Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company (SOL) AGM 2024 summary

Opening remarks and agenda

• Meeting opened with confirmation of quorum, introduction of board members, management, and auditor, and outlined agenda and voting procedures, including polls for all items of business.

Board and executive committee updates

• Michael Hawker retired as lead independent director after 12 years; David Baxby appointed as successor and continues as Lead Independent Director.

• Bruce MacDiarmid joined the board, elected as Non-Executive Director in 2024, bringing extensive financial and governance experience.

Financial performance review

• FY24 ordinary dividends reached 95 cents per share, up 9.2%, marking 24 years of consecutive growth.

• Net Asset Value increased by 8.7% to $11.8B in FY24, with a 12% return after adjusting for dividends.

• Net cash flow from investments rose 10.3% to $468M; $2.8B invested in public and private equities; $4.7B in total transaction activity; $800M net cash deployed.

• Over three years, cash flow per share grew 20% p.a., dividends up 15.3% p.a., and net assets compounded at 13.5% p.a.

• Total Shareholder Return compounded at 11.7% p.a. over 20 years, outperforming the market by 3.0% p.a.