Downer dodges second strike on pay

The news: Downer EDI's board has avoided a second strike against pay and defended its procurement control amid an investigation by the NSW corruption watchdog.

The numbers: Roughly 91.6% of shareholder votes were in favour the engineering and services contractor's remuneration report at today's AGM, a solid improvement on last year's whopping 55.8% protest vote. A 25% vote against the report would have resulted in a motion to spill the board. Downer EDI shares were trading 1.4% lower at 1:30pm AEDT, fetching $4.08.

The context: Downer swung to a $385.7 million loss in FY23 amid tough market conditions and writedowns associated with its Spotlight takeover. Some of its former employees have been implicated alongside Inner West Council and Transport for NSW workers in a probe by the Independent Commission Against Corruption over dodgy procurement deals.

What they said: "I want to start by saying that Downer does not tolerate any dishonest or corrupt conduct," Downer EDI chair Mark Menhinnitt told shareholders. "We expect all of our people to uphold the values and behaviours set out in our Standards of Business Conduct."