AGMs

6 questions lodged at 2024 Pilbara Metals hybrid AGM


November 26, 2024

Below is the text of the 6 written questions submitted at the Pilbara Metals hybrid AGM held on November 26 2024.

Q1. Australia is currently in the midst of an unprecedented deluge of takeovers that has contributed to listed entities on the ASX falling by 176 or 7.5% to 2,118 since June 2022, including 21 straight months of declines. There have already been 27 major takeovers above $200m completed so far this calendar year. There is a clear mis-pricing between public markets and private markets. Why are public markets not valuing ASX listed companies like ours more highly and what are we doing to avoid being gobbled up like so many other companies? Does the chair agree this is a problem for the nation, particularly with so few new floats replenishing the ASX ranks and was the CEO surprised by Rio Tinto's recent big takeover move into the lithium space?

Q2. Best practice is now to disclose the proxy position to the ASX along with the formal addresses to offer more timely disclosure to the market? The likes of Origin Energy, NAB, Car Group, Viva Energy, Webjet, Xero, Myer, Brambles and JB Hi Fi all do this. Will you adopt this practice at next year's AGM? Given that more than 98% of voted stock is done by proxy 48 hours before the AGM, the meeting itself is essentially an election outcome announcement event. But if you don't disclose the outcome in a timely manner, we finish up debating in the dark and having to ask questions like this one. Were there any protests votes against the remuneration report and, if so, what concerns were raised?

Q3. Could new director Kathleen Conlon and the lead continuing member of the sub committee which led the search process for a new chair please comment on how the recruitment process was handled that led to us going outside the existing directors to find a new chair. Which head hunter was involved, what role did the former chair play and did the full board interview any other chair candidates? Was Kathleen's long service on the board of global poker machine giant Aristocrat Leisure considered as a negative screen from an ESG perspective and did Kathleen know any of our directors before engaging with the recruitment process?

Q4. When disclosing the outcome of voting on all resolutions today, including Miriam's re-election, could you please advise the ASX how many of our 29,201 shareholders voted for and against each item, similar to what happens with a scheme of arrangement? This will provide a better gauge of retail shareholder sentiment on all resolutions and insight into the chronically low retail shareholder participation rate. Others have already blazed the trail as this was a voluntary disclosure initiative adopted by the likes of Qantas, ASX, Suncorp, Tabcorp and our own share registry provider Computershare during the current AGM season. You and Computershare have the data, so why not let the sun shine in?

Q5. Could the CEO please summarise the extent and breadth of engagement he has with analysts, brokers, fund managers and institutional investors after each 6 monthly results release to the ASX? How does that compare with what the company does for its circa 30,000 retail investors? Also, thank you for offering shareholders a hybrid AGM today which maximises retail shareholder participation. Will you commit to maintaining the excellent hybrid AGM model going forward?

Q6. Could the CEO summarise his past LTI grants as to whether they have vested or lapsed. Also, has he ever sold any ordinary shares in the company or bought any on market without relying on an incentive scheme to build his equity position in the company? Please don't say look it up in the annual report and through ASX announcements. It's complicated and the CEO could factually summarise the situation in 60 seconds.