Aroa Biosurgery Limited (ARX) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Audio Gap] 2026 Annual General Meeting. I'm Jim McLean, and I'll be chairing the meeting, and I declare the meeting open. I'll begin by introducing my fellow directors who are attending today. Brian Ward is in the meeting room with me now. Brian, of course, is Founder, CEO and Managing Director. The other directors, all non-executive directors are online. John Diddams, who is an Independent Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee; Darla Hutton, also independent; Phil McCaw and Paul Shearer, also independent. One of our directors, Catherine Mohr, is unable to join today's meeting and sends her apologies. Also present are our joint Company Secretaries, James Agnew, who is also our Chief Financial Officer; and Tracy Weimar. The format of today's meeting will firstly be a short introduction by myself, followed by a report from Brian on the past year and on our outlook. We'll take questions on both of those presentations at the end of Brian's presentation and then proceed to the formal business of the meeting. When we get to resolutions, we'll not read those out. They'll be displayed on the screen, and they were provided at the time of the notice of Annual General Meeting. We'll end the meeting by opening the floor to any general questions. To assist with efficient progress through the meeting, we ask that questions during earlier sections of the agenda are limited to the subject matter at hand. I'll now hand over to James Agnew, who will briefly outline how you can ask questions.

Thanks, Jim. So questions can be submitted by using the Q&A box located on your screen. This is -- we've just highlighted this here in yellow. Please note that there may be some delay before we get to your questions, so we ask for your patience. If you would like to answer your question verbally, please use the raise hand function and when prompted, please unmute yourself to speak live. Where appropriate during the meeting, we will ask our Joint Company Secretary, Tracy Weimar, to read out those questions. I'll now hand it back to Jim.

Thank you, James. I'll read my introduction. I'll read my notes. Last year was a very good one for Aroa, the culmination of much effort in earlier years. Aroa experienced solid revenue growth and profitability off the back of the things that we described at the last annual meeting. Those were: greater clinical endorsement of Aroa ECM products, accelerated growth of our own direct sales, continuing cash flows from the OviTex products via TELA Bio, and increased sales productivity. These all lead to the revenue growth that you have seen, and the rise in profitability. Revenue increased 23% to $104 million, while normalized EBITDA reached $13 million. The company generated $5 million in cash and ended the year with $27 million in cash and term deposits, with no debt. These results exceeded the financial guidance provided at the beginning of financial year '26 and marked Aroa's second consecutive year of positive normalized EBITDA. The importance of Myriad. We signaled last year that robust clinical data from studies would accelerate the growth of this product line. This is exactly what happened in the fiscal year. Myriad sales grew by 54% and did so at over 85% gross margin. This is, and will continue to be, the engine room of our business for some time. The market for Myriad is large, and the product portfolio covers multiple clinical indications. Succeeding here helps pave the way for long term financial success. Last year's Myriad sales growth was achieved with the same number of salespeople as the prior year, demonstrating the improved productivity we have been aiming for. Aroa direct sales now contribute a majority, close to 60% of our revenues. This is significantly more than just a few years ago and is a trend that we plan to see continue into our future. TELA Bio continues to be an important partner. In the early years, much of our revenue was derived from OviTex products sold and distributed by TELA Bio. That provided the significant cash flows we needed to develop our own sales and marketing workforce and means that we did not need additional capital. This model continues. Clinical Evidence and Symphony. Aroa ECM technology is now supported by more than 130 peer-reviewed publications involving approximately 5,000 patients. This growing body of evidence is crucial because clinicians and healthcare systems increasingly require products to demonstrate both clinical benefits and economic value. Crucially, last year, the randomized controlled trial for treatment of diabetic foot ulcers using Symphony was completed. This study met its primary endpoint, further enhancing the confidence we have in Aroa ECM technology. Once published, we expect the study to provide strong evidence to support Symphony's efficacy and positions Aroa well in the U.S. outpatient skin substitute market. Some changes to our Board had happened in the time since we last -- our last meeting. John Pinion retired in October last year after a decade of service. During that time, he made a significant contribution through a formative period for Aroa, with his deep medical technology expertise and valuable U.S. market experience. Also in October, Paul Shearer joined us as a Non-Executive Director. Paul brings more than 30 years of global healthcare and medical device experience, including two decades leading sales and marketing at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. His experience building international growth from a New Zealand headquartered medical device company is well suited to Aroa's next stage of development. Today marks the retirement of longstanding director John Diddams. John has been an important contributor to Aroa, particularly through his guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic when we listed amid the uncertainty relating to that. On behalf of the Board, I'd like to thank both John Pinion and John Diddams for their service, counsel, and commitment to Aroa during their time as directors. In closing, the substantial progress achieved during financial year '26 reflects the commitment and capability of many people. On behalf of the Board, I thank Brian and the executive leadership team for their leadership during the year. I also thank the wider Aroa team across New Zealand and North America for their dedication, expertise, and hard work. Finally, I thank our shareholders for their continued support. While there is still much to do, Aroa has entered this year with strong foundations, supported by a differentiated technology platform, a growing body of clinical evidence, positive cash flow, no debt, and a clear growth strategy. We remain focused on building a sustainable global medical technology company and delivering on our purpose of unlocking regenerative healing for everybody. Thank you. And I'll hand over to Brian.

Great. Thank you, Jim. Welcome, and thank you for joining and taking the time to attend this meeting. We certainly appreciate your ongoing interest and support of Aroa. So what I thought I would do is reflect a little bit on the last 12 months and then talk about the opportunities and the challenges ahead of us. And then I'll conclude with some questions-and-answers. So just sort of looking back 5 years when we listed, we listed with $20 million in revenue. And over the last 5 years, we have now surpassed $100 million in revenue. So a huge amount of progress has been made in the company since that time. We've gone from being a company burning cash or losing money to now being a company that is cash flow positive and on a normalized EBITDA basis, profitable. So, last year was particularly strong, grew the company 23% in total product revenue over the last 12 months. So very delighted with that performance, really driven by Myriad. Myriad is the driver of growth. It's our hero product. And certainly, we're very pleased with our choice to put a lot of our resources behind Myriad and focus on the inpatient setting in the operating room and [ put ] Myriad. And so what we're seeing there is a nice strong trend in terms of Myriad growth. And I think if we project forward, that's a trend that we have strong belief that will continue to grow. OviTex continues to be a very solid contributor to the company as well and very important contribution to the company in terms of helping us fund to build out our own direct sales operation. So if you look forward, I think this trend will continue and Myriad will continue to be very important for us. So I want to talk a little bit about Myriad. So Myriad is, as I said before, it's the hero product, it's the driver of growth. With Myriad, we have all of the foundations in place now, and we've proven out that this can really be a product that's very successful. We've got the clinical data. We have the sales capability that's now established. We have the infrastructure in place for Myriad to succeed. I think the other thing that's important here is, this is in a very stable reimbursement environment. So we understand how this product is paid for, how it fits into the hospital setting, and we don't see that environment changing significantly over the future. So we feel like we've got very strong foundations for Myriad going forward. What stands out with Myriad is 3 things. So the outcomes with Myriad are outstanding. So single application, minimal complications and a fast rate of tissue regeneration. We get this vascularized tissue coverage within 7 to 21 days. So clinically, a very strong product. But then on the back of that as well, very strong outcomes for hospitals. So lower cost, and we're doing that not just through the product cost, but through savings in terms of having to take the patient to the operating room fewer times and being able to get them out of the hospital quicker and have fewer complications. So that's very important for hospitals, not only financially, but also operationally in terms of making them more efficient in how they can operate their hospitals. With Myriad, what's super interesting is that it performs very well in the most complex cases. So if you think about where these procedures are happening, what procedures they are within hospitals, we're very focused on trauma and lower limb salvage procedures. That accounts for about 75% of procedures within hospitals. Myriad performs outstandingly well in those procedures. And we've proven that out through compelling clinical data. So over the last 2 years, we've published the largest study of lower limb salvage with 130 patients and shown very strong results there. And similarly, in trauma, in the last year, published a similar study. So, what we're seeing with Myriad is very good clinical outcomes and a level of evidence here that goes far beyond what's previously been published by other companies. So I think that is very important in terms of gaining surgeon confidence in terms of using our products. The other thing that's interesting about Myriad is that it performs very well in a wide range of different surgical procedures. So, often you find with these products are particularly well suited to a narrow range of procedures. What we're seeing with Myriad is it performs very well across a wide range of procedures. So it means that it can be a product that's stopped within the hospital that can satisfy a wide range of use cases. And that's very important for hospitals to have products that have versatility and certainly limit the number of products that they need to carry. And finally, with Myriad, we've spent time over the last couple of years building out the portfolio of products so that we can address different use cases for different procedures and different types of soft tissue reconstruction. So we now have a full portfolio of products that allows us to address the wide range of procedures here. So I think if you look at all of that, we can feel very confident in the outlook for the future. The other thing to factor in here is that at the level of sales that we have now, so USD 29 million, we are only beginning to scratch the surface of the full opportunity. So we believe the full opportunity soft tissue reconstruction within the operating room in the U.S. is $750 million. So there's a long way for Myriad to run in terms of growth. And with the offering that we have here, we truly believe that Myriad can be a market leader in this particular category. So a lot of optimism within the company about where we're heading with Myriad and the foundation that this provides for future growth. OviTex. So, as people will be aware, OviTex is different from the rest of our product range. It's a reinforced tissue matrix, a product that's sold through TELA Bio. And we've built out a wide portfolio of products here for both hernia and breast reconstruction. I think that there's sort of 2 things to remember from this slide. The first one would be that the clinical evidence for OviTex is very compelling. And so OviTex brings a new level of clinical performance to hernia procedures. So, historically, the rates of complication and particularly the rates of recurrence for hernia are between 10% and 30%. And what we're seeing with OviTex is recurrence rates less than 3%. And that's not in single studies. That's when we look across multiple studies. And so, on the basis of that, the performance is superior. And we believe over time, despite the stalled growth at the moment with OviTex, OviTex will perform very strongly in the future. Now TELA Bio has challenges with contracting within hospitals at the moment. That will be a problem that is overcome, and it will be solved in 3 ways: through those contracts rolling off, through TELA Bio establishing a new category outside of those existing contracts, and thirdly, potentially through legal action that TELA has taken in terms of anticompetitive behavior by the dominant player in that market. So in the end, we do believe that OviTex will prevail solely on the basis that it's a superior product. And over time, the surgeons will adopt it because there's fewer complications and better outcomes. Again, if you look forward, the opportunity for OviTex is very large. So $80 million in sales now, but potential opportunity of in excess of $1 billion. So a long way to run on this despite the fact that OviTex is stalled in the short term. Symphony. Symphony is an opportunity that we've been looking at for some time. It's a complicated market. It's in the outpatient setting and reimbursement in this particular setting is different. The historical incentives have encouraged surgeons to use products with the highest price. That has all been reset at the beginning of this year. So new rules have come in, and there's been major disruption in this market. And we're seeing a short-term shakeout. So a number of companies are exiting from this market. Their business models are no longer sustainable. and we've seen a lot of change in this market over the last 3 to 6 months. We think that Symphony is exceptionally well positioned to succeed in the market now as it evolves. And the reason for that is 3 things. Products with strong clinical evidence are going to be preferred, and I'll talk a little bit about our RCT shortly, so we have that. Procedures are shifting back towards the hospital outpatient department, and that's exactly where we have an established sales team. And because of that, companies that are also operating with surgical portfolios in the hospital are well placed. They have GPO contracts in place. They're well set up with the infrastructure necessary to serve the customers in the hospital outpatient department. So where the market is moving for Symphony is exactly where Aroa is and well positioned to succeed. So while there is a shakeout in this market and while reimbursement has changed, we think it aligns very well with where Symphony and Aroa are positioned. If you look forward in this market, while clinical data has historically not been required, we're seeing that increasingly that will be a requirement in order to enter this market. So we have concluded an RCT for Symphony comparing Symphony against the standard of care. The endpoints of that study have been met. It's been submitted for publication. Just over 140 patients in that study. So a large study when compared to many of the competitor's study. That study has been submitted for publication, and we expect that to be published in the next 4 to 8 weeks. And when it is published, we'll be able to talk a little bit more about that. But we're very pleased with the outcomes, and we think it positions Symphony very well for the future. So if you look at our outlook for Symphony, we are forecasting modest growth there. We currently have a very small level of sales. In the new reset market, we believe that opportunity is in excess of $1 billion. So it's a very strong growth option for Symphony, for Aroa in the future. We think that's going to really contribute to our future growth trajectory. So just thinking about outlook. I think we're at a stage now where we've proven that we can grow our product range year-on-year. We've made that transition to being profitable, self-funding. We generated cash this year, and we have a strong cash balance. Myriad on its own is driving growth, and we continue to see that grow strongly over the next 4, 5 years. Symphony provides optionality for us, another growth engine to be developed over time. OviTex is very important in terms of contributing revenue and a strong gross margin with no sales cost. And so that contribution has helped us build out our own direct sales presence. And then we have this growing body of clinical evidence and value that we can bring to hospitals that's providing a moat to protect our position as we go forward. So we're very optimistic about our ability to keep on growing. And with the growth rate that we're growing 20% a year, if you look forward, the business is twice the size within 3 years. And at the margins that we have, that starts to generate large amounts of cash. So just in terms of the financial results, and Jim touched on this. Total revenue of $104 million, up 23% on last year. Normalized EBITDA of $12.6 million. That's up from $4 million the previous year, so strong growth there as well. So we're growing top line, but we're also growing our bottom line. Cash flow, so $10 million operating cash flow, up $13 million on the previous year. Investing activities, $3.7 million. So that's mainly a small amount of CapEx and a small amount of capitalization of R&D. Financing activities, essentially leases and then $5 million of cash generated. So ending the year with $27 million of cash in the bank. So we're well positioned from a cash perspective, don't need to necessarily raise money. So in a strong position there from a balance sheet perspective. So just looking forward in terms of guidance. Guidance for this year is $115 million to $125 million. So it's between 13% and 23% growth. Normalized EBITDA, $8 million to $11 million. So similar to last year. And the reason for that is the significant investment in our sales and commercial infrastructure. So $5 million going into supporting Myriad growth and then $4 million into supporting Symphony growth, and that's really to make sure that we're well positioned for Symphony as that grows in the future. And that's a time sensitive -- we see it as a time-sensitive opportunity. So very excited about where we are, the opportunity for the future and feel like the last year particularly has helped us prove out the business model, demonstrate that we can grow, be profitable, generate cash. So I think we're at a very exciting stage. So Jim, I'm going to hand it back to you.

Thank you, Brian.

Sorry, wait a minute, questions-and-answers. Got a little ahead of myself there. Happy to take questions.

Yes, there are quite a few questions, Brian, on your presentation. I'm going to start with a question from Colin McArthur, which has said, you've said a lot about the U.S. What is happening for sales in the U.K. and EU as well as Australia?

Yes. So our main focus has been on the U.S. where we have a sales presence, our own direct sales team, and we've made a significant investment there. So we want to continue the success of that. Ex U.S., we are beginning to build out a presence through local distributors. The last year has gone very well for us. So $4 million in sales. We've had particular success in the U.K., we've got a great success in India as well. So we are seeing probably 3 or 4 companies that look -- sorry, countries that look really strong. So having seen that over the last 12 months, we are making additional investments in that international business. And with the recent recruitment of Michael Lynskey as our Chief Commercial Officer, he comes with a very strong global background. So it's something that we are focused on. We don't want to lose focus on being successful in the U.S., but also we do see opportunities ex U.S. So we'll continue to balance that buildout. But we do think that the global -- the ex U.S. part can become a significant part of our future revenue.

Thank you, Brian. We've got a few more questions on kind of commercial operations. This one is particularly around the Symphony commercial traction. Can management provide an update on Symphony's commercial traction in the U.S., including the number of active accounts, clinicians or procedures to date?

Yes. Look, I can probably just a few words on that without getting into the details. What we have seen over the first 6 months of this year is a reduction in the number of procedures being performed in that particular market just because uncertainty from providers in terms of how the new reimbursement arrangements would work, an exit of companies from that market as well. So I think it's fair to say, if you look across all of the companies that are in this market, volumes are down 30% to 50%. So I think that doesn't reflect the situation as this normalizes and we look forward, but that is a dynamic in the market as well. For Aroa, we remain committed to this opportunity. We really don't have much sales in this market at the moment, and it's really about putting in place the building blocks there that set us up to be successful in this market in the future.

Thank you, Brian. Similarly, with regard to Symphony, but this related to our FY '27 guidance. Does the FY '27 revenue guidance assume any meaningful contribution from Symphony? And if so, approximately how much?

Yes, it does. Look, the way we think about it, it's really a combination of Myriad and Symphony. It's the total sales -- the total direct sales number that matters. And so there's going to be a little bit of overs and unders between Symphony, but we're really focused on delivering that top line Myriad-Symphony combination number. And with how things are tracking now, we are on track to be certainly within our guidance.

Thank you, Brian. Another question. This one is regarding reimbursement risk. Following the recent reimbursement developments, what remaining reimbursement risk do you see for Symphony? And when do you expect those uncertainties to be substantially resolved?

Yes, it's a good question. There's a bunch of things there. So there's been changes to how reimbursement is working from the beginning of FY '26. We are eligible to be reimbursed within those new guidelines, within those new rules now. We are seeing that clinical evidence will become important, and we haven't seen -- we're certainly being paid at the moment, but that may change over time. We think we have the -- with having completed the RCT, then as the evidence standards become higher, we're well placed to meet the new requirements of CMS and the MACs. I think the other risk that is potentially out there is further changes from CMS and how those rules work? What we have seen recently is CMS announcing that the rules for FY '27 and the payment will remain the same. So I think that's important in terms of providing stability within the market. And I think that's also going to be important for providers to have confidence in using these products. So certainly, over the next 18 months, it looks like the reimbursement rules have been settled, and we're sort of moving into a period of a bit more stability. There are a couple of changes that have been proposed by CMS, additional changes in terms of reimbursement of powder formats, potentially some reimbursement changes with respect to regulatory clearances, but we don't see those as risks for Symphony's success.

Thank you, Brian. With regard to the U.S. sales force expansion, can you comment on how large the U.S. direct sales team is today and how much you expect it to expand during FY '27?

Yes. So we're at 55 or so salespeople. We said at the beginning of the year that we would expand the team by 10 to 15. I think we're really focused on sales productivity with that team and making sure that we can get all those people performing at a high level. So we're also conscious that there's a range of different resources that we need in order to succeed within that market. So I think 15 would be the absolute tops. We probably won't get to that, and I think it's going to be 10 or so people that are added this year.

Thank you, Brian. For Myriad, and this is a topic on Myriad growth. Myriad has been one of Aroa's strongest growth products. What are the main factors currently limiting further growth? And do you believe the current growth rate is sustainable?

Yes, it gets harder. In fact, some people think it's harder as the baseline gets higher. So I think -- and certainly, that continues to grow at a strong level, I'd say 30-plus. It should be able to grow at that for some time. In terms of constraints to growth, I think we're now in a situation where it's really sales force productivity and awareness generally within the market that will drive growth. And so, I think the evidence thresholds that we've met those, the value threshold for hospitals is there as well. It's really about adding people but also adding people that -- where we have confidence that when we add somebody, then they'll be able to ramp quickly within that market and achieve a high level of sales within a relatively short time, so 6 to 12 months. So I think we're conscious that adding people is a big cost, and so making sure that we -- those people become productive in a relatively short period of time [ as well ].

Thank you, Brian. Now we do have a number of other questions on operational matters. But Jim, I'll just pause in case you would like to proceed with the procedural matters first and then revert to those questions.

I think that would be a good idea. We'll have an opportunity to ask questions at the [indiscernible]. So the first item of business is to receive and consider our financial statements and auditor's report from last year. They are contained in the company's latest annual report, which you have received. So I take these as read. James Agnew, our CFO; and Junita Sen, representing the auditors are both present and available to ask any questions. Tracy, are there any questions for this section?

There are no questions for this section.

Thank you. Before I move on to the other resolutions -- to the resolutions, I'll hand over to James, who will take us through the procedural matters.

Thanks, Jim. Jim has called a poll on all resolutions at today's meeting. We will shortly be open for voting. So briefly how you can do this. Shareholders and authorized representatives attending online can vote via the webinar poll. If you have lodged a proxy form and voted before the meeting, you do not need to vote again at this meeting unless you wish to change your proxy instruction. For those of you that have not yet voted before the meeting, please cast your votes when the webinar poll is opened. You will know that the webinar poll is open when a window similar to that now displayed appears on your screen. To vote, simply just select the option for which you'd like to cast your vote. It will then be marked. To submit your votes, simply click on the submit button. Until we close voting, you can change your vote. The poll results will be tallied after the meeting, and we will announce those results later today. Our Share Registry Automic has provided a report on the valid proxy votes. We have received approximately 2 hours before the start of this meeting. We will display those results on the screen as we go through each resolution, but please note that the votes may have changed in the intervening period. We will now move to the resolutions, which are up for consideration today. Details are set out in the Notice of Meeting and are taken as read. For online attendees, the poll is now open, and you may now cast your votes as we go through the resolutions. Just a reminded that as we are now in the formal business of the meeting, the opportunities for questions and comments is limited to our role as shareholders and authorized representatives only. I will now hand the floor to Jim, who will take us through resolutions 1 through to 5, and then Jim will then hand over to Brian for Resolution 6.

Thanks, James. I refer to the first resolution, which is for Catherine Mohr's reelection as a Director of the company. The Board, with Dr. Mohr abstaining, supports the reelection of Dr. Mohr and recommends that shareholders vote in favor. And as Dr. Mohr is unable to attend the meeting today, and she has prerecorded some remarks, which we'll now play.

Good morning. I want to thank you for the opportunity to continue to serve on the Aroa Biosurgery Board. For the past several years, I've become increasingly excited by the clinical outcomes that we continue to see with the Aroa ECM technology, the growing body of evidence, its potential to improve healing across a broad range of clinical applications. And I believe these combine to provide a strong scientific and commercial foundation for the company's future. What is especially compelling is how that foundation is being translated into innovative products such as Myriad, Symphony and the broader pipeline. These represent important opportunities to bring the benefits of Aroa's regenerative technology to more patients, to everybody while creating long-term value for shareholders. As an Independent Director, I've sought to contribute my experience in medical technology, innovation and global health care to help the country navigate both opportunities and challenges. I remain committed to supporting management as Aroa continues to execute its strategy, strengthen its clinical evidence, expand adoption and build a sustainable high-growth business. It has been a privilege to serve on the Board, and I would be honored to continue serving another term. Thank you for your confidence and support.

I now move that shareholders consider, and if thought fit, pass this ordinary resolution. Tracy, have you received any questions?

No questions on this resolution, Jim.

Thank you. I now refer you to the second resolution, which is for Mr. Paul Shearer's election as a Director of the company. The Board, with Paul abstaining, supports the election of Mr. Shearer and recommends that shareholders vote in favor. I now invite Paul to provide some remarks.

Thanks, John. Well, I'm Paul Shearer, and I'm seeking election to the Board of Aroa. Some of you may know that I've been a Board member now for 10 months. And during that time, I've learned a lot about Aroa, about its products, its customers, its market opportunities and of course, our staff. And it's very, very exciting. I think Aroa has got a fantastic future, and there's really lots to look forward to. When I look at the products, we've got leading innovative products that are clinically differentiated. So they're supported by very strong clinical evidence. We've got a lot of protection from intellectual property, which is really, really important. We've got over $100 million now of sales, which will enable us to scale into the future, which again is extremely important. We've got a very large potential market that's very underpenetrated by our own products. And most importantly, we've got a very committed group and team of people that are committed to making Aroa great. So I think it's a very, very exciting company with a very exciting opportunity. But of course, like all opportunities, it's about actualizing opportunities, and that's about execution. And I think that Aroa has been executing very well as evidenced by the last 12 months of results. So that's fantastic. And I think that from an individual, from my perspective, I think that I can help support the execution of Aroa moving forward. I've had 33 years of working for Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which is a New Zealand-based leading medical device manufacturer with approximately $2 billion worth of revenue. During my time at Fisher & Paykel for 20 years, I've been responsible for our global sales and marketing efforts. I've been responsible for around about 1,500 people, people located in over 50 countries around the world. I've lived and worked in North America and Europe. So I've got a lot of experience, international experience. I've been involved in setting up direct sales operations, working with OEM customers and distributors. And I have a lot of experience in growing markets and developing new markets. So with that experience and with shareholder support, I very much appreciate the opportunity to be elected to the Aroa Board. Thank you.

Thanks, Paul. I now move that shareholders consider, and if thought fit, pass this ordinary resolution. Tracy, have you received any questions in relation to this resolution?

No questions on this resolution, Jim.

Then I'll move to the third resolution. which is that the Board be authorized to fix the auditor's remuneration for the financial year ending 31 March 2027. The Board unanimously supports this resolution and recommends that shareholders vote in favor of it I now move that shareholders consider, and if thought fit, pass this ordinary resolution. Tracy, have you received any questions regarding this?

Well, we've received a question with regard to the auditors from shareholder, Stephen Mayne, who I note also has his hand raised to speak orally. I will read the question out first and then allow Mr. Mayne moment to speak as well. The question is, BDO has been the external auditor for many years. When did we last tender the audit? And when are we planning -- we next planning to tender the audit?

Look, I can answer that, Stephen. Look, we've had a very strong relationship with the firm of BDO. And I can assure you as CFO of this company for the last 13 years, I'm very, very mindful around what auditors can get away with charging us. And while I have not officially sort of -- formally sort of sent out to the tender, I've definitely sort of sought sort of unofficial tenders for our business and to which, look, it's rest assured that BDO have -- out of all the sort of audit providers in the market, BDO definitely are pricing their audit services very, very competitively. And I think the important thing -- more important thing is that -- within BDO, they have a strict cycle around rotation of senior audit partners, which they had to. So I believe we're now on to our third senior partner auditor since we listed back in 2020.

Thank you, James. So Mr. Mayne has his hand raised. So I was going to allow him to ask his question.

Yes. Can you hear me?

We can hear you.

Yes. So are you saying you've never done a tender and there's no current plans to ever do a tender? Is that -- I know the law says you have to rotate partners every 5 years. That's the law. In the U.K., the law has moved to mandatory tenders every 10 years. Best practice is certainly moving that way. So long-serving auditors and no tenders beyond the decade is not really acceptable for a company capitalized at a couple of hundred million. So I'd ask you to sort of at least have a plan within the next 2 or 3 years to officially run a tender, and it's not just price. Shareholders are looking for quality of audit and long-serving auditors that are not charging a lot often aren't keeping management to account on the latest sort of accounting trends and things. So I'd be happy to see you have a Big 4 auditor and changing the key audit matters, and they're working for us, the shareholders. So I'm not really happy with that original answer, to be honest.

Thank you, Stephen. I appreciate the question, and we'll certainly take those comments on Board. Tracy, are there any other questions?