Assetora Limited (AOH) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2025 AGM for Assetora Limited. My name is Giuseppe Porcelli and I will be your chair for today's meeting. It's now just past 10 a.m. Australian time and there began a quorum present. I declare the meeting open for business. I confirm that the meeting has been properly constituted. The company considers it aggregate to all the 2025 AGM as a mutual meeting in a manner that is consistent with the Corporation Act at the company's contribution. In opening the 2025 AGM, I would like to introduce the Board and the management team of Assetora Limited who are in attendance. Raymond Jourdan, COO and Executive Director; Steve James, Non-Executive Director; Alberto Basile Non-Executive Director; Darren Younger, Chief Executive Officer; Ross Laidlaw, Company Secretary; Jules Grove, Chief Financial Officer; Sally McDow, Automic Group; Daniel Le Miere, Automic Group. I would like to thank you for joining us via the platform today. During today's meeting, a shareholder on the appointed -- or the appointed representatives will have the opportunity to ask questions or make comments to the company via the Lumi platform. You have logged into them. On the platform, questions will be moderated and may be amalgamated where there are multiple questions on the same topic. To ask your question during the meeting, click on the speech bubble icon at the top of the screen, type your question and then click the arrow to submit your question. You will receive a confirmation that your question has been sent after you click on the send arrow. The question function is open now so it will be helpful if you could submit questions as early as possible. When you submit your question please identify which resolution it relates to or if it does not relate to any resolution please indicate if it is a general question. Please note that while you can submit questions from now on, I will not address them until the relevant time in the meeting. Finally, due to time constraints, we may run out of time to answer all of your questions. If these happens, we will answer them in due course via e-mail or by posting response on our website. Questions which relates to the general business of the company will be collected and addressed after the close of the formal business of the meeting. The agenda for today's meeting will be as followed: An address from the company's CEO, after which we will proceed to the formal matters to be considered as today AGM. And finally, there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion. Please start.

Good. Thanks. That's helpful. I'll restart. So we are welcome to the AGM. I'm really proud to be presenting the CEO report. It's been a challenging year, but also a very, very exciting year at the same time for Assetora. It's been absolutely a year of transformation from the last AGM where the shareholders approved that the change of the name from DomaCom to Assetora was really the start of the transformation journey. And I guess with the support of the shareholders for that change, it was all about a new brand, a new vision and a new way for -- going forward to help people in Australia to invest differently, and it's all about that transformation, and we have now done everything that we've needed to do, which I'll go through in a little bit more detail to be able to move forward as a business. So it's been quite a transformational year. It's really setting us up for the future. The main things that we have completed is the change of the Board, the management governance. We've done a lot of work around fixing the business from the inside out as well as top down. So we've done a lot of work around that. As you would have seen all the Board members other than Steve are new to the business. And it's the same with the management team. There's only a couple of managers from the management team still remaining. We've also met over the last 12 months, we also become the new responsible entity of the fund, which was a significant step, one that was quite challenging in its time. We had other organizations competing with us. And so it was actually a challenging piece of work to get through. But obviously, the unit homes then voted and voted with us to be the responsible entity, which then meant that we could continue on with the rebranding of the fund, which we have just completed as well and now everything is branded Assetora. So it's now the Assetora Investment Fund, no longer the DomaCom Fund. So everything has been changed. And just to finish off, over the last couple of months, we've also raised an extra $5 million in equity to further strengthen the balance sheet and move us into a very positive position going into the next year. Invest Differently, is -- it's the fundamental message that we want to get out there in the market. And it's not just a tagline. It's really everything that we do without going through all the details of what it means within the business. it means that we want people to understand that the traditional ways of investing have been around for a long time. There are a lot of new ways to invest and new ways to get involved in investing. And that's something that we're very passionate about being on a roadshow recently with wholesale investors. Just talking about how meaningful it is to be -- to have a passionate connection to the investments that you're investing in as opposed to something that's just numbers on the page, and it's been resonating quite a lot and a lot of people getting that feedback. So we know we're on the right on the right path with that. And things are building community wealth and the leading community get work in assets and investment opportunities. But ultimately, this is about giving everybody access to investment opportunities that they couldn't before. The platform at the moment, it's similar to where it was kind of 12 months ago. There's $200 million of funds under management across about 130 sub-funds and about 2,000 investors. We have done a lot of work around stabilization and kind of building the platform for the growth. So there hasn't been a significant -- it hasn't been much broken in that we've laid the foundation work for the new funds that are now being launched and to be able to grow that significantly and that's the plan. So we've really got that foundation. The I guess the -- where we see the results, and obviously, you can go through all the financial results, and we'll talk about it in a little bit more in this presentation, but the -- achieving positive operating cash flow in the last quarter was quite significant, something that we haven't seen for -- in the business for quite a while and reducing the liabilities was a key piece for us. We want to get to a net asset position at a positive position. It's been liabilities for the last 12 months and obviously, a lot longer before that. And so getting into a net asset position positive is something that we're very focused on, and we've come a long way already to get to that point and growing recurring revenue as well as just fun. So we're changing the model of the business around not just being a funds under management business but using technology to be able to drive recurring revenue around both sides of that. So not just money coming in and us managing it, but also for the funds that are being deployed how do we maximize any revenue opportunities around that using technology and innovation and part of that is also the investor experience. So driving a much better investor experience where people are more connected to their investments. So you'll see a lot more updates, a lot more visual updates and presentations around the things that people invest in. For 2026, we're focused on -- fund growth is obviously the key fundamental for what we're going to be measured on and also the investor engagement. But one of the things that we're very keen on progressing. We've also laid the foundation for is the international expansion. We've now reopened the Singapore office rebranded that from DomaCom to Assetora just recently as well. And you will see some announcements over the next few months around some exciting things that we're doing in the international landscape. So it's -- and again, it's about not just domestic but also international and providing opportunities for both international investors, but more importantly, Australian investors to get access to international opportunity. And the final piece around the technology leadership. That's -- we've already launched the mobile app and it's been -- we're very well received, and we're going to continue to grow that and look at things around not just the app itself but AI around the portfolio and the digital marketplace that we're going to be revamping more and more. And I think the main point is that as it says at the bottom of the slide, we're not -- this is not a recovery story anymore. 12 months ago and 6 months ago, it was how are we going to say why are we going to survive? Can we turn this thing around? We've done the things that we need to do. And now we're turning it into a growth story. So now it's just about growth going forward. So a year ago, we set out to do the -- create the foundation. We've now completed that and now it's all about just how far we go forward. And I'm very proud of what we've done so far as a team. We've been backed by the shareholders and by the unitholders of the fund to be able to deliver on this, and we have delivered on this. And now it's time to take this platform and progress the business forward. So just wanted to say thanks for everybody for their support and it has been a challenging year, and we have turned everything around, and now we are ready for the market, and this is just -- we're now at the beginning. Back to you.

We now move to the formal business as set up on the notice of the meeting. The notice of Annual General Meeting was distributed to all the registered members on or about the 7th of October and is to be taken as read. Voting on all resolutions will be conducted by poll. For the purposes of the poll, I appoint [ Rashed Pacena ] of BoardRoom PTY, the company's share registry, who have examinated and prepared to summarize of the proxy from received to act as a returning officer and to conduct the poll. If you are a shareholder in attendance who has already submitted a vote by proxy, your vote has already been counted towards the poll. You are only required to resubmit your votes if you would like to change your direction. Shareholders wishing to vote on today's resolution can do so by following disruptions provided in the notice of the meeting. Instruction on logging in into the voting portal are now shown on the screen. Please note that the voting portal is now open and will remain open until the poll is declared closed. Your vote must be submitted prior to the poll being closed for it to be counted. Shareholders and the proxy holders would be able to see an icon on the Lumi platform that resembles a bar chart. By clicking this item, each of the resolutions and the voting options will appear on your screen, and you may vote for the motion, against the motion or you may be abstaining your vote. Shareholders and the proxy holders can change their vote at any time before the polls close. The polls will remain open until the conclusion of the meeting. But if you need to leave the meeting earlier, you may wish to cast your vote now. At the conclusion of the meeting, voting will be collated to include all proxy votes and those cast as today meter. The final poll result will be announced on the ASX later today. All undirected proxy or open votes that have nominated the Chair of the meeting as their proxy will be casting favor of each resolution in the notice of the Annual General Meeting. Are there any questions in relation to the voting process? Sally, do we have any questions online?

We have no questions.

Good. Proxies have been inspected, and all those who validly lodged have been accepted. The first item of the business is to receive the company's annual financial report for the year ended June 2025. There is no vote on this item as it is for discussion on the financial report and the reports of the directors and the auditors are now laid before the meeting. The company auditor, for the 2025 financial year, Hall Chadwick, are present to take questions relevant to the conduct of the audit and the preparation and content of the independent auditor's report. Are there any questions or comments on the financial report or the reports of the directors and the bureaus? Sally, any question online?

No, there are no questions.

Are there any questions or comments on the management of the company? Sally, can you check?

No, there are no questions.

Thank you. Are there any questions relevant to the conduct of the audit and the preparation and the content of the auditor's report to be put to the auditor? Sally, please confirm.

No, there are no questions.

Right. We will now proceed to the resolutions set out in the Notice of the Annual General Meeting. The purpose of resolution #1 is to consider and to pass with or without amendment resolution on adoption of remuneration report as an ordinary resolution. That for the purpose of Section 250 R,2 over the Corporation Act and for all other purposes, approval is given for the adoption of the remuneration report as contained in the company's annual financial report for the financial year ended 2025. The vote on this resolution is advisory on and does not bind the directors or the company. If you wish to discuss the resolution, please start with your question via the Q&A. Sally, do we have any questions online?

There are no questions.

The proxy received in relation to this resolution are on the screen now. Shareholders can vote via the online portal, however, are advised not to click on next until you have selected your vote for the resolution. [Voting]

Resolution #2, the election of Alberto Basile as a director. The proposal for resolution #2 is to consider and if thought fit to pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution that Alberto Basile, a Director who retires by rotation in accordance with the company's contribution and ASX listing rule of 14.4 and being eligible offers himself for reelection as a director of the company, be elected as a Director of the company affected immediately. If you wish to discuss this resolution, please submit your question via the Q&A. Sally, any questions from online?

There are no questions.

The proxy received in relation to this resolution are now on the screen. Shareholders can vote via the online portal. However, as a reminder, not to click next until you have selected your vote for it. [Voting]

Thank you. Resolution #3, reelection of Steven James as Director. The purpose of resolution #3 is to consider and if thought fit to pass the following resolution as an ordinary solution that Steven James, a director who retired by rotation in accordance with the company's constitution and the ASX listing rules of 14.5 and begin eligible offer himself for election as a director of the company to be elected as a director of the company, effectively meaningful. If you wish to discuss this resolution, please submit your questions via the Q&A. Any questions, Sally, from online?

There are no questions.

The proxy received in relation to this resolution are now on the screen. Shareholder can vote via the online portal. But please do not click next until you have selected your vote for all the resolutions. [Voting]

Resolution #4. ASX listing rules 7.1A approval of a future issue of securities. The focus of resolution #2 (sic) [ #4 ] is to consider and exclude fit to pass the following resolution as a special resolution. That for the purpose of ASX listing rules 7.1A and for all the other purpose the shareholders approved to ensure of equity security up to the 10% of the issued capital of the company at the time of the issue, calculated in accordance with the former prescribed in ASX Listing Rules 7.1A and otherwise on the terms and conditions set out of the explanatory statement, which are combined and the form part of this notice of meeting. If you wish to discuss this resolution, please start me to your questions via the Q&A now. Sally, any question from online?

There are no questions.

The proxy received on -- in relation to this resolution are on the screen. Shareholders can vote online now. However, and as a reminder, please do not click next until we have selected all your votes for the resolution. [Voting]

Good. Resolution #5, amendment to the constitution. The proposal of resolution #5 is to consider and if thought fit to pass the following resolution as a special resolution. That for the purpose of Section 136 of the Corporation Act and for all the other purposes, the constitution of the company to be amended in the form of the document tablet at this meeting and signed by the Chair for the purposes of identification, effecting immediately. If you wish to discuss this resolution, please submit your questions via the Q&A. Any questions, Sally, from online?

There are no questions.

The proxy received in relation to this resolution are on the screen. Shareholder can vote through the online portal. However, please be remind to not clicking next. [Voting]

Good. That concludes the resolution to be voted on today via poll. I noted that the poll is still open and all the shareholders, please now ensure that they have submitted their votes. I will allow another minute before the poll is closed. If you have any questions in relation to the sale mission on online votes, please send them through now. [Voting]

Sally, do we have any questions from online?

No questions.

Good. The staff of BoardRoom PTY Limited, will now process the poll. The result of the poll will be announced to the ASX company website once they are available. I declare the poll closed. Is there any other business that can hopefully be brought forward today? Sally, any comments from online?

Nothing has been raised.

There being no future questions, I would like to thank you all the shareholders for their attendance today, and we'll now end the formal part of the meeting. I declare the meeting closed. As advised earlier, the results of the poll will be announced on the ASX and the company's website once they are available. Thank you very much for your attendance today and looking forward for a very big 2026.