AGM alert: Smiths Group, Dunelm, Hays

A new leadership team will host the AGM of Smiths Group (LSE:SMIN) this month after the industrial technology group changed its chair and promoted an insider as chief executive.

Former Suncor Energy boss Steve Williams now heads the board of directors after George Buckley retired at the end of last year’s meeting, having held the role since 2013.

• Invest with ii: Top UK Shares | Share Tips & Ideas | Cashback Offers

One of his first major challenges involved finding a new chief executive after Paul Keel told the company of his intention to return to the United States.

Roland Carter is the new chief executive, a move that Smiths Group said highlighted the strength of its succession planning after he stepped up from running Smiths Detection.

He was appointed on a salary of £940,000, while finance director Clare Scherrer’s base salary has increased by 12% to £651,110 as Smiths enhances retention and incentive arrangements as well as takes into account her “exceptional performance” and industry experience.  

Over 50% of Smiths Group’s revenue is sourced from the Americas, with the remainder split across Asia Pacific, Europe and the rest of the world.

Smiths Group

When: 10am, Wednesday 13 November.

Where: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, 100 Bishopsgate, London EC2P 2SR.

How to participate: The deadline for the return of proxy voting instructions is 10am, Monday 11 November. More AGM details can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Steve Williams, who was chief executive of Suncor Energy from 2012 to 2019 and previously held senior leadership roles at ExxonMobil in the UK, is hosting the AGM for the first time. He replaces George Buckley, whose decade in the role ended after last year’s meeting.

How did the company do in the year to 31 July? Revenues of £3.1 billion rose 3.1%, an increase of 5.4% on an organic basis. Operating profit lifted 5% to £526 million, with earnings per share up 8.3% to 105.5p. A final dividend of 30.2p a share is due to be paid on 22 November, increasing the total for the year by 5.2% to 43.75p. 

How have shares performed? Up 5% to 1,786p during the year to July (1,529p on Thursday). The value of £100 investments made a decade ago in the FTSE 100 Index and Smiths Group were £178.02 and £185.37 at the end of July respectively.

How much is the boss paid? Roland Carter was appointed as chief executive in March on an annual salary of £940,000, slightly below that of his predecessor Paul Keel. The figure increased on 1 October to £968,200, up 3% for the new financial year. Carter has been with the group for three decades, having held leadership roles at the Detection and Interconnect divisions. His total remuneration for 2023/24 amounted to £1.6 million, including £400,000 in cash and deferred shares after the annual bonus scheme paid 60.5% of the maximum. This sum was mostly in relation to his previous role at Smiths Detection. The 76.7% vesting of long-term incentives contributed £886,000, with share price appreciation accounting for £173,055.

How much did his predecessor get? Paul Keel resigned from his role in order to return to the United States as chief executive of Envista Holdings. He got a total of £814,000 for 2023/24, with no payment of annual bonus and all his unvested long-term incentives forfeited. 

How was variable pay determined? Financial metrics made up 90% of the annual bonus, with the final 10% based on performance against energy efficiency objectives. Five metrics were used in the long-term incentive scheme, with the company’s three-year growth record on revenues and earnings delivering the maximum outturns. There was no vesting under the 20% of the long-term incentive related to free cash flow.

• How fund managers are investing ahead of US election
• Sign up to our free newsletter for investment ideas, latest news and award-winning analysis

Why the big pay rise for the finance director? Clare Scherrer’s base salary increased by 12%  to £651,110 in April, before October’s business-wide increase of 3% took it to £670,650. Having been appointed in 2022, Smiths is keen to recognise her “exceptional performance” and industry experience and to provide enhanced retention and incentive arrangements at a time of executive change. Her maximum annual bonus opportunity has increased from 165% to 200% of salary, while she was granted an additional long-term incentive award of 10,961 shares in April.

What’s in the new remuneration policy? Last approved by shareholders with 86.69% of votes in favour, the company is proposing a number of relatively modest adjustments to support talent retention and attraction over the next three years. This includes increasing the headroom for the maximum annual bonus opportunity from 200% of salary to 250%. For the current year, this will be 230% for the chief executive. The overall cap on long-term incentives of 400% of salary is to be increased to 500%.

How did last year’s AGM go? The annual remuneration report was approved with 97.53% of votes in favour.

How’s the company doing on diversity? The board met all of its targets at the end of July, which included having at least one director from an historically under-represented ethnic group. The gender split is 40% female, including in one senior role.

Hays

When: 12 noon, Wednesday 20 November.

Where: UBS, 5 Broadgate, London EC2M 2QS. 

How to participate: Proxy voting instructions should be returned no later than 12 noon, Monday 18 November. More AGM details can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Former Compass Group chief operating officer Andrew Martin was appointed at Hays (LSE:HAS) in August 2018.

How did the company do in the year to 30 June? Net fees of £1.1 billion were 12% lower on a like-for-like basis. Pre-exceptional operating profit of £105.1 million fell from £197 million the previous year while earnings per share dropped 53% to 4.03p. The company delivered £60 million of annualised cost savings in the period.  A final dividend of 2.05p is due to be paid on 25 November, resulting in an unchanged total for the year of 3p a share.

How have shares performed? Down 7% to 94.5p (77.4p on Thursday).

How much is the boss paid? Dirk Hahn, who replaced Alistair Cox as chief executive in September 2023, is on a salary of £638,600 after being awarded a 3% pay rise in July.  His total remuneration for 2023/24 amounted to £931,000, including an annual bonus of £294,000 based on personal objectives and the performance relating to cash conversion. There was no payment under the metric of earnings per share, which accounts for 60% of the bonus scheme and came in well below the threshold of 5.71p.

• Wild’s Winter Portfolios 2024: winning stocks revealed
• Fund Spotlight: an investment trust for a market meltdown

How did last year’s AGM go? The new three-year remuneration policy was approved with 93.20% of votes in favour, while the annual remuneration report got 98.86% support.

How’s the company doing on diversity? The gender split of the board is 50% female, which includes one senior role. Two members of the board are from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Dunelm

When:  11.30am, Thursday 21 November.

Where: Watermead Business Park, Syston, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE7 1AD.

How to participate: The deadline for the return of proxy voting instructions is 11.30am, Tuesday 19 November. More details about Dunelm Group (LSE:DNLM)'s AGM can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Former Whitbread boss Alison Brittain was appointed in January 2023.

How did the company do in the year to 29 June? Revenues improved 4.1% to £1.7 billion, with a stronger margin of 12% leading to a 6.6% rise in pre-tax profits to £205 million. A final dividend of 27.5p a share is due to be paid on 26 November, resulting in a 3.6% increase in the  total for the year to 43.5p. The company has returned £1.5 billion to shareholders since its IPO in 2006, including through annual compound growth in the ordinary dividend of 15%.

How have shares performed?  Down 5% to 1,064p (1,111p on Thursday).

How much is the boss paid? Nick Wilkinson’s base salary increased in August by 2.75% to £627,905. His total remuneration for 2023/24 amounted to £1.6 million, which included cash and shares worth £331,000 based on 36.2% of the annual bonus opportunity. The 58.4% vesting of long-term incentives granted in 2022 contributed £632,000 to the final figure.

• eyeQ: what a maths-based smart machine says about M&G shares
• Budget 2024: what it means for your money

How did last year’s AGM go? The new three-year remuneration policy was approved with 99.12% of votes in favour, while the annual remuneration report got 99.35% support.

How’s the company doing on diversity? The company exceeds the Parker Review guidelines to have at least one board member from a minority ethnic background, while two senior board positions are held by women. The requirement to have at least 40% female board representation was met throughout the financial year.