FIRSTGROUP PLC
RESULT OF 2019 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING(AGM)
FirstGroup plc (the 'Company') announces that, at the AGM held earlier today, all resolutions were duly passed by the Company’s shareholders on a poll. The results of the poll are shown in the table below and will also be available on the Company’s website.
The Board notes that more than 20% of shareholders voted against four of the resolutions put to today’s meeting. The Board takes seriously its responsibility to understand shareholders’ opinions and will continue to discuss investors’ views on these and other matters as part of our ongoing programme of engagement.
As noted in our statement earlier today, overall trading in the first quarter has been in line and there is no change to our expectations for the current financial year. The Group is focused on delivering the strategy announced on 30 May at pace.
Resolution to: | FOR | AGAINST | TOTAL | WITHHELD | |||
Number of Votes | % of Vote | Number of Votes | % of Vote | Number of Votes | Number of Votes | ||
1 | receive the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year to 31 March 2019 | 971,136,531 | 98.62 | 13,582,983 | 1.38 | 984,719,514 | 1,137,239 |
2 | approve the Directors’ Remuneration Report | 651,870,362 | 76.32 | 202,287,050 | 23.68 | 854,157,412 | 131,689,340 |
3 | elect Steve Gunning as a Director | 827,577,997 | 84.44 | 152,520,058 | 15.56 | 980,098,055 | 5,748,698 |
4 | elect Julia Steyn as a Director | 835,796,166 | 94.87 | 45,182,494 | 5.13 | 880,978,660 | 104,868,093 |
5 | elect Ryan Mangold as a Director | 832,483,464 | 94.49 | 48,522,814 | 5.51 | 881,006,278 | 104,840,475 |
6 | re-elect Warwick Brady as a Director | 831,595,125 | 94.39 | 49,408,377 | 5.61 | 881,003,502 | 104,843,251 |
7 | re-elect Matthew Gregory as a Director | 717,083,785 | 93.87 | 46,800,346 | 6.13 | 763,884,131 | 221,962,622 |
8 | re-elect Jimmy Groombridge as a Director | 939,068,393 | 95.26 | 46,690,022 | 4.74 | 985,758,415 | 88,338 |
9 | re-elect Martha Poulter as a Director | 828,865,660 | 84.56 | 151,305,666 | 15.44 | 980,171,326 | 5,675,427 |
10 | re-elect David Robbie as a Director | 823,563,907 | 83.55 | 162,168,274 | 16.45 | 985,732,181 | 118,336 |
11 | re-elect Imelda Walsh as a Director | 589,082,162 | 60.10 | 391,136,467 | 39.90 | 980,218,629 | 5,634,137 |
12 | re-elect Jim Winestock as a Director | 614,231,829 | 62.66 | 365,961,300 | 37.34 | 980,193,129 | 5,653,624 |
13 | re-appoint Deloitte LLP as auditors | 817,593,768 | 92.79 | 63,506,081 | 7.21 | 881,099,849 | 104,746,903 |
14 | authorise the Directors to determine the remuneration of the auditors | 953,099,444 | 98.38 | 15,658,377 | 1.62 | 968,757,821 | 17,088,932 |
15 | authorise the Directors to allot shares | 823,748,780 | 83.56 | 162,017,237 | 16.44 | 985,766,017 | 80,736 |
16 | authorise the Directors to disapply pre-emption rights | 835,724,136 | 84.78 | 150,013,056 | 15.22 | 985,737,192 | 108,286 |
17 | disapply pre-emption rights for acquisitions or other capital investments | 806,719,524 | 81.84 | 178,977,986 | 18.16 | 985,697,510 | 145,467 |
18 | authorise the Directors to make market purchases of the Company’s shares | 947,430,640 | 96.20 | 37,391,136 | 3.80 | 984,821,776 | 1,024,976 |
19 | authorise the Company to make political donations and incur political expenditure | 746,855,622 | 77.10 | 221,814,856 | 22.90 | 968,670,478 | 17,176,275 |
20 | authorise the calling of general meetings on 14 clear days’ notice | 937,902,316 | 95.14 | 47,884,522 | 4.86 | 985,786,838 | 59,915 |
Votes 'For' and 'Against' are expressed as a percentage of votes received. A 'Vote withheld' is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the votes 'For' and 'Against' a resolution. Votes were cast for a total of 985,786,838 ordinary shares of 5 pence per share, representing 81.13% of the total number of votes capable of being cast at the AGM. The Company's issued share capital as at today's date is 1,215,032,965 ordinary shares and the number of votes per share is one. The Company held 157,229 shares in Treasury, which do not carry any voting rights. Resolutions 1 to 15, and 19 were proposed as Ordinary Resolutions and resolutions 16 to 18 and 20 as Special Resolutions.
Contacts at FirstGroup:
Stuart Butchers, Group Head of Media
Silvana Glibota-Vigo, Deputy Company Secretary
Faisal Tabbah, Head of Investor Relations
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7725 3354
Contacts at Brunswick PR:
Nick Cosgrove / Alison Lea, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959
Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 549300DEJZCPWA4HKM93. Classification as per DTR 6 Annex 1R: 3.1.
About FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is a leading provider of transport services in the UK and North America. With £7.1 billion in revenue and around 100,000 employees, we transported 2.2 billion passengers last year. Whether for business, education, health, social or recreation – we get our customers where they want to be, when they want to be there. We create solutions that reduce complexity, making travel smoother and life easier.
We provide easy and convenient mobility, improving quality of life by connecting people and communities.
Each of our five divisions is a leader in its field: In North America, First Student is the largest provider of home-to-school student transportation with a fleet of 42,500 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largest providers of outsourced transit management and contracting services, while Greyhound is the only nationwide operator of scheduled intercity coaches. In the UK, First Bus is one of Britain's largest bus companies with 1.6 million passengers a day, and First Rail is one of the country's largest and most experienced rail operators, carrying 345 million passengers last year.
Visit our website at www.firstgroupplc.com and follow us @firstgroupplc on Twitter.