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LENDLEASE GROUP — AGM Information 2015
Nov 12, 2015
65243_rns_2015-11-12_d9526833-7b60-4763-b003-91b39cceba44.pdf
AGM Information
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13 November 2015
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2015 Annual General Meetings – Chairman and Managing Director Addresses
In accordance with ASX Listing Rule 3.13, attached are the addresses and accompanying slide presentation to be given to Lend Lease Group’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at the Annual General Meeting and Unit Holder meeting to be held today at 10.00am.
ENDS
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Investors: Suzanne Evans Tel: 02 9236 6464
Media: Nadeena Whitby Tel: 02 9236 6865 Mob: 0467 773 032
Lend Lease Corporation Limited ABN 32 000 226 228 and
Lend Lease Responsible Entity Limited ABN 72 122 883 185 AFS Licence 308983 as responsible entity for Lend Lease Trust ABN 39 944 184 773 ARSN 128 052 595
Telephone +61 2 9236 6111 Facsimile +61 2 9252 2192 lendlease.com
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Level 4, 30 The Bond 30 Hickson Road, Millers Point NSW 2000 Australia
2015 Annual General Meeting CHAIRMAN AND GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & MANAGING DIRECTOR SPEECHES
DAVID CRAWFORD, AO - Chairman:
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Good morning everyone.
My name is David Crawford and I am Chairman of the Lend Lease Board of Directors.
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In meeting here today at the Four Seasons Hotel, I acknowledge that we are on the land of the Gadigal people. The Gadigal people are the Traditional custodians of this land and form part of the wider Aboriginal nation known as the Eora. I
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extend my respect to their Elders past and present and to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with us this morning.
Before I commence my address, I will take care of some housekeeping items.
In the event of an emergency requiring the hotel to be evacuated, you’ll be alerted by an audible signal, and a public address announcement to evacuate the premises.
Members of the hotel and security will direct you. Please proceed calmly and in an orderly fashion to one of the nearest emergency exits located at the south end of the common area by the lift landing.
After exiting the hotel, please assemble with hotel staff at Lang Park which is located at the corner of Harrington Street and Grosvenor Street.
Please take a moment to ensure your mobile phones are turned to silent.
This meeting is being webcast and can be viewed on the Lend Lease Group website and an archive will be available for viewing later this afternoon.
At the conclusion of the meeting, we invite securityholders to join the Board for refreshments in the lobby area outside.
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I will now introduce the rest of the Board of Directors. Moving from my far right we have Nicola Wakefield Evans, Steve Dobbs who is our newest member of the Board, Colin Carter and our Company Secretary Wendy Lee. To my left is our Group CEO and Managing Director Steve McCann, Jane Hemstrich, Phillip Colebatch, Michael Ullmer and David Ryan.
Seated in the front rows of the auditorium are some members of the executive management team. Also in attendance are the Group’s auditors, KPMG, who will be able to assist with answers to questions you may have, relating to the Group’s financial statements and their audit.
I will commence proceedings with an overview of the key achievements for the 2015 Financial Year. Your CEO and Managing Director, Steve McCann will then present on our business and outlook before we move to the formal business of the meeting and the resolutions.
We will provide an opportunity for discussion and any questions you might have when we deal with each of the formal agenda items.
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Safety commitment
At Lend Lease, safety is our number one priority. In the 2015 financial year there were no corporate reportable work related fatalities on a Lend Lease controlled operation. Given the scale and complexity of the projects that Lend Lease operates around the world, this task is far from easy.
In the area of health and safety, as part of Lend Lease’s ongoing quest for excellence, this year we completed a comprehensive review of our existing Global Minimum Requirements. A refreshed approach and framework was launched last month. We are now more focussed on front end planning, design and procurement considerations, as well as strict risk event controls around key exposures.
We will not waiver in our uncompromising commitment to operate Incident and Injury Free. Our adherence to standardised Global Minimum Requirements across all the projects and assets that Lend Lease controls remains a priority.
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Vision and Strategy
Lend Lease’s long term vision ‘ to create the best places ’ underpins the Group’s strategy and the way we operate. It has been instrumental in identifying, planning and designing the projects that drive our growth.
Since 2009, Lend Lease has successfully delivered our “Restore, Build, Lead” strategy which has placed the Group in a strong position. In the initial stages of this strategy, the focus was on restructuring and repositioning the Company’s portfolio of businesses.
Looking to the future, our focus is on realising the value of our large pipeline of development opportunities, and targeting disciplined growth in our core sectors, safely and profitability.
In the last 12 months, Lend Lease significantly increased its portfolio of development projects. We grew our portfolio of major Urban Regeneration projects, adding approximately $8 billion of new opportunities.
We have improved the safety and sustainability of our business, expanded our development pipeline to $44.9 billion, increased our funds under management to $21.3 billion and increased our construction backlog revenue to $17.3 billion. Over the last five years to 30 June 2015, our strategy has delivered total securityholder returns of circa 190 per cent.
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Values and Governance
We have six core values which shape the way we deliver the Group’s vision. They guide how we behave and make decisions. Our values are clearly reflected in our approach to Governance.
The Lend Lease Code of Conduct which is endorsed by the Board sets out the standards of conduct expected of our businesses and people, regardless of location.
It applies to all Directors and employees of Lend Lease and operates in conjunction with our Core Values and the Employee Conduct Guide.
We are committed to exceptional corporate governance policies and practices. These are fundamental to the long term success and prosperity of Lend Lease.
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Operating Performance
Now to the performance of the company during the last year.
We have delivered a strong result for our securityholders. Our business has delivered profit after tax of $618.6 million.
Earnings per stapled security were 106.8 cents and the Board has declared a final distribution of 27 cents per stapled security, with the dividend component franked to 25%. This brings the full year distribution to 54 cents per security and the full year payout ratio to 51%, within the Board’s target range of 40 to 60 per cent of earnings.
FY15 was a good set of results and we are very well placed for the future. Our development pipeline sits at an estimated end value of $44.9 billion.
Our residential development business had record settlements of 4,262, up 24% on the prior year.
We have grown our portfolio of international urban regeneration projects with new developments secured in Singapore, Malaysia and the United States.
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In our Investment Management business, we recorded a 31% increase in funds under management, to $21.3 billion.
Finally, our Construction operations increased backlog revenue to $17.3 billion, up 7% on the prior year, with $11.8 billion of new work secured.
My thanks go to my fellow Board members, as well as the Lend Lease management team and employees for their dedicated efforts throughout the year. I also thank investors for your continued support as we work together to build Lend Lease into the leading international property and infrastructure group.
I now hand over to Steve to talk about the business performance in a little more
detail.
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STEVE McCANN – Group Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director:
Thank you, David.
I too would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
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As David mentioned in his opening address, Lend Lease had another strong year in 2015, delivering strong financial results and further increasing our earnings visibility.
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We transitioned our strategy from “Restore, Build, Lead” which has been the cornerstone of our business evolution over the last several years, to our revised Focus and Grow strategy. This is centred on cementing our leadership position in urbanisation, delivering our pipeline safely and profitably and pursuing disciplined growth in our core markets and sectors.
There are a number of areas of achievement in the last 12 months that I am very proud to highlight to you today.
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Firstly, our continued improvements in safety. During the year, Lend Lease had no corporate reportable work related fatalities across any operations globally. This represents the second consecutive year where this significant milestone has been achieved. Pleasingly also 83% of operations did not record a critical incident. We will not waiver in our focus on safety.
Secondly, our focus on creating the best places, which includes a strong commitment to sustainable development and investment.
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Sustainability remains a core component of our business strategy. 100 per cent of our major urban developments, totalling over $30 billion, have achieved or are targeting green certification.
In the past year, Lend Lease has received more than 69 awards recognising its environmental and social leadership. This includes our Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial ranking first globally, out of 707 participants, in the 2015 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark for the second year running.
In the Americas the US Energy Department recognised Lend Lease’s Military Housing portfolio of over 40,000 residential units, which achieved a 26 per cent
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energy saving. This was five years ahead of schedule, and bettered its target of 20 per cent in the Obama Administration’s Better Buildings Challenge.
Gender equity continues to be a priority at Lend Lease. We are ensuring that our processes, policies and opportunities are fair and equitable for all. For the year ended 30 June 2015, 29 per cent of our employees were women and 21 per cent of senior executive positions were held by women.
Lend Lease has also achieved some prominent awards acknowledging our leadership as an employer for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex community.
For the fourth year running, we have been recognised as a top ten employer in the Australian Workplace Equality Index for LGBTI inclusion, the only property and construction organisation in the top thirty.
We were also recently proud to be recognised by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency receiving the Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation.
In Australia, we continue to engage with the Australian Aboriginal community through activities in our Reconciliation Action Plan. This year, Lend Lease joined 12 other organisations in a 10-year partnership with CareerTrackers agreeing to provide a minimum of 25 internship opportunities per year.
Thirdly, the refreshment of our corporate brand. The introduction of the fold is more than just a visual change. It is a bold representation of who Lend Lease is and reflects the unique composition and diversity of our business.
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The new brand will unify all employees under a single Lend Lease brand; including those from organisations we have acquired. An overnight change to the brand is not practical or affordable so the transition will take place over 24 months and will be absorbed in our existing budgets.
Fourthly, our strong financial performance. David has already covered some of the high level metrics but there are a few others that I would like to highlight.
EBITDA for our operations was $967 million and profit after tax was $618.6 million, representing a 19% and 25% decrease respectively on FY14 which included the $485 million contribution from the sale of Bluewater.
Consistent with our last three reporting periods, we have continued to see a substantial increase in our residential pre sales revenue, now at a record $5.2 billion, up 109% on the previous year.
This reflects the favourable macro conditions in residential, particularly in Australia, where we have continued to see strong demand for both apartment and communities product.
Much of our growth in the residential sector has been through our major urban regeneration projects, which comprise approximately 70% of our $44.9 billion pipeline of development work.
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Regional update
I’ll now move to a brief update on our key regions and an outlook across all the markets in which we operate.
Australia
Australia continues to be the key component of our earnings – circa 70%.
Property Development was the standout performance in Australia this year, with EBITDA up 74% on the prior year. Earnings increased following strong residential trading conditions, the sale of Tower 1 at Barangaroo South and the finalisation of documentation with Crown Resorts.
Residential pre sold revenue in Australia rose 155% to $3.9 billion and there was a 26% increase in land lot settlements for our Communities operations.
Construction backlog revenue rose 3% to $9.9 billion, including the building contract for the integrated resort and hotel at Barangaroo South and the $2.6 billion engineering contract for NorthConnex in Sydney with our joint venture
partner, Bouygues Construction.
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Funds under management rose strongly by 27% to $13.8 billion.
We recorded several milestones at Barangaroo South during the year. Tower 2 “topped out” and at the end of the financial year, welcomed its first tenant, Westpac.
Two new leasing agreements were signed for Tower 1, with Marsh & McLennan & Companies and Servcorp. Tower 1 was sold into a new $2 billion wholesale trust and we finalised documentation with Crown Resorts for the development of a world-class integrated resort and hotel at the site.
During the year, we closed two project development agreements at Darling Square and the ICC Sydney Hotel, totalling circa $1.9 billion and sold out 100% of the second phase of residential apartments at Darling Square.
International Operations
In the Americas, overall EBITDA increased 21% to $155.4 million.
In Construction, EBITDA was up 31% following a strong performance in our core markets and a 3% increase in backlog revenue.
Property Development EBITDA reduced 6% as we continued to invest in the origination of new projects in the broader residential and urban regeneration sectors.
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Infrastructure Development EBITDA was flat on the prior year, with a stable contribution from our military housing projects.
In Europe, the business saw underlying improvements but with the prior year including the sale of Bluewater, EBITDA was down 78%.
Key earnings contributors included:
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Property Development – with apartment settlements at the Elephant & Castle and Wandsworth in London and land sales associated with our regional residential portfolio.
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Infrastructure Development – which saw an increase in profit following the sale of our Facilities Management Business to GDF Suez in the first half of the year; and
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Our Construction operations – with an increased contribution from the settlement of the Global Renewables Project and better performance in an improving market.
Lastly in Asia, there was a decrease in EBITDA compared to the prior year, which included a performance fee for the Jem asset in Singapore. Construction earnings were also impacted by the reduction of Telco tower work in Japan.
In all international regions our Property Development pipeline increased, reflecting the new opportunities we have secured over the last few years.
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In Asia the pipeline increased to $5.8 billion with the inclusion of the Lifestyle Quarter at TRX in Malaysia and Paya Lebar Central in Singapore. The development pipeline for the Americas increased to $2.8 billion, which includes the full value of the River South development in Chicago, assuming all future phases of this project are completed.
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Outlook
Lend Lease remains confident in our business outlook and the strength of our diverse operations.
Residential markets remain strong in both Australia and the UK. As I mentioned earlier, we have circa $5.2 billion of pre sold residential revenue across communities and apartments, up 109% on the previous year.
We have 25 major apartment buildings and five commercial buildings in delivery. We are closely watching lead indicators for a change in the cycle, including a slowing rate of presales for new launches should that emerge. We have also undertaken extensive work to mitigate risks and exposures in our portfolio. Construction markets remain competitive, however weakness in engineering revenue in Australia has been offset by strong building revenues, including our internal workbook.
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The embedded earnings in our existing pipeline of opportunities, underpins earnings visibility over the coming years and will deliver significant revenue and cash between FY16 and FY18.
Over the longer-term we will look to further expand in international markets to provide a stronger growth outlook and to further improve our diversity of earnings.
In closing, I would like to add to the Chairman’s thanks to securityholders for your support over the past year. To create the best places we need the best people so I’d also like to acknowledge the hard work of Lend Lease employees globally as we deliver on our strategy to become the leading international property and infrastructure group.
DAVID CRAWFORD, AO - Chairman:
Thanks very much Steve.
I will now turn to the formal business of the meeting.
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