L1 Long Short Fund Limited (LSF) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning. My name is Andrew Larke, and I have the privilege of being the Chairman of your company and also of today's meeting. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2024 Annual General Meeting of L1 Long Short Fund Limited. It is now 11:00 a.m., and as we have a quorum, I declare the meeting open. I would now like to introduce my fellow directors, John Macfarlane, Harry Kingsley, Mark Landau and Raphael Lamm. Also present is Mark Licciardo, our Company Secretary; and also representatives from Ernst & Young, our company's auditors. Notice of this meeting and the explanatory memorandum was sent out to all shareholders, and I propose that this be taken as read. I now turn to my Chairman's address. In the 2023-'24 financial year, the investment manager, L1 Capital, navigated a challenging investment landscape that included speculation over interest rates, inflation and geopolitical tensions, together with the rise of AI stocks and divergent trends in commodities. Following a period of aggressive interest rate hikes by central banks, L1's persistent view that rates would remain steady benefited the portfolio. The team also successfully capitalized on volatility in key commodities using market gyrations to take profits in areas like copper following the Q2 2024 rally and buying high-quality commodity exposed equities on the dips in response to market shifts throughout the year. Despite the significant headwinds from the market's biased towards growth over value stocks and concerns about China's economy impacting resource equities, L1 delivered a pleasing 12.5% net return for the full financial year, resulting in a 3-year annualized net return of 11.9%, outperforming the ASX 200 Accumulation Index by 0.3% over 1 year and 5.5% per annum over 3 years. This strong investment result is a product of L1's disciplined bottom-up investment approach focused on undervalued companies, timely trading decisions and a keen understanding of emerging themes. Having paid our first fully franked dividend of $0.015 per share in February 2021, the company has since paid a regular and growing stream of fully franked dividends each half year. The company paid an interim dividend of $0.0575 per share fully franked in March 2024 and a final dividend of $0.06 per share fully franked in September 2024, bringing total dividends for the year to $0.1175 per share fully franked, which was an uplift of 12% on the prior year. We expect total dividends to continue to increase in 2025. During the year, senior management of the investment manager and your Board members have once again increased their investment in LSF by buying shares on market, a clear reinforcement of the commitment to the company's long-term success. Now I'd like to take a moment to mention another much more important challenge that the L1 team overcame this year. In April, the Board announced that Mark Landau, Non-Independent Director of LSF and Co-Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer of L1 Capital, would be taking 3 months leave to receive treatment for an early-stage treatable cancer. I'm delighted to report that following successful treatment, Mark returned to work as expected in August. The Board has a deep respect for the culture of integrity, passion and care that underpin how Mark and Rafi have built the L1 business. This year, we saw firsthand that culture in action as the team rallied around Mark to support him through his journey. Every person associated with L1 Capital was prepared to step up to ensure that L1's investments and clients were looked after without compromise. It was nothing short of incredible to observe how the L1 culture goes beyond the numbers, facts and figures and to witness the genuine care for one another that unites the L1 Capital team on a much deeper level. Lastly, on behalf of the Board and the investment manager, I would also like to thank all of our shareholders for their continuing support of the company. It is very much appreciated. I now turn to the business of today's meeting. I wish to advise that voting on resolutions will be conducted by way of poll. Shareholders will be able to cast their vote using the electronic voting card. I also confirm that I propose to vote those proxies left to my discretion as Chairman in favor of all resolutions. Proxy voting received prior to the meeting will be shown on the screen for each item of business to be voted on today. Item 2 at this year's AGM is subject to a voting exclusion as outlined in the notice of meeting. Only shareholders, validly appointed proxies and corporate representatives are entitled to ask questions at today's meeting. We will answer any questions at the conclusion of the formal business of the meeting, including questions of the investment manager. Please note, voting will remain open until 5 minutes after conclusion of the AGM. Also, at your convenience, I invite you to listen to the recorded webinar and presentation, which Raphael Lamm gave on 31 August -- sorry, 31 October, which is available on the company's website. The first item of business is to receive and consider the annual report, together with the directors' and auditors' reports for the year ended 30 June 2024. I will now turn to the items of business for which a vote is required. The second item of business today relates to the adoption of the remuneration report. I will now table the outcome of proxy voting received prior to the meeting. The next item of business today relates to the reelection of directors. As Item 3.1 relates to me, I will hand over to John Macfarlane to facilitate.

Thank you, Andrew. Item 3.1 relates to the reelection of Andrew Larke. I invite Andrew to say a few words.

Thanks, John. Hello. My name is Andrew Larke. I have been Chairman of L1 Long Short Fund Limited since the IPO of the company in 2018, and I am standing today for reelection as a Nonexecutive Director. I have extensive experience in serving as a Nonexecutive Director on numerous listed and unlisted company Boards. I also have over 30 years' experience in mergers, acquisitions, capital markets and senior executive leadership roles in a variety of different industries. At LSF specifically, I'm an independent Nonexecutive Director and have a strong focus on governance matters and maximizing shareholder value. I believe my skill set complements the skill set of other Board members. And should I get reelected today, I thank shareholders for your ongoing support.

Thank you, Andrew. I will now table the outcome of proxy voting received prior to the meeting. I will now hand the meeting back to Andrew Larke.

Thank you, John. Item 3.2 relates to the reelection of John Macfarlane. I invite John to say a few words.

Thank you, Andrew and good morning to my fellow Board members and to all shareholders. My name is John Macfarlane, and I'm standing for reelection as an independent Nonexecutive Director of LSF, and I appreciate your support. I'm a career banker, risk manager and investor. I've been involved in global financial markets for 35-plus years, and I have lived and worked in North America and Asia in addition to both Australia and New Zealand. In banking, I learned the importance of risk management, and I learned to keep a keen focus on the current and prospective regulatory and governance landscape. As an investor, I've come to appreciate the importance of deep research and disciplined investment strategies all together to protect and enhance shareholder value and returns. My broad exposure across financial services has allowed me to develop a holistic view of the industry's rapidly evolving dynamics, including regulatory and governance shifts, technology advancements and trends such as emerging private markets. LSF is my only public company directorship at present, although I maintain several operating businesses and portfolio responsibilities within family offices. I enjoy representing shareholders and working with my fellow directors and the L1 management team in the endeavor of delivering favorable outcomes for LSF investors. I would appreciate your consideration and support as I put myself forward for reelection.

Thank you, John. I will now table the outcome of proxy voting received prior to the meeting. That concludes the items of business to be voted on at today's meeting. Shareholders are reminded that they can submit their vote online until 5 minutes after the meeting closes. I appoint Mr. Daniel Reid from MUFG Corporate Markets as returning officer for the poll, and the final results will be announced to the ASX later today. That concludes the formal business to be considered at this meeting. We will now have the opportunity to address any questions from shareholders. Shareholders also have the opportunity to ask questions of the investment manager. Moderator, are there any questions on the phone lines?

Confirming there are no questions via the phone lines.

[ Joel ], are there any questions on the online platform?

Yes, chairman. We have 1 question from Mr. Jones. Is there a buy plan or goals or outcomes to get to a AUD 4 stock price?

Thank you, Mr. Jones for the question. Look, the objective of LSF is to deliver strong positive portfolio returns over the long term. And if we are able to deliver on that and also deliver consistent and growing fully franked dividend, which we intend to then we believe the share price should be able to get to $4 or higher over time. Obviously, though, this is subject to market conditions, which change and also the investment manager L1 capital, maintaining good stock picks. But subject to those caveats we would certainly be hoping that the stock price trends up over time. Thank you.

Thank you, Chairman. There are no further questions on the online platform.

Thanks, Joel. Well, as there are no questions remaining, I would like to thank everybody for their attendance today, and I now declare the meeting closed.