PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA--(Marketwired - November 19, 2015) - Paladin Energy Ltd ("Paladin" or "the Company") (
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/G072793_PRESENTATION.pdf
Yours faithfully
Paladin Energy Ltd
ALEXANDER MOLYNEUX
Interim CEO
Chairman's Address at 2015 Annual General Meeting
Dear Fellow Shareholders
The further retreat in the uranium price and overall deterioration in commodity-related equities during the 2015 financial year presented continued ongoing challenges for your Company. During 2014 the uranium spot price touched a nine-year low, but has since recovered somewhat. Expectations are for an upward trend to develop but the market is experiencing continued volatility. Virtually all other commodities however are experiencing all-time lows and uranium is generally regarded as a commodity with a better medium to long term future.
During this challenging period, the Paladin Board and management nevertheless completed a number of important steps to progress recapitalisation of the Company, as outlined in the Annual Report. These included an entitlement offer and institutional placement to raise A$205M, the issue of US$150M senior unsecured convertible bonds and the repurchase of the US$300M November 2015 convertible bonds.
The institutional placement introduced HOPU Clean Energy (Singapore) Pte Ltd as a 15% shareholder and Mr Wendong Zhang was appointed to the board representing HOPU. I take this opportunity to thank HOPU for its important contribution to securing a long term sustainable future for Paladin and I trust the HOPU investing community will be rewarded in due course for their faith in Paladin and the uranium industry.
Although production at the Langer Heinrich Mine was down in FY2015 and was also slightly down last quarter, the temporary technical issues which resulted in the reduction have been rectified and a solid production outlook is expected.
In addition to cost reduction initiatives during FY2015, in July and August this year the Company announced a number of further measures aimed at making Paladin cash-flow positive in the current uranium price environment. Further work remains to be done in FY2016 particularly to strengthen the balance sheet and to improve production at Langer Heinrich whilst reducing costs.
On 10 August 2015, the Company announced that Mr John Borshoff stepped down as Managing Director and CEO. It was John's vision, tenacity and spirit that created Paladin, which remains uniquely placed to benefit from an improved uranium market. I take this opportunity on behalf of shareholders to again sincerely thank John for his efforts and sacrifice over some 21 years and wish him all the best for the future. Recently two other long serving officers of the Company, non-executive director Sean Llewelyn and Company Secretary/EGM Corporate Services Gillian Swaby, stepped down. Their respective significant contributions are very much appreciated and I also wish them all the best in future endeavours.
As you are aware, Mr Alexander Molyneux is currently serving as Interim CEO and with the support of the Board continues to focus on the goals the Company has set for FY2016. We are well advanced in the process to identify and recruit a high calibre permanent CEO and I would expect to be in a position to make an announcement in that regard in the near future.
I am pleased that the Company has continued to maintain high standards in health and safety and environmental management. I encourage shareholders to study the sustainable development report in the Annual Report. In addition, the Sustainability Report (prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative G4 Guidelines) for 2015 has recently been uploaded to the Company's website and provides up to date information on this important aspect of the business.
I wish to thank all employees for their hard work and dedication during what has been, yet again, a challenging period for the Company. I remain confident that the conclusion of FY2016 will see an improved outlook for Paladin, to the benefit of all stakeholders.
RICK CRABB
Chairman
Results of Annual General Meeting
In accordance with ASX Listing Rule 3.13.2 and section 251AA of the Corporations Act, below we advise details of the resolutions and the proxies received in respect of each resolution from today's Annual General Meeting.
- Re-election of Director - Mr Donald Shumka
The instructions given to validly appointed proxies in respect of the resolution were as follows:
| For | Against | Abstain | Open Usable* |
| 574,674,092 | 54,369,240 | 2,619,718 | 5,229,908 |
The motion was carried on a show of hands as an ordinary resolution.
- Re-election of Director - Mr Peter Donkin
The instructions given to validly appointed proxies in respect of the resolution were as follows:
| For | Against | Abstain | Open Usable* |
| 574,604,801 | 54,284,408 | 2,773,818 | 5,229,931 |
The motion was carried on a show of hands as an ordinary resolution.
- Re-election of Director - Mr Wendong Zhang
The instructions given to validly appointed proxies in respect of the resolution were as follows:
| For | Against | Abstain | Open Usable* |
| 587,859,183 | 41,063,729 | 2,740,115 | 5,229,931 |
The motion was carried on a show of hands as an ordinary resolution.
- Renewal of the Company's Proportional Takeover Approval Provisions
The instructions given to validly appointed proxies in respect of the resolution were as follows:
| For | Against | Abstain | Open Usable* |
| 626,800,513 | 2,237,252 | 2,613,166 | 5,237,528 |
The motion was carried on a show of hands as a special resolution.
- Employee Performance Share Rights Plan
The instructions given to validly appointed proxies in respect of the resolution were as follows:
| For | Against | Abstain | Open Usable* | Excluded** |
| 566,846,780 | 39,391,171 | 1,349,922 | 5,159,131 | 23,999,055 |
The motion was carried on a show of hands as an ordinary resolution.
- Contractors Performance Share Rights Plan
The instructions given to validly appointed proxies in respect of the resolution were as follows:
| For | Against | Abstain | Open Usable* | Excluded** |
| 595,932,038 | 10,043,157 | 1,706,878 | 5,167,131 | 23,999,055 |
The motion was carried on a show of hands as an ordinary resolution.
- Remuneration Report
The instructions given to validly appointed proxies in respect of the resolution were as follows:
| For | Against | Abstain | Open Usable* | Excluded** |
| 540,023,703 | 84,940,837 | 2,610,000 | 5,172,793 | 23,999,055 |
The resolution was carried by a show of hands as an ordinary resolution
- Holding a Spill Meeting
This resolution was not required to be brought before the meeting, as it was conditional upon at least 25% of the votes cast on Resolution 7 to be against the adoption of the remuneration report. The votes against were only 13.49% against the resolution and therefore this resolution was withdrawn.
For the purposes of disclosure only, the proxy voting on this resolution was as follows:
| For | Against | Abstain | Open Usable* | Excluded** |
| 56,647,158 | 547,308,874 | 3,683,928 | 5,209,243 | 23,999,055 |
* Open usable reflects valid proxies for which no voting indication has been noted - if held by the Chairman these will be voted in favour of all resolutions.
** Relates to key management personnel excluded from voting pursuant to ASX Listing Rules.
ACN 061 681 098
Contact Information:
For additional information, please contact:
Andrew Mirco
Investor Relations Contact (Perth)
Tel: +61-8-9381-4366 or Mobile: +61-409-087-171
Email: andrew.mirco@paladinenergy.com.au