EBOS Group Limited (EBO) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Liz Coutts, and I am the Chair of EBOS Group Limited. I'm delighted to welcome you to today's annual meeting in Auckland. Today's meeting is also being webcast via the Computershare online meetings platform. This allows shareholders, proxies and guests who could not join us to watch a live webcast of the meeting and read the company documents associated with the meeting. Welcome to you all. [Operator Instructions] Should you require any assistance, a member of the Computershare team will assist by the check function and reply to your query. Alternatively, you can call Computershare on 0800-650-034. Please also note that your questions may be moderated, and I would address questions at the relevant time of today's meeting. We will also take questions from the floor here in Auckland. Voting today will be conducted by way of a poll on all items of business. To provide you with enough time to vote, I would shortly open the voting for all resolutions. Those eligible to vote can do some on the voting forms provided or alternatively, you can cast your vote using the vote tab on the Computershare online meeting platform. Shareholders viewing online can also vote via the platform. To vote via the platform, please select your voting direction from the options shown on screen. You can vote for all resolutions at once or by each resolution. You can change your vote step until the time I declare voting closed. Declaration of quorum and introduction of directors and executives. I am advised that a quorum is present. I therefore declare the meeting open. I also declare voting open on all items of business. I will give you a warning before I move to close voting. Now to the business of the meeting. My first duty today is to introduce your directors and executives. Today, we have all directors and our CEO and CFO here in Auckland. Joining me are my fellow directors: Stuart McLauchlan, Peter Williams, Tracey Batten, Mark Bloom, Julie Tay and Matt Muscio, who is seeking election today. Also seated on the stage is her Chief Executive Officer, John Cullity, and our recently appointed Chief Financial Officer, Alistair Gray. Tracey and I are seeking to be reelected as EBOS' directors, and we'll be addressing the meeting later. You will also hear from Matt Muscio, who is seeking election as a director with effect from 1st of January 2025. John will also be providing an outline of the group's activities in the past year. For those in this room, you will have the opportunity to meet the directors and executives at afternoon tea following today's proceedings. Just to outline the meeting. Today's meeting is comprised of three parts. Firstly, I will provide shareholders with a summary of the highlights from the past year. Then as mentioned earlier, John Cullity will provide you with further details on the group's financial performance and activity over last year, and that will be followed by the formal business. We have five resolutions for shareholders' approval today. So apologies. There are no apologies. Notice of meeting. As the notice of meeting has been circulated to all shareholders, I would take as read the notice convening the meeting. I am pleased to report on another strong result for EBOS for the 2024 financial year, which saw as adapt positively to the changing market dynamics and capitalize on opportunities to drive the future growth. This result continues our long-term growth trajectory and delivering valuable for our shareholders with our success underpinned by the extraordinary efforts of our more than 5,200 employees who continue to serve with unwavering commitment to our communities across New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia. We operate in want continues to be an uncertain macro environment and political environment both domestically and internationally. The defensive and diversified nature of our portfolio of businesses continues to providers with both growth and stability, notwithstanding the impact of cost of living pressures across the economy. Over the past 10 years, we've continued to diversify and grow or business with over 20 acquisitions across medical technology, retail pharmacy, medical consumables and animal care. Consistent with the strategy of investing for growth, FY '24 has been another period of active investment. We completed the acquisition of New Zealand's Superior Pet Food Company in July 2023, and we also acquired four small bolt-on businesses in the Medical Technology and Medical Consumable Business across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. We also increased our shareholding in Transmedic, our leading independent medical devices distributor in Southeast Asia to 90% and entered into arrangements that will facilitate us moving to 100% in FY '26. We've continued to invest in our supply chain capabilities and operations. Over the past 12 months, we've either completed or initiated a number of major projects in both New Zealand and Australia. Most notably, our Healthcare Logistics business in Australia opened a new purpose-built state-of-the-art pharmaceutical grade Contract Logistics facility in Sydney, New South Wales. As part of our commitment to sustainability, this world-class site is equipped with many features, including a 4,000 panel roof-mounted solar array, a 165,000-liter underground rain water storage tank, smart lighting, a waste recycling system and 10 electric vehicle charging stations. We are working towards having this facility certified as a 6-Star Green Star Building by the Green Building Council of Australia. Our consistent growth track record is underpinned by several diverse strategies across the group, which are summarized on the slide. These include the continued growth of our TerryWhite Chem network; growth of our Medical Technology business across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia; continuing to grow our Contract Logistics share in Australia; and in our Animal Care segment continuing to bring to market strong new product and brand initiatives. EBOS' purpose to advance opportunities to enrich lives applies not only to customers, patients and communities we serve but also to our 5,200 employees. As part of our integrity training schedule and our commitment to fostering safe, inclusive and respectful workplaces, we provided mandatory training on our code of ethics, whistleblower reporting, rights and protections, anti-bullying and anti-harassment. Furthermore, we have updated our policy on workplace discrimination, harassment and bullying to reflect best practice. To develop our leaders of tomorrow, our senior leadership program, Catalyst, connects EBOS' leaders of today with our emerging talent to build the capability, courage and confidence for participants through learning, coaching and networking opportunities. The welfare and safety employees continues to be a major focus, and the group's work health and safety management focuses on strong leadership and accountability for workplace safety policies and practices. The group's safety committee chaired by the CEO oversees the relevant policies and initiatives including training, critical risk management and advancing the use of technology to mitigate risks. Operating divisions report monthly performance started to senior management and the Board receives monthly and annual reports on key metrics and other initiatives being undertaken by our safety teams. Our environmental, social and governance or ESG program supports our purpose to advance opportunities to enrich lives with a number of initiatives and projects across our businesses. In FY '24, we continue to develop our carbon reduction plan, which sets out the group's strategy for responding the climate-related risks and opportunities as we transition to a lower carbon economy. As part of our commitment to achieve zero reported Scope 1 and 2 emissions after offsets in FY '27, we are constructing a solar array at our pet food manufacturing facility in Parkes, New South Wales. In FY '24, the first phase of our solar array project was completed with the electrification of the new 500-kilowatt roof-mounted solar array. Our focus has now turned to the installation of significant ground-mounted array parks that is expected to generate approximately 5 megawatts of clean energy. Our grocery brands are also on track to commence the transition to more sustainable packaging in 2025 by eliminating hard-to-recycle plastics to meet industry expectations and anticipated government regulations. Another important area of our ESG program is the enhancement of safeguards to protect against social risks. We commenced embedding proactive risk management measures in relation to modern slavery and other social risks as part of our ethical sourcing framework. In addition, we continue to have the appropriate focus and work programs to protect our data and systems to emerging and dynamic threats. Together with other aspects of our corporate strategy, the Board oversees the development and implementation of our ESG program as part of its commitment to sound corporate governance. Business Ethics are central to leadership and decision making at EBOS as outlined in our Corporate Governance code, which was most recently updated in October 2023. We encourage shareholders to read further information on our ESG program, which is contained in our 2024 sustainability report. Consistent with EBOS' Board renewal process, independent director, Peter Williams, will retire with effect from the conclusion of today's meeting. We will be acknowledging Peter service later in today's proceedings. Peter's retirement is part of a carefully considered succession process that includes the appointments of Mark Bloom and Julie Tay as independent directors during the last 2 years and today's resolutions for the election of Matt Muscio as a director. We are also in the final stages of pointing an additional nonexecutive Australian resident director in the near term as part of the overall Board renewal process. Dividends. The directors announced a final dividend of New Zealand $0.615 per share in combination with the interim dividend. This brings total dividends declared for FY '24 to NZD 1.185 per share, representing an increase of 7.7% on the previous year. To all our shareholders, thank you for your ongoing support and trust and the Board, executives and employees of EBOS. We again, acknowledge the contribution of, all of our employees across New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia. To John and his executive team, thank you for your extraordinary commitment to our company and your energy in continually to looking, to look for ways to drive EBOS forward. I will now hand over to John for a more in-depth review of the operational performance of the business. Thank you.

[Foreign Language] and thank you, Liz. And may I also extend a very warm welcome to everyone attending today's annual meeting here in Auckland as well as dose joining us online. Today, I'm pleased to provide a review of the company's performance for the 2024 financial year as well as some insights into current trading conditions. Before doing so, I'd like to show you all a video that captures our key highlights and activities from the past 12 months. [Presentation]

As you can see, it's been another year of high activity across EBOS. And should you wish to learn more about our business, then I encourage you to read both our 2024 annual and sustainability reports, which are available online. The group once again generated strong performances in both our Healthcare and Animal Care segments driven by continued organic growth as well as several strategic investments. Key highlights for the year included strong earnings growth, with underlying EBITDA increasing by 7.3% on the prior year. The TerryWhite Chemmart network continued to grow, reaching 600 stores across Australia. New products were launched across our Black Hawk and VitaPet brands. And return on capital employed was in line with our target and historical norms. And we increased dividends to shareholders by just under 8%. A summary of the results. In FY '24, the group's revenue exceeded $13 billion for the first time, up just under 8% on the prior year. This was driven by both growth in both our Healthcare and Animal Care segments including strong performances from our Community Pharmacy, Institutional Healthcare and Animal Care divisions. EBOS recorded underlying EBITDA of $624 million, representing 7.3% growth and underlying net profit after tax of $303.4 million, representing 7.7% growth. On our long-term track record, as Liz referenced earlier, our FY '24 performance continues our long-term track record of delivering strong and consistent results. Over the last 10 years, we have grown both earnings and dividends per share on a compound annual growth rate of more than 10%. Our Healthcare sector delivered a solid performance with revenue and underlying EBITDA growth of 8% and 6%, respectively. The strong performance was driven by organic growth across each of our Community Pharmacy, TerryWhite Chemmart and Institutional Healthcare businesses. In terms of our geographic regions, or Australian Healthcare business grew revenue and underlying EBITDA by 8% and 9.4%, respectively. The Community Pharmacy business continued its strong performance, recording revenue growth of just under $500 million or 6.8% and GOR growth of $31.8 million, up 4.9%. Approximately 12 months have passed since the commencement of the Australian government's policy, allowing pharmacists to dispense 60-day supply of PBS medicines compared to previous limits of 30-day supply. The impact to our Community Pharmacy business was broadly offset in FY '24 by the government providing a corresponding increase to the Community Service Obligation or CSO funding pool. The current CSO deed by which our Australian business operates has recently been extended while we finalize discussions with the government on arrangements for the first Pharmacy Wholesaler agreement. This agreement, when concluded, will ensure that every Australian continues to have timely, reliable and safe access to their PBS medicines and vaccines across the nation. We remain confident that the upcoming agreement will fully reflect the value our Symbion wholesale business provides in supplying essential medicines to the Australian community. Moving to other components of our Healthcare operations. I'm pleased to report that our Institutional Healthcare business, its solid performance was driven by growth in both our Symbion Hospitals and Medical Technology businesses. Symbion Hospitals recorded strong revenue growth driven by both gains in market share and sales of high-value specialty medicines. Whilst our Medical Technology business growth was driven by our spine, implant aesthetics and allograft channels. Our Contract Logistics business in Australia continues to generate growth through new and existing principles, whilst in New Zealand, the business was impacted by the fall in demand for the storage and servicing of COVID-19-related products. Despite cost pressures during the year, Healthcare's underlying EBITDA margin remained broadly in line with the prior year, with the business benefiting from operational efficiencies. Our TerryWhite Chemmart business continued its impressive growth, further strengthening its position as Australia's largest health advice community pharmacy network, recently opening its 600th store. The opening of the 600th store in July this year highlights the continued success of the TWC brand under our ownership and further demonstrates the strength and momentum of the franchise amongst professional community pharmacists. Turning now to our Animal Care segment. Animal Care generated double-digit EBITDA growth of $13 million, up 13.2% and driven by the strong performance of our branded businesses. The branded businesses were supported by ongoing resilience in the pet food category, the contribution of the recently acquired Superior business, which has performed strongly during its first year under our ownership and new product development launches. This growth was partially offset by softness in discretionary categories, such as accessories and the wholesale business. In line with our Animal Care growth strategy, several new product launches occurred in FY '24. Our new product development strategy is designed to leverage the strength of our brands, manufacturing capabilities and retailer relationships to expand into new product categories where we see growth potential. In September 2023, we launched Black Hawk's new healthy benefits dry dog food range, developed by animal nutritionists and vets to address common health concerns in dogs. VitaPet's new dry dog food range was launched during the year into major supermarkets in both Australia and New Zealand, and tapping into the humanization of pet food trends, several new treats were also launched under the VitaPet brand. And in another major development, Black Hawk launched a new and improved range of Black Hawk dry and wet cat food meals. Available in specialty channels and vet clinics, the products feature premium ingredients supported by comprehensive consumer research. Earlier, the Chair referred to our ESG program and the range of initiatives with have in place. In addition to these initiatives, EBOS has strived to help out by providing support to various health care, animal care and community-focused charities. Across New Zealand and Australia, we proudly continue to support the work of Ovarian Cancer Australia, Back Track, LandSAR, Fight MND, the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, the Australian Prostate Centre and Guide Dogs Australia. We also extend support to employees who raised funds for registered health and animal welfare charities via the EBOS Match Funding policy. Before I conclude, I'd like to share an update on several near-term strategic initiatives, which are providing us with momentum into FY '25. First, the group has demonstrated of over a long period of time, its capability in generating organic growth, and we expect that dynamic to continue as we benefit from the diversified nature of our operations. Second, in light of the changed dynamics in the Australian community pharmacy industry, we are targeting $300 million in new pharmacy revenues. And thirdly, we continue to make solid progress with our cost efficiency exercise, that is identified between $25 million to $50 million of cost savings of our FY '25 and FY '26. And finally, we will continue to pursue strategic acquisitions as we see many opportunities across our Healthcare and Animal Care segments to further broaden they Group's scale. In closing, I'd now like to provide a brief commentary on our year-to-date trading performance, and we've had a solid start to the year with underlying EBITDA growth recorded for the 3 months to 30 September of approximately 7.5% when compared to the prior corresponding period adjusted to exclude the earnings from the Chemist Warehouse Australia contract. We reiterate our earnings guidance for FY '25 that the group expects to generate underlying EBITDA between $575 million to $600 million. I'd like to thank the members of my executive team and our 5,200 employees across New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia for their continued dedication in delivering the diverse range of products and services to the communities we serve. And finally, as we heard from Liz, Peter Williams will retire as a director at the conclusion of today's meeting. May I take this opportunity to personally thank Peter for all of his support during my time with the group and particularly in my role as CEO. Thank you for your attention, ladies and gentlemen, and for your ongoing support as shareholders. I'll now hand back to Liz to continue with the formal matters of the meeting. Thank you.

Thank you, John. We will now proceed with the formal business of the meeting. The first item of business is to consider and receive the annual report. The annual report contains the financial statements, directors' report and the auditors' report for the year ended 30th of June 2024. A formal resolution is not required. We will then move on to the other matters to be to vote. We have five ordinary resolutions to deal with today. Resolution 1 is the election of Matt Muscio as a director with effect from 1st of January 2025. And Resolution 2 is the reelection of Tracey Batten as a Director. Tracey is required to retire by rotation and is now required to be put forward for reelection by shareholders at the annual meeting. Resolution 3 is a reelection of myself as a director. I am required to retire by rotation, and to be put forward for reelection by shareholders at the annual meeting. Resolution 4 is to increase the total remuneration fee pool for nonexecutive directors. Resolution 5 is to authorize the directors to fix the fees and expenses of the auditor. Voting procedures. As required under NZX Listing Rules, voting will be conducted by poll in respect of each resolution. Shareholders will have an opportunity to ask questions as each resolution is proposed. If you wish to ask a question or make a comment online, I ask that you follow the directions previously advised by the Q&A tab on the Computershare site you are currently viewing. Your question will come through immediately, but may I request your patience as the questions are sent through. Those attending here in Auckland can either use the app or raise your hand and a member of our team will hand you a microphone. I remind you that only shareholders and proxyholders are permitted to vote or ask questions. The directors hold proxies representing 124,440,616 shares. In respect of resolutions 1, 2, 3 and 5, where a director holds an undirected or discretionary proxy, they intend the vote dose proxies in favor of the resolutions. In respect of Resolution 4, a director will only vote those proxies in accordance with the shareholders' express instructions. The annual report and financial statements was subject to audit by Deloitte, who gave an unqualified audit opinion. The annual portion of financial statements were audited and lodged prior to the annual meeting, and there was no formal resolution required to put to the meeting today. I will, however, take questions on the annual report and financial statements and any other aspects of the business you may want to discuss. The auditors, Deloitte, are represented today by Mr. Mike Hawkins here in the front row. So with all that said, are there any questions on the annual report? No, there appear to be no questions on the annual report. We will now move to Resolution 1 relating to the election of Matt Muscio as a director. The resolutions it is resolved that Matthew Muscio be elected as a director of the company with effect from 1st of January 2025. I now invite Matt to make a statement to the meeting. Matt, if you'd like to come up, please.

[Foreign Language] Hello, everyone. Good afternoon. Matt Muscio. I'm an Australian citizen and currently reside in Sydney, Australia, but I'm excited to be moving my young family here the New Zealand early in 2025. I want to thank Liz and the Board for their nomination and the opportunity to stand for election today. Thank you for joining us today and for giving me the opportunity to introduce myself. I hold a post graduate business degree from Melbourne Business School and a Bachelor of business in marketing and international business from Queensland University of Technology and my career spans 25 years in the medical device industry, including the early part of my career, which was with Johnson & Johnson. Over the last 15 years, I've worked in medical technology distribution under both public and private ownership models. As highlighted in my nomination to the Board, my last executive role was as Chief Executive Officer of EBOS' Medical Technology businesses, having joined EBOS following the acquisition of LifeHealthcare. I committed to at LifeHealthcare in 2013 as Chief Operating Officer and supported the executive team to list the business on the ASX in December of that year. I was appointed the CEO of LifeHealthcare in August of 2015, and in 2018, led the successful transition to private equity under Pacific Equity Partners, where we drove strength organic earnings growth and completed multiple strategic acquisitions, including our expansion into Southeast Asia. Following EBOS' acquisition of the LifeHealthcare Group of companies in May of 2022, I've had the privilege to be a part of John Cullity's executive leadership team and developed a strong understanding of our broader growth strategy across the group. As a leader of -- in the Australian medical device industry, I've been afforded the opportunity to help shape policy and industry priorities, including participation on -- as a Board member on the Medical Technology Association of Australia from 2017 to 2023 and through representation on the industry working group for Prostheses List reform. I currently serve as a non-executive Board member for Tetrous, a regenerative medicine company currently focused on solutions for enhancing rotator cuff repair in the shoulder. As a keen outdoor adventurer, I am passionate about our environment and the role organizations can play in creating sustainable solutions through technology, innovation and long-term environmental planning. EBOS continues to make important inroads on our sustainability plans, including ethical sourcing and carbon reduction programs, and I'm excited to support dose programs as part of the EBOS Board. It's with great enthusiasm that I accept this nomination, and I'm eager to bring my experience across Healthcare in the Asia Pacific region to the role of Non-Executive Director of EBOS. I look forward to the opportunity to contribute to the future growth and success of this remarkable organization. Thank you.

Thank you, Matt. Are there any questions from the floor or the resolution -- on this resolution? No questions from the floor. Are there any questions online? No questions online? All right. I now move the adoption of Resolution 1. We will now move to Resolution 2 regarding the reelection of Tracey Batten as a director. The resolution is that Tracey Batten, who retires by rotation, be reelected as a director of the company. I now invite Tracey to make a statement to the meeting. Thanks, Tracey.

Thanks, Liz, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm Tracey Batten, and today, I'm seeking your support for my reelection as a Non-Executive Director of EBOS. Like many of you, I'm a shareholder of EBOS. I also serve on the Board's People and Remuneration Committee. My career spans more than 30 years of working in the healthcare sector, primarily in Australia but also internationally. Having initially trained and worked as a medical practitioner, I progressed relatively early in my career into healthcare management, supplementing my clinical training with a number of management qualifications, including a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. During my senior executive career, I spent over 15 years as a chief executive of several large hospital groups, including St. Vincent’s Health Australia and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London. These roles gave me significant strategic, operational and commercial experience and considerable skills developing a strong organization culture and developing an engaged workforce. For the past 7 years, I've served as a nonexecutive director on companies in both Australia and New Zealand. My current directorships include Medibank Private Limited, which is an ASX top 50 company and Australia's largest private health insurer; Nanosonics Limited, which is an ASX-listed Medical Technology company focused on developing innovative infection prevention equipment; and the Accident Compensation Corporation which I chair that manages and delivers New Zealand's universal no-fault accident insurance scheme. Previous boards that I've served on include Abano Healthcare Group, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and various other healthcare and health research organizations. And I'm a chartered member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Company Directors and a dual Australian and New Zealand citizen residing here in Auckland. My healthcare industry knowledge, my experience gained as the senior executive and chief executive working in hospitals and my governance skills gained working on a diversity of boards of the capabilities I bring to the Board of EBOS. EBOS is a great New Zealand company with a strong reputation and a proven business strategy. Over the past 3 years, I've worked diligently with my Board colleagues and with the management team to help deliver EBOS' strategy. With your support, it would be a privilege to continue to serve you, our shareholders, to further strengthen and grow EBOS. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you, Tracey. Are there any questions from the floor on this resolution? They don't appear to be. Are there any questions online from this resolution?

There are no questions, Chair.

Okay. There are no questions online. I now move the adoption of Resolution 2. The next item of business relates to my reelection as a director. Accordingly, I will now hand over to Stuart McLauchlan to chair this part of the meeting. Thanks, Stuart. Thank you.

Thank you, Liz. The resolution is that Elizabeth Coutts, who retires by rotation, be reelected as a director of the company. I now invite Liz to make a statement to the meeting.

Thank you, Stuart. Shareholders, fellow Board members, thank you for this opportunity to introduce myself to those of you who do not know me and to present to so many of you who have seen at annual meetings over the years. I last presented myself a reelection 3 years ago. It is been a pleasure and privilege to serve on the Board for many years and for the last 5 years, lead the Board and be part of the EBOS success story. I am also a long-term shareholder of EBOS. I am pleased with the growth and performance we've achieved over the years clearly demonstrating that the company is doing the right things. I think my substantial governance experience and proven track record backed by my approach, which has been described by us as careful and considered but bold with entrepreneurial spirit will continue to be useful in adding value to EBOS. I always have the best interest of the company and the shareholders at heart. I enjoy working with all members of your Board, and I believe I can continue to make a valuable contribution to your company's success. Having said that, since being elected chair, one of my tasks has been to lead the Board succession process. Following Peter Williams retirement today, I will be the last long-serving director on the Board. It is my intention to be the next director to retire, which if elected, I will do when the Board considers the succession process and knowledge transfer is complete. And on that basis, I ask your support and endorsement. Thank you.

Thank you, Liz. Are there any questions from the floor on this resolution?

I'm Beryl Plummer, New Zealand Shareholders' Association representative. Am I speaking [indiscernible]?

Yes, we can hear you.

As the Shareholders' Association representative, we would like a little bit of clarity around the time frame for this renewal of the Board.

Well, I think Liz has made it clear in her presentation that it will be once the succession is completed, the current succession, and then Liz will look at her tenure at that point.

Will it be in this term?

Definitely.

There you go. Thank you. Any further questions? If not, are there any questions online for this resolution?

There are no online questions.

Thank you. I now move the adoption of Resolution 3. Thank you. And I'll hand over to Liz.

Thank you, Stuart. And so I think my term at EBOS, maybe it will end. Now I will now move on to Resolution 4 relating to the nonexecutive director fee pool. The resolution is it is resolved that pursuant to NZX Listing Rule 2.11.1 and ASX Listing Rule 10.17, the total remuneration for non-executive directors be increased by $166,750 from $1,643,250 per annum to $1,810,000 per annum with effect from 1st of July 2024. Are there any questions from the floor on this resolution, please? They don't appear to be questions from the floor. Are there any questions online from this resolution?

No online questions, Chair.

Right. No online questions. I now move the adoption of Resolution 4. The final resolution relates to the auditor's remuneration. Deloitte is the current auditor of the company and is automatically reappointed in accordance with the company's act. It is proposed that the directors be authorized to fix the fees and expenses of the auditor. The resolution is, it is resolved that the directors of the company be authorized to fix the fees and expenses of Deloitte as auditor of the company. Are there any questions from the floor on this resolution, please? They do not appear to be. Are there any questions online for this resolution?

No online questions, Chair.

Okay. No online questions. I now move the adoption of Resolution 5. Thank you. I will just wait a few moments for you to do your voting. [Voting]

So before we move on the voting, does anyone have any other business to take this opportunity to ask us any questions? There any other questions? There don't appear to be any in the room. Are there any questions online?

No online question.

No online questions. Okay.

Yes, we have a question. Great.

Lynn Webber, New Zealand shareholder. Going back to the Chemist Warehouse, with hindsight, are you still pleased that you no longer have that contract in New Zealand? And are you very happy with what you did with the money that you wouldn't have spent on the Chemist Warehouse?

Well, first of all, the Chemist Warehouse contract that expired relates to Australia, we still actually undertake the Chemist Warehouse contract in New Zealand. Now John, do you want to ask -- give any more detail on that?

Yes, just for clarity, so we still service the Chemist Warehouse stores here in New Zealand. The contract we lost was in respect of the Australian business. That contract came up for tender. We tendered. We submitted a tender for that contract. We negotiate as best as we could for that contract. We did want to retain that business. So just to be clear on that, we did want to retain that business. However, the Chemist Warehouse have decided to not accept our offer and move the business across to Sigma. Then subsequent to that, Chemist Warehouse and Sigma have announced a transaction by which the Chemist Warehouse shareholders will acquire -- this is all subject to approval, will acquire up to about 85% of the Sigma business, the Sigma company. So one was the contract, et cetera, that we lost out in the tender process. And then subsequent to that, those two organizations, Chemist Warehouse and Sigma are contemplating a combination of their businesses. Okay.

Thank you. Thank you for the question. Another question.

Symbion the takeover or the Symbion relationship that to be approved by the regulators?

That's Sigma.

Sigma.

No, it has not.

There's a date you expected?

John, do we have a date?

From what's been publicly released, that transaction is subject to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approval. The date for determination of that decisions the 7th of November this year. So we all wait to see what will happen with that.

Other questions, medical technology, what percentage of sales business and overall business to Asia, what percentage of the business does that amount to?

So I think the first question was in the medical tech business, what percentage of sales of that.

Of the overall business.

Of the overall business, I think it's probably 10% or so.

That's nothing less than that, probably 8%.

$560 million out of the growth, right? So Medical Technology represents $560 million annual sales, right? And the group turns over something like $13 billion. I just don't have the math percentage in front of me, right? And then in Southeast Asia, of that $560 million, the Southeast Asian business represents somewhere between about $120 million to $150 million. So it's -- the Southeast Asian business is becoming more prominent in terms of the total contribution to the group sales revenue and performance.

And did you say -- what was the profitability of that?

We don't. We don't bring out the profit. We don't disclose the profitability of the Medical Technology business as an individual item. What we do disclose is that basically the profitability of our overall Healthcare segment, which is something like an EBITDA of something like $550 million.

Thank you. Thank you for those questions.

[indiscernible], a shareholder. With Medical Technology, is most of the high proportion of your sales consumables, therefore, renewing, so not just one-offs. So it is ongoing consumables. And the other thing is, do you sell much into the U.S.? And if so, what do you think the impact of probably a Trump reelection will have on?

Two questions there, John.

So the business with have in Medical Technology or medical devices is really implantable devices. And the key products that we sell are for spine, so patients undergoing spine surgeries? We also have what we call a bone allograft business. That's also utilized in spine surgeries. We have orthopedic implantable devices, neurovascular devices for patients that have suffered strokes. So those devices that what we refer to as implantable devices, right? There is -- in the group, there is some consumables that we sell as well, but typically, that consumables type of and -- wound care type products goes into the hospital's network or GP clinics or aged care facilities. Your second question is, I think, in respect of the U.S. We have a minority investment in a business in the U.S. that also does some allograft work. Sales of allograft is quite small at this point in time, but it's a business that we are looking to grow and develop. The performance of that business should not be impacted by the next U.S. president, so that should be rather irrelevant to the performance of that business.

Okay. Thank you.

How do you feel personally about the future of the group?

I think that I'll answer and John will have a view as well. I think the group has got a great future. I mean we keep investing in areas where there's growth and providing we keep on doing that, keeping up the investment, it's got a great future because we're in health care, animal care, it just keeps on increasing the size of population growth.

I think there's no other questions. I'll now move on to the conduct of the poll. As advised earlier, today's vote is conducted both online by the Computershare meeting platform and by voting cards. But first of all, before I head to that part, I wish to farewell and thank Peter Williams. So as we near the conclusion of today's meeting, I want to formally acknowledge and farewell Peter, who will be formally resigning as a director of the close of today's meeting. Peter has dedicated 11 years to the EBOS Board, and over that time has made an enormous contribution having joined the Board following EBOS' acquisition of Symbion, a pivotal time for our company. Peter has also been universally acknowledged as a respective source of counsel and support to his fellow directors, our CEO and our senior management teams over the years. During his tenure as a director, EBOS generates significant growth in shareholder value. And on behalf of the Board and indeed, our shareholders, we sincerely thank Peter and wish him all the best in his retirement. So please join me in extending a vote of thanks to Peter. So, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our discussion on the items of business. In a minute, I will close the voting system. Please ensure that you've cast your vote on all resolutions. I will now pause to allow you time to finalize those votes. [Voting]

I now declare that voting is closed. The voting papers in the room. If you haven't already handed them over, they will be collected, but please ensure that you have signed your voting paper. After the votes have been counted and confirmed the results of the poll, will be released to the NZX and ASX and will be displayed on the company's website. I now declare the meeting closed. Thank you very much for your attendance, and I invite those here in Auckland to join us for afternoon tea. Thank you.