Southern Cross Austereo board faces protest votes at heated AGM
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The news: The Southern Cross Austereo board faced sharp questions at its annual general meeting on Monday, after major investors led the march against the re-election of its chair and its remuneration report.
The numbers: Proxy votes on the resolutions put to shareholders have put Southern Cross on track for a first strike as 28.1% voted against adopting the remuneration report.
Some 28.1% of proxies were also voted against the re-election of chair Heith Mackay-Cruise, while more than 38% voted against granting performance rights to chief executive John Kelly, who also faced heated questions from shareholders.
Southern Cross reiterated the trading update it first announced to the market in late October.
Its shares were down 0.92% to $0.54 by 12:06pm AEDT but over the last 12 months has plummeted 47.57%.
The context: The AGM comes after a tough year for Southern Cross, which was the target of a takeover bid from ASX-listed radio rival, ARN Media, which partnered with private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners.
ARN remains a major shareholder, along with Antony Catalano and billionaire Alex Waislitz, who reportedly voted against the re-election of Mackay-Cruise and the remuneration report.
What they said: “FY25 … costs are targeted to be below FY24 but John, can you do a Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and reduce costs by 20 to 30%? That's their target for the American government to spend. I think a small reduction in costs is going to … not move the dial,” David Kingston of K Capital said during the AGM.
“I think you need to pull out the red pen. Concerningly, in the first quarter this year, broadcast revenue only increased 1.1% that's below inflation.”
The sources: Southern Cross Austereo AGM, AFR
