AGM Information • Mar 16, 2015
AGM Information
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Springwood Court, Springwood Close, Tytherington Business Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 2XF on Thursday 23 April 2015, at 12.00pm. Attendees will be required to register on arrival prior to the start of the meeting. Further instructions will be given to attendees by the Chairman of the meeting prior to and during the course of the meeting. Please note that the building is wheelchair accessible.
If you are in any doubt as to the action you should take, you should consult your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other professional adviser authorised pursuant to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If you have sold or transferred all of your shares in Bodycote plc (the Company), please forward this document together with the accompanying Form of Proxy to the purchaser or transferee, or to the stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom the sale was effected without delay, for delivery to the purchaser or transferee. If you have sold some but not all of your shares, please contact your stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom the sale was effected without delay for advice as to how to proceed. Shareholders may, as an alternative, register a proxy electronically on the Company registrar's website at www.capitashareportal.com. To be valid, the Form of Proxy, or registration of your electronic proxy, in accordance with the instructions printed thereon, must be lodged by post or by hand with the Company's registrars, Capita Asset Services, PXS, 34 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 4TU during normal office hours, no later than 48 hours before the time of the meeting.
Bodycote plc Registered in England and Wales No. 519057
Registered Office: Springwood Court Springwood Close Tytherington Business Park Macclesfield Cheshire SK10 2XF
16 March 2015
From the Chairman, Mr A.M. Thomson
As you will see from the notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Company, to be held on 23 April 2015, in addition to the ordinary business to be transacted at the meeting, your Board is proposing 4 items of special business, as set out in resolutions 13 to 16, an explanation of which is given on page 3 of this circular.
The ordinary business of the meeting will include proposals to re-elect the Directors of the Company in line with the UK Corporate Governance Code and to approve the annual remuneration report.
The special business relates to the renewal of the authority for Directors to allot shares, the renewal of the authority for Directors to allot shares on a non-pre-emptive basis, the renewal of authority for the Company to purchase its own shares, and the renewal of authority for the Company to call General Meetings on 14 days' notice.
Your Board believes that the resolutions to be proposed are all in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole and accordingly recommend that you vote in favour of them. You will find enclosed a Form of Proxy which, to be effective, you should please complete in accordance with the instructions given and return so as to reach the Company's registrar as soon as possible but in any event not later than 48 hours before the time of the meeting. The completion of the Form of Proxy will not prevent you from attending the meeting in person if you wish to do so.
Yours sincerely,
Chairman
Following the publication of FRS 100 Application of Financial Reporting Requirements by the Financial Reporting Council, Bodycote plc is required to change its accounting framework for its entity financial statements, which is currently UK GAAP, for its financial year commencing 1 January 2015. The Board considers that it is in the best interest of Bodycote plc to adopt FRS101 Reduced Disclosure Framework. A shareholder or shareholders may serve objections to the use of the disclosure exemptions on Bodycote plc, in writing, to its registered office (Springwood Court, Springwood Close, Tytherington Business Park, Macclesfield SK10 2XF) not later than 22 April 2015.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 62nd annual general meeting of BODYCOTE PLC will be held at Springwood Court, Springwood Close, Tytherington Business Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 2XF on Thursday 23 April 2015, at 12.00pm for the following purposes:
To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolutions, of which resolution 13 will be proposed as an ordinary resolution and resolutions 14, 15 and 16 as special resolutions.
Such authorities shall apply until the close of business on 22 July 2016 or, if earlier, the end of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company, unless previously varied or revoked by the Company in general meeting, save that, in each case, the Company may make offers or agreements which would or might require shares to be allotted or rights to subscribe for or convert securities into shares to be granted after the authority ends and the Directors may allot shares or grant rights to subscribe for or convert securities into shares in pursuance of any such offer or agreement as if the authority had not ended.
14. That, subject to the passing of resolution 13 as set out in the notice of this meeting, and in accordance with Article 17 of the Articles of Association of the Company, the Directors be empowered pursuant to section 570 of the Companies Act 2006 to allot equity securities (as defined in section 560 of the Companies Act 2006) for cash pursuant to the general authority conferred by resolution 13 as set out in the notice of this meeting and be empowered pursuant to section 573 of the Companies Act 2006 to sell ordinary shares (as defined in section 560 of the Companies Act 2006) held by the Company as treasury shares (as defined in section 724 of the Companies Act 2006) for cash, as if section 561(1) of the Companies Act 2006 did not apply to such allotment or sale, provided that this power shall be limited to allotments of equity securities and the sale of treasury shares:
and such power shall expire on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2016 or on the date falling not more than 15 calendar months after the passing of this resolution, whichever is earlier, but so that the Company may before such expiry make an offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted or treasury shares to be sold after such expiry, and the Directors may allot equity securities or sell treasury shares in pursuance of such offer or agreement as if the power conferred by this resolution had not expired.
By order of the Board:
Group Company Secretary 16 March 2015
Springwood Court Springwood Close Tytherington Business Park Macclesfield Cheshire SK10 2XF
In light of the continued strong financial performance, cash generation and the robustness of the Company's balance sheet, the Directors consider it appropriate to propose a one-off special dividend of 20 pence on each share, in addition to the dividend recommended under Resolution 2. The approval of this Resolution is not dependent on the approval of Resolution 2, nor vice versa. If this Resolution is approved, the recommended special dividend will be paid on the same basis as the dividend.
Under the Articles of Association of the Company each Director must retire from office and stand for re-election by shareholders as a minimum at every third Annual General Meeting in order to continue to serve as a Director. However, in line with the UK Corporate Governance Code, and to further increase accountability, all Directors will retire at this Annual General Meeting and stand for re-election by the shareholders if they wish to continue to serve as Directors of the Company. Accordingly, the Directors retiring and offering themselves for re-election are Mr A.M. Thomson, Mr S.C. Harris, Mr D.F. Landless, Dr. K. Rajagopal and Ms E. Lindqvist. Mr I.B. Duncan, having been appointed on 17 November 2014, stands for election.
UK listed companies are required to put before shareholders in general meeting a resolution inviting shareholders to approve the Remuneration Report. This is an advisory vote.
The Remuneration Report gives details of the Directors' remuneration for the period ended 31 December 2014.
Following changes made under the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 and the Enterprise & Regulatory Reform Act 2013, section 439 of the Companies Act 2006 ("the Act") requires UK listed companies to ask shareholders to vote on the Remuneration Policy. This vote is binding and a resolution must be put before shareholders at least every three years (or when the policy changes). Having been approved at the 2014 AGM, the policy will not be put to a binding vote at the 2015 AGM.
The Act provides that Directors shall only allot unissued shares with the authority of shareholders in a general meeting. The authority given to the Directors at the last Annual General Meeting to allot (or issue) unissued shares expires on the date of this year's Annual General Meeting.
Resolution 13 will be proposed as an ordinary resolution for the renewal of the Directors' general authority to issue shares in the Company and to grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the Company up to an aggregate nominal amount of £11,023,234, representing approximately one third of the current issued share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares). In addition, in accordance with the latest institutional guidelines issued by the Investment Management Association (renamed The Investment Association ("IA")), the resolution also seeks authority for the Directors to allot further of the Company's shares by way of a pre-emptive rights issue up to a maximum nominal amount of £22,046,468, (representing approximately two thirds of the current issued share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares)). The Directors have no present intention of exercising either of these authorities.
The Act also provides that any allotment of new shares for cash must be made pro rata to individual shareholders' holdings, unless such provisions are disapplied under section 570 of the Act. The authority given to the Directors at the last Annual General Meeting to allot shares for cash pursuant to section 560 of the Act expires on the date of this year's Annual General Meeting. Resolution 14 will be proposed as a special resolution for the renewal of the Directors' authority to allot equity securities for cash, without first offering them to shareholders pro rata to their holdings. This authority facilitates issues made by way of rights to shareholders which are not strictly in accordance with section 561(1) of the Act, and authorises other allotments of up to a maximum aggregate
nominal amount of £1,653,485, representing approximately 5 per cent of the current issued ordinary share capital of the Company. The Directors do not intend to issue more than 7.5 per cent of the issued share capital of the Company for cash on a non-pre-emptive basis in any rolling three year period without prior consultation with the shareholders. This authority also allows the Directors, within the same aggregate limit, to sell for cash shares that may be held by the Company in treasury.
The authorities granted under resolutions 13 and 14 will expire at the earlier of the next Annual General Meeting or on 22 July 2016.
Under Article 9 of the Articles of Association the Company is empowered to purchase its own shares. The Directors consider that the power to make purchases in the market of the Company's own shares should be maintained and accordingly recommend the approval of the special resolution set out as resolution 15. The Directors intend to exercise this authority only where, in light of market conditions prevailing at that time, they believe that the effect of such purchases would be to increase earnings per share. Any shares purchased in this way will be cancelled and the number of shares in issue will be reduced accordingly, or held as treasury shares. The resolution specifies the maximum and minimum prices at which shares may be bought, and the maximum number of shares which may be bought, this being 10 per cent of the Company's issued ordinary share capital at 31 December 2014. At that date there were no share options over unissued shares.
Calling general meetings on 14 clear days' notice (Resolution 16) Section 307A of the Act provides that a general meeting of a 'traded company' such as Bodycote plc must be called by at least 21 days' notice, but may be called by at least 14 days' notice if three conditions are met. The three conditions are:
The Directors consider it desirable that general meetings of the Company, other than the Annual General Meeting, can be called on at least 14 clear days' notice. Resolution 16, which will be proposed as a special resolution, will authorise the Company to call general meetings other than Annual General Meetings on 14 days' notice and the authority of this resolution will expire at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting.
Any members' statements, members' resolutions and members' matters of business received by the Company after the date of this notice will be added to the information already available on the website as soon as reasonably practicable and will also be made available for the following two years.
appointed a voting service provider(s), to procure that his or her CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers are referred, in particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings.
If you are a person with information rights under section 146 of the Act you do not have the right to appoint a proxy. Any such forms returned by such persons will be ineffective. You may however have specific rights to instruct the member who granted you information rights as to how such member exercises their right to appoint a proxy.
Whichever form of communication is chosen, the request must either set out the statement in full or, if supporting a statement sent by another member, clearly identify the statement which is being supported, and be received by the Company at least one week before the Annual General Meeting.
The addresses at paragraphs (b) and (c) above are, in accordance with Article 178 of the Company's Articles of Association, specified solely for the purpose of communications in respect of this meeting and for no other purpose.
10. Copies of the Executive Directors' service contracts and Non-Executive Directors' letters of appointment will be available for inspection at the Company's registered office during normal business hours on each business day (Saturday, Sundays and public holidays excluded) from the date of this notice until the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting.
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