Good morning and welcome to the Annual General Meeting of Michael Hill International Limited. I begin today by acknowledging the traditional custodians of country and First Nations people throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and recognize their continuing connection to Land, Waters, and Community. I pay my respects to them and their cultures, and to elders past, present, and future. I'm Rob Fyfe, Chair of the Board of Directors, and it is my pleasure to chair today's meeting. Our Company Secretary has confirmed that a quorum is present, so I formally declare the meeting properly constituted and open for business. Before I get into housekeeping matters, I'd like to welcome my fellow board members who are here virtually at this meeting.
Firstly, Claudia Batten, Deputy Chair; Gary Smith, Chair of our Audit and Risk Management Committee; Emma Hill, Chair of our People Development and Remuneration Committee; Dave Whittle; and our newest addition to the Board, Andrea Slingsby. We are pleased to welcome Andrea as a full Board Member and would like to acknowledge her for stepping in as an alternate director for Sir Michael Hill during his leave of absence while he was undergoing treatment for cancer. Andrea has extensive governance, strategic, and operational transformational growth expertise developed over more than 20 years in Executive Board and Advisory roles. Andrea is a welcome addition to the Board. Today we are also joined by our new CEO, Jonathan Waecker, CFO, Andrew Lowe, and Lead External Audit Partner from Ernst & Young, Kellie McKenzie. Andrew and Kellie are present to address any questions on our financial reports. Now on to housekeeping matters.
Today's meeting is being held online via the Lumi Platform. This allows shareholders, proxies, and guests to attend the meeting virtually. Online attendees can watch a live webcast of the meeting. In addition, shareholders and proxies can ask questions and submit votes. To that end, if you do have any questions or comments on any item of business, then this year you'll be able to do so in either of two ways: in writing at any time during the meeting or verbally during the dedicated question time following the presentations. To ask a written question, select the messaging icon, type your question in the box towards the top of the page, and press the Send button. A copy of your submitted questions, along with any written responses from our meeting team, can be viewed by selecting My Messages.
To ask your questions verbally, click on the Request to Speak button at the bottom of the broadcast window. The audio questions interface will now display. You'll be prompted to confirm your name and enter the topic of your question. Submit your details and select Join Queue to be connected. Please note, while you can submit questions from now on, we will address your questions and comments after Jonathan and I have presented. If we do not get to your question for whatever reason during the meeting, we will follow up directly with you following the meeting. Shortly, I will declare voting open on all items of business. At that time, the resolutions and voting options will appear on screen. Voting today will be conducted by way of a poll on all items of business. To cast your vote, simply select one of the options. Your vote is automatically recorded.
There is no need to press a Submit or Enter button. You do, however, have the ability to change your vote up until the time I declare voting closed. I now declare voting open on all items of business. You are eligible to vote at this meeting; the resolutions will soon appear. Please submit your votes at any time. I will give you a warning before I move to close voting. If we experience technical issues that result in a number of shareholders being unable to reasonably participate, I will adjourn the meeting and it will be reconvened at a later time. If this occurs, we will launch an ASX and NZX release after the adjournment that sets out the details and next steps. Today, I'd like to give you an overview of how we view the year that's closed.
Following that, Jonathan will give more detail on our 2025 operating performance, our core priorities, and current trading performance. We commenced FY 2025 with cautious optimism, underpinned by economists' forecasts of improving economic and trading conditions. However, the year unfolded with a continuation of the very challenging environment we experienced in FY 2024, marked by subdued consumer demand across Australia and New Zealand and persistent inflationary pressures across key input costs, including occupancy, employee wages, and gold. These factors collectively placed sustained pressure on our margins throughout the year. Faced with these challenges, we maintained a disciplined focus on managing the costs of doing business and improving the productivity of our stores and inventory in order to conserve cash and strengthen our balance sheet.
At the same time, we continued to pursue our agreed strategy, invest in our brand, develop our people and systems, and evolve our product range to ensure the business is well positioned to leverage any improvement in economic and trading conditions when these arrive. Furthermore, we have placed deliberate emphasis on embracing AI across all facets of our business. This began with educating and empowering our team members to confidently engage with AI technologies, followed by thoughtful integration to enhance a range of business processes. These advancements have positioned us at the forefront of retail innovation, enabling us to operate with greater agility, insight, and customer focus. Our focus on prudent capital management continues. We have taken decisive actions to strengthen our balance sheet, optimize inventory, and reduce capital expenditure, ensuring we are well positioned for sustainable growth and to leverage any recovery in market conditions.
Given continued compressed earnings in FY 2025, and in conjunction with a commitment to prudent investment and operating in capital expenditure in FY 2026, no dividends were declared for FY 2025. In March 2025, Claudia Batten, serving as a Non-Executive Director, was appointed Deputy Chair. This was the first in a series of planned steps in our Board succession and renewal process, recognizing the long tenure of both myself and Gary Smith, our Audit Chair, and which also saw the appointment of Andrea Slingsby following the passing of Sir Michael Hill, our founding president. In planning the retirement of Gary and myself from the board, our overriding immediate governance imperative is ensuring we provide continuity and support to our new CEO, Jonathan Waecker, and to support the onboarding of a new CFO in early 2026.
During the interim CEO period, Claudia, Gary Smith, and I assisted both the business and Andrew Lowe as Interim CEO. As Deputy Chair, Claudia took on an expanded leadership role within the organization, helping to facilitate communications between the Board, Management Team, and key stakeholders. Her experience and strategic insights proved invaluable during the transition period, particularly as we navigated operational challenges and reassessed our priorities. Alongside Gary Smith and myself, Claudia worked closely with Andrew Lowe to ensure continuity in governance, support decision-making processes, and maintain overall stability throughout this critical phase. This collaborative approach enabled the organization to move forward confidently while seeking a permanent CEO. I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Andrew Lowe for his contribution and leadership over the past eight years.
Stepping into the interim CEO role during a particularly challenging time required resilience, clarity, and a deep commitment to the organization's success. Andrew's steady guidance and collaborative spirit were instrumental in maintaining momentum and stability throughout the transition. On behalf of the Board and the broader Executive and Management Team, thank you, Andrew, for your exceptional leadership, contribution, and support. It's with great sadness that I acknowledge the passing of our inspirational founder, Sir Michael Hill, in July 2025. Sir Michael had a natural gift for storytelling, a keen eye for visual merchandising, an instinct for attracting customers, and a gift for selling. To every endeavor he pursued, Michael brought a deep sense of purpose, an enduring curiosity, an open-mindedness, and creativity that challenged all of us to embrace and pursue ever more lofty goals and be unconstrained in our thinking.
It's a legacy that will continue to inspire us all. I would also like to acknowledge the tragic and sudden passing of our former Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Bracken, in February 2025. Daniel was a passionate retailer, an innovative and strategic thinker, and an inspiring leader who transformed the Michael Hill Group. In the face of these challenges, I'm immensely proud of the grace and determination demonstrated by our entire team. Despite the disruptions to our business, our people have shown resilience and unity, upholding our values and continuing to serve our customers with dedication. The enduring heritage of Sir Michael and Lady Christine, along with the legacy of Daniel Bracken, provide a strong foundation for us to build from and shape our next chapter. Across the business, our team is more motivated than ever to honor these legacies and drive our brands forward.
As we turn the page to a new chapter, we're excited to welcome our new CEO, Jonathan Waecker. Jonathan's appointment marks a pivotal moment for the Michael Hill Group, bringing fresh leadership and new perspectives to guide our team in the next phase of growth. With Jonathan's leadership, the Board is confident in our ability to improve the profitability of the business, unlock future opportunities, and position the Michael Hill brand to reach a broader, addressable market. His global experience and strategic vision will build on the progress made in recent years and help shape an exciting future for our organization. I would like to close my address by acknowledging and thanking all our shareholders for their ongoing support and belief in our future.
I now invite CEO Jonathan Waecker to address the meeting and discuss the 2025 operational performance, our core priorities, and provide an update on current trading. Jonathan.
Thank you, Rob. Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. I will now take you through a review of the 2025 financial results, operational achievements, and core priorities. We will also provide you with our current trading performance. FY 2025 saw global economic uncertainty and challenging retail trading conditions persist across all markets, with conditions in New Zealand remaining particularly challenging. However, pleasingly, our two largest segments still delivered growth, with Canada delivering another record year of sales performance. The second half saw an improvement in same-store sales across all segments, with group same-store sales up 2.4% in the second half of FY 2025. In addition, the business saw a productivity lift with sales per hour, increasing by 5% for the year, as the business maintained its focus on wage control.
Our omnichannel offering continues to be a key strategic focus for the group, with further maturity across ship from store, click and collect, and virtual selling, which saw digital sales grow 6% to over $50 million for the first time. During this period of economic instability, the group's focus has been on embedding strong retail fundamentals to ensure the business is ready for economic recovery and to drive sustainable growth. This has seen a series of Michael Hill initiatives implemented across the organization. Our product innovation has been a standout, with a successful introduction of the Pendant Bar and our live diamond collections. These initiatives have resonated strongly with our customers and have reaffirmed our commitment to creativity and quality. During the year, we proudly opened our second global flagship store on Burke Street in Melbourne.
This location showcases our new brand icons and delivers an elevated in-store experience, reflecting our commitment to innovation and customer engagement. We also refurbished our Queenstown store in New Zealand to align with our refreshed brand identity. The business made meaningful progress in elevating our customer experience, most notably through the establishment of a new distribution center in Auckland, New Zealand, which commenced operations in early FY 2026. This strategic investment is expected to significantly reduce time to market, enhance order fulfillment speed and accuracy, and improve overall service levels, ensuring our customers receive their purchases faster and more reliably. These operational efficiencies will also support our broader ambition to deliver a seamless and differentiated retail experience across all channels. Now moving on to the FY 2025 group financial results.
With full year revenue, gross margin, and earnings broadly in line with prior year, the group reported comparable EBIT of $15.3 million for the year ended 29 June 2025. For the year, the group delivered revenue of $644 million, broadly flat on the prior year. The impacts of continued aggressive promotional trading conditions and record high gold prices were largely offset by the introduction and mix of higher-margin product. Accordingly, gross margins of 60.5% were broadly flat to the previous year. Inflationary cost pressures continued to impact operating expenses across the business, particularly store labor and occupancy costs. During the second half, management took decisive action to reduce operating costs, discretionary spending, corporate roles, and overheads, which enabled full year earnings to close broadly flat to the prior year.
Even with gold reaching record highs throughout the year, continued active management of inventory, including the introduction of new product offerings, saw year-end inventory holdings close at $199 million. Year-end net debt closed broadly in line with prior year at $42 million. As noted in the H1 FY 2025 results release, the existing $90 million debt facility has been increased by $20 million for the four-month period from the 15th of September 2025 to support seasonal working capital requirements for Christmas trade. For Michael Hill , two new stores were opened during the year, two stores were converted to Bevels, and 14 loss-making stores were closed. Pleasingly, Michael Hill sales productivity lifted, as demonstrated by sales finishing flat against prior year, even with the volume of store closures. For Bevels, in addition to the two converted Michael Hill stores, one store closed, taking the network to 37 stores.
The total group finished the year with 287 stores. At the end of the first half of FY 2025, the business outlined the following core priorities: embedding the repositioning of the Michael Hill brand across all markets, an internal strategic review of New Zealand to improve performance, and reinforcing retail fundamentals, brand identity, and awareness of the Bevels brand. Learnings across each of these core priorities were identified through the second half, with continuing deployment of a series of targeted levers. The group's primary focus has been on building strong foundations for margin recovery to drive sustainable growth. This has seen a series of initiatives implemented to support improved intake margin, to deliver uniquely Michael Hill product newness and mix at higher margins, and continued discipline across retail execution, all of which is underpinned by a reset of the business's operational rhythm and promotional cadence.
The group also established an AI Centre of Excellence in the second half of the year, focused on educating and training team members on the opportunities presented by AI across all facets of the business. The group is also well advanced in an initial trial of a new consignment stock model with one of our major long-standing inventory suppliers. This will provide immediate and direct working capital benefits, with the ability to subsequently further scale this opportunity with additional suppliers. I've now been with the company for just over eight weeks, and during this period, I've spent time listening, learning, and engaging with our teams across the business. While our strategic foundations are strong, I believe there is an opportunity to refine and sharpen our focus to ensure we're best positioned for profitable, sustainable growth. This includes reviewing how we prioritize our investments, deepening customer engagement, and accelerating innovation.
I look forward to updating you on our progress as we evolve our strategy to meet the changing needs of our markets. Now moving on to our current FY 2026 trading update. Pleasingly, our product and brand initiatives have delivered a sustained group gross margin recovery of around 100 basis points for the first 16 weeks of FY 2026. Group same-store sales were flat on prior year, with same-store sales for our segments as follows: our Australian segment was up 0.7%, our Canadian segment was up 4.1%, and the New Zealand segment was down 6.2%. Total group sales were down 1.3% in the first 16 weeks of FY 2026, despite a 4.4% reduction in store numbers from 297-- 284 stores over the same 16-week period. As always, the group remains focused on inventory management, capital and operational cost control, and optimization of store rostering.
On the back of those 16 weeks, and as we prepare for the all-important Christmas trading period, we are encouraged by a year-on-year basis point uplift in group gross margins of around 100 points in the first 16 weeks of FY 2026. Additionally, our Canada segment, our second largest market, continues to deliver record-breaking sales performance, reinforcing its role as a key growth engine. Our focus remains firmly on delivering innovation, customer experience, and retail execution across our markets. We are driving momentum through introducing new collections, including Vermeil, our Lume LAB collection, and Earring Bar, bringing fresh appeal and elevated design to our core offering.
By broadening our customer favorites with further development of our Pendant Bar collection and enhancing the in-store experience, a proven driver of customer engagement and conversion, by showcasing exceptional quality at attainable prices to reinforce value for our customers across all of our markets, and expanding our gifting offer with Christmas gift sets designed to meet diverse gifting needs. To support peak trading, we are also strengthening our store footprint with key flagship stores that are ready to welcome new and returning customers into our latest Michael Hill product and shopping experiences. Rundle Mall in Adelaide is open now. Our new Bondi store in Sydney is opening at the end of the month in late October, and Yorkdale Toronto store will be opening in early November. These initiatives position us strongly for the festive season, reinforcing our commitment to product leadership, customer experience, and market growth.
As I wrap up my first AGM as CEO, I want to thank you for your continued support and belief in our business. Over the past eight weeks, I've had the privilege of meeting many of our people, our partners, and our stakeholders, and I've begun a thoughtful review of our strategy to ensure we're aligned for long-term success. While our foundations are strong, I see opportunities to sharpen our focus, to accelerate innovation, and to deepen customer engagement. I look forward to working with the team as we build on our strengths and shape the next chapter of growth together. I will now hand back to the Chair to conduct the formal business of the meeting.
Thanks, Jonathan. Before we move on to the formal business of the meeting, we will now take questions or comments. If you do have any questions of the Board or our external auditors or wish to make any comments on any item of business, please either submit them in writing or use the audio function now if you haven't already done so. Our moderator for the question- and- answer session is Kate. Kate, have any written questions or comments been received, or are there any shareholders waiting to speak via the online platform?
Yes, Rob, we have received several questions from one of our shareholders via the written portal, which I will read through now for you. The first one from Mr. Stephen Main is, how many full-time equivalent staff do we currently have, and is this likely to fall over the coming months with the rapid rollout of AI? Which parts of our business and operations are the most prospective for AI productivity gains, and how energetically are we embracing those opportunities?
Great. Let me touch on that question. I might also get a perspective from Jonathan. When you look at our business, we have approximately 1,700 FTE. 1,400 of those are in our retail stores. Stores are around Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. That's less of a focus for AI in the first instance. We are very focused on our support centre and head office areas, both around enhanced decision-making and in terms of productivity improvements. Throughout the first phase of exploring those opportunities, there's a number of new apps and tools becoming available in the market. We see it as a very exciting opportunity. We don't have specific targets linked to AI, but certainly as part of Jonathan's strategic review that he's undertaking currently, that is front and centre. Jonathan, is there anything further you wanted to add to bring any color or detail to that question?
Thank you, Rob. Just to build on the comments, I think we're committed to using AI to enhance our people's capability and customer experience. We see it as a massive amplifier for our talent and our values, and helping them get comfortable with that and learning how to use it is the first step. That's exactly where we're starting. The goal isn't necessarily to replace people, but rather to free them up to work on higher value, more creative endeavors.
Thanks, Jonathan. Back to you, Kate.
Sure. Thanks, Rob. We have another question from Mr. Stephen Main. In terms of the Australian and New Zealand operations, do we have any enterprise agreements with unions, or do we primarily pay staff under the retail award arrangements? What level of unionisation is there across the workforce?
Yes, we do have a high level of unionization across the workforce. Within Australia, we are subject, or there is the GRI, but we have a specific enterprise agreement for our Australian Michael Hill and Bevels team. The union arrangements in New Zealand and Canada are different than Australia, so that same framework doesn't exist in that environment. Thanks, Kate. Back to you.
Thanks, Rob. We'll now move on to another question from Mr. Tai Yi Chong, and this one's for Jonathan. We appreciate the CEO has only been in his role for two months, but can he please share his thoughts on the following: A, whether Bevels has the right cost structure as a lower margin business and whether it is still a viable primary channel of growth for the company? Secondly, what are the growth options for the Michael Hill brand?
Great. Thank you for both of those. As I mentioned in my opening address, we have begun a thoughtful review of our strategy to ensure we are aligned for long-term success, and both of those questions are very much front and center for us, among others as well. While our foundations across both brands are strong, I do see opportunities to sharpen, focus, and accelerate innovation and customer engagement across each. Those will be addressed and reviewed over the coming months as a part of strategy, and we look forward to sharing that with this audience in the new year when we regroup probably in around full year. Until then, it's definitely too early. Eight weeks into the business, it's too early for me to have a point of view that's fully formed.
Thanks, Kate. Back to you.
Thanks, Rob. This is another question from Tai Yi Chong. Rob, this one's for you. The company benefited tremendously from the pandemic boom, culminating in a fortress balance sheet of circa $100 million in net cash in 2021. Today, not only has the company a rising net debt of $42 million, it seems laden with still a high operating cost structure despite rounds of cost cutting in recent years, as well as an underperforming acquisition in Bevels. Can the Chairman please share his thoughts on any lessons learned and if a change in the business strategy is required going forward to improve the business, considering the business is struggling to make a decent profit with little headway in growth?
Thank you. I'll answer that question in two parts. Firstly, as Jonathan just referenced, the benefit of a new CEO coming into the business with a new set of eyes is that we will undertake a full strategic review of the business as it currently stands, and Jonathan has that work in process now. I think it is a great opportunity. We have a Board meeting this week, and we'll be deep into that strategic review process. I suspect the outcomes of that will emerge in the first quarter of 2026. In hindsight, the timing of the Bevels acquisition has turned out to be very challenging. We did an analysis before that acquisition, looking at the potential for a downturn, and we modeled what happened through the GFC as, I guess, a predictor of a downside case.
The trading conditions we've had throughout FY 2024 and FY 2025 have proven to be much more challenging than even that GFC period, and that clearly has challenged us and certainly our bottom line performance and our balance sheet, as you note. In terms of the comments in relation to the cost structure, we're very focused on the productivity of our workforce, and as referenced in Jonathan's comments, our challenge has been grappling with rising input costs, particularly around Leases, Labor, and Gold. Our challenge has been to improve our revenue and our margins to compensate for those increases in input costs. As Jonathan has referenced, we've seen some improvement in margin over the last 16 weeks, but our ambitions are much more significant than that.
To the question of the role of Bevels, our strategy over the last two years, particularly this post-COVID period where consumer behaviors and the market structure has definitely changed, all of that forms part of the strategic review that Jonathan and the Board have underway at this point. I think your question is bang on the mark and very timely and certainly has our focus. Thank you, and back to you, Kate.
Thanks, Rob. Another question from Tai Yi Chong. Does the company see the Michael Hill brand elevation strategy risk alienating its core loyal Michael Hill customer base and leaving them behind while falling short in capturing new higher-end customers?
Again, it's a question that we are very focused on as a Board. Our objective with elevating the Michael Hill brand is elevating the awareness and the attractiveness and broadening our addressable market. In terms of our product offering and our promotional framework, we're very focused on retaining our existing and very loyal customers. We've made a number of public disclosures around the success of our loyalty program, Brilliance, and the growing membership of that loyalty program. That gives us very good insight into the continuing behaviour and engagement between our existing customers and the Michael Hill brand. We're confident that we're working well with our existing market.
As we lead into the Christmas trading period, we'll have particular emphasis in terms of our product offering and our promotions to make sure we're amplifying our engagement with that core customer set, as well as continuing to look to grow the addressable market. I think the question is spot on, and it's one that we have strong focus on as both a board and a management team. Thank you, and again, back to you, Kate.
Thanks, Rob. We've got another question from Mr. Stephen Main. When disclosing the outcome of voting on all resolutions today, please advise the ASX how many shareholders voted for and against each item, similar to with a scheme of arrangement. This will provide a better gauge of retail shareholder sentiment on all resolutions and insight into the chronically low retail shareholder participation rate. The likes of Qantas, ASX, Suncorp, Tabcorp, and even the world's biggest share registry provider, Computershare, have all voluntarily provided this data at their most recent AGMs. You've got the data, so why not let the sunshine in?
We'd like to let the sunshine in, and we're very committed to transparency and happy to provide that additional information. Kate, back to you.
Yes, and thanks, Rob. We've just got a last question from Mr. Stephen Main. Could you please ensure that a full copy of the AGM webcast is made available on the company's website so that shareholders who are unable to tune in live can listen to the debate after the event? He also notes that hybrid AGMs are best practice, so it would be good to do that next year, but if it's a choice between a physical or a virtual meeting, please stick with the virtual model.
Certainly, if there are no technical constraints, I'm very comfortable to have the webcast. This is being recorded, provided online post the AGM, so we'll explore that. In terms of a hybrid meeting, we consider that each year. It presents some challenges for us having quite a spread shareholder base across Australia and New Zealand. We used to alternate meetings geographically around various locations, which does bring a number of logistical complications. That's a topic we'll certainly continue, as you suggest, under any scenario with virtual access going forward. This will be a question that we'll explore again early next year. Thanks, Kate.
Thanks, Rob. This is not a specific question, but I would just like to acknowledge that the Australian Shareholders' Association has passed on their condolences for the passing of Sir Michael Hill and Daniel Bracken this year.
Thanks, Kate. Are there any further questions or comments?
Thank you, Rob. No, I can confirm that there are no further written or audio questions, and no shareholders are waiting in the queue.
Thanks, Kate. We'll now move on to the formal items of business of the meeting as set out in the notice of meeting. The notice of meeting, including the explanatory notes, was sent to all shareholders. I propose that the notice of meeting be taken as read. You will find a copy of the notice on the ASX and NZX platforms and on the Investor Centre website. Voting on all resolutions will remain open until all items of business have been put to the meeting. The first item of business is to consider the 2025 Audited Financial Statements, Director's Report, and Auditor's Report. These reports are contained in the company's 2025 Annual Report, which has been released and distributed to shareholders prior to this meeting. You can also find a copy of the Annual Report online on the Investor Centre website. There is no resolution on this item.
I now confirm the 2025 Audited Financial Statements, Director's Report, and Auditor's Report are now received. We will now move to the next item of business. It is a non-binding resolution to adopt the 2025 Remuneration Report. Please note the vote on this resolution is advisory only. Voting exclusions apply to this resolution as set out in the notice of meeting. Direct and proxy votes received in respect of this resolution are shown on the presentation slide on your screen. Open proxies appointing the Chair shall be voted for the resolution. The next item of business is the re-election of Director Gary Smith. Gary has returned from the Board in accordance with the ASX listing rules and the company's constitution and, being eligible, offers himself for re-election as a Director of the company.
A description of Gary's experience and details is set out in the explanatory notes which accompanied the notice of meeting. Each of the Directors, with Gary abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of his re-election. Direct and proxy votes received in respect of this resolution are shown on the presentation slide on your screen. Open proxies appointing the Chair shall be voted for the resolution. The next item of business is the re-election of Director Andrea Slingsby. Andrea was appointed to the board on the 8th of September 2025. In accordance with the ASX listing rules and the company's constitution and being eligible, Andrea retires and offers herself for re-election as a Director of the company. Andrea's experience and details are set out in the explanatory notes which accompany the notice of meeting. Each of the directors, with Andrea abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of Andrea's re-election.
Direct and proxy votes received in respect of the resolution are shown on the presentation slide on your screen. Open proxies appointing the Chair shall be voted for the resolution. The next item of business is the re-election of Director Rob Fyfe. In accordance with the ASX listing rules and the company constitution and being eligible, I'm retiring and offer myself for re-election as a director of the company. My experience and details are set out in the explanatory notes which accompany the notice of meeting. Each of the directors, with myself abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of my re-election. Direct and proxy votes received in respect of this resolution are shown on the presentation slide on your screen. Open proxies appointing the Chair shall be voted for the resolution. That concludes the last item of business at this meeting.
I'd like to remind shareholders who have not yet cast their votes on this and all other resolutions to do so now. Voting will close in approximately 30 seconds. Voting has now closed. Now that the formal items of business have been addressed, I'd like to thank you on behalf of the Board and Management for attending Michael Hill 's 2025 AGM and look forward to your continued support in the coming year. The results of this meeting will be announced on the ASX and NZX later today and will be displayed on the Investor Centre website. I now declare the 2025 AGM closed. Thank you and mate wa.