found in the online user guide referenced on page three of the notice of meeting.

While you can submit questions at any time from now on, they will not be addressed until the relevant time in the meeting. Questions will be moderated, or if we receive multiple questions on one topic, they may be amalgamated. Now to voting. I'll outline the process for voting at today's meeting. Each resolution before shareholders is an ordinary resolution and will be passed by simple majority. Voting today will be held by way of a poll on all resolutions, and I appoint Michael Hutchison from our share registry, Computershare Investor Services, as the returning officer. Those entitled to vote are all shareholders, representatives and attorneys of shareholders and proxy holders who, if attending in person, hold blue admission cards. To provide you with enough time to vote, I will shortly open the poll for voting on all resolutions.

Voting will remain open until I declare the poll closed at the end of the meeting. As we go through each resolution, the proxy results received for the meeting for the relevant resolution will be displayed on the screen. The four numbers displayed for each resolution will include proxies received and available to be voted by me as chair of the meeting. I'll now outline the instructions for conducting the poll, firstly for those attending in person at the venue, and then for those attending the meeting online. First, if there's anyone here at the KWM offices who believes they're entitled to vote but didn't register to vote on arrival, please make your way to the registration desk outside to register. Those that have already registered should have received a blue admission card.

On the reverse of that card is your voting paper, which details the resolutions being put to the poll and instructions. Proxy holders have attached to their admission card a summary of proxy votes, which details voting instructions received, if any. Vote in a particular manner, you're deemed to have voted in accordance with those instructions. In respect of any open votes a proxy holder may be entitled to cast, you need to mark a box beside the resolution to indicate how you wish to cast your open votes. Shareholders and representatives and attorneys of shareholders also need to mark a box beside the resolution to indicate how you wish to cast your votes. Please ensure that you print your name where indicated and sign the voting paper. When you're finished filling in your voting paper, please lodge it in the ballot box to ensure that your votes are counted.

Now, for those attending online, if you're eligible to vote at this meeting, the Vote icon will appear in your browser. An image of this icon is being displayed on the slide appearing on the screen. Once voting opens, press the Vote icon at the top of the screen, and all resolutions will be activated with voting options. To cast your vote, simply select one of the options. There's no need to submit or hit an Enter button as the vote is automatically recorded. You'll receive a vote confirmation notification on your screen, and you can change your vote up until the time I declare voting closed. If you experience any difficulty submitting a question or voting online, please consult the online user guide on page three of the notice of the meeting. I now declare voting open on all resolutions.

I will give you a warning before I close voting at the end of the meeting. Subject to any applicable voting restrictions, the board, other than Marcus Price and Andrew Walsh, recommend that shareholders vote in favor of each resolution. As indicated in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all available proxies in favor of each resolution. Now, we will move to three brief addresses from me, Andrew, and Marcus before moving to the formal business of the meeting. Before we officially begin, I wanted to address the announcement we made to the market this morning. As you'll all be aware, we are currently operating against a backdrop of quite challenging macro conditions. As a result, Iress has experienced some timing delays to the conversion of new sales opportunities, which is expected to impact on FY22 guidance.

In addition, we have experienced some higher than anticipated supplier costs, largely in technology and in part driven by Forex rates and US dollar pricing. Our full-year segment profit for FY22 is now expected to be in the range of AUD 166 million-AUD 170 million on a constant currency basis. Net profit after tax is now expected to be in the range of AUD 54 million-AUD 58 million as a result of the updated outlook for segment profit. The primary contributor to the reduced second half FY22 profit expectation is extensions to sales cycles on new client opportunities in APAC and in mortgages, resulting in revenue previously anticipated to land in 2022 being pushed into 2023. These details are contained in the release we launched before the market opened this morning.

For now, I would like to refocus on the purpose of today's meeting. As you're aware, the purpose of today's extraordinary general meeting is to provide shareholders with the opportunity to vote on the proposed grants of Equity Rights, Performance Rights, and options to the incoming Managing Director and CEO, Marcus Price. Before handing over to Andrew and Marcus, I did want to take a moment to provide some context on what is happening and why the board is seeking your approval for these grants. Iress has a long history of leadership stability, both with previous CEOs and indeed the board. Andrew and his predecessor indeed have been in place during periods of significant growth over really a number of years, significant international expansion and delivery of value. Andrew has been an outstanding leader.

We've worked together for a couple of years now. Since he took over as CEO in 2009, he really has been instrumental in building Iress into an innovative market leader with an international footprint. Andrew and I have had many discussions about his decision to retire. We're very grateful to him for his service, and we truly wish him well. I have, knowing Andrew as I do, I have no doubt that he will regroup. He will ride his bike for a few thousand more kilometers, which he enjoys doing so much. He will pop up again doing something new and exciting. Andrew, thank you. The appointment of Marcus Price as Andrew's successor followed a thorough succession planning, candidate search, and evaluation process. The board believes that Marcus is ideally placed to steer Iress through the next phase of its journey.

He brings decades of experience in financial services and technology with a demonstrated track record in creating shareholder value. He was the founding CEO of PEXA Group Limited, Australia's first digital property exchange. He is acknowledged as the driving force in the creation of PEXA, which he led for more than a decade. Marcus has also held senior positions with the National Australia Bank, the Boston Consulting Group, and previously served in senior executive roles with both Equifax and Dun & Bradstreet. The 2025 strategy announced last- year aims to transform Iress into a more scalable company, delivering improved shareholder returns. We're fortunate to have secured a leader of Marcus' reputation and experience to guide the company through the execution of this strategy and to develop future growth horizons.

Recognizing the importance of the role, Iress is seeking your approval for Marcus to step into the current Managing Director and CEO equity package, which was approved by shareholders at our annual general meeting in May this year. Further reflecting Marcus's intention to align his interests with those of shareholders, he has agreed to a reduction in his fixed remuneration in return for the issue of a one-off grant of options with an equivalent value. Shareholders should note that the transition from Andrew to Marcus has been structured to minimize any impact on the company's FY22 profitability, with Andrew forfeiting his 2022 Performance Rights and only a three-month fixed remuneration overlap during FY22. On behalf of the board, I encourage you to support the proposed remuneration framework, which closely aligns Marcus's interests with those of the company and its shareholders.

I'll now invite Andrew to say a few words before Marcus introduces himself to shareholders. Andrew, over to you.

Andrew Walsh
Managing Director and CEO, Iress

Thanks, Roger. After more than 20 fulfilling and enjoyable and simply awesome years at Iress, and with the company in such a strong position, I feel the time is right for us to plan the next stage of future leadership. The decision hasn't been an easy one, but I'm confident this is the right time for me and for Iress. It was a great honor to succeed Iress's founding CEO, Peter Dunai, in 2009, with whom I worked very closely. I'm proud to have seen Iress through a period of substantial transformation and growth into what it is today, a successful global technology business with genuinely unique and market-leading set of software and services. Our strategy is very, very clear.

We are making good progress, and I have every confidence that Iress's new CEO, Marcus Price, will bring the right executive perspective and energy to continue to drive Iress forward and ensure that it delivers on the goals and achieves those goals and potential. I wish Marcus every success, and I'll be supporting him until the end of January. My sincere thanks goes to the entire Iress team for contributing their talent to Iress with hard work, focus, and intellect over many, many years. I'd like to thank my own leadership team and the Iress board. Finally, I'd like to thank our investors for their continued support over many years, including some from the time when Iress was born. Thank you.

Roger Sharp
Non-Executive Director and Chair, Iress

Thanks, Andrew. Marcus, over to you.

Marcus Price
CEO, Iress

Thanks very much, Roger. My name is Marcus Price. I'd like to start by congratulating Andrew on a true legacy. I think he's been an outstanding leader of Iress. He leaves an incredible legacy behind him, an enviable legacy of achievements during his tenure. I think really importantly, has set the foundations for the next phase of the company and for continued success. I think I know the whole team feel the same way about Andrew leaving. He's been a great leader, and he's been someone who'll be actually missed, I think, by the team. Thank you, Andrew, for everything. To Roger and the board, my sincere thanks for the faith you've shown in me, in leading Iress. I'm certainly looking forward to the challenge of that.

I'm genuinely excited about the opportunity. In particular, I've been a long-term admirer of the Iress business. It's been a parallel business for me for many years, as I was in PEXA. I really do relish the opportunity to bring that experience to Iress and to help it work through its next phase of growth and the next horizons of this business. I'm certainly looking forward to working with the Iress team. It's a great team. One of the reasons I joined the business was the caliber of the people in the management team, so I'm delighted with that. Looking forward to executing on the 2025 strategy that was presented to the market last- year.

Including, I guess, the continuation of our evolving of an operational model and a transition to a platform-based architecture, something I'm very familiar with, while exploring further growth opportunities beyond that. I'm really looking forward to that challenge. I look forward to meeting with investors and customers over the next few months and to delivering on our objectives. I think, you know, what our challenge is to deliver a company which is simpler, faster, which can deliver higher returns for shareholders. Thank you very much for the faith you've shown in me. Thank you, Roger. Thank you, team. Back to you.

Roger Sharp
Non-Executive Director and Chair, Iress

Thank you, Marcus, Andrew. As I noted earlier, and as set out in the explanatory notes in the notice of meeting, there are three resolutions to be considered today. The proxies received for each resolution are being shown on the screen now. The following comments address resolutions one, two, and three together, which I will then put separately and in turn. As I mentioned earlier, Iress announced its 2025 strategy in July last- year. The strategy includes meaningful operational and financial targets and aims to transform, as Marcus just said, the company into a more scalable business. The board and your incoming CEO remain focused on those targets. Marcus is tasked with guiding the company through execution of this strategy, and it's important that his remuneration package is aligned to the interests of shareholders and the existing team here.

To that end, we are seeking your approval for Marcus to step into the current managing director and CEO equity package, as approved by shareholders in May this year. Further reflecting an alignment of Marcus' interests with those of shareholders, he has agreed to a 30% reduction in his fixed remuneration compared to the fixed remuneration awarded to Andrew Walsh for the period through 31 December 2024. In return, the company has agreed to issue to Marcus a one-off grant of options with an equivalent value. We are also seeking your approval at this meeting for the grant of those options. I'll start with the equity rights, which are the subject of resolution one. These form part of the CEO's fixed remuneration. Marcus's base salary will be AUD 712,736 per annum inclusive of super.

With your approval, Marcus will be awarded equity rights in 2022 with a face value of AUD 175,743, being a pro-rata amount reflecting his employment from, I think, next Monday until the end of FY 2022, 31 December, at the 30% reduction I referred to. The board considers this an appropriate level of fixed remuneration given the size, scope, strategic objectives, and complexity of this company. Marcus' skills and experience and overall remuneration package comparable remuneration levels for relevant domestic, international and information technology peers being taken into account. Now we move to the performance rights, which are the subject of resolution 2. First, the vesting value, and importantly, the overall amount of performance rights at risk, is directly aligned with the achievement of Iress 2025 strategic goals.

Second, the terms of the performance rights are unchanged from those awarded to Andrew in May this year at the AGM. Now we move to equity options, which are the subject of resolution 3. This is a one-off grant intended to establish further alignment between the interests of our incoming CEO and shareholders. The options come at a cost to Marcus, who has sacrificed 30% of his fixed remuneration or AUD 1.3 million in aggregate over 2022, 2023 and 2024. Clearly, there's upside to Marcus if, during the life of these options, the AUD 13 share price is exceeded. That share price increase will also, of course, accrue to the benefit of all shareholders. On behalf of the board, I encourage you to support the proposed remuneration framework which closely aligns Marcus' interests with those of the company and its shareholders.

Turning now to each resolution. Resolution one. The text of res one is set out on the slide and is visible to those attending online, and that resolution is now before you. Are there any questions on this resolution from shareholders and proxy holders attending in person, please? Thank you. Peter, are there any online questions in relation?

Peter Ferguson
Group General Counsel and Company Secretary, Iress

Thank you, Roger. No, there are no questions online.

Roger Sharp
Non-Executive Director and Chair, Iress

Okay. Thank you. The proxies received for resolution one are shown on the screen behind, for, against, or abstain for resolution one. I'll just pause for a few seconds to enable you to vote. We'll move to resolution two, which is also set out on the slide and visible to those attending online. The resolution is before you now. Are there any questions from shareholders and proxy holders attending in person? Peter, do we have any questions online at this resolution?

Peter Ferguson
Group General Counsel and Company Secretary, Iress

Thank you, Roger. No, we don't.

Roger Sharp
Non-Executive Director and Chair, Iress

All right. Okay. The proxies received for resolution two are shown on the screen behind me. If you haven't already done so, please now vote for, against or abstain. Again, we'll pause briefly. We'll move to resolution three, which is set out on the slide and visible to those attending online. Are there any questions, from shareholders and proxy holders attending in person on the options, please? Peter, any questions online?

Peter Ferguson
Group General Counsel and Company Secretary, Iress

No questions, Roger.

Roger Sharp
Non-Executive Director and Chair, Iress

Thank you. The proxies received for resolution 3 are, of course, shown behind me. If you haven't already done so, please now vote for, against or abstain. We'll pause for 20 seconds to enable you to do so before moving on. Thank you. That concludes, I was going to say, our discussion on the items of business, but we actually haven't had a single question. We'll now move to closed voting. Please ensure that you've cast your vote on all resolutions. We'll pause, you know, my script says for 90 seconds, but I think we can probably do it quicker than that. We'll pause for a few seconds to enable you to finalize your votes. Our Computershare representatives will collect the voting papers of those attending in person. Michael, have all voting papers been collected?

Michael Hutchison
Account Director and Returning Officer, Computershare Investor Services

Yep.

Roger Sharp
Non-Executive Director and Chair, Iress

Thank you. I now declare the poll closed. I'll allow just a little bit more time for voting to be completed. You don't need more time, do you? All right, we're good. Okay, I now declare the poll closed. Thank you. The results of the votes will be released to the ASX later today and will also be available on our website. I thank shareholders, proxy holders and visitors for their attendance today, and now declare the meeting closed. Thank you.

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