Central Petroleum Limited (CTP) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2023 annual general meeting of Central Petroleum Limited. I'm Mick McCormack, and I'll be chairing the meeting today. I'll be chairing the meeting today in accordance with the company's constitution. In accordance with the Corporations Act, today's AGM is being held in-person here at the Hilton Hotel in Brisbane, and it's a virtual online meeting via the Computershare meeting platform. First off, we'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. Before we start our official proceedings, for those in attendance here at the Hilton Hotel, I ask you to please note the emergency exits for this room, which is via the entrance door to my right. Please note the basic fire and evacuation procedures, which we put up on the screen. And in the event of an emergency, please follow the directions of the Hilton Hotel's staff. I also wish to advise all attendees that these proceedings are being audio recorded. As it is now past 10:00 a.m. and I have been informed by the company secretary that a quorum is present, I declare the Annual General Meeting properly constituted and open. As this meeting has been held both in-person and virtually, there are a number of process matters which I'd like to bring to your attention. Firstly, for those shareholders and proxy holders who are online, your questions can be submitted at any time. [Operator Instructions] Please note that while you can submit questions from now on, I will not address them until the relevant time at the meeting. At the relevant time, Central's Chief Financial Officer, Damian Galvin, will be reading out the questions submitted online. Please note that your questions may be moderated, or if we receive multiple questions on one topic amalgamated together. Those shareholders online who wish to ask a verbal question, please follow the instructions written below the broadcast. For those in attendance here at the Hilton Hotel, you will be afforded the opportunity to ask questions and I ask that at the appropriate time you direct your questions to me. Accordingly after each item is read out, I will invite comments from the floor. However, please note, I'll be limiting question to the item of business being considered. I would ask you that to state your name for the record when you address the meeting. On conclusion of the meeting formalities, shareholders will also be given the opportunity to ask additional questions of the Board and the company's senior executives. Finally, due to time constraints, we may run out of time to answer all of your questions. If this happens, we will answer them in due course via e-mail and posting responses on our website. Voting today will be conducted by way of a poll on all items of business. In order to provide online attendees with enough time to vote, I will shortly open voting for all resolutions. At that time if you're eligible to vote at this meeting, press the vote icon and all resolutions will be activated with voting options. To cast your vote, simply select one of the options. There is no need to hit a submit or enter button as the vote is automatically recorded. You will receive a vote confirmation notification on your screen. You do however have the ability to change your vote online up until the time I declare voting closed. For shareholders and proxy holders in attendance here at the Hilton Hotel, when you registered at the attendance desk this morning, you should have received a card from Computershare which is for shareholders and proxy holders holding a blue card, can vote and speak at the meeting. Shareholders holding a green card are not eligible to vote, but can speak at the meeting and visitors holding a yellow card are not eligible to vote or speak at the meeting. If there is anyone present who was eligible to vote, but has not received a blue card, please see a representative of Computershare now. On the reverse of your blue admission card is your voting paper and instructions. I will now go through the procedures for filling in the voting papers for those shareholders here at the Hilton Hotel. Proxy holders have attached to their admission card a summary of proxy votes, which details the voting instructions for business items on the appointment of documents in your favor. By completing the voting paper, when instructing to vote in a particular manner, you are [ deemed ] provided in accordance with those instructions. In respect of any open votes the proxy holder may be entitled to cast, you need to mark a box beside the motion to indicate how you wish to cast your open votes. Proxy holder shouldn't refer to the summary of proxy votes, form attached to your voting paper for further information. Shareholders also need to mark a box beside the motion to indicate how you wish to cast your votes. Please ensure that you print your name where indicated and sign the voting paper. When you're finished filling in your voting paper, please lodge it in a ballot box to ensure your votes are counted. In respect to voting at today's meeting on a poll, each member, online or present in-person, or their proxy attorney or corporate representative, has one vote for each share held. Only one vote is allowed per joint holding. If more than one joint holder tenders a vote, the vote of the member first named in the register must be accepted to the exclusion of the others. If a proxy has been directed to vote in a particular manner, if the proxy is entitled to vote, he or she must vote in accordance with the direction. And for some items of business, certain votes will be disregarded, as explained in the voting exclusion statements in the notice of meeting. The persons entitled to vote on the poll are all shareholders, representatives and attorneys of shareholders and proxy holders who hold blue admission cards or who duly attend online. Your business will be that I will read out each item of business in turn, take questions on that item of business. And for those here in-person, I will then defer voting until the end of the meeting, at which time I will explain the voting procedure for the poll to be conducted for the resolutions in items 2 through to 5 using a blue voting card. Importantly, should you require assistance with the technology, please call Computershare Investor Services on the number on the screen. If you require [ any ] assistance here at the Hilton Hotel, please raise your hand. I now declare voting open on all items of business. For those online, please submit your votes at any time. I will give reminders to vote after every resolution and I'll give you a warning before I move to close voting. Firstly, let me introduce our Board Members: Leon Devaney, Managing Director; Stephen Gardiner, non-Executive Director; Troy Harry, non-Executive Director; Kathy Hirschfeld, non-Executive Director; Agu Kantsler, non-Executive Director. In addition to our Board, I'd like to introduce you to a member of our Risk and Sustainability Committee, Mr. Bob Liddle. Bob was first engaged by Central Petroleum as a Consultant over 17 years ago. Born in [ Patches ] Creek and a Member of the Rwanda tribe of Alice Springs. He has played a key role as an advisor in the negotiation for our oil and gas fields in the Northern Territory and maintaining local relationships for Central. Bob is an aboriginal elder who is respected by the traditional owners in the areas where we operate in the [ NT ]. Also present is Company Secretary, Daniel White, in addition to the Board also an attendance from Central's executive team, Chief Financial Officer, Damian Galvin; and Chief Operating Officer, Ross Evans. I'd also like to introduce you to Mr. Marcus Goddard, our auditor from PricewaterhouseCoopers; and Mr. Lewis Brimelow, Relationship Manager of Computershare, the company's share registry. Now we are finished with all the introductions, I'll present my Chair's address. When I stood in front of you around this time last year, the energy sector was emerging from a turbulent [ weather ], which had focused attention on energy, security and affordability. The gas industry was singled out for special treatment. And over the New Year, we saw several months of uncertainty, as the federal government sought to introduce mechanisms to solve a temporary demand and supply imbalance, which by then had already [ solved ] itself. As a result, we now have a gas price cap and other restrictions, which on a macro [ level ], while we serve to further restrict investment, the new gas supply that Australian businesses need for reliable and affordable energy. However, it's not all doom and gloom, particularly for Central. Central as a small domestic producer is exempt from the new price cap from December, so our gas marketing and commercial prospects are unlikely to be directly affected. I've also started to notice a slight change in energy market dialogue and commentary, both locally and abroad. Voice [ of ] the [ reason ] are now being respected, confirming the critical role that natural gas will play in the transition to a cleaner energy future. Central Petroleum has an important role to play in this transition. Whereas some have historically viewed their remote location as a disadvantage, is becoming increasingly clear that it is not only the southern states that will face significant gas supply challenges in coming years. Northern Australia, the [ hub of ] remote mining operations providing rare minerals critical for the transition to cleaner energy is facing reducing gas supplies as traditional or pure sources decline. The supply-demand dynamic has provided a strong gas market in proximity to Central's producing fields with robust demand and strong term gas prices indicating our prior investments in additional production from our established fields. Investment to increase production at Mereenie and Palm Valley this year has added over 11 terajoules a day of gas into the market at a time when offshore production in the NT experienced significant production decline and alternate suppliers are struggling to meet demand. Realized gas prices were significantly higher than the previous year. And although spot prices have been soft in recent months, forward gas contracts reflect continued gas supply constraints in the NT and the Amadeus regions. Combined with our recent reserve upgrades, our strong term gas markets should continue to support operational cash flows and financial strength going forward. In addition to the proven natural gas resources of the Amadeus Basin, there are strong indications that the basin could provide Australia with supplies of other gases, most notably helium which already exists in low concentrations in our existing gas streams, and has previously been detected in commercial concentrations in previous exploration wells. We are currently advancing plans for a helium recovery unit at Mereenie to produce helium for the Australian market. The project proposed at Mereenie could be the sole source of domestically produced helium, helping to satisfy Australia's strategic need for helium, which is used in many critical health and technology applications. Production of helium at Mereenie would create a new income stream for Central, and given the world wide scarcity of helium sources, elevate the Amadeus Basin as a premier opportunity for sub-salt helium exploration. The recent failure of our farmout partner has delayed a highly anticipated 3 wells sub-salt exploration program targeting helium, naturally occurring hydrogen and natural gas. We are now working to restructure our joint venture so that these exciting prospects can be tested. On the ground we continue to work with the people and businesses in our local communities and the traditional owners of the land on which we operate. We appreciate the contributions to our success and hope that the opportunities and support we provide in these regions have long lasting impact. I thank my Board colleagues, Leon, our CEO, and all our staff at Central who have worked throughout the year to safely and responsibly provide our customers with reliable and affordable energy. Regarding the future, the first outcome of our strategic review underway was announced yesterday with our exit from the Range [ Calsing ] gas project in Queensland, providing a cash injection which will provide greater flexibility across our traditional business in Central Australia and free up capital for future targeted investment in the region. Our strategic review continues to explore various opportunities to realize value for shareholders. I'm sure you're aware of the issues which have confronted the industry since we started the review by late last year. The gas price cap, the proposed mandatory code of conduct, which is now all in the safeguard mechanism have all been matters, which of course, material uncertainty in the sector and impacted the strategic decisions and plans at both the international and national levels. These matters are now behind us, but nonetheless it has slowed our progress. We hope to be able to conclude this process in the near future and appreciate the patience of our shareholders and staff. Finally, we remain confident in the future of our asset portfolio notwithstanding the current weakness of our share price. The enduring value of our producing assets has been demonstrated with drilling success and reserve upgrades. Helium is emerging as an additional income stream and our portfolio of exploration prospects continues to attract attention from potential investors. We look forward to the year ahead and to sharing our progress with you as shareholders. With that, thank you, and ladies and gentlemen, now let me introduce you to Leon Devaney who will present his Managing Director's presentation. If at any time you have a question for Leon about his presentation, please submit it online and Leon will provide his answers after he has concluded his presentation. Thank you.

Great. Thanks, Mick. Appreciate that. Good morning. As Mick said, I'm Leon Devaney, CEO and Managing Director of Central Petroleum. I've got a presentation today. We're going to look at the past year, our current activities and our priorities for 2024. In doing so, I hope to provide some context for why we can be optimistic about our financial strength and our opportunities for growth, despite the challenges facing Central and the oil and gas sector more generally in Australia. Let's start by looking at last year's highlights. Our operating results continued to be very solid. Field performance was in line with expectations with our Palm Valley 12 lateral well exceeding pre-drill expectations over its first 12 months. Sales revenue also benefited from stronger gas prices that continue to reflect concerns from customers about gas supply shortages in the future. But it was also a year with some setbacks and challenges. We began the year having abandoned our Palm Valley deep exploration well, which encountered significant mud losses and shallow fractures and very hard drilling beneath the Pacoota Sandstone. More recently, we had the financial failure of a farminee which has led to a pause in our sub-salt exploration program. It was also a difficult year for the oil and gas sector here in Australia. Climate change narratives calling for the end of hydrocarbons combined with ill-conceived and politically driven regulations at both state and federal levels have weighed on the overall investment sentiment in the sector. As we know from past cycles, however, the sector can and does recover. With a strong balance sheet and the recently announced sale of Range, Central has never been better prepared for both difficult challenges that lie ahead, and also at the same time pursue the growth opportunities in front of us. I'll talk more on that shortly. But let's take a look at operating results to start with. Looking at our fiscal year 2023 annual results, they were solid. We had revenue at about $39 million with EBITDAX of almost $16 million. Both of those were broadly in line with fiscal year '22. But that was before adjusting for a change in ownership percentage which occurred in the fiscal '22 year. After adjusting for ownership percentages, sales volume was only slightly lower, largely due to intermittent outages on the Northern Gas Pipeline. However, this was far more than offset by 17% increase in realized gas prices and a similar increase in our operating margins. [ At ] on site, we supported the people and communities in which we operate. We supply to our various customers in a reliable and environmentally responsible manner, and we maintain the focus on safety. Thanks to a dedicated team out in the field, our total recordable injury frequency rate, or TRIFR, is currently 0. This means we had no recordable injuries for more than 12 months, which is obviously the outcome we are always striving to achieve. And turning to our balance sheet. Our balance sheet has never looked stronger. At the end of last quarter we had a cash balance of $12.5 million and net debt of $14.5 million. As we recently announced, we sold the Range permit for $12.5 million, which is due on completion at the end of this month, further increasing our cash balance and reducing net debt to its lowest level ever. We also have undrawn debt which is available for projects and increase our sales into a strong term gas market, and I want to highlight that we only apply debt to those lower risk investments that will result in high value revenue streams going forward. In short, Central is very strong positioned to weather the challenges we face today and still pursue growth opportunities largely because of the repair work we've done on the balance sheet over the past 5 years. This next slide is called turning the corner on debt and gas [ in kind ] liabilities. It's one of the quiet achievements over the past 5 years that I really want to highlight today. There's been a steep reduction in debt and gas [ in kind ] liabilities that were incurred to purchase the producing fields. So you'll recall we incurred these back in 2014, '15. They ran and had a peak in 2019. First, our debt. The total debt balance outstanding currently is $27 million, with the lowest it has ever been. We currently pay about $7.3 million in principal and interest annually. At a current repayment rate, we will pay off this debt in under 6 years, which is conservative considering our fields have economic lives of over 20 years. Importantly, as we pay down this debt, interest costs will reduce, and once the debt is fully repaid, the $7.3 million we currently pay in debt service each year will be gone, which in turn frees up cash flow going forward. Second, we've been paying down our GBA, which is our gas balancing agreement over lift at a rate of 2 TJs per day. [ You'll recall ] we incurred this when the NGP started to open, and we had a few years where we were over lifting, creating that balance. To-date we have paid off over 62% of the GBA and we are on track to have it fully repaid in 2026. From that time, we will have an extra 2 TJs a day of gas, which we expect will free up about $5 million per year in free cash flow. And finally, we've also been paying off very aggressively a $10 million pre-sale arrangement, which we've been paying back at a rate of 2.4 TJs a day. This liability will be fully repaid next month. This means that from this January we will have an extra 2.4 TJs a day of gas, which again we expect will free up about $6 million per year in free cash flow. As this slide illustrates, we have done some heavy lifting paying these liabilities down over the past 5 years. Since 2019, the costs associated with these liabilities will be down 60% in the upcoming 2024 year. This includes a 36% reduction from this last -- current year in 2023. So quite a substantial, aggressive repayment profile we have been on. What does this mean? Ultimately, we will be freeing up nearly $20 million per year relative to 2023 with a significant remaining economic life of the fields once both the debt, the GBA and the pre-sales are extinguished. This is a significant sum for a company of our size. Importantly, as we turn this corner and begin to free up our operating cash flow, the value of our producing assets will become increasingly visible to shareholders from as early as this upcoming year. Moving to gas markets, as shown in the chart on the left. We saw significant volatility in the spot market over the past year. We also saw federal intervention in gas markets through mandatory codes of conduct and a price gap. These regulations might make for good short-term politics, but they ultimately aggravate supply shortages and increase market volatility. The strong term gas market we currently see, reflects customer concerns that future gas supplies will not be sufficient to meet demand as new investment to bring gas to market declines. And the use of natural gas as a transition fuel becomes more and more an obvious necessity. In response to these market dynamics, we are focused on securing new term gas contracts to replace older contracts that are rolling off, which you can see in the chart on the right. These will be expiring over the next 3 years and provide a great opportunity for us to take advantage of the stronger markets through new contracting. The strong term gas prices also support investment in near term production increases, including drilling further development wells at Mereenie and follow-up wells at Palm Valley. Taking a look at Palm Valley, we started 2023 having pivoted away from the Palm Valley deep exploration well toward a fallback for shallower PV12 lateral. The PV12 lateral has been a success and it was a great decision to have that option as a fallback, and proved to be very successful for the company. PV12 had an initial production rate of over 10 TJs a day exceeding pre-drilled targets. During the first year of production, PV12 produced about 2.7 petajoules of gas, generating over $17 million in sales revenue, leading to a 12 month lateral well payback period, which is obviously pretty impressive. Success from both PV13 and PV12, along with a strong term gas market supports follow up drilling in Palm Valley. Based on PV12's result, 2 follow-up wells could add a total of 10 petajoules to Palm Valley's 2P reserves on a 100% JV basis. Although these wells remain subject to joint venture approval, this map shows a couple of indicative locations for those follow-up wells at PV14 and PV15. We'll go to slide ahead and we might backup a slide. There you go. Sorry, that was inclusion of that, but that was a slide we're referring to, and move on to the Southern Amadeus sub-salt exploration, Slide 8. One of the setbacks we faced this year was the default of a joint venture partner and the subsequent termination of farmout that was funding a sub-salt exploration program targeting gas helium and hydrogen. We are now in the process of returning the equity interest back to Central with the exploration in those permits currently on hold. We are actively seeking new format partners to restart this exploration activity as an existing discovery with world-class levels of helium. Mount Kitty is a very good farmout candidate along with Dukas given its sheer size and potential. Moving to Zevon. We've just recently received a 12-month extension for the Zevon permit. And we are currently undertaking a seismic program that could be a catalyst for a new format of transaction there. Zevon along with Mount Kitty and Dukas are all large prospects targeting high value gases, which could be company changing. So our farmout process to restart exploration drilling in the sub-salt prospect tenements is a key objective for us in 2024. Moving into Range. As we just announced the sale of our 50% interest in Range for $12.5 million, you might recall our entry strategy with Range was to proceed with drilling and testing and speed in order to accelerate timing for a final investment decision. Unfortunately, our initial pilot results did not support that accelerated strategy. However, a steady ramp up of gas provided us with an opportunity to crystallize value from Range through this sale. You might recall that we acquired the permit for free, along with a $10 million free carry, which is now fully spent. If we had retained this asset, we would need significant capital and additional time to undertake further appraisal in advance of a final investment decision. Instead, we'll be booking a solid profit with the sale, giving Central financial flexibility to pursue other strategic opportunities. Moving to key challenges, and some of these might not be surprising to many of you. Cost pressures have been a persistent issue across the country. Although stronger energy prices help offset operating cost increases, the impact is far more acute in exploration, where capital is required upfront and potential revenues are received down the road. In addition to climate change narrative with a path to a cleaner energy future, requires the immediate demise of the oil and gas industry has continued to weigh on investor sentiment across the sector here in Australia. Increasing regulation, increasing compliance costs, market intervention and investor uncertainty are all further challenges that have been exacerbated by this militant approach. More recent challenge for Central has been the intervention outages on the Northern Gas Pipeline, which is the pipeline that connects our fields to Queensland and the rest of the East Coast market. The combination of production issues from an offshore gas field serving the Northern Territory, combined with customer outages in Mount Isa have resulted at times in gas flows falling below the minimum required safe pipeline operations. Well, most of our term gas sales are to Northern Territory customers. These outages can impact our sales to customers further afield. We have options to mitigate this risk. However, we expect NGP reliability to improve as the offshore production issues are addressed and customers return to normal operations. Moving on to our pipeline of growth. And as we look forward to these growth opportunities, strong term gas market continues to encourage us and investment in near term production, specifically opportunities for development wells at Mereenie, new follow-up wells at Palm Valley and potentially appraisal drilling in the Stairway. Capital is always a key consideration as we consider this growth. This is particularly the case with the cost escalation we have seen since COVID. We are also dealing with a weak share price and [ depressed ] capital markets across the oil and gas sector. Fortunately, as I mentioned earlier, we're in a very strong financial position with respect to cash balances and our operating cash flow going forward. We also have an undrawn debt facility that is available in the amount of $5 million that we can use, if needed, to fund investments in near term production, such as new development wells. Finally, strong gas and helium markets provide a very good basis of support for our efforts to attract new investors for sub-salt exploration drilling throughout the Amadeus basin. As the previous slide highlighted, there are a number of challenges facing our industry and Central. But we have a very strong pipeline of growth opportunities ranging from new production wells through company changing sub-salt exploration, and an enhanced and improved balance sheet and cash flow balance to be able to consider and net flexibility in terms of how we approach these growth opportunities. Moving on to the year ahead, and some of the keys to success. Finally, let's take a look at what these [ keys ] are for the year ahead. Obviously, our operating performance is a critical core outcome as it provides the foundation for our financial strength and drives the inherent value of our producing fields. As I mentioned earlier, free cash flow from operations will get a big boost going forward as liabilities are retired with the value of our producing assets becoming increasingly visible to our shareholders. We also have a great opportunity to create value by increasing near term production and securing new higher price term contracts. This window is open and we're looking to take full advantage of the opportunities that are in front of us. In terms of exploration, our focuses on attracting new investment to kick-start high impact sub-salt drilling, with the focus on Mount Kitty, Zevon and Dukas likely through farmout structures. We have other exploration opportunities like Mamlambo and Orange, where we also hope to attract new exploration investment as we go through the process this next year. And finally, we plan to deliver on the outcomes of the strategic review. Ultimately, all of these keys to success are aligned in preserving, creating and crystallizing value from the portfolio of assets Central has. In wrapping up, despite a very subdued market sentiment, Central is financially robust with growth opportunities ranging from near term production increases through to company changing sub-salt exploration. We have gas and helium markets that will reward success from these investments. And we have a talented and dedicated team that can maximize the value of our portfolio. I thank you, our shareholders, for your continued support and look forward to sharing our success in the year ahead. I'm happy to take any questions on this presentation. But at this time, I think I'll hand it over to Mick for that process.

Thank you very much, Leon. So in respect of the -- both our presentations, or rather Leon's presentation and my speech, happy to address and take any questions. So firstly from the floor here at the Hilton Hotel in Brisbane.

Just in relation to the joint venture that fell over -- I think I asked this question this time last year and early this year on [ Leon ] presentation. I specifically asked, was the partner financially secure? Are you sure you've done the due diligence finance? Both times it was yes, yes, yes. I guess the follow-up question now is, how confident is the Board that connects the [ Amadeus ] transaction? I mean, I know the standard clauses in joint venture agreements, but given the track record there, how confident are you can back this out next to return on your equity?

To the first -- although I take that as 2 questions, even though the first part might have been observation, and I don't think I was involved in responding to any -- that question in the presentation. So I'll give you my response in respect to dealing with joint ventures. The company undertook the due diligence that you would expect us to undertake. Not only Central, but the Northern Territory Government, they undertook major diligence to authorize the transfer of licenses, and also Santos. So we're not saying that we relied on those 2 parties, but for the sake of saying -- and all 3 of us got it wrong. And when I say got it wrong, it's just a commercial reality that you and I can do a deal today. But if you choose or I'd might say you -- if I choose not to honor my obligations, that's it. If it was Santos and BHP, you go to court, you'd get a resolution. So the [ sad ] -- yes, just the commercial reality is sad and disappointing as it sounds, you're dealing at the low end of the market. And it is what it is. So in that sense all 3 parties got, [ they'll ] say court. The second part of the question, and correct me if I'm wrong, Daniel, but it can be completely unwound. And that's going to the process as I speak. In addition, we are going through the process -- or Leon and his team are going through the negotiation process with Santos to restructure the joint venture with the view -- again, correct me if I'm wrong, Leon, with a view to looking at achieving additional farming partners to get the project happening. That's -- So I hope -- trust that answers your question. Give the microphone for Leon, please.

I can use it. One of the other things that I think contributed to the default by peak was when they entered the farmout agreement both with ourselves and Santos, who was a very aggressive one, it was 3 wells, substantial, large and sub-salt drilling activities. There's quite a period of time between those initial discussions, the financial commitment, due diligence we did, and then the ultimate completion of those formats. And in that period, the cost structure or the cost for those wells increased substantially. And I think the challenge was the equity markets probably tightened up. And when you're looking at the kind of cost increases we're looking at, for them to have to go back to the market and raise, I think that created a -- really an additional risk and additional hurdle that probably wasn't contemplated when we were looking at the budgets and the forecast when we initially did that review and that transaction with Peak.

It's good to hear that the company is in better shape than ever before. I think we can agree that shareholders are probably in worse shape than ever before. At what point will there be an alignment between the success or the improvement of the company and the benefits flowing to -- somewhat to the shareholders?

Yes. It's fair enough question, and I'll answer it in a couple of respects. Firstly, Leon's presentation, there wasn't much negative news in there. So the future looks bright in that sense. There is an apparent disconnect between the value that the board management see in the company versus what the market sees, and the activities that we're undertaking, particularly in respect to strategic review. Hopefully, we'll start to address those. Exiting the Range project [ is ] -- will bring in roughly $12.5 million. That takes the company back to more its core activities. We have -- over the last couple of years, and certainly in the couple of years that I've been Chairing the company, we have been pursuing what was considered a very robust and sound strategy involving 3 prongs. One was to advance the Range project, as Leon articulated in an expeditious sense; secondly was to undertake a drilling campaign around the Amadeus basin to enhance production capabilities desirably more gas; and thirdly was to issue the exploration assets, the likes of Dukas. Now the company spent a lot of money in cash and drawing down reserves to do that, which unfortunately, despite the best intentions, the hard work that the team put in -- when you're dealing with exploration activities, it's highly risky. We just did not enjoy the success that we wanted -- that we expected. So that's just a hard reality of dealing in upstream exploration. No excuses, but that is just the reality. And I want to pay credit to Leon team, they've executed that strategy to the best of their ability, a lot of hard work went into it. That got the Board to a point roughly this time last year where it was a case of [ pens ] down. We've [ pursued ] that we need -- now need to look at how -- what is the best way to realize value for the shareholders. And that's what the strategic review is about and we'll continue to do that. A final point I'll make, everyone here, the Board and management, have skin in the game. It's all relative, of course, but share price weakness or strength, we feel it. So that's okay with a bit of a ramble. But that's part of the history of where we got to, where we are focused on realizing value for shareholders. There is a range of activities in front of the company that you ought to see. I won't say the share price -- give no guarantee in the share price, but the fundamental robustness of this business you -- [ all ] until you will see improve, starting next month. Trust that's given you some -- I response might not be the most confident that you wanted to hear, but that's the reality, is as I see it. We've given it a one hell of a good go. But I won't say it's [ like ] -- but that's what happens in upstream activities.

Might just add on to that if I could.

Yes, [ Leon ].

As the slide that I presented in the presentation was showing that we have over the past 5 years really done the hard yards, heavy lifting in terms of paying down liabilities. The free cash flow available to the company has been impacted by that. We're turning the corner on it or expiring one of those liabilities in the next couple of months. 2026 will be the next one. And by 2029, 2030 we're on schedule to be out from under all 3 of those, freeing up a substantial amount of costs that we have been paying. It was about $18 million last year that took our revenues and reduced the free cash flow available with that company. That will no longer be there. And obviously that'll translate into more free cash flow, that we can potentially look at dividends, potentially reinvest in the company, or other applications of that capital. So going forward, I think we've got a very strong position to be able to demonstrate and provide visibility to shareholders about the value of these operating assets. Today, we have been disciplined in taking the cash flow that we get -- the revenue that we get and applying it to paying down those liabilities, which as you recall, were used to purchase those assets. So the value we get post those liability is really an equity value that's created from those transactions. That's starting to emerge from January of this year and it will continue to emerge as we pay off these liabilities over the next few years.

I don't think that gives a lot of comfort to, I think all shareholders who are currently under water. Well, I don't think there's any shareholders in the register at the moment who is currently in the black, I suspect. But I appreciate everyone's [ doing ] their best. I just look forward to a point where shareholders can at least reap some of the benefits of the improvements that have happened in the company. It's clear that they've happened, but it just doesn't seem to be flowing through. The next question I have is around, how much money are we forecasting to spend on the development and appraisal wells in the coming year that we've got for any Palm Valley and the Stairway? And second part of that question is, will we ever get back to Dukas and do we have any timeline that we can look forward to? Because most of the shareholders, I think, have been in this company on the potentials for something big --potential for something to happen. We've kept on crossing our fingers for 5 or 10 years now. The appraisal and development wells are nice. They don't feel like they're going to change anything in the world. What are we going to look forward to [ those ]?

I'll pass to Leon, but I'll just make a comment about Dukas, since a couple years I've been around. So I've heard about Dukas and it's -- hasn't been going anywhere. And it's -- unfortunately, with the joint venture issues, it's going be delayed a bit further. But Leon, I'll pass to you to elaborate on both of those questions [ raised ].

Sure. So certainly, with respect to the more near term opportunities to increase production and sell that into the stronger term market development wells, as you say, further drilling and production from Palm Valley, or are probably the most obvious and compelling places to do that. Those are subject to joint venture approval. We're in the process of working with the joint ventures to plan those and get that approval to move forward because we think they make commercial sense. Obviously, prior to the Range transaction, our capital and our balance sheet was in a different position, I think we need to reassess that, and that will give us some information and some instruction on how we want to move forward. But I think those are near term opportunities that are compelling from a return perspective, just given how close they are in terms of bringing production back up and selling it into the market. Things like Stairway, I think are -- again, given us -- given the strong market, or very interesting. It's something that we're very interested in pursuing. But we've got to communicate that and present that and explain that to the likes of Macquarie and our other joint venture partners to bring them along. But I think there's a very good case for it and certainly the strong markets we're seeing would support that. So that's something we'll be doing for this year, and hopefully that translates into some activity in the near term as well. Your question about the sub-salt, and whether it's Mount Kitty or Dukas or Zevon is a difficult one to answer. I think the priorities from the parties both in the joint venture and parties we've talked to with an interest to come into the sub-salt assets have been primarily on Mount Kitty given it's an appraisal with a world-class level of helium. Dukas given its size, and also Zevon given the structure and the size of that has as well. Those are the -- going to be the focus for us this year. In terms of timing, we need to work with Santos for Mount Kitty and Dukas to bring in a farm-in partner to fund that. That activity is already happening. We're actively engaged, trying to find those partners, as is Santos. It's a priority for us. We want to get that locked in and get drilling as soon as possible. Those are drill ready prospects, so we can get drilling as soon as we get a partner in to fund that. Zevon again, we are doing a seismic program now. We'll be completing that up over the next few months. We think that would be a very good catalyst for identifying a drilling location, and a very good catalyst for securing a farmout partner to come in and help funding for that. So I guess the answer to your question is, we want to drill those as quickly as possible, and the key to making that happen is now finding out -- finding a line partners that will assist us in coming in and funding that drilling activity. So, it's hard to give you a specific date. There needs to be a period of work where we get a farm-in partner across the line and in the JV. But that is an activity that is a priority for ourselves and Santos, because we do want -- we want to test these sub-salts, get a result, and see if there's something there does no one any good to have these drifting along. Obviously, when we drill Dukas or Santos, this operator drill Dukas, that was a real kick in the guts. We were hundreds of meters away from our target formation, and the pressures were just too high to continue safely. So we had to abandon it. That was a free carry well for us and incredibly disappointing. Where that puts us is back to focusing on farmout partners, and we are canvassing that, not just in Australia, but obviously globally for an alliance partner. So I'm -- my objective is to have those farmouts in places here and have a drilling program off the back of that as quick as possible. And we've done a lot of work to prepare for drilling, given what we had with Peak. So it's not like we're starting from scratch.

Do you mean [ this ] last year or this calendar year?

Calendar year. Yes.

Yes, the questions.

Philip Gastein. Leon, [indiscernible] you can [ address ] as you see it. I think in the last quarterly presentation was it, there was a suggestion that through the strategic review there possibly -- there was a hope that there'll be some good news before the end of this year. Have we just had that good news?

Well, you've had the first piece of good news. So I won't go any further than that, apart from to say that the strategic review continues to be underway. And I think I said in my speech that we're hoping to conclude things one way or another in the next couple of months, whether that's the start of the -- 1st of January or not. I'll just let fate work that out. But I will just reiterate or repeat for the sake of doing so. It's just a tough time in the industry right now, and evidenced by Armour Energy going into administration, one of our peers, on Friday. So regulatory over reach, et cetera, et cetera. [indiscernible] I went to the market. 3 or 4 years ago would have been a much simpler proposition. But nevertheless, we've pursued a number of lines of inquiry. Some have been [ that looked ] fairly prospective, that hit the brick wall. But we -- there are some discussions underway as we speak. So there was 3 areas we were focusing on: Range; value for [ the other ] Palm Valley; and the exploration assets. So, we've dealt with Range, and how we deal with the other 2, or in fact, if there's any deal to be made, time will tell. And that [ addressing ] to a question I'm sure I'm going to get some way -- and is been asked implicitly around dividends. Obviously, our intention is, at any time the company gets in a financial position where we can in a sense sustainably pass a dividend back to shareholders, of course, it'll do that. And that is indeed a goal. Right now given -- and there's no easy -- there's no short -- There's no straight up, given the lack of success. Given all the money that's been spent in the last few years, the company is just not in a position to entertain that in a responsible sense. But as you've heard from Leon and myself, with the Range sale, reducing our liabilities all of a sudden, hopefully the next -- from next calendar year we should see those -- if nothing else happens, see those cash balances go up, which hopefully will put the company in a position to go -- let's just say giving some dividend cut or whatever, back to shareholders in due course. And that's really the aim of the strategic review. As I said earlier, not [ lost ] on the Board, there's just a disconnect between the value we see and the assets and what the market is seeing. Yes, so that's a bit of a waffle there, Philip, but like -- I hope you take the coin. Any other questions?

Just a quick question on your -- the new GSAs you're signing. Can you give us a bit of flavor for [ cap ] and color, or have another confidential, but we're going to see upside and realize [indiscernible]?

Our preferred structure, given the financing that we do have is fixed price CPI, escalating term contracts. Typically, that's about 3 years in this market. We don't see a lot of interest going beyond that just because of the uncertainty and regulation in markets generally. So, it's fairly vanilla. Obviously, there's a million other structures out there that are more exotic. But for us a fixed price CPI, escalated gas price, firm supply arrangement works well for us and our capital structure. So that's typically what we see. And that's typically what customers want, because customers just want to understand what their exposure is to gas over that period. And they make a call on how that fits into their portfolio. So, I'd expect that, that's pretty consistent with what we've recently done. It's consistent with the portfolio we've had in the past. And as you see from those contracts, they tend to roll-off over a period of 3 years. And we backfill those and we do have a contract that is 10 to 20 years. But that's unusual, and that was sort of a more bespoke type of arrangement for gas sales. So that's kind of where we're at this point. Go ahead.

[indiscernible] Just a quick question in regards to the strategic review you keep referring to. I think it's about 18 months since it was first mentioned. And we've drifted for 18 months for the share price [indiscernible] about 10% every year over the last 10 years. Shareholders are starting to guess that -- I think we're getting fed up with it, I can't afford to get out. I've been in for 10 years. I did have such faith in this company. We had such varied assets and still have, but they keep being either farmed out because of an inability to get funds for that, and I understand what that is. But that's our cherry sitting up there on top of the cake, we're giving it to someone else. There must be other ways that we can fund this -- these operations that we prepare for our planning to bring up, but nobody seems to know about. And certainly the industry doesn't know about it because we have not got a strategic review in place giving us strategic direction for the company to run with. Therefore, all of the Board up there are flying blind. So to our shareholders, please come up with a good, obvious strategic review. Publish what you can. I don't want to know the ins and outs of it, I don't want to give away all of the strategic information, just the overview so people know whether it's worthwhile, A, hanging in here, or B, getting other people to want to buy and put the price up a little bit so that everybody gets a little bit happier than they are and not cranky like I am at the moment.

If their roles are reversed, I'll be asking [ exactly ] the same question. No one is more frustrated than the Board and management as to the progress here. It is what it is, I'm afraid. So it's dragged on. But as I said earlier, with the sale of Range, that's one chunk of it now out of the way. We can then focus on -- and look, the challenge for the business, in my view, is that -- Range is gone. So you've got producing assets, which -- producing cash and we've got some very highly prospective exploration, acreage and assets which -- they need to be explored. And there's a dichotomy there and that -- investors who like looking at cash flow, they see the producing assets which is solid, but there's a potential drain to fund the exploration assets, and others, [ they ] want to see just the blue sky in exploration, see the production assets detrimental to value. So that's where our focus is on, in a strategic review. I said earlier -- I mentioned a couple of months, we are down to probably say now most attractive line of inquiry and then we'll just see how that plays out. But again, I don't want to sound like I'm just dishing out [indiscernible]. We're frustrated as well. There's nothing worse as a Board and management occupying a lot of Leon's time, talking to parties providing information and whatnot for just very little progress, but I can assure you, we are absolutely on the case. And share price weakness is not lost on us. We've all got skin in the game here. And I think for the Directors, I think we could speak to [ all ] -- We're all seriously underwater. So, no one wants to see anyone taking a loss in the company. So we'll continue to peddle. Any other questions? [ Bob ], okay.

Sorry, Mick. Just one more, [ might ]. We're pretty unhappy bunch of shareholders, I guess, but we're probably an optimistic bunch as well. Is it possible to hear from Dr. Agu and get his take on what we should be optimistic about in the portfolio, and then maybe Leon can share some thoughts on, after Dr. Agu, as to what we can do to encourage the market to understand any optimism that Dr. Agu might have?

Agu, that's on [ notice ] [ for ] you. Go for it.

Yes. Look, in the simplest terms, I think that Mount Kitty having been a discovery drilled and tested to-date, maybe not tested as effectively as it could have been back in the day, is probably one of the lowest risk, and I'm thinking lowest cost options we've got. The problem we've got with exploration wells these days is they're getting very, very expensive, and that we can't do what we used to do in the past. The issue for shareholders with that one is that we only have 30% equity. So, we don't have a lot of room to play with in terms of a farmout to get someone else to share the risk with us. But nonetheless, with hydrogen and helium being quite widely sought after commodities these days, and mercury, as you all know, has about 9% helium in the gas stream, 11% hydrogen in the gas stream, it could be quite a valuable discovery if we can get it to flow at a commercial rate. So, I think that -- for me personally, that's the first [ cab ] off the rank. It may not be the way circumstance works out. Zevon and Dukas are both very, very large structures, potentially. Dukas, I know a lot of shareholder interest has written on that over a very long period of time because it's potentially quite large. The issue we have there is that we have 45% equity, and these -- that's a very, very expensive well to drill. I mean, I'm just talking off the top my head now, but no change out of $25 million to $30 million and a 45% equity, that's a huge cost burden for the company, risk money as well. So, we need to think about bringing in a partner to help us with that one, for sure. I mean, it's not something that we would tackle with our own money, not because we don't believe in it, it's just that we're not financially capable of doing that. And Santos is in very much the same situation. They would prefer someone else to come in and share the cost burden with them. There are other smaller prospects like Mamlambo, reasonably well defined, but relatively small by oil standards and a bit distant. But nonetheless, people remain interested in that. Zevon needs seismic before it can be drilled. And it's a question of timing, and I'm very much in the same camp as shareholders, and Leon understands. We need to move to drilling as quickly as possible, spending as little money as we can on the way. Look, I'm hopeful, but the cost of drilling is now a burden. And then as I said, some of the other prospects still need a bit of seismic. We tried to drill deep in Palm Valley, but we got below the Pacoota Sandstone where no one had drilled before in that part of the world. And we were down to 1 meter an hour. And when you've got to go 2,700 meters with 1 meter an hour, it gets very, very expensive very, very quickly. So we kind of called it a day after we had a go for 1 week or 2 on that. So that's the nature of the game. But there are things out there that we can do, and Leon and his team are pursuing that very aggressively. Just need to find a couple of partners who have the readiness to help us with that. But the good news -- I think, the comforting thing for shareholders at this stage is that hydrogen and helium, as I said, are becoming very, very sought after commodities. And helium, I think is selling for, how much these days, Leon?

North of $500.

$500?

North.

For a [ 1,000 ] standard cubic feet. So it's a huge premium to natural gas. And I think that's reflected in the fact that we have a partner who's willing to chase 0.02% helium in the gas stream at Mereenie. And we're talking about 9% helium in the gas stream at something like Mount Kitty. And it's only going to take one goodwill for industry sentiment to change quite quickly. So I think the trick is to get one goodwill in there as soon as we can. That's about as much as I can say at this stage.

I just -- might just add to that very quickly, sorry. The -- I think there's 2 buckets. And I think the opportunities to increase production from our existing producing fields is an area of investment that looks very compelling. If the term gas market really supports new development wells, additional wells upon Valley, and even appraisal wells and Stairway and unlocking that to see resource. There's a lot of interest from the joint venture on squeezing the value out of these producing assets. That's an obvious way to do, is just maximize the gas you're capturing from the field, but then also an older field approach to how do you get more from it. That's something we're working with a joint venture on, and I think that's a really good area that's quite compelling. So I'm very positive about that, and moving that forward and squeezing more out of what we have. On the sub-salt, I'm optimistic on it, and I'm optimistic for a couple of reasons. The -- Obviously this -- the stronger gas market will support the economics of any development that we find in the sub-salt we think, because there is natural gas associated with it. So it's not a pure sort of helium with nitrogen and all your money is going to processing the helium out. The hydrocarbons are an important part of the business case for what we think we'll find in a sub-salt prospect. That's very strong. But also as Agu was mentioning, the helium price and the helium market in the domestic Australian market in particular, is red hot. It is some of the strongest that participants have seen, largely because of the evaporation of domestic supply. So you've got big aggregators that have invested a lot of money in distribution and customers. It is an oligarchy, it is very opaque. But they are incredibly keen to find a backfill for that domestic production to keep that infrastructure rolling. So, we've been working with them closely, and that gives us a lot of confidence. And we have seen investors interested in sub-salt, primarily for the helium component of it. It's a pathway to get more capital. It's got that sort of sign off from more of a green investment as opposed to hydrocarbons. So we're going to be running that angle in this next year, and we think we can get some success from it. The HRU part of the strategy for driving that from Central is -- obviously its economic. We think it makes sense for everybody in the JV, but what it will do is put the Amadeus basin on the map in terms of a helium province. There are not many places in this world where you actually have helium production and world-class sub-salt discoveries of helium and a portfolio of under explored sub-salt opportunities that we believe exists within a very widespread sort of kitchen for helium generation. So I think the combination of the helium angle to approaching investors combined with what we're doing on the HRU, I think will give us some advantages in getting new capital and to get this sub-salt exploration drilling going quickly.

I want to turn back to the future prospects for higher gas -- petrol gas prices in Australia, and how [ do ] the [indiscernible] [ prices ] of this government intervention [indiscernible]?

We are not -- and correct me if I'm wrong, Okay? But we're not kept by that gas price mechanism at this point in time.

[indiscernible].

Sorry? After December, [ not ] more, has to do with just Central Petroleum's size. I think there's some certain thresholds [ after me ] before you get caught up in that.

Because of [indiscernible]?

Yes. So, we ensure it doesn't affect us -- ensured it doesn't affect us, we're exempt from the gas price cap.

How was the [indiscernible] the government intervention of energy [indiscernible]gas or [indiscernible]?

Well, certainly, that's -- a lot of the concerns to customers that we deal with on term gas are very concerned with the fact that the policies and regulations government are putting in both state and federal are dampening investment in appraisal and exploration, which means supply is not going to come to the market as it normally would. And therefore you're going to have a structural shortfall, particularly when -- the position that demand will fall very quickly as renewables uptake increases. I think people are starting to understand that gas as a transition fuel is a necessity, and it's going to be here and customers are going to require it. And during that period if you have a decline in investment, in supply, and your demand stays strong, you're going to have structural shortage, which drives that volatility, but also drives higher gas price. I think -- and the other thing I'd say its price cap, our portfolio price. We've got a lot of headroom before we hit that. Obviously, we're trying to get to that point where that would become a theoretical cap for us. And -- but we do have some headroom. I balance all of that with an understanding that it appears that when gas prices get into the double-digits in maybe north of [ $12 ], you tend to see action from the government. And so, there could be sort of a natural cap on where things go and how much they escalate out. But it's an uncertain market. I mean, when -- as soon as you see a government involved, poking around doing things, pulling the levers, if they don't know what they're connected to, you're going to get some strange outcomes, and it's going to be volatile. Our view is that in the medium and longer term, gas prices are going to be very strong. And if you can find gas and you can bring those to market efficiently, you'll be rewarded for it. But it's not without risk. It is oil and gas, and it is a [ secular ] market, as we know, so. Any other questions from the floor? There is no. Damian, any questions from my online friends?

It gets quite hot online at the moment. But we did have a couple of questions from earlier, which I have here. I think we've probably covered them. One was around the -- around dividends. We've answered that. And the other one around the -- given the continuing decrease in shareholder value over some years, why should anyone have confidence in the current CEO and Board?

Well, given the share price, also weakness -- and I entirely understand the question. It's a fair question. I won't give any guarantee on share price. But I will give a guarantee on the level of expertise around the Board table, and just evidenced some of that with Agu entering a question relating to the geological formations and whatnot. So that's one point I'll make over the Board, bring a wide ranging skills and experience to the table. Like in response to a question last year, for what it's worth, lead me out of the situation, I think that Board at Central -- yes, Central is getting a Board with expertise skills, et cetera, et cetera. That is well above what would otherwise be expected to have. So -- and in respect of confidence in the Board, I said earlier, we've been executing a strategy. The results just haven't been there. We are going through the steep review process. The skills and experience around that will continue to be applied. And you can all be confident that all Directors have skin in the game. All Directors contribute considerably, but all have skills and expertise that is brought to bear on all matters concerning governance and management oversight. Central is a well governed, well-managed company. I'll leave that there. Anything else? Well, [ then ], thanks very much for those questions, and hopefully the responses have gone some way to satisfy the concerns. Now let's turn to the business of the meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, the purpose of today's meeting is to deal with the formal business as set out in the notice of Annual General Meeting dated 13th October, 2023. As shareholders, you have all received the notice of meeting. If there are no objections and in an effort to expedite proceedings, I move that the notice of meeting be taken on a thread. The AGM meeting agenda, the items of business on the agenda are set out in the notice of Annual General Meeting on the screen. These are represented by consideration of the financial report for the year ended 30th June, 2023 and 6 individual resolutions. The minutes of the previous meeting of shareholders held on 10 November, 2022 are available by request from the Company Secretary, Mr. White, at the conclusion of the -- this meeting or by e-mailing at [email protected]. Proxies. Based on Item 2 proxies and direct votes have been received from 215 shareholders representing [ 118,434,650 ] shares, which is 16% of the company's issued capital or proxies and direct votes have been received by and validated by Computershare. As Chair of this meeting, I advise and I intend to vote all undirected proxies in favor of items 2 through 5. As discussed earlier, we will conduct a poll on items 2 through 5. I appoint Mr. Brimelow of Computershare as the Returning Officer and to conduct the poll and to report to me the results of the poll. Mr. Brimelow will have power to co-op as his agents, members of his staff and other company representatives. Item 1, financial statements and quotes. The first item of business of the meeting is to receive and consider the annual financial report of a company. I have now tabled the financial report of the company for the year ended 30th June, 2023, together with the Directors' declaration, the Directors' report and the auditor's report tabled. This is an opportunity to ask questions of the company's auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers on the current conduct of the audit. Marcus Goddard from PwC is available for responding to questions relating to the financial reports. Are there any questions on the financial statements? I take that as no. Damian, nothing online? There is no requirement vote -- for a vote on the acceptance of the financial statements and reports, and as such, we now move to the first resolution of the day. Item 2, adoption of the remuneration report. The Corporations Act requires all listed companies to present the remuneration report for each financial year for adoption by shareholders at the company's annual general meeting. Report can be found within the Directors' Report section of the annual report. This resolution of shareholders is advisory only and is not binding on the Directors of the company. Members of the key management personnel and their proxies and closely related parties who received remuneration under the remuneration report are restricted from voting on this resolution. The resolution for Item 2 states that for the purposes of Section 250 R2 of the Corporations Act and for 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 30th June, 2023. Is there any discussion on the motion? I think that is no. Nothing from you. I confirm that the company has received valid proxy votes and direct votes in relation to Item 2 and these are displayed on the screen. With those online attendees now, please cast your votes if you have not done so already. In-person voting on this resolution will be conducted at the end of the business of this meeting. Resolution 3, re-election of Ms. Katherine Anne Hirschfeld. The resolution for Item 3 states that Katherine Anne Hirschfeld, I am a Director retired by rotation in accordance with the Constitution and the ASX Listing Rules and being eligible offers [ herself ] for election as a Director, is re-elected as the Director. Ms. Hirschfeld, can you say a few words to reintroduce yourself please?

Thank you, Chair. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for your support today and in the past 5 years that I've served on the Board of Central Petroleum. My background is in engineering and most of my executive career was with VP in oil refining, here in Australia, the U.K. and Turkey. I've been a professional non-Executive Director since 2010, and a Director of listed companies since 2005. I currently serve as Chair of Powerlink, Queensland's high voltage transmission company, and have recently joined the Sims Limited Board, incorporating Sims' metal recycling. The experience and skills I believe I contribute to the Central board include safety and operations, risk management, governance, people and culture and commercial. I continue to work with my fellow directors and management to address the significant challenges facing our business and to capture the opportunities that we have ahead. And these include supply and gas to support the energy transition and producing critical gases such as helium and hydrogen. And we look forward to leveraging off the Range sale announced yesterday as we continue to look for ways to increase shareholder value. Thank you again for your support.

Thanks, Kathy. Is there any discussion on the motion? Nothing from you, Damian? I confirm that the company has received valid proxy votes and direct votes in relation to Item 3 and these are displayed on the screen. With those, online attendees now please cast their votes if you have not done so already. In-person voting on this resolution will be conducted at the end of the business of this meeting. Item 4, issue of share rights [ to ] non-Executive Directors. There are 3 resolutions under this item of business, each dealing with the issue of share rights to non-Executive Directors. By way of explanation similar to the process we undertook at last year's AGM, this resolution seeks to approve the issue of share rights to non-Executive Directors who [ elect ] to sacrifice up to 25% of their 2024 financial year base fees, inclusive of superannuation, but excluding committee fees in order to receive an equivalent value in the form of share rights issued on the company's employee rights plan. This in turn is to enable the non-Executive Directors to progressively share in the growth and sustained value of Central by acquiring a shareholding in the company with a value equal to the total annual base fee remuneration or superannuation. Over the years it has been somewhat problematic for those directors, like myself, who whilst wanting to buy shares in the company had been unable to do so because we're in possession of market sensitive information. If any of the resolutions in Item 4A to 4C are not carried, the company will not be able to proceed to issue the share rights in respect of the relevant director and the 2024 financial year basically will be fully paid in cash. Are there any questions on the resolution to issue share rights to non-Executive directors? No? Damian? Now, for a approval of the issue of share rights to myself as this is the resolution which relates to myself, I will ask Kathy Hirschfeld, a Chair in the meeting, for this resolution.

Thanks, Mick. Ladies and gentlemen, the resolution for Item 4A states that for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.14 and for all other purposes, approval be given to the grant have a number of share rights determined in accordance with the formula outlined in the explanatory statement to Michael Joseph McCormack or his nominees under the company's employee rights plan, and otherwise, on the terms and conditions set out in the explanatory statement. Is there any discussion on the motion? Damian?

No.

Thank you. I confirm that the company has received valid proxy votes and direct votes in relation to Item 4A and these are displayed on the screen. With those online attendees now, please cast their votes if you have not done so already. In-person voting on this resolution will be conducted at the end of the business of this meeting.

Thank you, Kathy. Item 4B, approval of the issue of share rights to Mr. Stephen Gardiner. The resolution for Item 4B states that for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.14 and through other purposes approval be given for the grant of a number of share rights determined in accordance with the formula outlined in the explanatory statement to Stephen William Gardiner or his nominees under the company's employee rights plan and otherwise on the terms and conditions set out in the explanatory statement. Is there any discussion on this motion? No. Damian. Thank you. I confirm that the company has received valid proxy votes and direct votes in relation to Item 4B and these are displayed on the screen. With those online attendees now please cast your votes if you have not done so already. In-person voting on this resolution will be conducted at the end of the business of this meeting. Item 4C, approval on the issue of share rights to Dr. Agu Kantsler. The resolution for Item 4C states that for the purpose of ASX Listing Rule 10.14 and for all other purposes approval be given for the grant of a number of share rights to determine in accordance with the formula outlined in explanatory statement to Agu Jan Kantsler or his nominees under the company's employee rights plan and otherwise on the terms and conditions set out in the explanatory statement. Is there any discussion on the motion? No? Damian, all clear? I confirm that the company has received valid proxy votes and direct votes in relation to Item 4C, and these are displayed on the screen. With those online attendees now please cast your votes for the resolutions if you have not done so already. In-person voting on this resolution will be conducted at the end of the business of this meeting. Item 5, equity grants to the Managing Director. The resolution for Item 5 states that for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.14 and for all other purposes the issue of up to [ 421,260 ] share rights to Leon Goss Devaney or his nominee and the company's employee rights plan and otherwise on the terms and conditions set out in explanatory statement is approved. Is there any discussion on this motion? I think there is no. Damian, clear? I confirm that the company has received valid proxy votes and direct votes in relation to Item 5 and these are displayed on the screen. With those online attendees now please cast their votes to the resolutions if you have not done so already. In-person voting on this resolution will be conducted at the end of the business of this meeting. I would like to advise that voting on all resolutions will close shortly. I will now pause to our shareholders and proxy holders to finalize their votes online and in-person. So please complete your voting now. Would you please raise your hand if anyone requires more time to [ complete ] the voting paper? Mr. Brimelow, all done? Thank you. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Brimelow has confirmed that all required voting papers have now been collected and sufficient time has been permitted to allow online voting. So I now declare voting closed for the poll for items 2 through 5. Results of the voting will be notified to the ASX in accordance with the Corporations Act and the ASX Listing Rules later today. And I will note that I, looking at the screen here the -- would appear that the remuneration report's been voted down. That's disappointing, but given share price at its current level, I'm not surprised. So the Board will work with and engage with shareholders to endeavor that there won't be a strike this time next year, that we take the message. With that, ladies and gentlemen, that now concludes today's formalities. I'd like to thank you for your attendance and interest in your company and invite those here in the Hilton Hotel to join the Board and the company's senior executives for refreshments outside, and opportunity to ask additional questions. I would also like to thank those who attended online, who are encouraged to ask any further questions via the company's website or e-mailing [email protected]. With that, thank you very much, and have a good day.