SG Fleet Group Limited (SGF) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Audio Gap] We have Robbie Blau, our CEO and also the Executive Director; Kevin Wundram, our CFO and Executive Director; Cheryl Bart, Non-Executive Director; Edwin Jankelowitz, Non-Executive Director; Graham Maloney, Non-Executive Director; Peter Mountford, Non-Executive Director; and Tawanda Mutengwa, our company Secretary. I would also like to formally welcome and introduce Tex Gunning, who was appointed by the Board on 1st of September 2021, following the acquisition of LeasePlan Australia and New Zealand. Tex is a nonexecutive Director and a nominee Director for LeasePlan Corporation. Tex's background can be found in the Notice of Meeting. On behalf of the Board, we are all looking forward to working with Tex. You can read full details of the Directors' background in our 2021 annual report. Also in attendance is John Wigglesworth, representing the company's auditor, KPMG. Now I'd like to turn to the formal items of business of the meeting. The minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on the 27th of October 2020 were signed and are tabled for the information of shareholders. The purpose of this meeting is to consider and vote on the resolutions set out in the Notice of Meeting dated 16th August 2021. The Notice of Meeting has been sent out to all shareholders in accordance with the Corporations Act. I will take the notice of meeting as read. Online attendees can submit questions 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 in the meeting. Please also note that your questions may be moderated or if we receive multiple questions on one topic, they could be amalgamated together. Finally, due to time constraints, we may run out of time to answer all your questions. If this happens, we will answer them in due course via e-mail or posting responses on our website. Voting today will be conducted by way of a poll on all items of business. In order to provide you with enough time to vote, I will shortly open voting for all resolutions. At that time, if you are eligible to vote at this meeting, a new voting tab will appear. Selecting this tab will bring up a list of resolutions and present you 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 do, however, have the ability to change your vote up until the time I declare voting closed. I will now ask Robbie Blau, our CEO, to present to the shareholders.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Robbie Blau, the CEO of SG Fleet. Thank you all for taking the time to participate in our 2021 Annual General Meeting. I will start with an overview of our performance during the 2021 financial year, and we'll then go into more detail on our various businesses. I will also briefly talk to you about our performance since the end of the reported period, how the operating environment has evolved and how we are going with the integration of LeasePlan, the acquisition of which we completed just over 7 weeks ago. Whilst COVID-19 was still a feature in the second half of the 2021 financial year, the effects were certainly not as pronounced as in the early months of the reported period. We delivered a full year underlying profit of $51.6 million, up close to 42% on the 2020 financial year. This allowed the Board to declare a final dividend of $0.05393 per share, bringing the total for the year to $0.12585 per share, an increase of about 26% on last year. In fact, we increased the payout ratio to offset the impact of the LeasePlan acquisition-related rights issue. The corporate businesses in Australia and New Zealand and the U.K. continued their strong performance. In addition to that, the value of used vehicles remained at exceptional levels in all the countries in which we operate, boosting our end-of-lease income. In the Novated channel as well as the U.K. Employee Benefits business, orders continue to recover in line with the improving consumer sentiment. By the end of the year, they returned to above pre-COVID levels, which bodes well for the future. In Australia, this recovery occurred despite COVID still impacting employment in some industries. Across the group, we again did an exceptional job retaining our existing customers, and we added a significant number of additional accounts by winning the majority of tenders we pursued. At the same time, we were able to upsell our products and services further to create growth on both fronts. Throughout the year, delivering the growing number of orders we won was a challenge as we continue to face supply constraints. We do not expect this to normalize anytime soon. As a consequence of delivery challenges, the order pipeline at year-end almost doubled on the previous year, which meant a significant number of orders spilled into the current financial year. The Australian Corporate channel saw a continuation of its strong performance throughout the reported period. The competitive landscape was largely rational, and the opportunities pipeline grew steadily as the year went on. We did very well in this environment, and we again saw a number of uncontested contract renewals and some good successes in the pursuit of new business. We also saw increasing interest in our growing range of products and services. There was particularly strong demand for solutions that allow our customers to ensure they use their fleet as effectively and as safely as possible. Customers were also looking for flexible arrangements such as subscription services and short-term leases, and this had a positive impact on demand for Carly offering. As was the case over the past few periods, we witnessed a steady surge in interest in low- or zero-emission vehicles, both passenger and commercial. In the context of the demand growth we saw in the corporate channel, delivering orders remained our biggest challenge as vehicle supply did not show any signs of recovery. Related to that was, of course, the state of the used car market with used vehicle values remaining at exceptional levels. Sentiments affecting the Novated channel was very mixed in the early part of the reported period with the first quarter still very much dominated by the COVID-19 impact. However, we saw a strong overall improvement during the second half. Our team made a massive effort to maximize the benefits of improving consumer sentiment by fundamentally revitalizing the marketing approach in this channel. We digitized processes across the full spectrum of customer interaction, moving that interaction online and, in the process, redesigning the shape and focus of our content. These efforts ensured retention of existing accounts was very strong indeed. In addition, we won several new large accounts, albeit some on panels. The outcome of all of this was that we achieved a sustained recovery in demand for our products, resulting in strong growth in new orders. In addition, we increased our share of wallet per lease by increasing the penetration of existing -- of accessory products, pardon me. As was the case in the corporate channel, supply issues meant that many of those orders are only being delivered and accounted for in the current financial year. During the year, the New Zealand economy continued to recover from the effects of COVID-19. General business sentiments improved on the back of that, and businesses we're increasingly confident to invest and hire. Similar to the Australian situation, new vehicle supply issues persisted throughout the period. In line with that, used vehicle pricing remains at record levels. Tender activity was steady and competitive behavior mostly rational. One particular aspect of the tender requests and business opportunities we saw was the larger proportion of demand for our EV and mobility solutions. We were obviously delighted to see that trend accelerate as it played into our well-recognized expertise in that market. Over the years, we built significant expertise working with companies in the energy sector, and this helps us record another good win in that sector. We also converted a number of accounts from managed only to funded, including one for our -- one of our marquee customers. The challenge again was to clear the order pipeline, which remained at record levels. The situation in the U.K. revolved -- evolved rapidly over the course of the year. Initially, the macro situation there was far more challenging than in Australia and New Zealand, but as the country continued to open up, the economy saw ongoing improvements. In line with that, the U.K. auto market recovered strongly towards the end of the reported period. The light commercial segment was particularly strong with van registrations reaching their highest level in the last 10 years. We continue to operate in that segment with a well-targeted niche product, so we did very well out of that trend. Elsewhere, tax breaks on fully electric and low-CO2 hybrid significantly boosted business and consumer interest in such vehicles. Again, we've carved out a strong reputation for ourselves in the space with our eStart solution, and that was duly reflected in the percentage of lower emission vehicles in our U.K. fleet. In terms of business development, we continue to register good wins across the corporate SME and employee benefits channels with the latter doing particularly well. In line with the supply challenges everyone is facing, we continue to see extended lead times and a further lengthening of the order book. As was the case in Australia, used vehicle values remained at exceptional levels. Despite the improvement in the economic outlook, the funding environment was somewhat challenging. In summary, our U.K. business proved extraordinarily resilient during the COVID period, performing strongly throughout. I now turn to business activity since the start of the current financial year. In the Novated business, the good momentum from the second half of the 2021 financial year has continued and, in some cases, accelerated, albeit with a slight impact from the lockdowns. As was our experience previously, the lockdowns did not impact our corporate business, quite to the contrary. Our new business teams remain very busy, and we have continued to be very successful in our tender activity. A highlight of the first quarter has been the renewal of some of our largest contracts, including that for the New South Wales government, where we will now be managing a larger proportion of the total fleet and for an extended contract period. In a number of cases, these renewals have been for a wider scope of services. This again demonstrates the strength of our relationships with our customers and the appreciation they are showing for the value we add for them. It is also obviously strengthening what already was an exceptionally high-caliber customer book. Good progress was also made in the commercial vehicle segment, helped by the reactivation of a large number of infrastructure projects. Overall, first quarter orders were up on the same quarter in 2019, in other words, pre COVID, demonstrating the strength of this business. As mentioned, we have witnessed, to some extent, the inevitable impact of the lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney on inquiry levels in Novated. This temporary slowdown is a reflection of the practical difficulties associated with lockdowns and not of a lesser appetite for the product. The percentage of inquiries that are converted into an order has, in fact -- is, in fact, higher than usual, indicating that once customers are able to start the decision process, this is more likely to result in a firm order. We also continue to make progress with signing up new accounts, rolling over drivers into new leases and adding additional products to the lease contracts. Pleasingly, industries where employment was impacted by COVID-19, such as the airlines, are now starting to return to normal, so we are seeing inquiry levels in those industries increase again. I'll address vehicle supply challenges, used vehicle prices and disposal volumes across the group separately in just a moment. New Zealand continued on its 2021 path, and the order pipeline remains at record levels. In the U.K., the acceleration we saw in the second half of the previous year has continued unabated. Our key expertise areas of light commercial and low-emission vehicles remain in very high demand in that market. During the quarter, the business recorded its largest win-to-date for a funded customer, and funding has also been added to the services provided to a number of existing managed-only customers. Similarly, the business' employee benefits offering continues to attract strong interest, and a number of sizable wins added over 10,000 eligible employees to our overall target pool in the U.K. The tight funding environment we reported at the full year results has now started to improve. Across the group, our momentum continues to build. Individual businesses are performing well, and we are also seeing good progress with the initiatives and partnerships we've launched in recent years. A case in point is the growth we are seeing in the Carly subscription services business and the DingGo repair [ ePortal ] solution. The Carly solution is getting increased traction amongst corporate fleets, and we will now, of course, also introduce Carly to the LeasePlan customer book. Similarly, DingGo is going from strength to strength within our corporate channel, and we've been getting really positive initial feedback from our customers in that space. Over the past 3 years, this business has expanded from Sydney to becoming a nationwide business in Australia and also to New Zealand. And from retail into both retail and corporate, the repair network has grown sevenfold in that period, and monthly repair submissions have gone from about 180 to over 2,300. These 2 businesses have also just banded together to offer Carly subscribers a DingGo-supported digital contactless online insurance claim solution. In terms of the vehicle market environment in all 3 of our geographies, little has changed since the end of the 2021 financial year. Supply constraints continued with lead times of up to 12 months for certain models and segments in Australia and New Zealand and the U.K. As we flagged at our full year results, the performance of the strong 2021 order pipeline is spilling into this financial year, and the order pipeline has continued to grow since our last update. As of last month, the combined group pipeline of orders yet to be delivered stood at close to 12,000 units. In fact, most of our current deliveries are filling orders that were received in previous financial periods. In line with the supply constraints, used vehicle values have remained at the same exceptional levels we reported at the full year. I recall saying over 12 months ago that the industry expected this to continue for several months, but the predicted normalization of this environment continues to be pushed out with some observers now predicting current levels will be maintained at least until mid next year. While it remains difficult to predict timing, there is no doubt that any normalization will be a very gradual process, and we anticipate that we will not return to pre-COVID used vehicle price levels. Our unique vehicle disposal model and our strong dealer relationships have undoubtedly helped us take maximum advantage of the situation in terms of end-of-lease income. To manage supplies, we've encouraged many corporate customers and Novated drivers to extend current leases, and this has obviously meant less stock is going through our disposals. But what is made available continues to attract strong interest and exceptional pricing. Obviously, and importantly, the consequence of the supply issues and extensions is that the number of deliveries we've been able to make is lower than planned for, and at the same time, the significant increase in extensions, which are up over 50% on PCP, also means significantly less vehicles are coming back for disposal. The latter has been significantly more of a feature in the current period than it was in F 2021. Effectively, revenue from both activities is being pushed out and will only normalize in line with the supply environment. The strong order pipeline, however, also means that visibility on future period earnings improves for us. Finally, I'd like to say a few words about the acquisition and the integration of LeasePlan, which started in earnest on the day of completion about 7 weeks ago. It's been a very encouraging experience to see how quickly the 2 teams have come together. At the start of the process, we identified strong cultural alignment between the 2 businesses as one of the many factors supporting the strategic rationale of this acquisition. I've been positively surprised by how quickly we were able to bring various teams together and, more importantly, align our approach and processes. Not a day has been lost since completion, and it's hard to believe that less than 2 months ago, most of these team members were still strangers to each other. This rapid progress is also reflected in how we are managing the integration of customer accounts and the cross-selling of our respective products and services offering. In fact, we've been able to retain a number of accounts where we initially assumed they would be lost as a consequence of the acquisition. Our in-house innovation team has spent countless hours presenting our most recently launched products to the LeasePlan teams, and the enthusiasm of the sales people to bring these solutions to LeasePlan customers is palpable. In fact, our core solutions, fleet intelligence and booking intelligence, are already being trialed by a number of LeasePlan's larger customers. Similarly, some of LeasePlan's products such as its safety solution are being introduced to the SG Fleet customer base. That is, of course, a full net gain in terms of additional product and services revenue. A lot of the initial focus has been on meeting and getting to know LeasePlan's key customers, and I can say that process has again confirmed the strength of its customer relationships and the potential to widen the range of services we can provide to them. Our increased scale is being exploited to the fullest with the sharing of available resources significantly improving the customer experience across the combined customer book. Scale efficiencies are also being generated across a number of support areas, including credit, HR and IT, where teams have already been integrated. The experience of the last 2 months has shown us that the combined business is indeed very well positioned to grow. As we optimize the combined offering and introduce our new ventures such as Carly and DingGo to the wider customer book, our revenue profile will continue to strengthen. We have flagged for some time that we want a greater proportion of recurring revenue and as a result of a more predictable growth path. And it's very clear that, that improvement is now being accelerated by the LeasePlan integration. The benefits we are generating from the more diversified funding structure are also being confirmed. With the new LeasePlan securitization program now active, the massive leap forward in expertise in terms of funding models and processes will yield clear benefits. We have been planning the integration since the first announcement in March, and we began executing on day 1 after completion. Of course, we are not new to this process as the strength of today's SG Fleet industry positioning is the result of multiple successful integrations. Over the past 15 years, we've added 6 businesses to the group. All these businesses have been seamlessly integrated and on or ahead of schedule. And all initial synergy estimates were achieved and, in several cases, exceeded, both in terms of scale and timing. As I mentioned, the professionalism of both teams and enthusiasm and eagerness to take full advantage of our mutual strengths and establish ourselves as the 2 industry leaders has created a real buzz around our business. The support we receive from LeasePlan Corporation as a shareholder and by the presence of its CEO, Tex Gunning, on our Board, is a unique advantage in the Australian and New Zealand market, and we have tapped into our alliance across a number of areas already. We are currently working on multiple referrals received by LeasePlan Corporation prior to completion and since completion have received many additional referrals. As to the performance of LeasePlan in the first month of SG Fleet ownership, that was ahead of our initial forecast. Of course, LeasePlan benefited from the same positive operational environment as the SG Fleet business did. When announcing this acquisition, we presented a strong strategic and financial rationale based on baseline assumptions. As the integration progresses, we believe there is scope to improve the group outlook over time, and we will keep our shareholders updated on a regular basis. In summary, the update for the first quarter of the current financial year is an encouraging one. The corporate channels continued their good performance with strong orders across various geographies and customer segments. We have reviewed -- we have renewed a number of key contracts for extended durations and for a wider scope of services. In the Novated channel, we've seen a strong appetite for the product, and as lockdowns are lifted, drivers are acting on that in growing numbers. The supply issues have meant that the delivery pipeline continues to lengthen, and deliveries are being pushed out further. To manage this, we've moved many customers to extensions, which, of course, means fewer vehicles are coming back for disposal, as I explained earlier. That means secured revenue is pushed out possibly into future periods. This, of course, gives us greater revenue certainty for those future periods as well. And finally, the LeasePlan integration is in full swing, and we are busy reaping its benefits in terms of expertise, products and services range and cross-sell scale in the many referrals coming through the LeasePlan Corporation alliance agreement. Thank you for your attention. I will hand back to the Chairman now.

Thank you very much, Robbie. We will now move on to the items of business that are set out in the Notice of Meeting. As this is a shareholders meeting, only shareholders, their proxies, attorneys and authorized company representatives are entitled to speak or vote at this meeting. Details of valid proxies for each item for each -- sorry, resolution will be displayed on the screen. As set out in the Notice of Meeting, the Chair tends to vote all available proxies in favor of each item of business. The first item of business is to receive and consider the financial report of the company and the reports of the Directors and auditor for the financial year ended 30th of June 2021. As there is no resolution required to be put to the meeting in respect of this item, I welcome any questions or comments on this item.

We are showing no telephone questions at this time.

No questions. Okay. We will then move on to the next item of -- on to the next item. Item #2 relates to the adoption of the remuneration report for the financial year ended 30th of June 2021. The remuneration report is set out in the 2021 Annual Report. The Corporations Act requires listed companies to put a nonbinding resolution to shareholders to adopt the company's remuneration report. In addition to my responsibilities as the Chairman of the company, I also Chair the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. The main role of this committee is to assist the Board in fulfilling its corporate governance responsibilities and to review and make recommendations in relation to the remuneration arrangements for its Directors and executives. The matter of remuneration is a very important one. And accordingly, we adhere to strict principles when determining the nature and amount. The objective of our reward framework is to ensure reward for performance is competitive and appropriate for the results achieved. The framework aligns executive reward with the achievement of strategic objectives and the creation of value for you, our shareholders. It also conforms to market best practice for delivery of reward. The performance of the group depends on the quality of its directors and executives. Our remuneration policy is to attract, motivate and retain high-performing, quality executives. Our remuneration framework has been structured to the -- to be market competitive and complementary to the reward strategy of the group. As indicated at our full year results announcement, the company is implementing a number of initiatives to build a stronger business going forward. These initiatives will lead to positive changes in our revenue profile. However, the changing profile will render our current incentive plan structures ineffective, and accordingly, the Nomination and Remuneration Committee is assessing alternative structures, which will be implemented in due course. Further detail on our remuneration practices is contained in the remuneration report sections on pages 21 to 33 of the 2021 Annual Report. I move that the remuneration report, which forms part of the Directors' report for the financial year 30 June 2021, be adopted. I welcome questions and comments on this item.

We are showing no telephone questions at this time.

Thank you. I will, therefore, advise the position of the valid proxies. They appear on the screen, so I don't have to read them out. So they're all on the screen. Thank you. Please note that the voting exclusion, as described in the Notice of Meeting, applies to this item of business. We'll now move on to the next resolution. Item 3 relates to the reelection of Edwin Jankelowitz as a Director of the company. Mr. Jankelowitz retires by rotation and, being eligible, offers himself for reelection as a director. Details of Edwin's experience are set out in the Notice of Meeting. The Directors, Mr. Jankelowitz abstaining, recommend that shareholders vote in favor of the election of Mr. Jankelowitz as a Director. I now move that Mr. Jankelowitz to be reelected as a Director of the company. I would like to open the floor to questions and comments on this resolution.

We are showing no telephone questions at this time.

Thank you. I'll now advise the position of valid proxies and which are now shown on the screen. Item #4 relates to the reelection of Mr. Kevin Wundram as a Director of the company. Kevin retires by rotation and, being eligible, offers himself for reelection as a director. Detail of Kevin's experience are set out in the Notice of Meeting. The Directors, Mr. Wundram abstaining, recommend that shareholders vote in favor of the election of Mr. Wundram as a Director. I now move that Mr. Wundram be elected as a Director of the company. I would like to open the floor to questions and comments on this resolution.

We are showing no telephone questions at this time.

Thank you. I will now advise the position of the valid proxies that are shown on the screen. Item #5 relates to the election of Tex Gunning as a Director of the company. Mr. Gunning who, pursuant to Clause 81c of the company's constitution, holds office until the conclusion of the 2021 AGM and, being eligible, be elected as a Director of the company. Detail of Tex's experience are set out in the Notice of Meeting. The directors, Mr. Gunning abstaining, recommend that shareholders vote in favor of the election of Mr. Gunning as a Director. I now move that Mr. Gunning be elected as a director of the company. I would like to open the floor to questions and comments on this resolution.

We are showing no telephone questions at this time.