Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Barry Lewin, and I'm the Chairman of Praemium Limited. Welcome to the 2024 Annual General Meeting. On behalf of the Praemium Board, I would first like to formally acknowledge the many traditional owners of country throughout Australia and recognize their continuing connection to the lands, waters, and communities. It's now the scheduled start time for the meeting. We have a quorum, and I declare the meeting open. I'll start by outlining some of the procedural matters. We are conducting the meeting with a virtual component provided by our share registry, Link Market Services. This hybrid format allows shareholders, proxies, attorneys, and representatives, wherever they may be, to attend virtually. All shareholders and their proxies, attorneys, and representatives have the ability to ask questions and vote today.
For those of you online, should you experience any technical difficulties, a recording of our AGM will be available on our website following the meeting. If we experience any technical issues during the meeting, a short recess may be required, and we'll communicate accordingly. I'd like to introduce you to my fellow independent non-executive directors who are present at this meeting: Stuart Robertson sitting to my right, Claire Willette sitting next to him, and Daniel Lipshut on the far end. I'd like to introduce our senior executives: Anthony Wamsteker, Chief Executive Managing Director, sitting next to me, David Coulter, Chief Financial Officer, Denis Orrock, Chief Strategy Officer, James Edmonds , Chief Operating Officer, Richard Large, Chief Technology Officer, Lorna Stuart , Chief Risk Officer, and Brett Marsh, Head of OneVue Integration.
We also have representatives from the company's auditor, Grant Thornton, and from the company's share registry, Link Market Services, who are running the meeting, and representatives of the company's secretary, Acclime. It's also pleasing to welcome shareholders who are able to join this meeting this morning. The Link online platform is now open for shareholders' questions, which I encourage you to submit as early as possible. To ask a written question, please follow the instructions as displayed on the screen. Please note that while you can submit questions from now on, I will not address them until the relevant time in the meeting. Please also note that your questions may be moderated if we receive multiple questions on the same topic. For those shareholders who wish to ask a verbal question, an audio question facility is available during this meeting.
To use the service, please mute the broadcast on the Link online platform and dial in via phone using the number displayed on the screen. You will be granted access where you will listen to the meeting until you are introduced to ask your question. For those shareholders in person today, if you have any questions or comments on a particular item of business, please state your name or the organization you represent before doing so. Finally, we may not get to answer all questions if there are time constraints, and if this happens, we'll answer them in due course via posting responses on our website. Voting today will be conducted via a poll on all items of business.
Instructions on how to vote through the Link online platform are displayed on the screen, and in order to provide shareholders with an opportunity to vote and in case any shareholder cannot stay for the whole meeting, I'll now formally open the poll on all resolutions, and I will give you a warning before I move to close voting. For those voting shareholders, including by proxy, attorney, or corporate representative physically in the room with me today, you would have received a yellow or blue voting card upon registration. Please complete the front of the voting card, and should you require any assistance, somebody from Link will help you. If you're attending online and are eligible to vote, you will need to register to vote through the Link platform.
Once you've registered, your voting card will appear with all of the resolutions to be voted on by shareholders at the meeting. You do have the ability to change your vote up until the time I declare voting closed. Please note that if you cast a live vote at today's meeting, any vote by proxy previously submitted will be overridden. Turning to the agenda, I propose to conduct the meeting in three parts. I'll first present a brief Chairman's Report. Anthony will then address us, and after which, we'll invite questions from shareholders. We'll then move to the formal business of the meeting, where we have a number of resolutions to put to shareholders. So I'll start with my Chairman's Address. Praemium's last year's AUD 21.5 million EBITDA result reflected a future. I'm particularly pleased to note the one cent per share fully franked dividend, which reflects our profitable simplified business.
Commencement of a regular dividend is an objective I have long held since taking on the Chair role in 2017. But before leaving last year's financial results, I do want to note that despite the unfortunate downgrade to our financial outlook around this time last year, the turnaround in financial performance with a record AUD 12.5 million EBITDA generated in the second half of the year has been particularly pleasing. Other highlights during the year include the acquisition of the OneVue business in April 2024. Transactions of this nature are particularly complex, and I'd like to congratulate the management team and our advisors for a well-planned and well-executed acquisition priced very favorably, delivering on our pre-acquisition due diligence to produce estimated synergies and an estimated earnings uplift of AUD 3 million per year. More than six months after completion, we're delighted with the benefits this transaction is delivering.
In a very busy year, Praemium's management team has continued to implement a number of accretive organic growth projects. The recent launch of our new market-leading Spectrum, also referred to as our next-generation IDPS, and the very positive results from our revenue enhancement project are key initiatives delivered successfully, which augur particularly well for our growth in years to come. Anthony will talk in more detail about these exciting developments. In addition, we've continued to review a range of inorganic opportunities, and we have an energized senior leadership team with the skills and track record to assess these. We'll, however, continue to remain disciplined when considering these opportunities. I would like to thank my board colleagues for their support during the year and to the entire Praemium team for their hard work and dedication.
Financially, 2024 was a year of significant progress in which the management team, under Anthony's leadership, has positioned the business for record growth. My fellow directors and I also wish to express our sincere gratitude to all shareholders, both new and existing, for your support. The outlook for our company is indeed very positive, and we are confident you will benefit from your investment in Praemium in the years to come. I'm now going to hand over to Anthony to present his report to the meeting. Thanks, Anthony.
Thank you, Barry. It's been 15 months since we announced Praemium's financial results for financial year 2023 on the 29th of August, 2023. Since then, our shareholders have experienced some of the disappointment and downside that can accompany owning a small-cap stock in Australia. Our philosophy through this turbulent period has been, "Never let a good crisis go to waste." While the share price has exhibited volatility often associated with small caps, as I said, the underlying business has gone from strength to strength. One manifestation of this was the financial results in the second half of the year, to which Barry has referred. We took advantage of the pricing power attributable to having the preeminent administration and reporting technology, which underpins the broadest investment menu in the platform market. There are other markers of the underlying strength of our business, three of which I will quickly touch on.
First, the sector within which we operate continues to grow at a healthy rate, and in the high-net-worth segment in particular, has now reached AUD 3.2 trillion. That rapid growth is accompanied by strong demand for sophisticated wealth advice from a shrinking pool of advisors. Specialist platforms like Praemium have a key role to play in meeting this challenge. Secondly, again, as Barry touched on, we brought our various capabilities together into a new market-leading product, Spectrum. We used the launch of Spectrum to reposition the brand and marketing with renewed focus on our competitive advantage in the high-net-worth advisor segment. And third, we acquired the OneVue business, which brings not only additional scale but a tremendous group of clients and a great team of client-focused professionals.
These visible manifestations of what we've achieved evidence our commitment to transform the business and learn from the obvious disappointment of the share price weakness that beset Praemium during financial year 2024. The key points mentioned above are certainly not all that we've achieved in the past 15 months. While we've made the visible progress I just mentioned, we've continued to strengthen the business behind the scenes. As we look forward, we remain optimistic about the prospects to continue to grow revenue and profitability. The industry tailwinds continue thanks to Australia's relative wealth and savings position, which generates great demand for high-quality financial advice. Our deliberate focus on the high-net-worth sophisticated wealth opportunity provides the required differentiation to carve out our position in an otherwise crowded and competitive market.
Owning our technology also provides the foundation we need to take advantage of the exciting opportunities presented by the rapid emergence of generative AI technology. Generative AI is going to change financial services generally and platforms in particular over the next few years. Our philosophy is driven by the saying, "Fire bullets, then cannons," to borrow the management philosophy from Jim Collins. We're excited about the experiments we've run to date, and we've got the capacity to move in a big way when we're satisfied that the opportunity and timing is right. The Praemium management team recently held an Investor Day, and the transcript and slides from that are available on the ASX website, of course. The aim of the Investor Day was threefold. One was to introduce the team to our shareholders and market analysts. Another was to allow our team to hear directly from those people.
Finally, the afternoon gave our team the opportunity to present the business at a slightly greater level of detail than is typically the case when we're presenting the financial results twice a year and the fund flows each quarter. Praemium emerged in a much stronger financial position after we divested the international business at the end of FY22. Since then, we've used that financial strength to build a stronger position in the Australian market. Some of the rewards for that management activity clearly emerged in H1 FY24, as we mentioned earlier. That said, we know that we must remain disciplined to deliver the full potential of the opportunity in front of us. Each time we present to our shareholders, there is some discussion of the business strategy and the key priorities over the coming year.
Any review of those management presentations over the last few years will demonstrate the consistency of what we have had to say about our strategy. We remain determined to stay the course, to use the John Bogle expression, which is intended to remind investors to stick with their long-term strategy. We intend to do so and trust that there is emerging evidence that it is producing results. Let me finish by saying that some of the recent notable achievements not only include the Spectrum launch, but also, as we've recently announced in the media, the signing of Euroz Hartleys, which could see as much as AUD 2 billion move onto the Spectrum platform over the next 18 months or so. Thanks, Barry. I'll hand back to you.
Thanks, Anthony. We'll now proceed to questions from shareholders in relation to the business updates. Questions relating to audit queries and specific resolutions will be addressed later in the meeting. Are there any questions or comments on the phone?
Thank you. There are no questions on the phone line.
Thank you. Are there any questions or comments online?
There are no questions online.
Are there any questions from those in the room? If there are no further questions, we'll continue to the formal business of the meeting. Before proceeding, I would remind you that only shareholders or their appointed proxies, attorneys, or representatives are entitled to vote or to ask questions at this meeting. The notice of meeting has been circulated to all shareholders. I would like to take the notice of meeting as having been read, and I'll move to the business outlined in the notice of meeting. I will provide an opportunity for discussion on each resolution and would ask shareholders to limit your questions to the resolutions put before you. I confirm that Jim from our share registry, Link Market Services, has been appointed to act as returning officer for the purpose of conducting and determining the results of the poll.
In relation to the proxies I'm holding as chairman, I advise that if a shareholder has directed me to vote in a certain way, I will vote in accordance with that direction. If I've not been directed to vote in any way, I intend to vote in favor of all resolutions to be put to the meeting. So we're looking at the financial statements and reports. Section 317 of the Corporations Act requires directors of a public company to lay before the annual general meeting financial report, director's report, and the auditor's report. The company's annual report, comprising the financial report, the director's report, and the auditor's report for the financial year ended 30 June 2024, was released to the market and made available on the company's website on the 26th of August, 2024. There is no requirement for a resolution that the annual report be adopted.
However, these materials have been circulated and are open for discussion. I will take the annual report as read, and at this stage, I invite any questions that shareholders may have in relation to the annual report for the directors or for the company's auditor. Are there any questions or comments on the phone?
Thank you. There are no questions on the phone line.
Thank you. Are there any questions or comments online?
There are no questions online.
Thank you. Are there any questions or comments from the room? If there are none, I propose we move to the resolutions to be put to shareholders. There are four items of general business. Each resolution is an ordinary resolution requiring it to be passed by a simple majority of votes cast by the shareholders entitled to vote on it, and I'll go through each resolution individually. Resolution One, adoption of the remuneration report. First item of business is Resolution One, the adoption of the remuneration report for the financial year ended 30 June 2024, as set out in the 2024 annual report. The vote on this resolution is advisory only and does not bind the directors or the company. The board will, however, consider the outcome of the vote and comments made by shareholders on the remuneration report when reviewing the company's remuneration policies.
The company will disregard any votes cast on Resolution One by or on behalf of any of the company's key management personnel, details of whose remuneration are included in the remuneration report, and any closely related party subject to the exceptions outlined on page 10 of the notice of meeting. The matter is now open for discussion by shareholders. Are there any questions or comments on the phone in relation to this resolution?
Thank you. There are no questions on the phone line.
Thank you. Are there any questions or comments online?
There are no comments online.
Thank you. Are there any questions or comments in the room? If there are none, we'll see the details of the proxy voting displayed on the screen. We turn to Resolution, there it is, turn to Resolution Two, which is the re-election of Stuart Robertson as a director. Stuart retires by rotation in accordance with the company's constitution, and being eligible offers himself for re-election as a director. Stuart was appointed to the board as a non-executive director in May 2017. Biographical background information about Stu is set out in the notice of meeting. The directors, with Stuart's abstaining given his personal interest in the outcome of the resolution, recommend that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution Two, and the matter is now open for discussion by shareholders. Are there any questions or comments on the phone?
Thank you. There are no questions on the phone line.
Thank you. Any questions or comments online?
There are no questions online.
Thank you. Are there any questions or comments in the room? So details of the proxy voting on this resolution are now displayed on the screen. I now formally put resolution to the meeting and ask shareholders and other eligible participants to cast their vote if they have not already done so. Turning to Resolution Three, which is the re-election of Claire Willette as a director. Claire retires by rotation in accordance with the company's constitution, and being eligible offers herself for re-election as a director. Claire was appointed to the board as a non-executive director in November 2021. Biographical background information about Claire is set out in the notice of meeting, and the directors, with Claire abstaining, recommend that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. The matter is now open for discussion by shareholders. Are there any questions or comments on the phone?
Thank you. There are no questions on the phone line.
Any questions or comments online?
There are no questions online.
Thank you. Are there any questions or comments from the room? Thank you. We'll see details of the voting received prior to the meeting in front of you, and I now formally put Resolution Three to the meeting and ask shareholders and other eligible participants to cast their vote if they have not already done so. Final resolution is the issue of performance rights to our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wamsteker, and we seek shareholder approval for the company to issue performance rights to Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Wamsteker. The company will disregard any votes cast on Resolution Four by or on behalf of any person referred to in Listing Rules 10.14.1, 10.14.2, or 10.14.3, including Anthony or any associate of that person or those persons, subject to the exceptions set out on pages 10 and 11 of the notice of meeting.
The directors, with Anthony abstaining, given his personal interest, recommend the shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. The matter is now open for discussion by shareholders. Are there any questions or comments on the phone?
Thank you. There are no questions on the phone line.
Any questions or comments online?
There are no questions online.
Thank you. Are there any questions in the room? There are no questions, so we'll see in a minute details of the proxy voting on this resolution. There it is displayed on the screen. I now formally put Resolution Four to the meeting and ask shareholders and other eligible participants to cast their vote if they have not already done so. This concludes the formalities of the meeting. If you have not already voted, please cast your votes now as the poll will close shortly. For those attending online, you should now see a five-minute timer at the top of your screen counting down until voting closes. The results of the poll will be released on the ASX Company Announcements platform as soon as they're available this afternoon. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank all shareholders for your support of Praemium during the year.
Thank you all for your attendance, and I now declare the meeting closed, subject only to the determination and announcement of the results of the poll. Thank you.