Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Sims Limited Annual General Meeting. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Geoff Brunsdon, Chairman. Please go ahead.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Geoff Brunsdon, and I chair Sims Limited. It's my pleasure to welcome you to the thirtieth Annual General Meeting of your company. The health and safety of our people, shareholders, and the communities in which we operate is of paramount importance to Sims. In light of the potential health risk created by the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken by governments to address those concerns, we are hosting a virtual annual general meeting. I'm pleased to be here, and I'd like to thank you for showing your support in joining the meeting today. Before going further, let me introduce my colleagues who are with us today. We have our non-executive directors, Vicki Binns, Tom Gorman, Derek Petrou, Georgia Nelson, Heather Ridout, Jim Thompson, Deborah O'Toole, and our Group Chief Executive Officer, Alistair Field.
In addition, our General Counsel and Company Secretary, Gretchen Johanns, and our moderator for today's sessions, Ana Metelo, Director in Investor Relations and Joint Company Secretary. Now I would like to invite Heather Ridout to provide an acknowledgment of country.
Thank you, Geoff. I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land I'm on today, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. We recognize and respect their deep and continuing connections to land and waters, their long tradition of innovation, and their continued stewardship of this place. I pay my respects to the elders, past, present, and emerging. I know we are joined today from people around the country and around the world, and so I extend that respect to all First Nations people, including those joining us at this event.
Thank you, Heather. In declaring this Annual General Meeting open, I note and request that the minutes record that a quorum is present. The notice of meeting was duly given, and I take the notice of meeting as read. I note that Mr. Don Pascarella, representing Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the company's auditors, is also present. He is available to answer questions. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Mr. Pascarella for his service. Consistent with the rules governing audit partner rotation, FY 2021 was Mr. Pascarella's last year as audit partner of the company. For the record, I'd also like to advise that the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 10 November 2020 are signed as a correct record of the proceedings at that meeting.
I advise and request that the minutes record that the company has received proxies for this meeting covering approximately 162 million shares. Each resolution will be put to the meeting, will be decided by poll, and I'll explain these procedures later on. In the interest of good governance, I will advise you of the proxy situation in respect of each resolution following the discussion of that resolution. I declare the poll on each resolution is open. Our annual general meeting is an important event for Sims, allowing us to engage directly with you, our shareholders. We appreciate your time, your feedback and support, and we value the opportunity to update you on the business. Thank you for joining us virtually today. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Sims Limited 2021 Annual General Meeting.
Our annual general meeting is an important event for Sims, allowing us to engage directly with you, our shareholders. We appreciate your time, feedback and support, and we value the opportunity to update you on the business. Thank you for joining us virtually today. It is our hope that we will be meeting in person next year. I'm pleased to report that despite the challenging operating conditions during the past year due to the continuing pandemic, the company finished the year with an underlying EBIT of $386.6 million. This was up 768% over the prior year. The company made good progress on its strategic growth plan and delivered the best safety results since listing on ASX in November 1991.
In fiscal year 2019, the company shared its five-year strategic plan for growth within its core metal and cloud infrastructure recycling business divisions, as well as in adjacent businesses that will reduce waste and produce other valuable commodities. This past year, the company advanced its plan to grow its core metals business through the acquisition of assets of Alumisource Corp., a leading North American aluminum processor, as well as the acquisition of a purpose-built recycling facility in Southwest Sydney. Sims Lifecycle Services also continued to grow its market share by increasing the number of cloud units it refurbished for reuse. Sims Resource Renewal continued progressing towards its ambition to create a truly closed loop in metals recycling by transforming what was waste material into new, useful products with commercial value.
Although there is still uncertainty around the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is well positioned with a strong balance sheet and lower fixed cost base as compared to FY 2019 and is ready to capitalize on opportunities, including the growing demand for recycled metal and cloud infrastructure repurposing. The board is confident that our disciplined approach to the execution of our strategic plan will create significant value for our shareholders. Turning to capital management. The board will continue to strike a balance in the way shareholders enjoy returns from the company, both through dividends and accretion driven by share buybacks. We will also ensure that there is adequate capital to invest in the business to achieve our strategic objectives, but of course, always with appropriate return on that investment. The company paid a final dividend for 2021 of AUD 0.30 per share. 50% franked.
This takes the total dividend for FY 2021 to AUD 0.42 per share, a payout ratio of 30% based on underlying earnings. The payout ratio is lower than in recent years due to the company's franking position. The board is committed to ensuring returns to shareholders are delivered in a sufficient manner as possible, while recognizing the different objectives of shareholders. Given the relative increase in non-Australian source profit, which do not attract franking credits, the board approved a share repurchase program that commenced on 6 September 2021. The company has purchased approximately 2% of our shares, which will increase future EPS and dividends for remaining shares. The number and timing of shares purchased will continue to depend on the company share price and market conditions.
Our first priority has always been, and will continue to be, the safety of our employees, customers, suppliers, and those in the communities where we operate. During the year, we continually assessed and improved health, safety, and wellness protocols designed to prevent employees from contracting COVID-19. Additionally, in many jurisdictions, the company encouraged vaccinations by facilitating access to COVID-19 vaccines and providing our employees with incentives to do so. While implementing these new COVID-19 protocols, our employees did not lose sight of day-to-day operational safety. In FY 2021, we continued to focus on reducing the risk of injury throughout the organization. I'm pleased to report that the company experienced the lowest number of critical risk injuries, total recordable injuries, and lost time injuries in its recorded history. Safety is paramount in all that we do, and we will continue to focus on sending our employees home safely each day.
Sustainability remains at the core of the company's business. As a key enabler of the circular economy, Sims diverts valuable resources from landfill, reduces demand for virgin raw materials, and brings benefits to its value chain in a number of ways, including mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Guided by its purpose, the company continues to seek innovative ways to keep resources in use at their highest value for as long as possible, and to assist its customers in increasing the sustainability of their own supply chains and reducing their carbon footprints. The board recognizes the importance of transparency in reporting to shareholders. In May, the company announced that it intends to put its climate reporting to a non-binding advisory vote of shareholders at its 2022 annual general meeting.
Sims has set clear short, medium, and long-term emission reduction targets that are aligned to the Paris Agreement and follow the Science Based Targets Initiative, the SBTi methodology. The company is committed to achieve a 23% reduction in Scope one and two carbon emissions in its operations by FY 2025 as compared to FY 2020 baseline, to become carbon neutral by 2042 and achieve net zero by 2050. To this end, Sims has developed a pipeline of projects for carbon mitigation, reduction, and elimination. Sims also committed to adopt the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures recommendations, and in October, the company has published its first report. We appreciate that shareholders are not only focused on their financial return on investment, but also on how that return is made.
As we said when the company announced its strategic plan in April 2019, Sims will innovate and invest in technologies that enable it to both achieve its purpose and generate appropriate financial returns. We are convinced that by doing so, Sims will continue to prosper for the benefit of shareholders, employees, the communities where we operate, our suppliers, and our customers. I'm delighted to introduce a new director, Vicki Binns, who was appointed to the board in October and is up for re-election at this meeting. Vicki brings many years of invaluable financial and organizational experience to the board. You'll hear more from Vicki when we get to her re-election later in the meeting. I'd also like to thank Jim Thompson, who is retiring from the board today, for his guidance and dedication over the past 12 years.
Jim has played a significant role in guiding the company's strategy and improving our safety and performance during his tenure, in particular chairing the Safety, Health, Environment, Community & Sustainability Committee. Jim's sound judgment and extensive executive experience has been an important element in the board's ability to navigate the many challenging times the company has faced over the last 12 years. The board values diversity of background and experience, and we firmly believe that a diverse workforce makes for a better company. The directors strongly support the company's goal to achieve 25% female representation across the globe. The company continues to make strides to improve gender diversity in its workforce during FY 2021. This year, the company again improved its diversity of applicant pool.
Women comprised 30% of all job applicants, and new programs such as Women Leading at Sims are investing in the development and retention of women at Sims. These actions resulted in the company's female employee representation increasing to 22% of its total employee population at the end of FY 2021. We will continue to work hard to ensure that Sims Limited and its portfolio of businesses are appealing for anyone who works here. The company's approach to hiring is fair. Its policies and working environment result in all employees feeling welcomed, valued, and safe, and its remuneration is equal. Finally, thank you for your continued support as shareholders of the company. I'll now hand over to the chief executive to present his review.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ladies and gentlemen, while FY 2021 had its share of challenges for Sims, it was a year of significant achievements, too. We started the year still feeling, experiencing, and living the ongoing effects of this global pandemic, and we ended the year in much of the same fashion. The mental, physical, and emotional toll that COVID-19 has had on our team, and they are one of the best in the business, is immeasurable. Through collaboration, living our purpose, and adhering to our core values, we managed to end the year with several achievements. After what was a very dramatic and challenging 2020, it was very pleasing to see the business bouncing back and performing so strongly in FY 2021. We delivered a very strong set of operational and financial results, which was largely driven by material improvement in the market classes and excellent margin management.
Not only did we deliver predominantly fixed cost savings of $75 million as compared to FY 2019, but we also made substantial progress with advancing our strategic growth plan. The strong sustained recovery we experienced in the second half of FY 2021 delivered significant margin growth. These combined efforts position Sims to respond to changing market conditions and capitalize on growth opportunities that we see now and ahead of us. The FY 2021 results demonstrate that Sims has emerged stronger from the pandemic across several fronts. What started off as a solid first half, still clouded by uncertainty, turned into an exceptional second half, delivering a record underlying EBIT of $386.6 million, our strongest result in 13 years.
Each of our major business divisions showed strong earnings growth as a result of higher sales volumes, cost and margin management, and lower predominantly fixed costs. Sales revenue grew by 20.5% to $5.9 billion in FY 2021, benefiting from higher average selling prices driven by increased demand in many industrial sectors. Sales volumes were 8.59 million tons in FY 2021, representing an increase of 5.4% on the prior comparable period. Volumes were somewhat compressed by lowest scrap availability due to COVID-19 impacts during much of the first half of the fiscal year. Higher commodity market prices beginning in November 2020 persisted throughout the second half of the fiscal year, driving an increase of 7.1% in proprietary intake volumes to FY 2021.
The average monthly proprietary intake volume in second half 2021 was 96% of the FY 2019 average levels, representing a substantial improvement from 82% from first half of 2021. Statutory net PAT in FY 2021 was $229.4 million. Underlying net PAT was $284.1 million in FY 2021 compared to a loss of $58.1 million in FY 2020. Regarding our strategy, we continued delivering on our plans. Our North American business acquired Alumisource, a leading aluminum processor and provider of furnace-ready products for end-use customers, supporting our vision to grow non-ferrous volumes in North America. SA Recycling enhanced its growth profile with new businesses acquired in FY 2021.
Sims Lifecycle Services had a great year delivering on the strategy and EBIT uplift that had been promised to the market, and increasing contribution to FY 2021 consensus. This is a step forward in our ambitions to make our group earnings less cyclical to the commodity cycle. We also set volume growth targets for FY 2022 and FY 2025 as we continue developing with the exponentially growing cloud market. I am very proud of our financial results and progress on strategy plans, but we are not resting on our laurels. We are maintaining a disciplined approach to capital management and controlling the cost that we can to ensure our continued success even during down cycles. The positive trend we saw in the second half of FY 2021 was not restricted to our financial health.
Our purpose drives all that we do here at Sims, and we are committed to our core values, and our most important core value is safety. Our first priority is, and always will be, the safety of our employees, customers, suppliers, and the community. Focus on safety continues to include enhanced measures to keep all employees safe and healthy. Despite the challenges posed by the ongoing global pandemic, we achieved another performance record. We reported the lowest ever recordable injuries in our company's history. This correlates to 24% fewer recordable injuries in FY 2021 compared to FY 2020. During FY 2021, the global pandemic was still a top concern, but we never relented our continuous improvement programs to address the critical risks across our operations. We took every opportunity to make our sites and offices as safe as possible.
We identified several thousand corrective actions, and all 96% of corrective actions that were identified and closed this year were an opportunity to make our sites and offices safe working places for all employees. These programs drove significant improvements which resulted in the lowest number of critical risk incidents, the lowest number of recordable injuries, and the lowest number of lost time cases. We're getting closer and closer to achieving our zero harm safety goal, and with the dedication and commitment of each employee, leader, and member of the board of directors, I'm confident that we will reach that milestone. Turning now to sustainability. Sims is a unique business that delivers on its growth strategy by achieving strong environmental, social, and governance outcomes and profits. In our business, sustainability and long-term value are inextricably linked.
Therefore, it makes sense for us to challenge ourselves by setting ambitious sustainability goals like we do when setting our business goals. In the first half of FY 2021, we took a significant step forward and officially launched our FY 2025 and beyond sustainability goals. We are pleased with the progress we are making against these. We work with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development to create circularity metrics, solutions, and partnerships for certainly electronics and plastics and packaging. We are committed to operating a best-in-class business that is grounded in responsible and ethical business practices, and in providing an inclusive working environment where our employees can thrive. We launched our first ethics and compliance month to engage our employees on the principles of our core values as a way to reinforce the ethics and compliance obligations each employee has.
We also launched our first unconscious bias training program this year to further bolster our inclusive culture. We look to minimize our impact by decarbonizing our business and closing our own material loops. In FY 2021, we set goals to reduce our carbon emissions by 22% by 2025 and to carbon neutral by 2042. We have already started to convert our electricity to renewable energy sources to power our plants and facilities. For example, we converted all of the electricity used in our facilities in the United Kingdom to come from renewable sources. As a result of using electricity from renewable sources, we achieved an 11% reduction of our Scope 2 emissions compared to FY 2020. We also presented our inaugural standalone report on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, a testament to our ambition and commitment to climate change.
Sims Resource Renewal was also formally established during FY 2021. We were granted planning development approval by the Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government for a pilot facility at our existing metal recycling site in Rocklea, Queensland. The pilot facility is expected to be operational in the calendar year 2022. It will primarily focus on research and development to advance the technology we will use as we grow the Sims Resource Renewal business. As a next step, we launched submissions with the Environment Protection Authority and the Hume City Council in Victoria to move forward with the approvals of a facility to produce bio-gas for industrial use at Campbellfield, Victoria.
With the release of the Victorian Waste to Energy Framework on 1 November 2021 and the establishment of the Waste and Recycling Regulator in 2022, under Waste to Energy Cap, we look forward to engaging with the regulator in 2022 and securing an allocation under the new cap in late 2022. It's a certainty for us to invest in the development of this key facility. It is rewarding to see that our work has not gone unnoticed. We are pleased that in FY 2021, Sims Limited was included in two Corporate Knights rankings. The Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World and the Carbon Clean 200 list. Just this month, Sims was one of 45 companies awarded His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales' Earthshot which recognizes global companies driving innovation and demonstrating their commitment to and momentum towards the creation of genuinely sustainable markets.
Before I turn to the trading update and outlook, let me sum up our achievements in FY 2021. To say we had a great year is an understatement. We strengthened our leadership position in ESG, reporting the lowest ever recorded number of injuries, developing FY 2025 and beyond targets, increasing usage of electricity from renewable energy and publishing the inaugural Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures report. We built strong momentum throughout the year with the delivery of $75 million of cost savings, margin improvement in the core businesses, and achievement of the best underlying EBIT result in 13 years. Pleasingly, the second half FY 2021 intake volumes were nearly at FY 2019 levels. We achieved significant progress in our transformation journey, which started back in FY 2019. SLS went from strength to strength in FY 2021.
It is becoming a meaningful contributor to the group earnings, and we expect it to grow in line with the targets set for FY 2022 and FY 2025. We progressed in the SLS growth acquisition strategy, achieved new milestones for Sims Resource Renewal and acquired Alumisource. Finally, we returned excess capital to our shareholders through dividends and a buyback program while continuing to invest in the business and maintain a conservative balance sheet. Now, I'd like to say a few words on our performance in the opening months of FY 2022 and outlook. As previously communicated in our FY 2021 financial results in August, FY 2022 started very well. The strong earnings momentum seen in the second half of FY 2021 has to date continued into the first half of FY 2022.
Our outlook for underlying EBIT for the first half of FY 2022 is expected to increase approximately sixfold on the prior comparable period to be in the range of $310 million-$350 million. The North American businesses are forecast to provide the leading contribution. However, all businesses are forecasting strong first half FY 2022 margins in ferrous and non-ferrous products, achieved through a combination of good market prices and sound margin management. Partially offsetting the strong margin has been freight price volatility and the emergence of inflationary pressures on general business costs. Most likely risks to the first half FY 2022 forecast results are firstly, the timing of shipments towards the end of December and whether they are counted from a revenue recognition perspective as December or January sales. Secondly, volatility in market prices. Thirdly, volatility in freight prices.
Provided intake volumes continue their strong recovery trajectory in the September quarter 2022, increasing by over 10% on the prior comparable period. However, they were slightly below the FY 2019 average for prior intake volumes, partly due to COVID-19 related lockdowns. Regarding operating cash flow, the September quarter 2022 result was solid, aided by positive contribution from working capital movements. Operating cash flow for first half FY 2022 and FY 2022 could be significantly positive or negatively impacted by the level of working capital in the business at that time, largely stemming from sales mix, commodity prices, and inventory levels. Before I comment on each major business segment, I would like to start by saying that the recurring theme for all major businesses in first quarter FY 2022 was one of the strong margins.
Additionally, intake volumes increased in all metal segments compared to first quarter FY 2021. This was with the exception of the UK Metal business. North American Metal in particular delivered a very strong trading margin, driven by a strong trading margin per ton and good sales volume. Intake volumes were up on both the prior comparable period and the FY 2019 average. Australia and New Zealand Metal achieved a strong trading margin per ton in first quarter FY 2022, partially offset by weaker sales volumes. Intake volumes were up on the prior comparable period, but down on the FY 2019 average due to the impact of lockdowns. UK Metal's strong trading margin per ton result was particularly pleasing given the pressure seen on ferrous products due to lower premiums on the deep sea market.
Both sales and intake volumes were down on the prior comparable period due to the combination of yard closures and COVID-19 impact. SA Recycling delivered a very strong underlying EBIT contribution for first quarter FY 2022, driven by a strong trading margin per ton and good sales volumes. The business achieved excellent progress on its own growth strategy, acquiring four businesses to date in FY 2022, including the recent announcement and acquisition of TSC. SLS, our business provider of circular solutions for technology, increased repurposed units and achieved double-digit growth in underlying EBIT in Q1 FY 2022 compared to the prior comparable period. Looking further ahead into the macro trends impacting the business in the medium and long term, our view is that cloud repurposing and recycling is an ever-growing opportunity that perfectly suits sustainable and sustainability credentials.
We expect to see the impact of stimulus spending to increase the demand for recycled metal, whether it be infrastructure spending or retail consumption. Global decarbonization is a multi-decade journey. Steel making and electricity generation are huge industries that must make significant contributions if we are to achieve a low carbon world. Recycling metal will play an essential role in achieving that outcome for both of these industries. Finally, thank you for your continued confidence in me, the board of directors, and the entire Sims Limited team. To our employees, thank you is not enough to encompass the gratitude the executive leadership team and I feel for your continued dedication every single day to ensure the success of our company.
Thank you, Alistair. Before moving on to the various resolutions to be considered today, I would like to draw your attention to the voting and question procedures for today's meeting, which is shown on the screen. Given this is a virtual meeting, please pay close attention to the slide. In order to vote or ask a question during the meeting, you will have to register for a voting card. You can do this by clicking on the Get a Vote, Voting Card box at the bottom of the slide. You will need to enter your shareholder number and postcode or proxy number. Please note that only shareholders, proxy holders, or shareholder company representatives may vote. Eligible shareholders will be able to cast their vote for, against, or abstain for each resolution during the meeting.
Once you have finished voting on all resolutions, you must submit your vote by clicking the Submit Vote or Submit Partial Vote button at the bottom of the page. You will be able to edit your vote by clicking the Edit card until voting is closed at the end of the meeting. You will be given five minutes at the end of the meeting to finalize your voting. A countdown timer will appear at the top of the page so you know how much time is left to cast your vote. Once you have registered to vote, you'll be able to ask a question during the meeting through the Ask a Question box at the top and bottom of the page. You can either select to ask a general question or ask a question on a specific resolution.
You must select the Submit Question box to lodge your question. If you're asking multiple questions, please submit each question separately. I encourage shareholders who have questions to send their questions through as soon as possible. If we ask you a question during the meeting and you want to reply, please do so by asking a new question. Additionally, if you requested a unique PIN from Link, the company's share register, prior to the meeting and you are participating via telephone, you will have an opportunity to ask questions in real time. After introduction of each resolution, I will ask for questions, and you may press star one on your keypad if you wish to ask a question. The moderator will introduce you to the meeting. Your line will be unmuted, and you may ask your question.
We will attempt to answer all questions raised during the meeting, but if the same or a very similar question is received multiple times, we will only answer the question once. Most of the questions received before the meeting have been addressed in the CEO and chair addresses. Given the new technology, we will now pause for a minute or two to allow shareholders time to submit questions. Please note that we will also pause briefly during each resolution for questions. We will address general questions after this pause and any specific questions relating to a resolution during consideration of the relevant resolutions. Please submit your questions now.
Chairman, this is a pre-submitted question from shareholder Arlene Super. The question is: What is the company doing to source all of its energy needs from renewable sources? Could the company please be a leader in this? We don't pay management large salaries compared to average just to follow others.
Thank you for your question. In FY 2021, 19% of our energy consumption came from renewable sources, including energy generated on-site through wind and solar installations. In FY 2021, 100% of our energy in the U.K. was sourced from renewables. Over 35% of our consumption of electricity in the U.S. came from renewable sources as well. One of our largest sites in Australia, Kwinana Shredder in Western Australia, will be powered by 100% renewable energy from January 1, 2022. As a matter of company policy, we include renewable options in all our energy procurement. In addition, through our joint venture, LMS Energy, over 500,000 MWh of renewable energy is generated in Australia every year.
The transition to renewable energy for all our sites is a key part of decarbonization pathway, and we are currently examining a number of options to achieve both rapid and cost-effective progress.
Chairman, there are no further questions.
Thank you, Ana. We now come to the matters for the formal consideration of the meeting today. All resolutions being put to this meeting will appear on your virtual voting card. You will be able to vote on the resolutions at any stage during the meeting, but I will prompt you to record your votes throughout the meeting. As noted earlier, once you are finished voting on all resolutions, you must submit your vote. Once submitted, you may still edit your votes until the meeting closes or voting closes by selecting the edit card and then resubmitting your voting card. The first item of business to the agenda is to receive and consider the financial statements of the company and its controlled entities for the year ended 30 June 2021 and the related directors' report, directors' declaration, and auditors' report.
We'll pause briefly to allow for questions. Please submit any questions on the accounts now.
Chairman, there are no questions.
As there is no more discussion, I would ask that the minutes record that the accounts and reports were received and considered. The next item of business is ordinary resolution one, which is my re-election as a director. I would now like to hand over the conduct of the meeting to Mrs. Heather Ridout.
Thank you very much, Geoff. Before the resolution and ask your vote, I would like Mr. Brunsdon to say a few words about his background and experience. Over to you, Geoff.
Thank you, Heather. It's been a great privilege to serve as a director of Sims for over a decade. During that period, the company has evolved into one which I believe is well-positioned to prosper in a world which is facing challenges on many fronts, including from carbon pollution and resource depletion. Sims' purpose and strategy places the company as an integral part of the circular economy. I believe my intimate involvement in the development of this strategy means I am well-credentialed to continue to be part of the governance framework overseeing the execution of the strategy. I'd like to thank my colleagues on the board for their continued support and endorsement to serve as Chairman, as Chairman of this great company.
Thank you, Geoff. If shareholders will indulge me for just one more moment before I open up discussion on Geoff's re-election, I'd like to offer my views on Mr. Brunsdon for your consideration. I've known Geoff since I joined the board of Sims in 2011. In fact, he invited me onto the board. Geoff brings to the board significant knowledge about our business from his long-standing service. First for almost eight years from 1999 to 2007, and then again from November 2009, when he rejoined the board. He brings strong finance, capital markets experience gained through his distinguished career at Merrill Lynch International (Australia) Limited. As Chairman since 2012, Geoff has proven himself to be a very effective leader, guiding the board through many changes in our company, our industry, and our world.
Geoff is indeed a great steward of Sims. He is deeply committed to delivering value to you as shareholders, and he is also deeply committed to Sims' values and purpose, and has been preeminent in guiding Sims to be the emerging leader it is in sustainability and the circular economy. He's a great Chair, effective, encourages robust discussion, and gets things done. I can vouch for his independence from management, and his record speaks to this. Geoff is a person of energy and great integrity, and we are fortunate that he is able and willing to serve a further term. Now, can I put the resolution that Mr. Geoffrey N.
Brunsdon, who retires by rotation at the annual general meeting in accordance with the company's constitution and the ASX listing rules, and having offered himself for re-election and being eligible, be re-elected as director of the company. We will pause briefly to allow for questions. Please submit any questions on item one now.
Chairman, there are no questions on this resolution. However, we have received a general question just now, which we'll respond to after we cover all the resolutions.
Thank you, Ana. As there is no further discussion, the proxy situation is shown on the slide. There was a 95.02% of votes for the resolution. Please now record your vote by selecting For, Against, or Abstain votes against resolution one on the voting card. Now it's my pleasure to hand back to Mr. Brunsdon.
Thank you, Heather, and I thank you for your support. The next item of business is ordinary resolution two, which is the election of Ms. Georgia Nelson as a director. Before I read the resolution and I ask you to vote, I'd like to ask Ms. Nelson to say a few words about her background and experience. Georgia?
Thank you, Geoff. I'm honored to be standing for re-election to the Sims Board of Directors. I've served on the board for the past seven years, and I want to thank you for that privilege. I bring extensive experience in business operations, in strategy, business development, and in human resources. I'm also very well-versed in large and complex global organizations and have a footprint quite similar to Sims. I had the pleasure of doing three major power sector projects in Australia, one in Perth, one in Melbourne, and one in Darwin, as well as projects in the United States, Europe, and South America. I am very excited about the future of Sims. I am wanting to assure you that I have ample time to discharge my duties as a member of the board, and I am so passionate about the opportunities that Sims has before it.
I am delighted with our progress on our strategy, and I think our leadership team is just outstanding. I want to thank you very much for this opportunity.
Thank you, Georgia. If shareholders will indulge me for just one moment before I open up the discussion on Georgia's election, I'd like to share some of my perspectives on Ms. Nelson for your further consideration. Ms. Nelson is an experienced director, having served as a board director of 10 corporations over more than 25 years. She brings to the board global operations experience gained during a long career with Edison International and expertise in environmental and energy policy matters that are very relevant for our company at the present time. Georgia never hesitates to challenge management or fellow directors in a constructive way. Since the company established a standalone risk committee, Georgia has led a significant body of work which is ensuring our company attains the highest standards of risk governance. The resolution is that Ms.
Georgia Nelson, who retires by rotation at the annual general meeting in accordance with the company's constitution and the ASX listing rules, and having offered herself for re-election and being eligible to be re-elected as a director, of the company. We'll pause briefly to allow for questions. Please submit any questions on item two now.
Chairman, there are no questions.
As there are no further questions or discussion, the proxy situation is shown on the slide. There was 97.68% of votes logged for the resolution. Please now record your vote selecting the for, against, or abstain box against resolution two on the voting card. The next item of business is ordinary resolution three, which is the election of Ms. Victoria "Vicki" Binns as a director. Before I read the resolution and ask for your vote, I'd like Ms. Binns to say a few words about her background and experience. Vicki?
Thanks very much, Geoff. My name is Vicky Binns, and I'm delighted to have been asked to join the Sims Limited board to serve its shareholders and other key stakeholders, including our employees, our customers, our suppliers, our JV partners, and the communities in which we operate. I was first drawn to Sims by its purpose to create a world without waste to preserve our planet, as well as its values of safety, integrity, respect, transparency, excellence, and social responsibility. Traits that very much mirror my own values. I've spent more than 35 years in the resources, financial services, and commodity trading sectors, gaining extensive international and leadership experience to support board and decision making in this increasingly complex and quantified world.
I'm particularly passionate about sustainability and believe Sims is in a unique position to not only close the loop across its own value chain as we strive to zero waste, but also assist our customers in delivering against their own sustainability goals. I believe the time I spent with BHP running the global minerals marketing business, as well as my 15-year tenure as an equity analyst and leader with major investment banks in Sydney, enables me to bring a unique and valuable perspective to the strategic way forward for Sims. Thank you.
Thank you, Vicki. Again, if shareholders allow me to say a few words before we move to voting on Vicki's election, I'd like to share some perspectives. The process the board went through to appoint another director involved us establishing a set of skills that we felt were necessary for our board going into the future. Having established those skills, we conducted a wide-ranging international search, and Vicki stood out as a candidate who brought those attributes to the table. Ms. Binns has over 35 years of experience in global resources and financial services sector. Her experience in safety and risk management, finance, strategy, and value creation as well as bringing an international perspective, will be of significant benefit to the company, and her experience complements the board's mix and skills and experience. The resolution is that Ms.
Vicky Binns, who having been appointed as an additional director since the last annual general meeting, retires at the annual general meeting in accordance with the company's constitution and the ASX listing rules, and having offered herself for election and being eligible, be elected as a director of the company. We will now pause briefly to allow for questions. Please submit any questions on item two now.
Chairman, there are no questions.
If there are no further questions or discussion, the proxy situation is shown on the slide. There were 99.68% of votes for the resolution. Please now record your vote by selecting the for, against, or abstain box against resolution three on the voting card. The next item of business on the agenda is the non-binding ordinary resolution four in respect to the adoption of the remuneration report for the year ended 30 June 2021, as set out in the directors' report. I note that the company will disregard any votes cast on this resolution by the key management personnel of the company and any of their closely related parties and otherwise in accordance with the voting exclusion statement contained in the notice of meeting.
The resolution is that the remuneration report for the year ended 30 June 2021, as set out in the directors' report, is adopted. The resolution is now open and we'll pause briefly to allow for questions. Please submit any questions on item three now.
The Chairman, there is a question. Can you ask if, in the interest of transparency, the Chairman would commit to showing a reconciliation between the underlying and statutory results in a report, preferably the remuneration report? The Australian Shareholders Association does not agree that underlying results should be used as a measure of performance, as shareholders stand to lose value in their investment and income from reconciling items.
Thank you, Ms. Fisch, for that question. We certainly agree that it's important there is complete transparency between statutory and underlying results. I do draw your attention to the fact that in our market presentation released in August with our results, there is a slide that specifically sets out in some detail that presentation. I also draw your attention to the statutory document, the 4E, that we released to the ASX, which also has a very specific table. In terms of volume to the remuneration report, we get many comments and many complaints, in fact, that the remuneration is too long and too complex. I'm reluctant to commit at this point to add volume to the remuneration report that simply repeats what we've presented in two other locations.
I'll certainly take your question on board, and we'll consider it in the preparation of our 2022 remuneration report.
Mr. Chairman, there are no further questions.
As there are no further questions or further discussion, the proxy situation is as shown on the slide. There was 79.15% of votes for the resolution. Please now record your vote by selecting the for, against, or abstain box against resolution four on the voting card. The next item of business on the agenda is ordinary resolution five, proposed participation in the Sims Limited Long-Term Incentive Plan for Mr. Alistair Field. Now in its fourteenth year, the LTI plan provides, among other things, for the grant of performance rights. If approved today, Mr. Field will receive a grant of performance rights with a relative total return performance level compared to a peer group of ASX-listed companies relevant to the company's activities, and a grant with achievement measured against a scorecard of a three-year set of strategic goals and vesting conditions based on continued service.
Details of how the plan will operate in respect to the proposed issue of 88,667 total shareholder return performance rights and 103,428 strategic performance rights to Mr. Field are fully described in the explanatory memorandum to this notice of meeting. The board believes it is appropriate for Mr. Field to be entitled to this issue, subject to the criteria described in the plan. I note that the company will disregard any votes cast on this Resolution five by any director of the company and any of their closely related parties, and otherwise in accordance with the voting exclusion statement contained in the notice of meeting. The resolution is that approval is given for the company to issue to Mr. Field.
Alistair Field, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company, 192,095 performance rights, representing 88,667 Sims performance rights and 103,428 strategic performance rights under the terms of the company's Long-Term Incentive Plan, as more particularly described in the explanatory memorandum accompanying this notice of meeting. We'll pause briefly to allow for questions. Please submit any questions on item four now.
Chairman, there are no questions.
As there are no further questions or discussion, the voting situation is shown on the slide. There were 92.42% of votes lodged for the resolution. Please now record your vote by selecting the for, against, or abstain box against resolution five on the voting card. We will now return to a general question. I'll ask our moderator to read the question, and I'll ask our Chief Executive, Mr. Alistair Field, to address it.
The question is: What are the current market dynamics of the ferrous metal markets at the moment? Like for example, what effect has the pullback in Chinese steel production and climate issues had or will have?
Thank you. It's a good question. The current market, we're seeing a very strong demand for our material in a ferrous sense as well as non-ferrous in on a global basis, Europe, U.S., and the Middle East. It's fairly strong right across the board. I think one of the key aspects for us is that our material, both ferrous and non-ferrous, we sell on a global basis, not only just to China.
While China might be reducing some of its steel production at the moment, we certainly believe that in the longer term, the decarbonization drive and the lowering of emissions both in China and globally positions Sims very well because the demand for ferrous scrap is going to continue going into electric arc furnaces and that drive to lower emissions is really a focus on the long-term sustainability of these steel products. I think the overall impact for us both now in the short term, we haven't seen much directly from Sims. As I said, the global market has a very strong demand for ferrous at the moment, not just relating to China. Hopefully, that answers your question.
Are there any more questions lodged?
Chairman, there are no questions.
Thank you. Before we close, I'll remind shareholders that they can submit their vote online until five minutes after this closure. The results of the poll will be announced on the ASX later today. That concludes the business of the meeting. On behalf of the board, I'd like to thank you for your support and for your attendance and participation in this meeting and look forward to seeing you in person at next year's annual and general meeting. Thank you.