Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Ryman Healthcare's Annual Shareholders Meeting. My name is David Kerr, and I'm the Chair of Ryman's Board. First, I'd like to thank you all for your patience and flexibility. We've moved to a fully online annual meeting following the announcement made by the New Zealand government on Wednesday evening. When we began planning this event, we were in the middle of the COVID emergency, and we were conscious that flexibility might be required to respond to any escalation in the government's threat level.
With this in mind, we'd planned a hybrid meeting, a combination of a physical and an online meeting, knowing that we may need to adapt. Given the identification of community cases in Auckland this week with the safety of our residents, our staff and you, our shareholders and the wider New Zealand community in mind, we took the decision to move to a fully online meeting. So welcome wherever you are as online participants through our virtual meeting platform, which is being provided by our share registrar LINK Market Services. As with a normal annual meeting, you'll be able to ask questions and vote, and I would encourage you to do so. I'll provide you with further instructions as we go through the meeting.
But if you encounter any issues, please refer to the virtual annual meeting online portal guide, or you can phone a helpline on 802220. You can send through your questions at any time through the online portal, but I encourage you to do so as early as possible as that will allow us to answer the questions at the appropriate time of the meeting. Now the agenda for the morning includes a review from me, then I'll hand over to our Chief Executive, Gordie MacLeod, to give you an overview from his point of view. We'll then move to formal business, which includes the resolutions before the meeting. Voting on resolutions will be conducted by way of a poll.
At this stage, I want to advise shareholders that the motion relating to directors' fees has been withdrawn. This decision was taken yesterday consequent on the changes in COVID-nineteen alert levels here in New Zealand, which have clearly limited both the travel and the format of the annual meeting today. These alert level changes mean that the opportunity for discussion and debate is reduced, and the board's wish is that such an important matter is openly debated. Proxies received to date identify that the resolution would be passed, but the discussions that take place are regarded by the directors as important, hence the decision. Before we formally begin, I'd like to introduce you to my fellow board members.
I'll start with our Victoria based directors who are all at home as part of the lockdown in Melbourne. First of all, there's Claire Higgins. Claire is a professional director and a consultant who also has extensive board experience in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to becoming a professional director, Claire worked in the senior management roles with BHP and One Steel. She is chair of the REI Superannuation Limited, and her background in the heavy industry has been invaluable for her role as chair of our Health and Safety Committee.
You'll hear from Claire a little later. Paula Jeffs. Paula is our newest board recruit. She joined us last year. She's a Melbourne based human resources executive with experience across health care, finance, and government sectors, and deep expertise in workplace planning, organizational capability, and executive coaching.
In the early stages of her working life, Paula actually spent several years as a carer in the aged and disability sector. Her insights into talent management and HR have been fantastic, and you'll also hear from her a little later. George Cervides. George lives in Melbourne and he has twenty years experience in the Australian healthcare industry. Earlier this year, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his considerable contributions to community, charitable groups and business.
George served as the managing director of Medibank, Australia's largest health insurer, before moving into governance. He's chairman of Next Science Limited and deputy chair of Australian broadcaster, SBS. George is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Directors, and he chairs our Clinical Governance Committee. And George has made a huge contribution since joining us seven years ago. If we now switch to Canada, to our Director, Geoff Cumming.
Jeff was the Director of Ryman when the company joined the NZX some twenty one years ago, and he rejoined the Board in 2019 following the retirement of Kevin Hickman. Jeff's been a longtime supporter and shareholder in the company. An economist by trade, he's more than had more than thirty years experience as a chief executive, director, and investor, and he's served on more than 25 corporate boards in a range of companies and industries. Now the New Zealand based directors who are here with me in Christchurch, Joe Epleyard. Joe is a partner with Chapman Tripp and is a skilled advocate and litigator specializing in commercial employment and resource management law.
His skills are sought after by the larger corporates nationally, Joe's experience in relation to civil disputes is particularly wide and varied, acting on all manner of commercial issues. Joe's been a member of the NZ Markets disciplinary tribunal since 2011 and is a member of our health and safety, our clinical governance, and development and construction committees. Warren Bell. Warren is an experienced public and private company director and is the deputy chair of the board. He's currently chairman of Hallenstein Glassen, who operate both here in New Zealand as well as in Australia.
He's also Chair of St George's Hospital, the largest private hospital in the South Island. He's the Director of a number of private companies as well. Anthony Lees. Anthony joined our Board in 2018. He's the Managing Director of Lees Construction, which he founded in 1995, and he's built that into a leading commercial construction contracting company.
Anthony is a former Chair of the New Zealand Registered Master Builders Association and he chairs our Development and Construction Committee and has added significant construction expertise to the board. And then there's the team. Gordie MacLeod, our Chief Executive is here beside me and so too is David Bennett, our Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary. So the Company Secretary has confirmed to me that the notice of meeting has been sent to shareholders and other persons entitled to receive it. We have received no apologies at this stage.
The company's constitution prescribes a quorum of shareholders. Based on the information from the registrar, I can confirm that we have a quorum present because proxies have been appointed for the purposes of the meeting in respect of approximately $273,000,000 shares, representing over 54% of the total number of shares. So I'd like to thank shareholders for their level of participation in today's meeting. My fellow directors and I intend to vote all the discretionary proxies we have received in favor of the resolutions as set out in the notice of meeting. Our annual report for the year ended March 31, including the auditor's report, been circulated to shareholders and is taken as read.
So what a year we've had and what a challenge the whole world faces in the months and years ahead. Before I get to the COVID challenge, I want to quickly just run through the last year's results. The 2020 financial year seems a long time back now, but the main points were these. The audited underlying profit was $242,000,000 up 6.6% driven by strong demand at our new villages. The reported or IFRS profit was down 19% to €265,000,000 which is, of course, due to COVID related property valuation changes.
The full year dividend was lifted to $0.02 €42 per share, in line with the underlying profit, which resulted in a dividend of $0.01 $27 per share. Operating cash flows rose 12% to $449,800,000 and the cash receipts were up 12% to $1,130,000,000 Our full year underlying profit growth came in below our medium term target of 15%. This 15% annual growth in underlying profit has been our target for many years as it means we double profits every five years. And U. Shareholders should know that we continue to believe that this remains an achievable aim.
At half year, we said we expected to end the year with an underlying profit in the range of $250,000,000 to €265,000,000 which gave a range of between 1017% higher than the prior year. We believed at that time that this was entirely achievable, but as you know, COVID got in the way, effectively freezing our sales and construction activity and increasing our costs substantially. I'm pleased to say though that the Board has reviewed the trading which has been satisfactory in the first quarter and earnings are expected to be significantly weighted towards the end of the second half in line with the construction program and in light of the impact of COVID-nineteen in both territories during the first half. We need to appreciate the Victoria which is a significant part of our growth opportunity. Construction has reduced by 75% at three sites and sales have been affected by the lockdown and it's difficult to predict the impact this will have at this early stage of the lockdown.
Yesterday, we learned that new lockdown restrictions were acquired in New Zealand with a focus on Auckland. So we've restricted visits to all of our New Zealand village care centers and tighter level three restrictions have been introduced in Auckland. It's too early to say what the impact of these will be. But COVID nineteen is first and foremost a human tragedy which reaches across the globe. It's causing extraordinary disruption and distress to many countries and their citizens.
It is a once in a 100 year challenge. It's highly infectious and difficult to detect, and it's extremely hard on older people. I've been a practicing physician for more than forty years, I have never seen anything like this. But it's fascinating how fast medicine is adapting and each day means progress. The reality is that COVID-nineteen is here to stay and we know much more about it with every passing day and we know a lot more than we did eight months ago.
The latest restrictions are a setback, but not unexpected. In short, it's an enormous healthcare challenge and we're doing everything we can to keep it at bay. And thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our 6,000 staff, we've been successful to date. I cannot thank them enough. Their care, their professionalism, their can do attitude, positivity, and sheer dedication to the people they care for has been inspirational.
They've been led by a supreme superb team. So thanks to Gordie, to Shane, to David, Mary Anne, Nicole, Jeremy, Tom for all your leadership of our people. I wanted also to give a special thank you to our teams in Victoria and New Zealand. We are conscious they're still in the thick of it. They need to know we value them highly and how happy we are that they're on our Ryman team.
Our company is in reality a human organization made up of people who deliver value for all the stakeholders. COVID-nineteen has stress tested our clinical systems and in particular our infection control plans. They've been robust. We had to learn a whole lot of new things and work in a way we never have before. The sheer logistics of implementing a lockdown, of gathering the right equipment to keep our residents and staff safe, of adapting systems and communicating with everyone in the Ryman bubble have been enormous.
As we all know, Victoria suffered a massive setback in its fight against COVID. We put our villages into a second lockdown in Victoria in early July, and our team has done a fantastic job keeping everyone safe over there in very difficult circumstances over a number of weeks now. We hope the latest lockdowns in New Zealand will be short lived, and we fully support, however, a cautious approach to try and eliminate the virus as quickly as possible. The graph here shows how COVID nineteen cases have been steadily increasing in Victoria, and the red bar shows the time at which the Ryman team decided to institute a second full lockdown of the villages. It's clear we've acted early, but not precipitately.
Currently, there are over 100 care facilities that are affected by COVID-nineteen in Melbourne. In addition, there are in excess of 1,500 residents and carers who have contracted the virus in the city. One can just imagine the complexity of staffing the care facilities with staff numbers severely depleted consequent on either them being infected by the virus or having been contacts to people with the virus and so are being stood down. Ryman executives saw this risk in advance and undertook additional recruitment, so we were better able to provide cover for our full rosters. And furthermore, the company has guaranteed the staff remuneration if they're off work for any reason or if they have ceased working at another facility to meet our needs for our staff to be working at only our villages.
We've also had a number of staff who faced possible exposure to COVID at home because of their living arrangements who've moved into spare apartments at our villages to reduce the risk to residents. This next picture shows staff who are wearing masks and face shields, and I show this because we all need to be aware of how challenging it is to wear this sort of PPE for a whole shift. Yes, they're valuable in terms of protecting our staff and residents, but it's a big ask of our caregiving staff to wear this PPE, and we're grateful of the way in which they've risen to this additional challenge. We recently had a Victorian state health service led pandemic preparedness audit undertaken at our nearly Melbourne village, and the auditors were impressed at the initiatives we had in place. The latest lockdown will have an impact on construction and sales activity, but it's too early to say what the effect on this year's build volume will be.
One of the targets that the company has had has been to have five villages open in Victoria by the December. Although there's a risk of this being slightly delayed because of COVID-nineteen, it's a big challenge now and it will depend on how quickly COVID is brought under control in the Victorian state. What COVID nineteen has done is to reinforce the attraction of living in our villages where residents enjoy security, companionship, and a strong sense of community. They regard our villages as safe havens where they find it reassuring to know there's the best of care on hand if they need it. What was really pleasing for us as a company was that our net promoter scores for independent residents and our staff rose to record levels during the COVID-nineteen era.
We've tried our absolute best to look after everyone and they've appreciated it. If you think about it, the three factors that deliver a raised Net Promoter Score are care, which is really an ability to empathize effort, which is how easy or how hard it is to do business with you and resolution, how you do when things go wrong. Our staff have clearly excelled in all of these areas. Customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction are of course two sides of the same coin. The investment we've made in training and developing our staff and making them feel valued stood us in good stead.
We treated our people long before the pandemic with constant efforts to train, reward, and remunerate in the upper quartile. But in addition, the COVID lockdown saw additional remuneration, adequate supplies of PPE as needed, personal well-being packages, and high quality communication. There's some research suggesting that increasing employee engagement will result in a 20% increase in productivity, but I reckon our team delivered much more than this for which we are very grateful. The challenge we now have is guarding against fatigue, so we're working on our people taking leave where possible and have further enhanced our well-being programs. Always the challenge with bigger organizations is to retain both the stability that comes with being larger as well as the agility that a crisis demands.
So decisions were taken early and without hesitation, and where it was felt that it would protect our staff and residents, it was implemented the same day. The board was entirely supportive of all the decisions and all the expenditure that was consequent on those decisions. In a nutshell, we did it if it was the right thing to do if it was in tune with the North Star of the company, this being to ensure that everything was good enough for mom or dad. ESG is important to us as a board. The environment and governance get significant attention, so that now attention in these areas is almost a given.
The S of ESG, of course, relates to social and the importance of social responsibility. This pandemic has brought the S to the fore, where attention to staff safety, staff remuneration, staff conditions, relationships within the community and between the village and the community are all critical. The tension that's been shown to the s in this company will go directly to our bottom line, in my opinion, as the support from our staff has been outstanding. I've read that companies will generally excel in one of three areas. The first possible area is operational excellence as with FedEx or a bank where the best price or ease to do business with matters.
The second is product leadership, as with Apple, and the ability to innovate and deliver the best possible product. The third possibility is customer intimacy, where there's a focus on developing deep, long lasting customer relationship building examples. Examples of that particular realm are evident often with companies like Merit, but I'd like to think that Ryman Healthcare will be recognized for its excellence in this area also. Being the most trusted brand in New Zealand for the sixth time is evidence to support this. It's now my pleasure to hand over to Gordie to give his commentary.
Thanks very much, David. And hi, everybody, Morena. This morning, I'd like to give you a quick overview of the FY 'twenty year and what we've got coming up. My first job, though, is to reiterate David's thanks to the team. I'm absolutely humbled by what our teams have achieved during the COVID challenge.
We've been through an extraordinary eight months, and our team in Victoria and more recently New Zealand are now still very much in the thick of it. We've had an an autonomous management team in place in Victoria for some time now, and it's really paid off. In the early years, we managed our operations from afar, but now we have 750 residents and 559 staff. So there's now a substantial operation over there. And I wouldn't be surprised if they're not missing so many people flying over from Crosschurch each week either.
So if we flick onto the team, the team includes Victorian operations manager, Paul Sutton, sales and community relations manager, Deeper Richardson, construction manager, Marty Osborne, and development manager, David Lang. They're a tight team and are doing an amazing job. The aged care industry is in the spotlight over there. The scrutiny is intense from every corner and I cannot thank everyone enough and I cannot thank our leadership and all of our people on the ground enough. It is crystallized for me more than ever how important our mission at Ryman is.
Our villages are safe havens. They are places where people who have worked hard and deserve a peaceful and comfortable retirement can move to and relax, have fun, enjoy the company of others, and sit tight knowing that they are in our good hands. Our residents have told us that the COVID crisis made what we do more relevant than ever for them. They felt part of a community of care where everyone takes collective responsibility for the well-being and safety of the whole. The feedback we have had from residents, staff, and families makes us more determined than ever to pursue our long term mission of bringing as many Ryman communities as we can to places that need them.
And as you'll be aware, we've been constantly investing on improving the experience of living in a Ryman village for our residents, developing our teams and our leaders, and improving clinical outcomes. Our LEAP training program, advanced leadership program, together with coaching of our senior people, have all contributed to lifting the capability of our leaders. And we've seen a massive improvement in our staff survey results this year. I've got no doubt that this investment in quality and developing our leaders has been a big factor in our ability to cope with COVID. So the proof of the footing, I guess, is what those survey results actually showed.
And just wanna start with independent residents. If we just stop here for a moment, we've had really high scores over the last few years. We don't disclose what they are, but I can tell you that they are extremely high. And so we wondered how residents would fear coming out of COVID having been in such a restrictive environment. And you can see that residents actually were happier than ever with their decision to choose in a Roman village, choose to live in a Roman village and what our staff achieved for them.
So that's great to see that feedback. We also did a lot of work thinking about staff engagement because it's really difficult working in this sort of environment. And we undertook a lot of measures ranging, you know, like, it's just too much detail to go into really, but we did a range of measures to help with people's well-being and pay. And and, of course, property, personal protection equipment. And so here's the results.
You can see that our net promoter score from previous years lifted really significantly after the pandemic, which is a great achievement from our leaders on the ground. But we're not complacent. For residents, the focus will continue to be on improving their experience of living in a Roman village, which are done with additional services through our delight program and food is a renewed area of focus. And of course, I volunteered my services as a taste tester, although my friends and colleagues at work don't think that that will be very helpful. Our ambition is to build as many Raiman communities as we can, wherever they are needed to meet the enormous demand ahead for retirement living and aged care.
So it makes sense that we will need more working capital, this to build, and our balance sheet has grown to support our ambitions. And you can see that in that chart as total assets have increased really significantly over the last five, ten years. And you can see there how the bank debt has also grown, but that's in line with the fact that we are growing into Melbourne and have been and are lifting our build right in Land Bank. So building out the portfolio is capital intensive and we're in the midst of our largest ever investment and growth. We have very supportive banks and we need to carry working capital deep because we're in growth mode.
That's another that we're not blase about it, and we spend very carefully. We expect it to peak a little earlier than we thought in 2021 because of the impact of Melbourne of COVID in Melbourne and New Zealand. But in terms of current trading, what I've been really pleased about is with the sales results between April and July this year. So new sales and resales combined in New Zealand have actually tracked higher than the same period this time last year. Given that we lost the first six weeks of this period to COVID, I'm really happy with the early progress that we're making.
Aged care demand is as strong as ever with our established care centers running at 97% occupancy. We have a significant amount of cash coming in as well over the next twelve months. And already, these $327,000,000 of unconditional contracts in place, which will settle as we complete new stages. The good news is that it's just the current presales, so there'll be more than that. While building requires capital, the villages that we build bring in capital sums as soon as the first resident moves in.
And this scene initiates a tale of growing recurring cash flows. Given the growth in our portfolio that we've seen over the past five years, we expect to see a sustained increase in resell gains, deferred management fees and also fresh care earnings streams develop as we build new care beds. Our aim remains to develop under to double underlying profits every five years, which represents approximately 15% growth per year. And we were confident of achieving this in FY 2020 had it not been for the COVID effect, which started to kick in during March, our biggest selling month. The growth in our build rate coming up reflects our ongoing ambition to grow at 15% per annum over the medium term.
Looking ahead, Victoria and New Zealand and the rest of the world at some point will get COVID under control. We have a land bank of 6,595 beds and units across New Zealand and Victoria. And of those 3,900 are consented, that's 1,000 more than in in FY nineteen. And we have a further seven sites under consent right now, which represents another 2,235 units and beds that are currently being processed by councils. And here are the seven sites.
You can see them on screen. There's some really beautiful designs here in lovely locations. And look, it may take longer to get approval in some places than others, and that's why we've got plenty of irons in the fire more than ever before. So our pipeline is in really good shape. It's a real credit to the development team and the whole team actually.
It means we're well placed for growth over the next few years. At this moment, we're building on 12 sites right now. And we're not planning on starting any other new sites this year even though we have options to do so particularly at Hyatt where we've just got new endorse plans. These 12 sites represent a good mix of high, medium and low density. To put this activity into context, in 2017, we only had six sites on the go.
And if we just stop there for a sec, if we go back to March 19, that's a slide that's there. That list shows the 12 sites that we now have on the go. So you can see that there were a number that needed to work right through some key processes to move into the construction phase, and this is where we are at now. So we're that's where we're at now. And so it's just highest where we have the full ability to get going if we want to, but I think 12 sites for now is plenty on the guy.
And what's the size of the prize for these 12 sites? Once they're fully developed, they will be worth $2,600,000,000 in capital proceeds, and they'll provide homes and care for another 4,700 Ryman residents. They'll generate $10,000,000 in recurring income from sales and deferred management fees and will also generate fresh care earnings as new care beds are built. And of course, sits on top of the development margins which will occur. So I just wanted to now take you on a quick five minutes whistle stop tour of our sites around New Zealand and Australia.
We've been busy in Auckland where we have construction continuing at Murray, Halberg and Linfield, William Sanders and Davenport, Miriam Corbin on Lincoln Road in West Auckland. And the great news is we just moved our first residence in there yesterday, and the feedback from our new residents was that they loved their new homes. And the photos and speaking with the construction and sales team yesterday went really well. And of course, Scott Road in Hobsonville. We're all set to hold our grand opening at Murray Kahalberg as soon as COVID allows, and we're expecting to open the care center at William Sanders later in the year.
Our Linda Jones Village in Hamilton is also going great guns and the village is selling well and we will open this care center in the next few months. Gary Cox or Coxie as we call him and the team there won our Ryman Construction Team of the Year award, which they were delighted about a couple of weeks ago. We had to do those awards virtually as well, so we're learning on our feet all the time. And so too Victoria. We had to significantly reduce our building activity at Burwood East, Aberfeldy, and nearly Melbourne sites last week in line with the latest COVID nineteen lockdown rules over the year for Metropolitan Melbourne.
We have been able to continue to build at our heightened and ocean growth sites because they're in regional Victoria and they are in level three restrictions. So that means we can keep on going. All going well. We can we're actually planning to welcome our first heightened residents. I think Marty said to me next Friday.
Hopefully, that's not wrong. But very soon. And the first Ocean Grove townhouses are targeted for move ins in December year. So I can tell you just sort of stopping there for a little bit. When I spoke to Marty last night, I said, is there would you describe our goal by getting five villages opened by '20 December 2020 is hoping or planning?
And he said, no. We're planning for it. So they're they're really going for it over the year, and I'm proud of them. In our hometown in Crosschurch, we're underway at Ricketon Park. Not not only does it have grandstand views of Ricketon Racecourse, it also has vistas towards the Southern Alps.
And we're working through the consenting process with Christchurch City Council for our new Bishop's Park Park Terrace site. There's a lot of interest for this village right on Hackley Park, and there's been some strong interest, not least from certain people maybe to my right. I don't know. And Northwood Village and Northwood Village plans are also progressing, and it's gonna be another great village. In Wellington, we have completed demolition of the buildings, destined to go at our Karori Teachers College site.
We are preserving three significant historic buildings, and we're working through the consenting process with Wellington City Council. The one thing we know is that the local preschool children across the road have thoroughly enjoyed the demolition, and I think our demolition company even might have left them with a couple of diggers, which they are loving. In Victoria, we are working through the planning process for Mount Eliza, Mount Martha, and Ringwood villages. We have just received endorse plans for our Hyatt site, which is another great achievement for the Victorian team. Amazing what you can do just working from home, isn't it?
Our plans for Mount Eliza have been knocked back by the local council despite a lot of compromise and consultation, but but that was what we expected to have to go to VKET. And I'll tell you why we are, and that is because we have over 300 people who have lived in that region their whole life, and they would absolutely love us to build a village here. It's got really strong demand. It's a beautiful site, and we are very committed to making a success, not just for us and our residents, but for the community. So as you can see, our growth and ambitions haven't changed.
We think long term, and the goal is to grow to meet the demand ahead. COVID has made what we do more important than ever. We've been through a pretty challenging year, I would say. And as David said, the good news is that we know a lot more about COVID each day. And finally, I'd like to thank you, our shareholders, for your ongoing support.
It means a lot to me and the team. And back to you, David.
Thank you, Gordie. Look, so we'll now turn to any questions on the financial statements or the management of the company. Dave King, our Corporate Affairs Manager, will relay the questions that come through online. We'll do our best to answer all your questions. And where we have a number of questions on the same topic, we may consolidate the response.
But please feel free to continue to enter any questions through the portal. For questions relating to the actual resolution, we'll respond to these as we deal with each of the resolutions in turn. Dave, questions?
First question, how many employees will Ryman employ at the August 31? I'm concerned that your drive is becoming more about extension of building more villages rather than concentrating on the care of the inmates. Bigger is not always best.
What a good question. What a good question. So maybe Gordie and I will tag team on this. But firstly, I'd like to identify that we'd prefer residents to be called residents rather than inmates. But that aside, at August, I'm anticipating the staffing numbers to be around 6,000 is currently the staffing number.
Bigger is not always best is absolutely correct. What makes us bigger is our determination to meet the needs of citizens who want to have the Ryman experience. So our drive to get bigger is really to reflect the demand that exists for what we have to offer in a village. So so it's not more about big villages. It's about providing more care.
That's what that's what I see as the driver. Yeah. I really
agree with that, David. When I'll give you an example of when we have a a construction stage delay because unfortunately, that do happen. So when that happens, the first thing I think about is how incredibly inconvenient it's gonna be for people. And that's that's when you really see how much it affects people's lives. You know, we we we have hundreds and thousands of people who want to come and live with us each year.
And when I spend time with people just quietly one on one, it's been a really big decision for them. And that that inevitably just delighted that they have found the place that's really gonna be working great for them for the rest of their days. So when when I see, like, our bill program not going as fast as it could, I don't kinda look at it and go, you know, what about the what about the money coming through? I mean, you know, I I more think about the fact we don't wanna let residents down. You know?
And when we when we do a grand opening at a new village, one of the most beautiful things is that people come up to you all night and they just tell you what a change made to their life moving into a village and how how great it's been. So I just kinda just see our bill program and what we do build wise is creating that home for people. And our focus on care, I think, has really never been to the more to the four over the last eight months where people and their families have trusted us with their lives, and we've done everything we can to make sure we repay their faith.
Thanks, Dave.
Another question. Have you considered having a dividend in this reinvestment plan?
Oh, good question. So in fact, that has been a live discussion at the board table in the last couple of Board meetings. The challenge we have is that a good number of our shareholders enjoy the dividend stream that they now achieve, and it steadily has been growing. On the other hand, there are a number of investors who would prefer that we reinvested in the business. And so that has driven the conversation around a dividend reinvestment plan.
We haven't settled on a decision around that yet, but I can maybe best answer it by saying it is a live discussion at present.
Thank you. A question from Kim Santa. With the border being closed, what issues, if any, are arising with filling staff vacancies at your care centers? Do wanna go first?
Hello, Kim. Sorry. You couldn't you I think you've been to every AGM for many years. So it must be very frustrating being online. So hi.
I guess you're an API. Right? So staff wise, so I think so we review staffing really closely all the time. On Tuesday, when I looked at it, we had it was either four or five permanent registered nurse vacancies in the whole group. We employ about 527 registered nurses.
So on the nursing front, no issues with employment on the and then generally on the caregiver front and staff. Obviously, it's always hard to find good people, but we are able to sort of find shifts and fill shifts really well. One of the things your question does point to though is that longer term immigration strategy is obviously really important as is workforce planning with people within New Zealand and also within Australia. So there's neither one or the other. You work on both fronts, and we've got a good relationship with government on both sides of the Tasman and both understand how critical the overseas workforce play in caring for older people together with wanting to see people trained locally as well, of course.
Question from Graham Gidders. Bearing in mind the negative effect COVID has had on trading results and also the widespread example set by other boards, executive teams, civil servants, and politicians, why is this board not demonstrating the same self awareness and empathy by taking a 20% reduction in fees for at least the current financial year?
Yeah. Thanks for the question, Graham. Firstly, observe that during this COVID crisis, we have had no staff let go. All staff have continued to be employed. We have increased remuneration for all our staff across all village caregiving staff and administrative staff.
The senior executive team have not taken an increase in remuneration. And of course, the directors have not sustained any increase in remuneration for in excess of two years. And that, of course, was one of the considerations that drove the decision to withdraw the motion. So I would observe, though, that the directors have been exemplary in their preparedness to jump in and help over the last six months. There's been innumerable board meetings called at short notice, and people have freed themselves up and contributed actively, read the documents, given good and deep thought, so to make the right decision.
So like there has been an increase in workload. There has been an acknowledgment that in fact there's been no staff lost and staff have actually experienced an increase in remuneration. So it's different from many other companies.
Another one from Kim Santa. Interest bearing debt has grown exponentially in the last five years or so. Given the very uncertain times ahead, should the company slow down new development on a temporary basis to the point where it is largely or fully funded from net operating cash flows?
Yeah. Great great question, Kim. We we monitor capital recycling really closely. And one of the measures here you can see is how our total assets have grown over time significantly. And our data has grown, I guess, in line with it.
And so have our underlying profits. Our operating cash flows were up 12% to thirty one March twenty, and our receipts from residents were also up 12% as well to 1,100,000,000.0, I think it was. So but I but I guess, Kim, what you're wondering is the state the 12 slots we've got on the go, like, we don't commit to stages unless we can see good demand. So the thing that I would worry about if I was you as a shareholder is would we just would we just box on and build a village out if sales weren't keeping up? So one of the things that me and Dave does and and the board look at as well is we keep a very close eye on making sure we don't overbuild.
And it's entry you know, like, it's key for me to know that we've got $337,000,000 of unconditional new sale contracts currently today that underpins the stages of independent departments and townhouses and so on that we recommitted to after COVID. And, of course, we've got more sales to come. And even yesterday, when we're going into lock three lockdown three here in Auckland, which is a big market for us, we still did 12 sales amazingly. So yeah. So we watch it really closely, Kim.
Really closely.
Question from Helen and Edwin Hynett. Regarding reported outbreak of COVID nineteen cases in Victoria, what effect is it having on our operations in that area? How many cases of COVID nineteen have Ryman experienced in Victoria?
So we have had no COVID nineteen cases of our active staff or current residents. So our villages have been covered free from a staff and resident point of view, which is an incredible achievement by the team. We have had the occasional contractor who has had COVID, and they've been isolated very quickly in the relevant testing done just to make sure there's no issues here, which they have not been. It's a very we we do extremely rigid checks for everyone entering in the village gates from ranging from scent checks because people can lose their sense of smell through to temperature declarations, knowing where people live, who they live with, whether they've had exposure to quarantine departures. So we we try and develop a very thorough understanding of who's coming into our village.
Certainly, visitors can't come in there. And so and we're very, very careful with our staff checks. And then in addition to that, we have significant layers of personal protection equipment, PPA, which is just religiously worn. And we do quite significant checks to make sure that it's done all the time. And look, it was really good the audit David referred to earlier, where the health authorities came out and we ago to check on our procedures, and they thought they were excellent.
Probably one of the biggest practical effects would be managing staff stand downs for illness. I think that's probably one of the most difficult operational things to do. So right now in Australia, there are 57 staff off who are off on a precautionary basis because they're either not feeling well or they have a sort of like a second removed association with someone who's COVID positive or something like that. So we just stand people down immediately on pay for fourteen days, and we'd make sure they're tested. But across two villages, that's a lot of people to reorganize, 57 people.
And you know what? Across the whole group, since February when we started doing this, or February or late January, we've had a thousand staff members who have taken COVID precautionary leave. It's extraordinary. And I really take my hit hit head off to the operations team for managing what is usually a fairly stable roster to manage.
It's also a great credit to the staff because they've been absolutely honest about their environment that they live in and the risks that they have been exposed to. So so, you know, it's it's everybody's made a a fabulous effort, which is why we are, at this moment, COVID free. But you one has to be constantly aware that that there is an I'd hate to use the word, but there is an element of luck because something can go through. You know, it's the Swiss cheese Yeah. Scenario.
So so but, you know, I just couldn't thank our staff enough for the attention they've paid to being honest about this.
There's one other thing I think we should say is that is it's very serious business COVID, but our residents are also having fun. So that we're doing things like Zumba on the on the balconies outside of social distancing. We're delivering happy hour in a bag. I think at last count, we've delivered 80,000 happy hours in a bag. We do fantastic digital activities for people to do in their own homes and that sort of thing.
We do welfare check ins for people to make sure they're okay or just someone to check to. So there's a ton of things going on which means that life in the village just isn't sort of sitting in your room. There's lots of, you know, lots of ways we're supporting people with activities and even Zoom. You know, it's been there must be about 10,000 Zoom calls we've made now across the group since COVID started just as a way to keep people in touch. So we're doing everything we can in difficult circumstances for people to have fun, to feel connected, and for us to try and look after their every need.
And I think that's reflected in the net promoter scores that you identified in the presentation, Gordon. Yes. Yep. Thanks, Dave.
Okay. From Kwanying Chi, with the company extending its business interests in Australia, does it intend to seek a listing on the ASX? No.
Not at this time. We have contemplated dual listing, but we are not that's not an active discussion at this moment.
Thanks. Neil Anderson. Knowing how many of Ryman's skilled nursing and caregivers are migrants, how is Ryman now managing expansion plans with being able to recruit sufficient skilled workers with the COVID pandemic and the restrictions that it has brought? With that in mind, what is Ryman doing about accessing the government's recently announced apprenticeship and training packages to recruit more New Zealanders from schools and universities?
Yep. So we've been doing a lot of work with the nurse entry to practice program, which is called NetP. We are doing work for building apprentices. We've actually got a apprentice trainer who works in the office here and travels around doing some great training stuff, which he I think he showed me how to make something square the other day. And we've we've got apprenticeship programs, which we have implemented for kitchens and that sort of thing.
And we are working with schools and politics and obviously job shows to make sure that for people in New Zealand that they understand the tremendous career opportunity that Ryman Healthcare represents. Eventually, started a Ryman Academy so that people can see the training opportunities and the range of scholarships, apprenticeships, and just stop and just, you know, ability to work with us has been, you know, I think put forward really well by the team. And so we're seeing really good applications for jobs and that sort of stuff. Of course, we are conscious of the fact that there are immigrants within New Zealand currently who are working for us, who will be worried about their long term future under COVID for all sorts of reasons. And my commitment to you is that we we make sure that we have very strong dialogue with the government, with the previous immigration minister, and who the next one will be.
And we wanna make sure that people are treated fairly and their significant contribution to New Zealand's health care over many years and during this time as recognized by the country. So that will be one of our key priorities after the election on twenty third September.
This is a what a shareholder has described as a non question, but they asked for it to be read out. The shareholder is Andrew Ott. Just wanna say I have heard very complimentary reports from a number of people who are living at Ryman Villages of the care they have received through the New Zealand Lockdown. He'd like to express his appreciation and thanks to all of Ryman staff, management, and board for their efforts and ongoing work work. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Andrew. And, look, I I see some of the incoming messages to Gordie and the team, and, and it makes me immensely humbled to think that that people are so grateful and that I'm I think we're very fortunate to be in a position to make that sort of situation possible where they do feel safe and do feel cared.
Question from Thanks, Andrew. Kiran Bala. What is the rationale of having dementia and critical care beds within Ryman villages? I ask this as it is a regulated rate of recovery, at least in Victoria, and that would cause the return to you to be cramped?
I don't really understand that question, Dave. You might have to read that out one more time.
What is the rationale of having dementia in critical beats within Rhine and villages? I ask this as it is a regulated rate of recovery, at least in Victoria, and would that cause the return to be cramped?
I think I think what the question is asking is that there's controlled over the fees associated with dementia care provision. But but but what what what we're much more focused on is what are what are the residents need? And and so we would to to actually move somebody out of our village should be maybe in an independent department and then rest home care. And then to say, no, you have dementia and you need to go somewhere else. It just isn't unconscionable So to so, yes, the remuneration associated with dementia care and care generally not ideal, but but that's part of the promise that we give people.
Yeah. And this is why we report an underlying profit, just one one underlying profit for the group. And that's because that we see what we do at a village as providing a continuum of care for our residents at one village. And that means independent living, assisted living, rest home, hospital, dementia level care, or in Australia, high care, low care, dementia. So that that that are the names for them right now.
Now, inevitably, at any point in time, different points in time, government funding changes or there's some sort of short term measure. But for dementia care, what we think about is when you go and visit a dementia unit and you see an independent resident that you know well visiting his wife, say, or a lady visiting her husband in dementia, the ability for them to visit their loved one on-site without having to drive and spend as much time as they like with them is a huge benefit for people. And that's part of our promise of having a continuum of care. So if that particular part of the business in the major care had some financial constraints on keeping out earnings, then we you know, we really need to look at the whole picture, which is what we do. So we're okay with that.
I wondered how hard is it for us to actually go to George as chairman of our clinical governance committee. Is that a complicated thing for us to do to have George pass a comment?
Yeah. Can you hear me, David? Yes. Thank you. Sure.
Fantastic. Yeah. So what what is unique about Ryman, especially when you compare the Australian landscape, is that continuum of care and the ability to be able to, you know, engage a couple coming into, say, independent living in one of our villages and then to follow their journey. And one part of that couple might might have a different kind of need evolve over time. And as you get older, the ability to make critical decisions, sophisticated and complex decisions around health care, become really challenging.
And what I really appreciate about the Ryman model, which from an Australian perspective is still very unique, is the ability to offer that continuum of care in whatever complexity it it presents other than obviously acute hospital admission is is really unique. And it's one of the things that I think give people a deep peace of mind. We talk about a safe haven in time of pandemic, but also that, you know, that journey of life in our older years. Ryman provides that safe haven context to be supportive to families. And we continue to do this in an environment where it is deeply complex.
To for an organization to provide that kind of continuing care right up into high quality dementia care on on a single campus is rare and unique. And the Australian market will continue to embrace it because nobody dares to sort of try to offer that kind of continuum in any great numbers. So that's what makes it very special.
Thanks, George. And isn't that a tribute to the technology team? All the guys who make this all happen. So, Dave, back to you for another question.
Question from Yeah. Isn't it?
Question from Jessica Bodendik. As you have confirmed, all staff have and are working very hard to keep residents safe under very challenging challenging circumstances and risking their own health. How do you respond to negative stories dragging up old cases and once again putting the sector in a bad light? This does not help staff's morale.
Yeah. So look, there are always going to be situations where expectations are not met. I I guess that maybe the most live example of that has been with the Royal Commission in Australia. Aged care quality standards have not been ideal in all situations over the year, and that's been reflected in some instances of inadequate resourcing. But what we've tried to do is to always set ourselves a high standard and strive to achieve that high standard.
So we hope that the quality that we offer will meet people's expectations. There will be, because there are people involved, there will always be moments when people are disappointed. We have learned that the best situation then is to try and apologize and work out how to do it better. And so our sort of general approach is that we aim for 100%, but, you know, 99.9 is pretty good.
And we're getting really good feedback on recruitment in Australia, but there's been a lot of pressure. So like Jo Anne Wang, who's a clinical lead in Victoria, she was saying to me the other day that she's been interviewing quite a few people to, you know, fill up the ranks of the two villages there. And people are coming to us because they've heard about how we have treated our staff in terms of, you know, care parcels, well-being initiatives, making sure that people have got all the right PPE, making sure that the rosters are full and that there's plenty of staff coverage, and all those sort of things that make your work experience in this sort of environment so crucial. And so for us, that's what's really important is to create a a great impression for people so they wanna come and work for us and can see that we're gonna look after them really well as staff members. And then in turn, that means that the resident gets a better outcome too.
And it's interesting that the Royal Commission's sort of early recommendations around staffing levels, we meet or exceed those already. So I think that the resourcing of aged care in Australia has not really enabled the quality of care that people now expect.
Another question from Kwanying Chi. Is the company not considering taking advantage of the current low interest rate scenario by refinancing and issuing low coupon medium to long term bonds. This may help the company to reduce significantly its financial financing costs.
Look look, we're always looking at different options for the diversity of our capital flows within the within the current needs traditional interest bearing bank dues. But we're certainly open to other other ways of doing that and that we actively explore those avenues all the time. And if we ever decided to do anything, obviously, we would let shareholders know.
Maybe a call out to the banks. But, you know, like the our banks have been very supportive at difficult times, you know, when COVID first became a problem in New Zealand, we were in a very short period of time able to secure our funding lines. And, you know, they've been very supportive over many years, we're grateful of that.
Yeah. Yeah. Our banking partners are terrific. And they know it. And the thing the thing that I like is that you never wanna have a lend from a banker that doesn't understand your business.
And when you speak with our banking syndicate, they know what we do really well. And they've taken the time and effort to understand it. And so that's why we get a really good hearing from the banks, and it's a two way street. We see them as partners, not as people that we transact with. And I believe that that results in a really good position for both of us.
Question from Kiran Bala. Congratulations on having a COVID free environment in Victoria. It has been a major achievement. I saw an item on TV as to the actions taken at your Nelly Melbourne site, which was very complimentary. However, there was no mention at all that it was a Ryman village.
Had this been publicized, that would have helped in the marketing of other villages. Just a missed opportunity.
Yeah. Can I agree? Fair enough.
Fair enough. Let's see downside of jewel branding, isn't it? Because, of course, in Australia, Nelly Melba's on the $100 night, isn't she? The 50 is it the 50 or the 100, Dave? 100.
On the $100 night, an amazing opera singer so well known. And Ryman isn't so well known. So we should we should be trying to get both brand names out there, but it's we've had that dual brand strategy for a while, that didn't quite work on that occasion. So we're sorry about that.
Janet Chambers, question. No visitors. How is this impacting the emotional and mental well-being of your residents?
Yeah. Oh, look. It's really different. I think it's really challenging for our staff, for residents, and for their families. There are things that we can do such as Zoom calls, phone calls, staff just naturally very caring and have a a small sort of cohort of people that they look after themselves.
So they get to know the residents really well. And you can see that when you visit villages that it's not just someone doing around with lots of different people. They really know Dave really well. They really know David well, and and and there's a good there's a good banter and good chat. And it's not the same as seeing your family, of course.
But I really think that at times like this, that sort of measure It's just another way that we can keep people safe, is the main thing, and use alternative tools to really try and reconnect with people. And the challenge, therefore, in the staffs in the care care centers for our staff to spend that little bit more time with people, maybe have an even closer relationship. And from what I can hear and what I'm seeing is that that's going really well. And, of course, it's not easy wearing a mask and narrow face shield that just makes the challenge all the more.
It was a great initiative to cohort carers into small groups of residents because that means that there is that level of intimacy and that and that, oh, how are you today? And yesterday, you weren't feeling so good. So it's the conversation that actually makes one feel loved and as if one belongs. But as Gordie says, not the same as family. And that's why the Zoom has been really successful, zooming between families and their resident their other family members.
So it's not it's not ideal, but we're doing the best we can, Janet. So
Steve Nelson asks, could you please give us a brief review of Ryman's Victoria operations? Are there any COVID infections in staff or residents in the current lockdown? And Ryman's New Zealand operating model being replicated in Australia, does it give you a significant advantage over many other operating models in that market?
Right. Yeah. If I forget various parts of that question, can you prompt me? So what was the first bit?
Have we we have answered that actually. Yeah.
Yeah. We've answered. COVID. Yes. So no no COVID so far.
Touch wood. And so the I think maybe the heart of the question is, is Victoria better to operate in than New Zealand if you take COVID out of the picture? Which we should do. COVID is a temporary thing. So for us, we see in Melbourne a very strong opportunity for quite a number of reasons.
Principally principally though because what we're doing is we're offering a Ryman experience, which is the same as what we do in New Zealand, which people have loved here and people are really embracing in Melbourne and Victoria. With things like a deferred management fee kept for life at 20%, with things like fixed weekly fees for life, Most importantly, with a continuum of care village with aged care on-site, including right up to secure dementia care. And so the problem we're trying to solve for people is the majority of people will wanna stay in their own home for the rest of their day. And so for you to make a decision that changes that, you need to be moving somewhere and wanting to live somewhere where you really trust you really trust the other party that they can look after you for the rest of your days. And that's what we've been able to do in New Zealand, and that's what we're doing in Victoria.
And that's proving to be really popular. So people like our really fair terms. They like what we physically do in terms of providing care. And my perception is they really like the ethos of Ryman Healthcare, which is as simply capsulated as we strive to do stuff that would be as good as it would be for your own mom and dad. And that's the for me, that's the highest standard you can think of.
And we don't get it right all the time, but that's what we're trying to do. And doing it all within one company. So there's a lot of trust that's building up, and we just gotta keep on doing that.
And I think as George just mentioned, the uniqueness of what of our offering is is advantageous. So I think that there was maybe that question included that concern.
Question from John O'Malley. Given that Melbourne house prices are forecast to decline by 20%, what impact will this have on future unit sales?
Well, we don't first of all, we don't know what's gonna happen with house prices. I must admit, I've been at Ryman for fifteen years, and I think economists have predicted 15 of the last two housing downturns. It's it's amazing how negative is taking New Zealand. Things were on housing and speak to real estate agents, it's the exact opposite. You know, properties are just getting snapped up.
And I suppose the reason for that is that we're actually seeing very strong migration inward to both Australia and New Zealand of permanent migrants returning back from countries where they will be coming back to live permanently with cash, probably on higher numbers than just a normal immigration year. Combined with very low interest rates and government support for jobs, I'm not underplaying the challenges that the economies face, but all I can say is what we're seeing right now. And what we're seeing right now is that the markets have been pretty stable, people are transacting, and the stuff of life goes on. And, of course, we will be very cautious and watch the housing market. And to my earlier point on demand, we won't be building, you know, new new apartment buildings where we don't have presales and we don't have demand with pricing that works for us.
So we'll keep a real close eye on that. The fourth to that, sorry, is we reported that half year, we've got over 30% sort of price buffer between the current real estate market we were developing and what we're selling our villages for. So there's significant headroom in that pricing as well.
And maybe before I make one point, I'll just need to apologize to Jeff, who's an economist, for Gordie's comments about economists predicting so many housing price housing price crashes. So the other point that needs to be borne in mind is the average age of people entering a village is in the vicinity of 80, and most of the decisions are driven by a need. And the need might be health care need or a loneliness need or so so these are needs based decisions. It's not sort of a lifestyle choice. So that also will drive demand.
And they will, by and large be mortgage free in their home. And so a reduction in the value of their home was really it was money they never actually had in their pocket, All right? So provided we keep that buffer between the cost the the money that they realized from selling their home and that we charge them for entering our village, then I I believe the demand will continue.
Question from John Boscahn. Did you claim any New Zealand taxpayer subsidies? If so, how much? If not, why not?
Yes. We did. We claimed the wage subsidy. At a group level, we would have been entitled to I think it was about 25,000,000. We actually took advice from a large accounting firm to see what the most prudent approach would be.
That was to do it on a village by village basis. The total was 14,000,000. We applied for that and we received it. And we had detailed discussions with the government departments just to make sure that they understood and we were clear on why we put the claim in. And so essentially, it's a result of having a six week period where we couldn't transact in relation to our retirement village units and incurred, obviously, major costs associated with it.
And we haven't made anyone redundant, which I think is really crucial.
Okay. Last question, is from g r e Whiteley. It's not so much a question. Think it's a con comment that says, this has been the best AGM presentation I have watched. What I want to let you know is what comes through loud and clear is that you are all empathetic.
That is a treasured value that is not often seen. I want to thank you for that. All the best with your endeavors. And also thanks for looking after my dad and stepmom who live in one of your villages. I can see I can now see why my dad loves it so much and enjoys the best of care, I.
E. It is lead at the top, by Ryman, so it flows on through. Now that is leadership. Cheers.
Well, that makes me feel quite emotional really to hear someone say that. So thank you very much here. Thank you. So look, we've quite a wee while, and I think we need to move to the formal part of the business. So and that really is the matters which require resolution.
And they've been outlined in the notice of meeting. So shareholders can ask questions on each matter being put to the shareholders through the online portal. So moving to the resolutions, I'll call poll on each of these resolutions. You'll be able to cast your vote using the electronic voting card you'll receive when you when your online registration is validated. So to vote, you'll need to click get voting card within the online meeting platform.
You'll then be asked to enter your shareholder or proxy number to validate it. Please then mark your voting card in the way you wish to vote by clicking either for or against or abstain on the voting card. Once you've made your selection, please click the submit vote on the bottom of the card to lodge your vote. So refer to the virtual meeting online portal guide or use the helpline that I gave at the beginning if you require any help. Voting is going to remain open until five minutes after the conclusion of the meeting, and the results of the vote will be announced via the NZX.
So each resolution set out in the notice of motion is to be considered as an ordinary resolution and as such must be approved by a simple majority of the votes cast by shareholders entitled to vote and voting on the resolution. So in accordance with the company's constitution and NZX main board listing rule two point seven point one, Paula Jeffs, having been appointed by the board, retires from office. She is eligible to seek election. Paul has offered herself for election. And maybe, Paula, if you could just introduce yourself now.
Thank you, David. Good morning, everyone. I'm delighted to be in a position to be offering myself up for election for a board position with such a purpose led company as Ryman Healthcare. Not only does Ryman construct beautiful villages in primary locations offering full continuum of care, it excels through its outstanding culture to turn these villages into thriving communities and happy homes for its residents. This unique and special culture is underpinned by the simple mantra that everything has to be good enough for mom or dad.
Earlier in my working life, I spent several years working as a personal carer in aged care sector, supporting me through my undergraduate studies. Through that experience, I saw everything that was good, bad, and everything in between when it comes to caring for our elders. I have never before experienced anything like the vibe that you get when you walk through Ryman Village. It's quite extraordinary, and it's very special. And I want to help preserve and leverage this to support the company achieve its strategic aspirations for growth.
So a bit about my credentials. I'm a career human resources professional, having worked in the field for over twenty five years across multiple sectors with my great love being health care. I spent six years as the executive director of human resources and clinical education at Austin Health, one of Melbourne's two largest tertiary teaching hospitals, and that included two large aged care facilities and two large research institutes. During my time at Austin, I was heavily involved in cultural transformation programs, sector workforce reform, patient experience, health and safety, industrial relations, clinical governance, education and training. Earlier in my career, I spent fifteen years at ANZ Banking Group, most relevantly heading up their global talent and succession management function, ensuring that ANZ both had the depth and breadth of talent to meet its needs in the areas of strategic and geographic priority.
I currently hold the role of General Manager, People and Capability at Melbourne Water, which is another organization with deep purpose and a strategic imperative to meet the needs of a growing population and enhance the livability of Victoria for its residents. I offer both listed and government sector experience at the senior executive level. My professional qualifications are in psychology and media studies with postgraduate qualifications in business, executive coaching and industrial relations. I'm a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a certified member of the Australian Human Resources Institute. I would say it is a great privilege to be elected to serve as a Ryman board member, and I offer my skills mix to the board who are keen to see management well supported in the areas of people, talent and culture as critical enablers for navigating a pathway to achieve our growth aspirations.
So thank you. I'll pass back to you now, David.
Thank you, Paula. You can see, shareholders, why we have been so delighted to have identified Paula, and the contribution that she's already made has been really impressive. So I now propose that Paula Jeffs be elected as Director of the company. Dave, are there any questions for the board or Paula concerning the motion
from shareholders? There are none.
Thank you. So please, could you mark your voting cards in the way you wish to vote by ticking for, against, or abstain in the appropriate place on the voting card. I'm going to give you just a moment to do that. And then in accordance with the company's constitution and the NZX main board listing rule two point seven point one, Claire Higgins, having held office for three years, retires from office. She's eligible to seek reelection.
Claire has offered herself for reelection. And, Claire, if you would be kind enough to introduce yourself now.
Thank you very much, David, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity also to make some comments today. My role as a board member has expanded somewhat in the past twelve months to include the chair role of the audit financial risk committee. Fortunately, we've not lost Warren's expertise on the committee. And together with George and Jeff as members, I think we have a strong, very experienced committee, pardon me, which in the current environment has been particularly focused on the financial outcomes and risk work of the committee and supporting the board in this area.
As in previous years, I have continued my role as chair of what was the Health and Safety Committee. And late in 2019, we expanded the role of this committee to explicitly include well-being. Whilst Ryman has for some years had a focus on well-being, the inextricable link between well-being and health and safety outcomes meant that this was a logical link with the committee's work. Early in 2020, we embarked on and approved a refresh of our health, safety and well-being strategy. And the work plan of the committee is now clearly aligned with our strategy.
The COVID outbreak has also required us to bring a dual lens onto the committee work plan to ensure that whilst adopting a new set of standards and procedures with respect to COVID, the fundamental work across the organization on managing health and safety and their critical risks, together with the robustness of our system and program, has needed to continue to remain prominent. And as you can imagine, bringing the focus on the overall well-being of the team in this environment has complemented our work. Whilst the restrictions on our movement has prevented us from attending sites as much as we have in the past or would have liked to do, We have maintained a reasonably close relationship with our health, safety, and well-being leaders and our construction and operation team members during the COVID period. And particularly today, I'd like to speak to my standing for reelection to the board. The experience of the last six months has made me even more passionate for the success of the company.
I believe that Ryman offers the best in retirement living and care. I'd love to remain part of the team at Ryman who have the opportunity to care for our vulnerable elderly people. And I'd also love to remain part of a team that supports and invests in people who have the same passion for care. It would be my privilege, and I'd be very proud to continue to contribute to that. Thank you very much, David.
Thank you, Claire. And and I can advise shareholders that Claire's a consummate director. She is always well prepared. She thinks carefully about the advice she offers, and she has been invaluable. So it's it's a pleasure for me now to propose that Claire Higgins be reelected the director of the company.
So, Dave, I need to see if there are any questions for the board or for Claire on that motion. There are no questions for clear. Okay. So thank you. Look.
Please mark your voting cards in the way you wish to vote by ticking for, against, or abstain in the appropriate place on the voting card. Resolution three concerns the authorization of the board to fix the auditor's remuneration for the coming year. Deloitte is automatically reappointed as the auditor of Ryman Healthcare Limited under section two zero seven t of the Companies Act 1993. Dave, are there any questions for the board concerning the motion from shareholders?
There are no questions.
Thank you very much. So look, please could you mark your voting cards in the way you wish to vote by ticking for, against, or abstain in the appropriate place on the voting card? So that concludes the formal part of the meeting, and you can now submit your vote. Voting will be open until five minutes after the close of the meeting, and the results of the vote will be announced by the NZDX later today. So look, thank you everyone for your attention and your questions.
As I've said, it's been a challenge. We know there's a lot ahead of us. We're in the middle of a global pandemic. But as chair of this company, I have to say it's confirmed for me what I've known for a long time, that Ryman is a special company with enormous potential ahead. So I'd like to thank my fellow directors, both here and on the screen, for all your support and your wisdom.
And thank all of our 6,000 staff and our marvelous 12,000 residents and their families. And a big thank you also to all our shareholders for all your support. We really do appreciate the backing you give us, the advice you give us. We've got many long term loyal shareholders who realize we're in this for the long haul. We're about as excited as ever about the future of Ryman, our mission continues to be to build as many Ryman communities as we can to meet the demand that exists.
We look forward to seeing you again in twelve months' time, and we can report on progress at that stage. So thank you very much.