Perenti Aktie

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Perenti FY '26 Results Presentation. [Operator Instructions] Finally, I would like to advise all participants that this call is being recorded. I'd now like to welcome Vanessa Torres, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, to begin the presentation. Vanessa, over to you.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the Perenti FY '26 Results Call. My name is Vanessa Torres, and presenting with me today is Mike Ellis, our CFO. Today, we will outline our full year performance, the outlook for our business and how we plan to maximize returns for our shareholders. As this is my first reporting period as CEO for Perenti, I am very pleased to be announcing another year that Perenti has delivered to our guidance, marking our fifth consecutive year.

For those who are new to the Perenti story, we illustrate on Slide 3, our diversified portfolio of businesses spanning across the mining life cycle. Our businesses offer a broad suite of services, spreading across 12 different countries. We have world-leading expertise in underground mining and drilling. 66% of our revenue in FY '26 was generated from underground operations, and this was mostly from gold and copper projects. We operate 20 mines around the world. And collectively, we employ around 10,000 people to service more than 160 different clients. We aim to be the safest and most productive in industry, which unlocks enduring value and certainty for our people, our clients, our communities and ultimately deliver sustainable returns for our shareholders.

As announced on Friday, we have agreed to sell the BTP Group for AUD 100 million. The accounting standards require BTP to be reported in our annual report as a discontinued operation in our financial results. In order to allow comparison between FY '26 and FY '25 in a like-for-like manner, the results presented here represent the division as it was on 30th of June 2026, which is inclusive of the BTP Group. Mike will step through a reconciliation to statutory numbers later.

Before I get into the financial performance, I want to highlight our focus on safety. At Perenti, we are committed to ensure that everyone comes home safe and well. This mindset shapes how we operate our business and the decisions we make. In FY '26, we continue to strengthen our safety system in four key areas. Our critical risk management systems have strengthened the identification of hazards.

Safety leadership training is building our safety culture across all of our workforce -- direct workforce engagement. It's also simplifying our systems, making them more accessible and practical for our workforce and technology and engineering solutions are prioritized to reduce exposure to hazards where possible. We are proud to report 0 fatalities in FY '26 and improvements in both total recordable injury frequency rate, which is down to 6.0 and significant potential incident frequency rate down to 2.8. Whilst these results are encouraging, a safety culture requires continued focus and an enduring commitment from everyone in our organization.

Turning to our FY '26 financial results on Slide 5. As guided to the market, FY '26 has been a transitional year that sets up our company for future growth. A shift in revenue mix from Africa towards Australia and North America has been underway for some time, and the success of this strategy is now building momentum. EBIT(A) margin increased to 9.8%, delivering a record EBIT(A) result, even with revenue holding steady from FY '25. At the same time, -- the balance sheet has continued to benefit from the strong free cash generation.

Leverage at 0.4x and gearing at 12.8% is the strongest position our balance sheet has ever been in. This provides significant capacity to pursue growth options that I will unpack later in this presentation. On an adjusted basis, free cash flow of $182 million exceeded our guidance, which was upgraded during our first half results. Underlying NPAT(A) grew 8% compared to FY '25, benefiting from the lower finance costs. The strength of these results has allowed our Board to declare a final dividend of $0.045 per share, which lifts the total dividend for FY '26 to $0.0775 per share. Underlying EPS increased to $0.205 per share compared to $0.191 in FY '25, a 7% improvement year-on-year.

On Slide 6, we show our performance against guidance for the past five years. This is the fifth consecutive year that guidance has been met, which has also occurred in parallel with the portfolio transition, shifting the concentration of revenue in West Africa towards Australia and North America. The consistent free cash generation has enabled the balance sheet to be fundamentally transformed and now provides the group with significant funding capacity to pursue growth options aimed to maximize shareholder return.

Operationally, FY '26 included several important highlights. In Australia, we won the Bellevue contract worth approximately $850 million, which is the largest Australian contract in the history of Barminco. Our drilling businesses continue to build momentum with rising utilization, which is encouraging for FY '27. In North America, development at Goldrush has maintained a high operating standard that has been helpful to showcase the productivity advantages that Barminco's high-speed development can deliver for clients to maximize value. The award of the neighboring Fourmile contract is an important step to build regional scale in the U.S.A. and the recently announced addition of the Fourmile project to the Nevada Gold Mines JV between Newmont and Barrick enables us to unlock the benefits of working on these neighboring mines.

I recently had the opportunity to visit our operations in Ghana, and I was pleased to see our underground mining operations continue to deliver strong results. The culture amongst our Ghanaian workforce is excellent and the flow-on impact on the communities is immense. As we will be shortly exiting surface mine in Ghana, the recent agreement to sell the Iduapriem fleet as part of this transition will allow the recycling of capital toward new high-performing opportunities elsewhere in the portfolio.

The numbers at the base of this slide provide a glimpse of the size of our operations. Over 120 kilometers of development advance and more than 14 million tonnes of ore was delivered by Contract Mining in FY '26. The total drilling meters in the lower right includes everything drilled by drilling services and also the contribution of the drillers who work as part of the Contract Mining operations. And to give context to the 13,000 kilometers of drilling, it is more than the diameter of Planet Earth. So effectively, in a single year, our teams have drilled the equivalent distance from one side to the planet to the other.

Turning to Slide 8. Perenti delivered record EBIT(A) of $340 million, up 2% on FY '25 on a broadly flat revenue of around $3.5 billion. The key feature of this result was the improvement in EBIT(A) margin, which increased to 9.8%, supported by improved operational performance from Contract Mining. As highlighted during our first half results and consistent with prior years, earnings were heavily weighted to the second half. This is typical of the nature of our business, and we anticipate a similar first half and second half profile in FY '27 as new projects ramp up. Looking ahead, the sale of the AMS fleet and the divestment of BTP are expected to recycle approximately $150 million towards higher return opportunities.

Moving to Contract Mining, our largest division, which generated revenue of $2.4 billion and EBIT(A) of $291 million. As I mentioned previously, the pivot from Africa towards Australia and North America has shifted the revenue mix within this division. Our long-term contracts are advantageous for many reasons, but it does take time to shift the portfolio. This is evident in these results. But pleasingly, we are still delivering very strong margins. The EBIT(A) result from Contract Mining was a key driver of the Group's EBIT(A) results. This is not surprising when you consider that Contract Mining represents approximately 75% of underlying group EBIT(A) before corporate costs.

Recent project wins at Bellevue, Fourmile and Dalgaranga continue to move the portfolio mix towards a high-quality, long-life projects in both Australia and North America. While the proportion of revenue from Africa is changing, our clients in Africa remain an important part of the portfolio. AUMS has recently commenced some early works at Sabodala in Senegal for Endeavour Mining with a longer-term agreement under negotiation. I will discuss later our work in hand and pipeline, but the outlook for underground operations is particularly bright in North America, where there's visibility of $6.4 billion of potential work.

Turning to Drilling Services. The division has grown revenue to $843 million and set a new record EBIT(A) of $85 million. Drilling Services now represents 22% of underlying EBIT(A) before corporate costs. Utilization across the fleet continues to trend upwards and positions the division for further earnings and margins growth with mobilization costs and some fuel-sensitive inputs expected to normalize in FY '27. Swick has delivered an outstanding year in Australia and continues to see strong opportunities emerging in North America, particularly across gold and copper projects. A recent highlight subsequent to the end of the financial year was the award of a 5-year $92 million contract for Ausdrill for drilling and blasting services at Vault Minerals' King of the Hills mine.

On Slide 11, Mining and Technology Services delivered revenue of $190 million and EBIT(A) of $11 million. As announced, an agreement to sell the BTP Group has been reached. So BTP has been reported as a discontinued operation in our financial results. The results presented in this slide represent the division as it was on 30th of June 2026, inclusive of the BTP Group. The proposed sale of BTP is a pivotal move that will transform this division, leaving Supply Direct, Logistics Direct and idoba focused on lower capital-intensive services. This year, Supply Direct and Logistics Direct performed in line with expectations, and both have opportunities to grow in FY '27, idoba product development costs reduced in FY '26 and reduced again in FY '27.

And moving forward, they will be included in our underlying results. As announced, the divestment of BTP will unlock $100 million that will be recycled into higher return investments. In addition, the sale of the Iduapriem fleet that is part of the conclusion of the contract as announced in 20th of July 2026 is expected to generate a further $30 million to $40 million. There's also some further AMS idle surface fleet that is currently in Ghana and expected to be sold in FY '27, realizing an additional $10 million to $15 million. In total, these initiatives are expected to return between $140 million and $155 million to the Group, funding near-term opportunities that meet our investment criteria and support EPS growth.

It is important to note the timing associated with these sales. The first tranche of the BTP sale, $80 million, is due to arrive towards the end of October 2026, with the final $20 million due 12 months later. The $30 million to $40 million sale of the Iduapriem fleet is due to arrive at contract conclusion in December 2026. The final $10 million to $15 million for the remainder of the idle AMS fleet in Ghana will be collected as and when the fleet is sold and several buyers have expressed interest already. I will now pass on to Mike, who will take you through the financials.

Thank you, Vanessa, and good morning to everyone on the call today. I'll now walk you through the underlying profit and loss on Slide 13. Revenue in FY '26 was $3.46 billion, broadly flat year-on-year, a solid result given the changes in the portfolio. The completion of various projects impacted our revenue growth in FY '26 with the Botswana underground project finishing at the end of FY '25, accounting for circa $250 million of revenue. This was offset by increased drilling services revenue on rising utilization and several contract wins in Contract Mining, further highlighting the benefits of scale.

Our revenue and earnings quality has continued to improve in FY '26 with now over 62% of our revenue derived from Australia and North America. This further diversification into Tier 1 jurisdictions highlights the execution of our strategy. With the transitioning portfolio mix, our depreciation expense decreased by $23 million in FY '26 to 9% of revenue. This was a result of the higher depreciation last year for some large projects such as the Botswana underground project and 2 African surface projects, Mako and Sanbrado. All 3 of these projects had large fleets and have now been completed. Record EBIT(A) of $340 million, an increase of 2%, meeting our guidance for the fifth consecutive year. EBIT(A) margin improved to 9.8%, an outstanding result and underpinned by a strong contribution from Contract Mining, steady margin performance from both Drilling Services and Mining and Technology Services and an ongoing focus on corporate overheads.

Interest expense reduced by 23% to $54 million, benefiting from the significant reduction in gross debt over recent years and reduced leverage. Our effective underlying tax rate was 32.8% in FY '26. It is worthwhile noting that we do expect this to increase slightly into FY '27 to circa 34% as we repatriate cash from the AMS asset sales. Underlying NPAT(A) increased 8% to $192 million and underlying earnings per share increased 7% to $0.205 per share. Our reported statutory NPAT significantly reduced in FY '26 as a result of non-underlying adjustments of $148 million included in the statutory results. Accordingly, this has had a corresponding impact to our reported statutory earnings per share for the year. I'll provide further detail of these adjustments on the next slide.

Slide 14, the statutory to underlying reconciliation, which has more substantive adjustments than in FY '25. Looking backwards from our statutory results at the top, the amortization of customer-related intangibles has reduced further to $28.2 million in FY '26. This reduction was mainly due to several African contracts concluding during the year. To assist with anyone who needs to update their models, our CRI amortization will further reduce to approximately $15 million in FY '27. Net foreign exchange losses and other one-off costs were $8 million, predominantly due to unrealized FX losses, noting that last year, we did have an FX gain of $12.4 million. idoba product-related costs reduced further to $7.6 million during the year.

As a part of our year-end impairment procedures, we incurred noncash asset impairments totaling $54.3 million in FY '26. To break this down further, firstly, a $25.1 million impairment on idle AMS surface fleet due to localization changes in West Africa impacting surface mining contractors. Accordingly, this changed our valuation methodology for these assets and resulted in an impairment. As Vanessa mentioned, we plan to liberate a minimum of $10 million to $15 million of cash in FY '27 in relation to these idle assets that are currently not deriving any returns. It is important to note that this is separate to the $30 million to $40 million of surface equipment scheduled for sale that is currently operating at the Iduapriem contract.

So realizing redeploying this capital to higher returning projects will be beneficial for our shareholders. Secondly, we incurred a $29.2 million impairment on idoba-related goodwill and intangibles. In FY '27, idoba will see a further reduction in development expenditure and an increased focus on internal project application within Perenti. This accordingly changed the assumptions and the recoverable value of idoba at year-end. Going forward, idoba will be included in our underlying results and is included in our FY '27 guidance. Discontinued operations relates to the BTP divestment as announced on Friday last week.

The full year BTP revenue, EBITDA, EBIT contribution is included in the underlying result for FY '26 that shifted to discontinued operations in line with the accounting standards. The transaction is scheduled to return $100 million and as a result, booked a non-cash loss on the revaluation of the BTP Group of $64.4 million. For clarity, the EBITDA result shown in the reconciliation table is after corporate overheads charged to the business for support services. Finally, after the net tax effect of $14.4 million results in an underlying NPATA of $192.1 million.

Turning to the cash flow. At the half year result, we lifted our free cash flow guidance to greater than $170 million. After adjusting for 2 client receipts totaling $50.9 million received on the 1st and 2nd of July, we delivered a free cash flow of $181.6 million, up on the FY '26 guidance. Operating cash conversion was 97% after adjusting for the same 2 late receipts and our seventh year above 95% cash conversion. Net interest paid reduced to $52.8 million, following the early and final repayment of the 2025 Senior Unsecured Notes in July '25. Cash tax was steady year-on-year, and we do expect that to increase into FY '27 with the increased effective tax rate. Net capital expenditure was $321 million, slightly under our guidance of approximately $325 million. Dividends paid to shareholders have increased for the third consecutive year to $70.4 million and $13.1 million was utilized by the on-market share buyback.

Slide 16 shows the further strengthening of the balance sheet that occurred during FY '26. Consistent real free cash flow generation over the past 4 years has transformed our balance sheet position to the strongest in Perenti history. With the BTP Group being classified as held for sale, you will notice some changes on the face of the balance sheet with a held-for-sale asset and corresponding liability. This reclassification also has impacted the year-on-year comparatives for inventory and PPE on a like-for-like basis. Gross debt has reduced to $594 million and net debt reduced to $271 million. This has brought leverage to 0.4x, which now puts us under the previously advised targeted range of 0.5x to 1x.

While this is below our targeted range, we will continue to be very disciplined in deploying this capacity. Liquidity increased to $911 million, comprising of $323 million of cash and $589 million of undrawn syndicated facilities. In October '25, the new $650 million syndicated debt facility was completed on better terms and rates. The book was well oversubscribed and attracted several new domestic and international lenders to the syndicate. With several organic or inorganic growth opportunities ahead, the balance sheet provides substantial capacity for us to move quickly when the right opportunity presents. This will also be further bolstered upon the receipt of the first tranche of the BTP proceeds on completion of $80 million expected to be received around October '26.

Turning to Slide 17, highlighting our disciplined approach to capital allocation and free cash flow generation. Over the past several years, revenue and EBIT(A) have grown materially. Strong free cash flow has funded growth projects, allowed repayment of gross debt, dividends to be resumed and increased and 80 million shares have been bought back on the market and canceled. We believe this balanced approach to capital allocation allows flexibility to capture opportunities and drive sustainable returns to shareholders. We continually assess the relative returns available from growth, dividends, buybacks and debt reduction. Thank you. I'll now hand back to Vanessa.

Thank you, Mike. Slide 18 illustrates how our strategy is contributing to reach our long-term financial targets. We have several strategic levers that are being used to drive performance and deliver long-term value. As Mike mentioned, our balance sheet has never been stronger in the history of Perenti. This position of strength gives us significant optionality. The earnings quality and stronger margins give us confidence that the business can continue to deliver consistent returns.

In turn, the optionality provided by the balance sheet and the stability of the underlying business provides a platform to confidently pursue organic opportunities, particularly in Australia and North America. The decision regarding BTP demonstrates our active approach to inorganic opportunities and portfolio quality. We continue to assess acquisitions to add scale and capability to our group. And finally, we continue to prioritize delivery of free cash flow from operations because we appreciate the flexibility that this provides across the portfolio.

Over time, we continue to target revenue growth of 5% to 10% EPS growth above revenue growth with each project generating returns on invested capital above our risk-weighted cost of capital. Additionally, we target return on equity above 10% and free cash flow above 5% of the revenue. Whilst free cash flow generated by our operations provides us the optionality to invest, we aim to strategically allocate this cash in a way that we optimize our long-term TSR for our shareholders. In this way, we start with our dividend policy that has a range of underlying 30% to 40% of NPAT(A). We then assess between growth options, share buybacks and debt reduction, depending on the availability of options and the best return for shareholders.

A quality growth opportunity, either organic or inorganic, will usually outrank buybacks or further debt reduction, but the timing of when to invest in growth opportunities is important. Over time, countercyclical capital allocation maximizes TSR. And in this context, a strong balance sheet is key to enable transformational growth. Additionally, strategically timed buybacks are also attractive on an EPS basis and an important way to reward our long-term shareholders.

Turning to the outlook to give some color on the opportunity ahead. Work in hand at 30 June 2026 was $6.2 billion, and the tender pipeline has grown to $20 billion. Our work in hand number has been pushed up slightly during the second half following wins at Bellevue, Duketon and Fourmile, together with smaller contract wins and extensions across all divisions. The pipeline remains incredibly strong across all regions, with Australia representing $8.6 billion and North America, $6.4 billion. Gold remains the largest commodity exposure, whilst importantly, our copper pipeline has almost doubled in value from $3.5 billion at the beginning of 2026 to $6.6 billion. A number of near-term extensions provide further opportunity to increase contracted work for FY '27 and beyond.

Slide 21 highlights the strength and longevity of our client relationships. Our clients are extremely important to our business, and our many long-term relationships are one of our best indicators of our performance. This slide shows the current longest project for several clients. And importantly, our relationships with these clients often extend across multiple projects and are generally aligned with the life of the mine rather than a single contract term. For more than a decade, the renewal rate for our long-term contracts has exceeded 90% and when deciding which opportunities to pursue, we prioritize projects with long mine lives, lower unit costs, aligned values and financially stable owners. This has led to us working with many of the world's leading mining companies, including Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, Barrick and Gold Fields as well as with the most significant and high-quality Australian mines.

Turning to FY '27 guidance. We expect revenue of $3.45 billion to $3.65 billion and EBIT(A) of $335 million to $355 million. This guidance takes into account the sale of the BTP business as announced. Net capital expenditure is expected to be approximately $370 million, which includes the previously announced requirements in FY '27 for Bellevue and Fourmile and an allowance for growth capital, net of the proceeds from the AMS fleet sales. Earnings are expected to remain weighted to the second half, consistent with prior years and the characteristics of our business.

The portfolio management related to BTP and AMS is expected to unlock approximately $150 million over the next 12 months. As outlined earlier, this capital will be allocated strategically to improve total shareholder returns. Several near-term options for capital exist within the $20 billion pipeline. A number of projects our team is already working on are scheduled to ramp up in FY '27, making successful execution of these projects, a key driver for FY '27. Our drilling team client engagements and internal data indicate that drilling utilization is gaining momentum, which bodes well for further growth in FY '27 and beyond.

Finally, our strategic and disciplined approach to capital allocation will continue, balancing growing dividends, EPS accretive organic and inorganic growth opportunities and the buyback to drive total shareholder returns. And in summary, FY '26 was another year of consistent delivery with record EBIT(A), strong margins, stronger cash generation and a further reduction in leverage. In this context, we are also rewarding our shareholders with record dividends since the inception of Perenti.

The portfolio is increasingly weighted towards high-quality opportunities in Australia and North America, while our long-standing African operations continue to deliver strong results. With a strong pipeline, a healthy balance sheet, combined with strategic and disciplined capital allocation, Perenti is well positioned to deliver enduring value and certainty for our people, clients, communities and shareholders. Thank you for your time. Mike and I will now take your questions.

[Operator Instructions]

And your first question comes from the line of John Campbell at Jefferies.

Firstly, just a couple of questions. Firstly, in terms of Contract Mining, with your pivot out of Africa, West Africa into North America and Australia, what are you expecting in terms of margins, EBIT(A) margins from '26 to '27 within your guidance for Contract Mining? Are you expecting a decline in margin?

Thank you.

So what we see today, and I think you've seen already that Contract Mining overall margins actually increased. So what we are doing is that with a very strong pipeline, we are definitely being focused on capturing synergies between projects and also ensuring that we are using well the opportunities. So -- as we go and get more and more in Australia and North America, we might see a slight decrease of margins, but I wouldn't expect that to affect anything materially.

And in the end of the day, we will have revenue growth, especially from the second half of this financial year growing into '28. So -- but the focus that we have today, for instance, is to ensure that we're capturing a lot of synergies between projects. So for instance, Goldrush and Fourmile, the 2 projects now being owned by the same entity, which is Nevada Gold Mines will definitely help us to keep our margins as high as we can.

Sorry, John, I'll add there is we still remain very committed to Africa. We've been saying that for a while for the right projects. So I just want to be clear on that as well.

Yes. Not [indiscernible] America.

Yes. I understand that. And just since you raised it, obviously, there's that nationalization movement afoot in Africa or at least in West Africa and it's impacted surface mining. Do you see any risks at all for underground mining?

I recently actually went to Ghana to see our operations there. Underground mining is very different than surface mining. Surface mining today, I think it is -- there is a lot of players there. There is a lot of incentives from, for instance, equipment suppliers. I think that some of that hits firsthand. But underground mining in terms of the -- what we really bring is the productivity and the techniques. And those are very difficult to localize. Of course, there's a pressure to work in joint ventures.

But so far, using -- managing those joint ventures haven't reduced our margins overall. So I'll say with underground mining, I'm still very, very confident we have some very good opportunities ahead. But also, I think we have longstanding in Africa. So we do have a lot of work with communities, a lot of work with government. So we're well positioned there to continue.

Look, last question. You pointed towards drill rig utilization going up in '26 and looking good for '27. Are there any numbers you can put on that, roughly how much of the fleet is utilized, that sort of thing?

Yes. Thanks, John. Average utilization across the 5 brands in FY '26 was approximately 70%. Our expectation into FY '27 that will get into the mid-70s. And there's obviously different utilization within the 5 brands, but I mean that's the benefit of scale and having sort of a market-leading drilling division like we do. So we are seeing some pretty good utilization is looking pretty good in July as well. So all things are looking okay at this point in time.

And your next question comes from the line of Mitch Sonogan of Macquarie.

Maybe just a really quick one maybe just following on from the drilling question. Can you maybe just talk to some of those headwinds that you saw in the second half? And obviously, Mike, you talked to utilization getting towards mid-70s. But yes, from a margin perspective, like how should we be thinking about that segment with what you can see at the moment?

Thanks, Mitch. In relation to the margin, so we delivered 10% in FY '26. We did have a lot of mobilizations in the second half of FY '26, which did create a drag on the margin. Secondly, we did see some cost increases off the back of the Middle East situation. So as we look forward, our expectation is that the cost pressure will stabilize and slightly improve, and we are expecting a slight EBIT(A) margin increase into FY '27 in drilling with increased revenue as well. And just to be clear, as I said to John just before, utilization is expected across -- in aggregate across the 5 brands to get into the mid-70% is what we're feeling like an appropriate assumption at this point in time.

Great. And just on the outlook, obviously, you've mentioned the idoba product development costs will be captured in the underlying. And I think that was at the EBIT line, $7.6 million in FY '26. What's expected in terms of that being absorbed in underlying in FY '27.

Thanks. With idoba, we're really focusing on now going forward with the product that's already gone into beta rather than spending too much in other projects in the pipeline. So we expect to be less than $5 million. And I think there's a big, I think, focus into really making sure idoba turns into profit.

Okay. Great. And just final one, Vanessa, just in terms of that pipeline, $20 billion. Can you maybe just talk to some of the bigger opportunities that are, I guess, due for award over the first half FY '27? And yes, just in terms of, I guess, a brief comment on the competitive landscape and our margins or bids being at margins pretty similar in line with current segment margins?

Yes. I think when you look at the pipeline near term, we have -- we are doing some negotiations for instance for our expansion with Geita in Tanzania. We're working with Newmont on Red Chris. And also, we expect to see some other players, other, I would say, greenfield opportunities coming to the market as well. So the focus is ensuring we get all the renewals in line with our plus 90% renewal rate and capture projects, especially in North America starting to move from early stage into production like Red Chris.

[Operator Instructions]

And your next question is from the line of Cameron Bell of Canaccord Genuity.

Just hoping you could flesh out the, I guess, the guidance impact from BTP. I saw the $3 million EBIT number, but you also mentioned that's after corporate overheads and presumably BTP is still growing. So could you flesh out the -- I guess, what kind of drag that is on the FY '27 guidance and therefore, we can make our own estimates on the underlying business is doing?

Thanks, Cam. Yes, so you are right. In the discontinued note shows a $3 million EBIT impact for BTP in FY '26. However, that is after the divisional overheads and the corporate overheads as well. So like-for-like, it's a little bit above $5 million impact in the FY '27 guidance for BTP.

And this concludes our Q&A session for today. I would like to turn the call back over to Vanessa for closing remarks.

Thank you. So in summary, FY '26 was another year of constant delivery. We had record EBIT(A), strong margins, strong cash generation, and we further reduced our leverage. So rewarding shareholders with record dividends and in particular, looking for growth. With a strong pipeline, a very healthy balance sheet, we are really well positioned to deliver value for all of our shareholders and in particular, to our clients. So we aim to be the safest, the most productive in the industry, and that's something that we are delivering, and we will continue to deliver in the years ahead. So thank you very much for listening to us today.

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for joining us. Enjoy the rest of your day. You may now disconnect.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the Perenti FY '26 First Half Results Call. My name is Mark Norwell. And presenting alongside me today is Mike Ellis, our CFO. Today, we'll take you through our first half performance and outlook for the remainder of FY '26. Overall, Perenti has delivered as per expectations and remains well-positioned to continue delivering strong earnings and cash flow for the year.

Starting on Slide 3, our diversified portfolio. For those who haven't been following Perenti closely, we are a diversified global mining services group with leading positions in contract mining, drilling services and mining and technology services. For example, our underground mining business, Barminco, is a top 2 global underground hard rock mining contractor. And our drilling division, comprising 5 specialist brands, is a top 3 global drilling business.

We believe that a sustainable business is one that consistently delivers for its people, its clients, the communities in which it operates and ultimately delivers enduring value for shareholders. To achieve this purpose, we have built a diverse company with 13 brands operating across 12 countries. Approximately 2/3 of our revenue is generated from underground mines, and currently, our work in hand is strongly weighted to gold projects. Our diversified portfolio, scale and market share creates a resilient business that can deliver consistent performance through market cycles.

Turning to the first half financial results on Slide 4. The first half of FY '26 reflects consistent delivery as we continue to evolve our portfolio and strengthen our balance sheet. Revenue was similar to the first half of FY '25 and EBITDA slightly lower, following the conclusion of the Botswana underground project at the end of FY '25.

As communicated in our FY '25 results, we successfully sold the fleet in Botswana, delivering a decrease in depreciation, supporting a new half EBITA record of $160 million. EBITA margin improved to 9.3% compared to 9.0% in the first half of '25, demonstrating the improving quality of earnings. Underlying NPATA increased 12.4% compared to the first half of '25 supported by lower net finance costs and improved operating performance. Underlying EPS increased to $0.098 per share, also up 12% from the corresponding period.

Normalized free cash flow of $33 million, adjusted for delayed debtor receipts collected in January, also improved on the first half last year. Net leverage reduced to 0.6x compared to 0.9x 12 months earlier. And our gross debt reduced to the lowest point since the acquisition of Barminco in 2018, following the repayment of the remaining 2025 senior unsecured notes in July 2025. As a result, the Board has declared an interim dividend of $0.0325 per share, an 8% increase on the $0.03 dividend in the first half of 2025.

On to Slide 5. And as always, the safety of our people remains our first priority. The continuous learning approach that we have adopted requires us to constantly seek ways to improve our safety systems, and ultimately, performance.

During the half, we continued to invest in frontline safety leadership and strengthened our company-wide safety leadership framework, which includes clear expectations for what safe work looks like. Divisional critical risk frameworks and verification tools have been updated, and we continue to focus on creating a safe and respectful workplace.

We also implemented practical safety enhancements across the business, including in-vehicle monitoring systems, improved operator visibility, upgraded gas monitoring and smart camera exclusion zones and standardized controls for working at height across the drilling fleet. While we continue to make positive progress as a business and as an industry, we need to maintain an unwavering focus on improvement to keep our people safe.

Moving to Slide 6, group performance. As mentioned earlier, EBITA increased 3% to a new first half record of $160 million, despite the strength in the Australian dollar at the end of the half, which has continued into the start of the second half. Our EBITA margin improved to 9.3%, driven predominantly by the transition away from the underperforming underground contract in Botswana.

As we've outlined previously and as demonstrated in the half-on-half comparisons, earnings and cash flow are weighted to the second half of the year. Contract mining will benefit from several contractual elements flowing through in the second half, and drilling services continues to see demand increasing with margin growth expected in the second half.

Turning to our divisions, starting on Slide 7. Contract mining contributed around 70% of group revenue and 74% of underlying EBITA before corporate costs. The significant transition in revenue mix continues in line with our strategy with new and existing projects substituting for projects that have concluded in Burkina Faso and Senegal. As mentioned, the conclusion of the underground contract in Botswana has helped to improve first half EBITA margin to 11.1%.

Work in hand remains strong in projects such as Great Fingall in Australia, Goldrush in the U.S.A. and Mana in Africa ramping up. The award of the Dalgaranga contract in July 2025 will also have a greater contribution in the second half.

As outlined on Slide 8, Drilling Services delivered revenue of $422 million, up 9% on the first half of '25 with utilization continuing to improve across the division. With drilling demand remaining strong, particularly in gold and copper projects, the division is positioned to benefit from margin expansion as market capacity tightens.

Swick, in particular, has seen strong demand, recently winning and mobilizing 3 new projects in North America. The multiple mobilizations temporarily impacted margins during the half. However, margins are expected to improve in the second half and into FY '27 as the new projects move to steady state and the benefit of improving market conditions are realized.

On to Slide 9. Mining and technology services has delivered improved performance compared to the first half of '25. The BTP rental fleet saw higher utilization with idle fleet returning to work, although still below historical levels. BTP parts continue to deliver below expectations, presenting an opportunity for improvement in the second half. idoba continued to focus on its underground simulation tool with costs reducing as planned with further reductions forecast in the second half of '26. Overall, our first half results met expectations with our balance sheet continuing to strengthen.

I'll now hand to Mike, who will provide more detail on our financial results.

Thanks, Mark, and good morning to those on the call. Thank you for joining us today. I'll now step through the financials in more detail, starting at Slide 10 at the underlying profit and loss for the half. Our revenue has stayed consistent on the prior corresponding period at $1.73 billion for the half.

As you're aware, the underground project in Botswana, which was our largest by revenue contribution in the prior half, at circa $120 million, completed at the end of FY '25. The collective team has done a great job to offset this during the first half of FY '26, driven by new work and scope increases in contract mining at the Great Fingall, Dalgaranga, Goldrush and Mana projects, together with increased revenue within our Drilling Services brands due to improved utilization.

Our depreciation has reduced from $168 million in the first half of FY '25 to $157 million or 9% of revenue this recent half. The primary driver was the transitioning portfolio in contract mining. 2 main points on this, selling the large underground fleet to the client in Botswana, which had significant depreciation in the prior corresponding period. Secondly, we had the conclusion of 2 surface mining contracts, Sanbrado and Mako that had higher depreciation compared to underground and drilling projects on a like-for-like basis. Looking forward, all things equal, group depreciation will normalize at low to mid-9%.

On to earnings. The EBITA result of $160 million with EBITA margin improvement to 9.3% was a strong result for our first half. It was underpinned by improved performance in contract mining, driven by the portfolio mix and operational delivery, consistent delivery from drilling services and a stronger result from mining and technology services compared to the first half of '25.

Interest expense was $28 million for the half, substantially down 20% compared to the first half of FY '25. This was due to the early repayment of the 2025 senior unsecured notes, further lowering our gross debt, providing us balance sheet capacity, but also ongoing earnings per share improvements.

Income tax increased marginally by 6% with increased earnings this half, representing an effective tax rate of 30.2% in the half. It should be noted that our effective tax rate for FY '26 is still expected to be 32% for the full year. Our underlying NPATA of $92 million is up 12% with an improved NPATA margin of 5.3%. Lastly and importantly, our underlying earnings per share increased 12% on the prior corresponding period, a great result for the half, driven by the EBIT margin improvements and reduced interest costs.

On to Slide 11, the reconciliation of our statutory results to the underlying results. Although pretty straightforward this half, I will provide some further color. Amortization of the customer-related intangibles was $19.6 million during the first half, but is expected to reduce significantly in the second half due to the completion of the Yaramoko underground contract in Burkina Faso in December. This contract formed part of the original Barminco acquisition accounting in 2018.

Looking forward, the amortization of customer-related intangibles will be circa $30 million for the full year FY '26 and will further reduce to circa $14 million in FY '27. idoba development costs of $4.7 million were down 30% on the first half of FY '25 following last year's review. They will further reduce in the second half to circa $4 million as the development spend for our simulation product reduces in line with the development milestones.

In FY '27, we will account for the development costs in our underlying earnings as the product moves into commercialization and development expenditure is further reduced. Net foreign exchange losses amounted to $4 million and predominantly related to non-cash movements of intercompany loans and tax balances, noting that the first half of FY '25 was an FX gain of $5.3 million.

Turning to the cash flow on Slide 12. Operating cash flow before interest and tax was $193 million, lower than the prior period, predominantly due to the timing of debtor receipts and creditor payments upon the completion of various projects in the half. We received $50.3 million of overdue debtor receipts in January, impacting reported free cash flow at period end.

As noted in prior calls, our cash conversion at the first half is generally impacted by short delays in client receipts and other temporary working capital movements. This has no impact to our overall liquidity profile. After adjusting for these late receipts, normalized free cash flow was $33.1 million, up 8% on the first half on a like-for-like basis and represented cash conversion of 77%.

As flagged in our FY '26 guidance, our free cash flow will be second half weighted in FY '26, which is consistent with the last 3 years of solid free cash flow delivery in the second half of the year. We are confident on delivering cash flow conversion in line with historical averages of greater than 95% for the year.

Net interest reduced in line with gross debt reductions and cash tax was down during the period due to the timing of tax payments. Our gross capital expenditure remained in line with the first half of FY '25 at $170.7 million with continued investment into our fleet. We also realized $21.4 million from the sale of assets and investments. This predominantly related to the sale of assets to clients that completed projects, including Yaramoko, Sanbrado and the Mako project. Lastly, you will notice the cash outflow of $135.4 million to repayments of debt as a result of the gross debt reductions previously mentioned.

That is a good segue to Slide 13, the balance sheet. As a result of the debt repayments, our cash balances reduced during the half to $275 million and back to normal operating levels, noting that it was elevated at 30 June, 2025 due to the sale of assets at the completed underground project in Botswana, which was received in late June '25.

Liquidity remains very strong at $818 million, supported by $543 million of undrawn committed facilities and $275 million of cash, providing significant optionality to pursue growth opportunities that meet our hurdle rates and deliver into the execution of our strategy.

During the half, we successfully completed a heavily oversubscribed refinancing of the syndicated debt facility, increasing the facility capacity to $650 million on improved pricing and extending maturities. As part of the process, we also welcomed several new domestic and international lenders to the facility, highlighting the positive support from the debt markets for the scale and the consistency that has been built over the years.

The balance sheet remains very strong and robust, offering good flexibility and our disciplined approach to balance sheet management positions Perenti to continue to pursue both organic and inorganic growth into the future.

On to Slide 14. Disciplined capital allocation remains our key focus to generate sustainable long-term returns for our shareholders. Since FY '19, we have invested to grow revenue and EBITA, both organically and inorganically, resulting in strong sustainable free cash flow over the past three years. This has enabled us to reduce net debt and leverage from 1.3x in FY '21 to a very comfortable 0.6x at reporting date.

With debt well managed, we resumed dividends in FY '24. And during periods of undervalued share price, we have bought back shares, increasing EPS. This balanced approach will continue supporting growth opportunities that meet our investment criteria, consistent sustainable free cash flow generation, regular dividends, share buybacks when suitable and maintaining a robust balance sheet.

In closing, earnings remained strong in the first half of FY '26 in a transitional year for contract mining, highlighting the scale that has been built in Perenti over the years. Our balance sheet continues to strengthen with significant available liquidity, creating capacity to continue to execute on our strategy.

Thank you. I will now hand back to Mark.

Thank you, Mike. As detailed on Slide 15, the outlook remains bright for Perenti. Secured work in hand at 31 December, 2025 was $5.8 billion, reflecting a normal drawdown of work executed during the half and partial replacement through some new and expanded projects.

The pipeline remains strong at $18.6 billion with North America representing a growing component of that pipeline. This month, Barminco received a letter of intent from Barrick for its Fourmile project in Nevada U.S.A. to undertake limited early work readiness activities. The letter of intent reflects Barrick's continued confidence in Barminco's technical capability and underground development expertise and represents an important step toward progressing the Fourmile project.

We'll continue to work together with Barrick toward finalizing scope and contractual arrangements with earnings anticipated to commence mid-FY '27 post formal award in the coming months. This is excellent news and demonstrates ongoing execution of our strategy to grow in North America.

With the neighboring Goldrush project also ramping up and the Red Chris mine in Canada currently in the process of finalizing mine expansion plans, North America work in hand could be significantly larger in a short period of time. Overall, the sheer number of opportunities provides confidence in the outlook beyond FY '26, although we will remain disciplined, patient and focused to ensure projects we secure support sustainable delivery of TSR rather than just short-term revenue growth.

Building on Slide 14, where Mike outlined our significant earnings growth and net leverage reduction as a result of consistent cash generation, Slide 16 illustrates how we have also evolved our portfolio since 2019. Firstly, the revenue of the business has more than doubled. All divisions have grown while also increasing regional diversification. The Australian portion of revenue has overtaken Africa as the largest contributor to the business, and the growth in the North American market is now gaining momentum for both Barminco and Swick.

In 2019, Perenti had no projects in North America. Now we have 8 projects underway today with an ever-increasing pipeline and positive outlook. A glimpse of the future for Perenti can be seen in the relative makeup of the pipeline. In FY '19, the opportunities were predominantly in Africa with the remainder in Australia. Now the opportunities are dominated by Australia first and North America second with new opportunities starting to emerge in the Middle East. Africa will remain a strong region for Perenti, but as always, projects must meet our risk and return hurdles. Overall, we have significant organic growth opportunities across our operating regions and services.

Slide 17, outlook and revised FY '26 guidance. The portfolio continues to deliver strong and reliable free cash flow, supported by the scale of the group and the improving quality of earnings. The recent strengthening of the Australian dollar has tempered expectations for the top end of our revenue and EBITA guidance.

Conversely, we have increased our free cash flow guidance to greater than $170 million with capital expenditure guidance reduced to $325 million. To achieve these targets, earnings and cash flow will be weighted to the second half of the year, consistent with the performance of FY '25 and prior years.

EBITA growth in the second half is anticipated to be bridged in a similar fashion to FY '25. A $10 million to $15 million step-up in contract mining is expected, $5 million to $10 million from Drilling Services and the balance from Mining and Technology Services. In addition, we will continue to see the benefit of our gross debt reduction in the second half in the form of reduced interest payments.

To deliver our full year guidance, the priority remains the focus on the safe delivery of services, continued investment in the development and capability of our people and supportive market conditions. Additional focus will remain on winning and extending projects that deliver sustainable value-accretive growth. Revenue growth alone is not the objective. Projects must be secured on terms that support profitability and free cash flow for the long-term success of our business.

With several projects ramping up, particularly in Australia and North America, discipline and consistent operational execution will be critical. Activity in the exploration drilling market continues to build, consistent with the early stages of a longer term trend. Consequently, drilling utilization is expected to lift during the remainder of FY '26 and into FY '27.

Finally, by maintaining a disciplined and balanced approach to capital allocation to organic and inorganic growth opportunities, Perenti is well positioned to continue delivery of enduring value to our people, clients, communities and shareholders.

On to Slide 18. In summary, Perenti has delivered a consistent first half with a new record first half EBITA, EPS growth of 12% and strengthened the balance sheet, positioning the group well for the remainder of FY '26 and beyond.

As announced at our AGM last year, this will be my final year with Perenti. While the Board is well progressed in the search for a new MD and CEO, my focus remains on supporting our people to safely deliver FY '26 and in time supporting the Board and the new MD and CEO to transition to new leadership. Details of the transition will be shared when the new MD and CEO is announced. In the meantime, it is business as usual.

Thank you all for your time today, and we'll now move to Q&A.

[Operator Instructions] And today's first question will come from Sumeet Ozarde with Citigroup Global Markets.

The first one, just could you talk about some of the contract mining opportunities, new and renewals that we should be thinking about in the next 12 to 18 months?

Yes. Thanks, Sumeet. Audio is a bit challenged, but I think you're asking me about contract mining, pipeline. So I guess, firstly, I'd say that the pipeline is significant and certainly very strongly weighted to North America and also Australia and still some very good opportunities in Africa. So the outlook is extremely positive. We know that the [Technical Difficulty]

Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. [Technical Difficulty] Pardon me, this is the operator. We would like to resume the question and answer session. [Operator Instructions]

Well, it's Mark Norwell. I might pick up on Sumeet's question that I was midway through answering. Firstly, apologies for the technical challenges that we've been experiencing this morning. So hopefully. we've still got a few folk on the line. Sumeet's question was regarding the outlook for contract mining, and I'm not sure when it dropped off, so I may repeat some items that we already covered off.

Certainly the pipeline is extremely strong in terms of the outlook. The thematics of underground mining, very strong, and obviously, commodity price is very strong as well. In the near term and as announced in our results to date, we are working with Barrick for their Fourmile project in Nevada. We've had a limited notice to proceed for early works there. Expectation for that to come online in FY '27. So we're very excited about the Fourmile opportunity.

I visited Nevada a couple of weeks ago and visited the Goldrush project for Nevada Gold Mines. We see some potential expansion there. So really the Nevada region looking strong. Red Chris project with Newmont up in British Columbia. We've been there for several years. Newmont are working through expansion plans currently. And subject to that continuing and getting approval from Newmont, we're well positioned to hopefully secure more work there.

We're also in discussions with another client in North America that we're sort of hopeful of for an outcome into FY '27. So very strong there. In Australia, we got a couple of active tenders at the moment for Barminco that we're working through and we still have a number of projects in the pipeline for Africa as well.

And finally, with a number of existing clients we've worked with for many, many years, supporting them on expansion plans as well. So in summary, a very strong outlook for contract mining and also a strong outlook for drilling services into FY'27.

[Operator Instructions] There are no questions at this time. I'll now hand back for any closing remarks.

All right. So maybe due to the technical difficulties, got off easy today. But look, thanks for people bearing with us with the technical challenges, but importantly, thank you for joining the call.

Look, we delivered a strong result with our earnings continuing to improve. We are well positioned to deliver another full strong year ahead and we do have a very good line of sight to opportunities across our divisions into the back half of '26 and into '27, particularly with North America. We're getting some really good momentum into North America at the moment. And our collective earnings between North America and Australia have really shifted over the last several years as we've been growing the business and obviously improving the balance sheet.

So not only does the outlook look positive, but we also have the strong balance sheet in place to be able to support significant growth in the future. We will maintain discipline with that growth obviously and look for the long term, not just sort of one year, it's sort of many years ahead. So thanks for taking the time to join the call. Enjoy the remainder of your day. Thank you.

That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Diane Smith-Gander, and I'm the Chair of Perenti. It's now 10:30 a.m. Perth time, and I welcome all shareholders to the company's 2025 Annual General Meeting, both here in person and online through the virtual meeting platform provided by our share registry, MUFG Corporate Markets Limited.

If we experience any technical issues today, a short recess or an adjournment may be required, depending on the number of shareholders affected. If this occurs, I'll advise you accordingly. As we have a quorum present, I now declare the Annual General Meeting open.

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the various lands from which we meet today, including the Whadjuk people of the Nunga Nation. We also acknowledge any aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participating in this meeting. I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging and recognize and celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal peoples and their ongoing cultures and connections to the lands and waters of Australia.

I'm joined at this meeting by Mark Norwell, our Managing Director and CEO; Alex Atkins, an Independent Non-Executive Director; Andrea Hall, an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee; Tim Longstaff, an independent Nonexecutive Director and Chair of the People and Remuneration Committee; Craig Laslett, an independent Non-Executive Director; Andrea Sutton, an independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Safety and Sustainability Committee; and Greg Walker, an Independent Non-Executive Director who recently joined the Perenti Board.

I'm also joined by our group Executive Committee members, Michael Ellis, our Chief Financial Officer; Gabrielle Iwanow, President, Contract Mining; Ben Davis, President, Drilling Service; Raj Ratneser, President, Mining and Technology Services; Paul Muller, Chief Corporate Services Officer; and Cameron Bailey, our Chief Strategy Officer. Helen Bathurst, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the company's auditor, is also present.

I ask that all shareholders attending the meeting in person ensure that they've registered their attendance with the registry at the entrance of the meeting. Shareholders and validly appointed proxies, corporate representatives and attorneys will have received a yellow admission card. Nonvoting shareholders will have received a blue admission card. Please note, only those shareholders with a yellow or blue admission card will be allowed to ask questions or make comments on the company at the meeting.

For those shareholders attending the meeting online, please follow the virtual meeting online guide via the link on your screen to register for a voting card and cast your votes online and ask questions or make comments on the company. You will only be able to ask questions or make comments once you have registered to vote.

I invite shareholders attending online to send through any questions as soon as possible after registration rather than waiting until each resolution is read. The Notice of Meeting was released to the ASX on the 8th of September 2025 and made available to all shareholders. If there is no objection, the notice of meeting will be taken as read.

The procedure for today's meeting will be as follows. First, I will give a short address. This will be followed by the Managing Director and CEO's address to shareholders. We'll then move on to the formal items of business as set out in the Notice of Meeting. All items of business will be voted on via a poll.

Instructions regarding the poll will be given prior to the commencement of the poll. The results of the poll will be tallied and announced via the ASX platform as soon as the results are available. After the poll has closed, shareholders will have an opportunity to ask questions about or make comments on the management of the company. Shareholders attending virtually can ask questions via the online facility either in writing or orally through the web phone facility.

So to my address. Many of you would have seen this morning's Australian Securities Exchange announcement advising that Perenti has started a Managing Director and CEO succession process. Our Managing Director and CEO, Mark Norwell, will step down from his role in 2026.

I'll provide further comments and explain the implications of this morning's announcement on the proposed resolutions for today's AGM later in this address. I am confident the succession process will be orderly. And I am equally confident Mark will remain focused on the business until the transition to his successor has been made.

Perenti is in a strong and robust position served by an excellent leadership team with considerable momentum in the business. This transition now becomes a key part of shaping the next phase of our growth. Confidence in our future is underpinned by our performance today.

At Perenti, we are focused on consistently delivering on our commitments. FY '25 has been a year where we have done exactly that. We continue to strengthen our position as a trusted partner to clients, shareholders and stakeholders, built on a foundation of safety, reliability, performance and care.

Our success is made possible by the expertise, resilience and dedication of our over 10,000 people working across 4 continents often in some of the world's most remote and challenging environments. To each of them, thank you for your contribution to the business.

This year marks my first full year as Chair of Perenti, and I'm immensely proud to report that our company has delivered exceptional financial and operational performance while making significant progress against our strategic goals. This achievement reflects the collective efforts of our entire organization and reinforces our position as a global leader in mining services.

Safety remains our absolute priority and the foundation upon which everything else is built. Our goal remains unchanged. No adverse physical or psychological life-changing events. Significant progress has been made on this journey with further improvements planned in FY '26 and beyond.

Our safety culture continues to mature with a sharp focus on engineering solutions that remove people from high-risk tasks. We're enhancing the leadership, systems and technology that keep everyone in our operations safe and well. While we continue to drive improvements across all our operations, we know that our commitment to safety must be relentlessly focused. It is fundamental to our success and to our people coming home safely every day.

In FY '25, Perenti delivered another record financial result. We achieved EBIT(A) of $333.5 million on revenue of $3.49 billion, a fourth consecutive year of meeting or exceeding our guidance. This consistent year-on-year performance reflects focused execution and clear communication. It highlights the strength of leadership and the depth of talent that exists across Perenti.

Our disciplined approach has enabled the Board to deliver direct value to shareholders. In FY '25, your Board increased the dividend to $0.0725, representing a 21% increase on FY '24, and we continued our share buyback program. This was underpinned by the record free cash flow, demonstrating the strength of our business model.

That sound cash flow allowed us to further reduce debt, positioning our balance sheet at a comfortable 0.5x leverage ratio and provides capacity for future growth. This performance reflects 6 years of strategic evolution since launching our 2025 strategy in 2019.

Under the leadership of Managing Director and CEO, Mark Norwell, and his executive team, this strategy has been executed with clarity and consistency, guided by a strong focus on long-term value creation. Our decision to conclude underground operations in Botswana at that contract exemplifies this.

While our Contract Mining team delivered strong operational outcomes, the commercial performance there didn't meet our own internal thresholds. Sustainable profitable growth demands a commitment to prudent allocation. Geographic expansion, however, remains a key strategic priority.

A major milestone saw Barminco securing its first underground mining contract in the U.S.A. at Barrick's Nevada Gold Mines, marking our entry into the world's largest gold complex and reinforcing our focus on North American growth. This contract formed part of the $4 billion in new or extended awards secured by our Contract Mining division, while our Drilling Services division also delivered a strong performance in its first full year of operation.

People are critical to our access and to thrive in a challenging world, we must foster a workplace where everyone feels safe, respected and empowered to speak up. This is central to our safety journey and our broader sustainability agenda which includes supporting host communities, increasing female leadership participation and advancing decarbonization in partnership with clients.

Perenti will continue to explore opportunities for growth and value creation. We have a very promising growth pipeline, allowing us to navigate both challenges and opportunities in a disciplined, strategic way.

Our diversified platform across multiple commodities and geographies positions us well to support global development and the essential role mining plays in driving progress across industries and economies. As we reflect on the strength and continuity of our governance, I would like to acknowledge an important change to our Board.

Today, we farewell Non-Executive Director, Alex Atkins, who is retiring from the Board at the conclusion of this AGM. Since joining the Board in July 2018, Alex has made a significant contribution through her work on the Safety and Sustainability Committee, and the People and Remuneration Committee. On behalf of the Board, I thank Alex for sharing her dedication, passion and expertise over more than 7 years of service.

Greg Walker joins as our new Independent Non-Executive Director. Greg brings more than 45 years of mining experience, including leadership roles at Nevada Gold Mines and Barrick. His global perspective, operational expertise and strong community engagement across multiple regions will further strengthen our Board and support our strategic priorities.

Greg's appointment reflects Perenti's ongoing commitment to Board renewal ensuring we maintain the right mix of skills, experience and diversity to support our business now and into the future. I'm grateful to my fellow Board members for their support and strategic guidance throughout the year.

I also extend my appreciation to Mark and to the group executive committee for their leadership, commitment and resilience in shaping and executing our strategy. To our clients, thank you for your continued trust and partnership. Your collaboration is vital to our achievements. To our shareholders, your support and investment are greatly appreciated.

Our achievements over the past year reflect the solid foundation we have built through consistent execution of our strategic plan. Thank you to everyone who contributed to Perenti's success.

Now as I mentioned at the beginning of my address, we announced this morning the commencement of a CEO succession process, which will see Mark step down from his role in 2026. The Board has initiated a comprehensive search for his successor considering both internal and external candidates to ensure we appoint the right leader to guide the business through the next phase of growth.

Throughout this process, Mark will remain fully engaged with the business. Once a new CEO has been appointed, he'll work closely with that individual to ensure a seamless leadership transition, maintaining continuity across the organization.

As we begin the search for a new CEO, I thank Mark and acknowledge his outstanding contribution since joining Perenti in 2018. His leadership has embedded a strong purpose-led culture, build a high-performing team and delivered a focused strategy that's driven significant growth and success.

Under Mark's guidance, Perenti has quadrupled its revenue, doubled its workforce and increased market capitalization from $900 million in September 2018 to over $2.7 billion today, transforming the business into a leader in global mining services. As he prepares to hand over next year, the business is stronger than ever with a solid foundation in place for future success.

The announcement this morning that we have begun the start of the CEO succession process does impact the business of this meeting today. As a result of the transition of the CEO role, the Board considers it's no longer appropriate to proceed to issue new long-term incentives to Mark. As such, Resolution 6 will be withdrawn from today's agenda and will not be put to a vote. However, I note the overwhelming proxy support received for this proposed resolution, and we thank shareholders for this.

Thank you once again. I will now hand over to Mark before returning to conduct the business of the meeting.

Thank you, Diane, and thank you for those kind words following this morning's announcement. Like Diane, I will provide further comments regarding CEO succession at the end of my address.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Perenti's 2025 Annual General Meeting. I, too, would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Whadjuk people, and pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. Today, I want to share with you our journey through FY '25 with a focus on our people, our performance and our clients, and then importantly, our refreshed strategy that will guide us through FY '26 and beyond.

Let me begin with what drives our business success, our people. Across four continents, our 10,000 dedicated team members show up every day focused on creating enduring value for our clients and the communities where we operate and ultimately for our shareholders. I'm especially proud of the work we have done and the progress we've made in pursuit of our goal of no adverse physical and psychological life-changing events.

It's a reflection of the care, commitment and focus our people bring to safety every day. But we know that safety is never something we can take for granted. It requires constant attention and a shared commitment to always seeking to improve.

During the year, we embedded divisional safety transformation plans, enhanced leadership engagement, and we introduced and explored technological solutions to keep our people safe. From aerial denial systems on our jumbo fleet to collaborating with an Australian University to develop inherently safe hydraulic tools, we're not just talking about safety, we're engineering it into our everyday work to fundamentally improve the safety of our people.

We are focusing on solutions that remove people from high-risk tasks, while empowering every individual to speak up and contribute to a safer workplace. This year, we increased critical control verifications by 19% and expanded our leadership training programs to build environments so our people can feel psychologically safe. Leadership plays a critical role, not only in safety, but across every aspect of our business.

We understand the influence leaders have across the business and their vital role in delivering our strategy. That's why we run bespoke leadership programs designed to build capability and strengthen technical, operational and cultural leadership attributes that drive performance and shape our culture to be a source of competitive advantage.

Beyond leadership, we're also investing in the future of our industry. We have 189 apprentices and 712 trainees that are developing critical skills to deliver today and enable tomorrow. Our Contract Mining division employs over 150 engineers globally, more than most mining companies, demonstrating our deep technical and operational expertise. And to support our focus on technical excellence, our graduate program gives young engineers and other professionals exposure to all aspects of our global operations.

I'm particularly proud that more than 90% of our international workforce is local to each operation, directly supporting community development and economic growth. This reflects our principle to walk in their shoes, understanding that our success is directly linked to ensuring benefit to the communities where we work.

We've also advanced our commitment to creating safe and respectful workplaces, introducing new reporting mechanisms and expanding leadership training internationally. Our work towards achieving gender balance continues with division-wide action plans already driving meaningful change. our people's dedication has translated into exceptional performance that speaks to both our operational excellence and financial discipline.

FY '25 marked another year of record financial achievement. We delivered record revenue of $3.49 billion, record underlying EBIT(A) of $333 million and record free cash flow of $195 million excluding the $92 million we received from exiting our underground project in Botswana. For the fourth consecutive year, we met our earnings guidance, a clear signal of our disciplined execution and consistency of delivery.

But these numbers tell only part of our story. Our strengthened EBIT(A) margin again increased year-on-year to 9.6%, demonstrating our commitment to continual improvement in our operations. We transformed our balance sheet, achieving a conservative leverage ratio of below 0.5x, down from 1.3x just 3 years ago. This positions us with significant capacity for future growth opportunities while maintaining financial resilience.

The strength of our cash generation allowed us to declare a final dividend of $0.0425 per share, bringing our total FY '25 dividend to $0.0725 per share, a 21% increase from FY '24. We also completed the early redemption of our remaining 2025 senior unsecured notes, further optimizing our balance sheet to support future growth.

Our Contract Mining division, representing 72% of group revenue, demonstrated the advantage of scale through consistent performance. Despite significant project transitions, including the disciplined conclusion of our underground operation in Botswana, our diversified portfolio delivered reliable earnings.

Our Drilling Services division in its first full year following the DDH1 acquisition generated approximately $780 million in revenue with a 65% increase in EBIT. This integration showcases our ability to create value through strategic acquisitions while maintaining operational focus.

Pleasingly, our improved operational and financial performance has been recognized by the market with our share price growing approximately 60% during FY '25 and a further 80% from the 1st of July 2025 to close of trade yesterday. Our performance is ultimately measured by our ability to serve our clients in pursuit of their objectives.

This year, we secured more than $4 billion in new and extended contracts in our Contract Mining division, the largest volume of new work in our history. And we also had significant contract wins in our Drilling Services division. These wins aren't just contracts. They're partnerships built on trust, collaboration and operational excellence.

Alongside significant contracts in Australia and Africa, a standout during the year was Barminco securing their first underground mining contract in the United States at Nevada Gold Mines' Goldrush Project. The Goldrush Project represents a particularly significant milestone in our North American growth strategy. This 36-month contract with Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture between Barrick and Newmont operating the world's largest gold producing complex, demonstrates our capability to compete and win in new and established markets globally.

Our work in hand at the end of FY '25 of $6.5 billion provides visibility and certainty while our pipeline of potential work totaling $17.4 billion positions us well for continued growth.

What sets us apart is our integrated approach. Whether delivering high-speed development at Goldrush, providing underground mining services at Obuasi or supporting exploration activities through our Drilling Services division, we combine technical expertise with operational excellence to support our clients in solving complex problems.

Our clients choose Perenti not just for what we do, but for how we do it. We bring a culture of safety, a commitment to continuous improvement and the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions while maintaining unwavering focus on results.

As our successful 2025 strategy has come to a natural conclusion, I'm especially proud of the progress our people have made in delivering against it. Their efforts have driven strong improvements in both business performance and our balance sheet.

Moving forward, we've taken the opportunity to introduce a refresh (sic) [ refreshed ] strategy, a strategy that builds on the great work by our people and positions us for sustainable performance. Our refreshed strategy will be outlined in more detail during FY '26, but I want to share a few key highlights starting with our fundamental objective, that being to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. And we do this through managing a portfolio of businesses that support our clients, generating strong and consistent cash flows through all economic conditions.

Our refreshed strategy adopts an evergreen approach that maintains our focus on what we really value, the safety and engagement of our people, enduring client relationships and ongoing sustainability improvements along with clear aspirational financial targets to drive superior performance, namely revenue growth of 5% to 10% per annum, EPS growth exceeding revenue growth, return on invested capital above our weighted average cost of capital, return on equity greater than 10% and free cash flow as a percentage of revenue greater than 5%.

To deliver on what we value and our financial targets, we've built our strategy around five key areas of competitive advantage; People and culture, safety and sustainability, operating excellence, capital allocation and portfolio management. Bringing our strategy to life is the Perenti way, our operating model. It integrates our purpose, principles and competitive advantage to drive performance and create value.

What excites me most is its flexibility. It allows us to adapt and evolve without losing sight of the fundamentals that have made us successful. At Perenti, we are focused on FY '26 being another successful year as we execute on our refreshed strategy.

Our FY '26 guidance reflects both our disciplined financial approach and growth ambitions. Revenue between $3.45 billion and $3.65 billion, EBIT(A) of $335 million to $355 million, net capital expenditure of approximately $340 million and free cash flow greater than $160 million.

But our vision extends beyond FY '26. We're investing in technologies that will shape the future mining from autonomous systems to emissions reduction technologies. We're expanding our presence in key growth markets while maintaining our leadership position in established regions.

We're also deepening our commitment to sustainability across all dimensions: environmental, social, and governance. This includes our continued focus on investing in the health, safety and well-being of our people, advancing gender balance and strengthening our partnerships with local communities.

As I reflect on FY '25 and look toward the future, I'm struck by the remarkable resilience and capability of our organization. We've navigated complex market conditions, successfully integrated major acquisitions, expanded into new markets and delivered record performance, all while maintaining our focus on continuously improving safety and operational excellence.

This success belongs to every member of our team from our frontline operators working in challenging conditions across the globe to our engineers developing innovative solutions and from our managers building client relationships to our support teams who enable delivery for clients.

I'd like to thank my fellow Board and group executive members for their ongoing support and particularly Diane for her personal support, thoughtful challenge and collaborative approach.

I also want to take a moment to recognize Alex Atkins, who retires from the Board today. Alex's contribution to Perenti goes far beyond what any formal record could capture. Her wisdom, integrity and unwavering commitment to doing what's right have shaped our thinking, strengthened our decisions and helped build the culture we're proud of today. On behalf of Perenti, thank you, Alex, for your principled leadership, your friendship and contribution to our journey.

To our shareholders, thank you for your continued confidence in our strategy and leadership. This support enables us to invest in our people, our technology and our future growth. To our clients, thank you for choosing Perenti businesses as your partner. We don't take this trust lightly, and we remain committed to delivering safe, productive services that support your long-term objectives.

To the communities where we operate, thank you for welcoming us and allowing us to contribute to local economic development. We're committed to being respectful partners in your success.

And to our people, the heart of everything we do, thank you for your dedication, your professionalism and your commitment to our shared purpose and principles. You make Perenti what it is today, and you're building what it will become tomorrow.

Finally, in time, I look forward to welcoming Perenti's new Managing Director and CEO. Once that person is appointed, I'll work closely with them to ensure a smooth transition that maintains continuity and the momentum of this great business.

Until that time, it remains business as usual for me. I'll continue to be focused on leading the company, maintaining disciplined execution of our strategy and ensuring the safe and reliable delivery of our operations globally. I'm committed to the continued success of this business.

This will likely be my final Annual General Meeting as Managing Director and CEO of Perenti. It's been an honor and a privilege to lead this business over the past 7 years. Since joining in 2018, I've had the opportunity to work alongside an exceptional team, and I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved together.

From establishing our purpose and principles to shaping and executing a focused strategy and repositioning our portfolio, we've built a strong, resilient business that is well placed for continued success. The future of mining services is bright, and Perenti is well positioned to create enduring value tomorrow and beyond.

Thank you for your time today, and I'll now hand back to Diane.

Thank you, Mark. As mentioned earlier, voting on all resolutions today will occur by way of a poll. So after each item of business has been introduced, there will be an opportunity for shareholders to ask questions of the Board in relation to that item of business before shareholders cast their vote for that resolution.

So I'm asking you to please limit your questions to the item of business that's being discussed. There will be time for general questions at the conclusion of the meeting. If you're using the web phone facility, please ensure you mute the webcast meeting before using the web phone.

And please note that voting prohibitions apply to Resolutions 1, 5 and 7 under the Corporations Act and voting exclusions apply to Resolution 7 under the ASX listing rules. If you're in doubt as to whether a voting exclusion or voting prohibition applies to you, please refer to the Notice of Meeting or speak with the registry at the registration desk outside.

A representative of the company's share register, MUFG, will be conducting the poll as returning officer. As Chair of the meeting, I still retain the right to make all final decisions as to who may vote, the votes cast and the declaration of the result of the poll. I now call on [ Katherine Noon ] from the registry to advise shareholders on the procedure for conducting a poll in the meeting and via the online platform. Thanks, Katherine.

Today, we will be conducting a poll on all resolutions. The persons entitled to vote on this poll are all shareholders, representatives of shareholders and proxy holders. Only those who are entitled to vote at this meeting may cast a vote on a resolution.

For those attending the meeting in person, you can cast your vote by filling out your yellow voting card. Please vote for, against or abstain on your voting card for each of the resolutions. If you have any questions, please see a registry team member at the registration desk outside this room. For those shareholders participating in the meeting via the online platform, you can cast your vote using the electronic voting card that you received when you validated the registration.

If you have any questions about casting your vote online, please refer to the virtual meeting online guide or call us on the numbers set out in the guide on the screen in front of you. If you're in attendance today as a proxy holder and you hold open votes, those votes are yours to cast at your discretion, and you can do so by voting on each resolution accordingly.

I will now hand back to the Chair.

Thank you, Katherine. I now declare the poll open and we'll move on to the formal business of the meeting. The first item of business is the financial report and accounts. Under the Corporations Act, the company is obliged to lay before this meeting the last audited financial statements and reports, which were dated the 22nd of August 2025.

No resolution is required but I now invite shareholders to comment or ask questions on the financial reports and accounts of the company. Questions may also be asked of the auditors in relation to the conduct of the audit, the content of the audit report, accounting policies adopted by the company and the independence of the auditor in carrying out the audit.

For those attending the meeting in person, please address all of your questions to me as the Chair. When I direct, can you please state your name before speaking and hold your yellow or blue admission card so that I can see that you are a shareholder or proxy holder?

For those who are participating via our online platform, you'll be able to submit questions by registering as a shareholder or proxy holder and selecting the Ask a Question tab or by utilizing the web phone facility. I will consider the questions submitted online after I've taken questions from the floor and from shareholders using the web phone facility.

At a fairness to everyone, I ask you limit your questions to one at a time. I'll only accept questions and comments on the resolution being considered. So are there any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? Are there any questions from web phone participants on this item?

There are no questions via the phone.

Thank you. I'll now take questions from shareholders watching online who've sent in their questions in writing. None on this item. Okay. Thank you. As there are no further questions or indeed, no questions, we'll now move to the next item of business.

Under the Corporations Act, listed companies are required to include as part of their directors' report a remuneration report, which includes specified information. The directors have prepared a remuneration report to the 30th of June 2025, and it is included in the annual report on Pages 75 to 94. The Corporations Act also requires that companies put to shareholders a resolution that the remuneration report be adopted.

The Board believes that the current remuneration arrangements are fair and reasonable and that the 2025 remuneration report demonstrates alignment of remuneration outcomes with the company's performance and delivery of value to our shareholders.

So I now move that the remuneration report of the company for the financial year ended the 30th of June 2025 be adopted. Under the Corporations Act, the vote is advisory only and does not bind the directors or the company. However, we take shareholder feedback very seriously, and we'll continue to review our remuneration framework to ensure that it remains appropriate.

Voting exclusions apply to this resolution as described in the Notice of Meeting. The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are displayed on your screen. Any open and usable proxies held by me as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.

Are there any comments or questions in respect of Resolution 1 from shareholders in attendance today? Seeing no questions in the room, I ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item.

There are no questions via the phone lines.

Thank you. Are there any questions from shareholders online?

Yes. One question from [ Stephen Mayne ] regarding which of the five main proxy advisors, ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS and ASA covered Perenti this year and did any recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions, including RIM, noting that Glass Lewis we don't have access because they don't publicly release their report.

Thank you. I'm going to consult with my Company Secretary. I don't think we have any issue in advising this material. And we can advise that we are covered by all of those and that there were no votes against any of our resolutions.

Thank you, Stephen, for that question. Are there any other questions on the remuneration report? So if there's no further discussion, I'll now invite you to vote on this resolution.

[Voting]

We'll now move to the next item of business. As stated in the Notice of Meeting, certain directors will retire at the AGM and being eligible, each offer themselves for reelection as directors at the meeting. All directors' details are set out in the directors' report on Pages 69 to 74 of the annual report.

Details regarding Andrea Hall, one of the three directors up for reelection this year, are displayed on the screen. Andrea is an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. She's also a member of the People and Remuneration Committee and the Nomination Committee.

Before I move that Andrea be reelected, I will ask her to say a few words about her background and experience.

Thank you, Diane, and good morning, everyone. My name is Andrea Hall, and I'm a chartered accountant with over 30 years' experience in the financial services industry. Throughout my career, I've conducted engagements across, and this sounds really exciting, internal audit, risk management, corporate and operational governance, external audit, financial management and strategic planning.

I began my professional career at KPMG in 1987 and retired the firm in 2012 as a KPMG partner of risk consulting. During that time, I worked across a diverse number of industries, including mining, infrastructure, government, financial services and transport.

Given that diverse background and a strong understanding of both financial and nonfinancial risks, I transitioned to a Nonexecutive Director career and unsurprisingly typically chair the Audit and Risk Committee. I now currently serve as a Nonexecutive Director of Evolution Mining, Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation and its subsidiary, ARIA Co, Australian Naval Infrastructure and Western Power.

I hold a degree in commerce from UWA, and I'm a fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. And given the importance of capital management, I've also studied a Masters of Applied Finance majoring in corporate finance.

I'll now hand back to the Chair.

So I now move that Andrea Hall, who retires in accordance with Article 60.4 of the company's constitution and being eligible, offers herself for reelection, be reelected as a director of the company. The Board, other than Andrea Hall, unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution 2.

The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are displayed on your screen. Open and usable proxies held by me as chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution. Are there any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today?

I see no questions in the room. I ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item.

There are no questions via the phone lines.

Are there any questions from shareholders online? Thank you. So as there are no questions, I'll invite you to vote on this resolution.

[Voting]

Details regarding Craig Laslett, the second director up for reelection this year are shown on the screen. Craig is an Independent Nonexecutive Director. He's also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee, the Safety and Sustainability Committee and the Nomination Committee. Before I move that Craig be reelected, I'll ask him to say a few words about his background and experience.

Thank you, Diane, and good morning, everybody. I'm Craig Laslett, I'm an engineer with 40 years contracting experience, I hold a bachelor of engineering, I'm a fellow of the Institution of Engineers and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

I welcome the opportunity to be part of the Perenti team. I've led some of Australia's largest infrastructure and mining services companies. This included serving as Managing Director of Leighton Contractors, where I was responsible for a broad portfolio of operations, and a workforce, both direct and indirect, of about 20,000 people.

My leadership journey at Leighton also extended to accountability for HWE Mining and Leighton Mining based from WA, I delivered -- delivering open cut and underground mining services, material processing, operating across sites in Australia and internationally.

What do I bring to the Perenti team? A lifetime of contracting experience, progression from the ground up to MD and CEO. I've led large teams. I have a passion for providing people opportunities and keeping them safe. I've a passion for personal, organizational and industry learning and are always striving to do things better.

Thank you for your support, and I'll hand back to the Chair.

So I will now move that Mr. Craig Laslett, who retires in accordance with Article 60.4 of the company's constitution and being eligible, offers himself for reelection, be reelected as a director of the company. The Board, other than Craig Laslett, unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of resolution 3.

The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are displayed on the screen. Open and usable proxies held by the Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.

Are there any questions or comments from shareholders who are here today? Seeing nothing in the room, I ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item?

There are no questions via the phone lines.

Are there any online questions? Thank you. As there are no questions, I'll now invite you to vote on the resolution.

[Voting]

Details regarding Greg Walker, the third director up for reelection this year are shown on the screen. Article 59.2 of the company's constitution provides that any person appointed as a director by the directors to fill a casual vacancy or as an additional director holds office only until the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the company and is eligible for reelection at that meeting.

Greg was appointed as an Independent Nonexecutive Director with effect from the 25th of August 2025. Before I move that Greg be reelected, I'll ask Greg to say a few words about his background and experience, and particularly given this is the first time he is before you.

Thank you, Diane, and welcome, everybody. As Diane mentioned, my name is Greg Walker. I'm an international mining professional with over 45 years experience operating complex mining operations and delivering sustainable results. Throughout my career, I've had the privilege to lead teams across Australia, the United States into Canada, Tanzania, Dominican Republic as well as in Papua New Guinea.

My expertise expands to mineral processing, open cut mining, underground mining, safety and environmental stewardship, corporate governance, along with government and corporate -- sorry, government and community liaison, strategic executive leadership.

I've held senior leadership roles, including Executive Managing Director of Nevada Gold Mines, Senior Vice President of Operations and Operational Excellence for Barrick Gold, Executive General Manager for Barrick Gold's Pueblo Viejo operation down in the Dominican Republic.

I have a post-grad diploma of extractive metallurgy through Western Australian School of Mines associated with Curtin University. I'm proud to have been recently appointed to Perenti Board, and I look forward to contributing greatly to the continued success and growth of the operations.

Thank you very much. And with that, I'll hand back to the Chair.

So at this point, I will now move that Mr. Gregory Walker, who retires in accordance with Article 59.2 of the company's constitution and being eligible, offers himself for reelection, be reelected as a director of the company. The Board, other than Greg Walker, unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution 4.

The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are on the screen in the room behind me and on your screens online. Any open and usable proxies held by me as chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of this resolution. Are there any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? One at the back here.

I'd just like to say, I think it's good that you've got two professional people from the relevant industry instead of the usual lineup of lawyers and accountants.

I think that was a wonderful comment. And just in case anybody missed it, I think we've been congratulated on the approach that we have taken to identifying the skills that are necessary for a company of the complexity and reach of Perenti. And all our directors are doing a fabulous job.

Anything else in the room? Seeing nothing further. Any questions from web phone participants on this item?

There are no questions via the phone lines.

Thank you, and online?

Yes, we do have one. Could new Director Greg Walker and the Chair comment on the recruitment process that led to his appointment to the Board? Was a headhunter involved? Did the full Board interview other candidates and did Greg know any of the existing directors or executives before engaging in the recruitment process?

Who's the question from?

Sorry, that's from Stephen Mayne, again.

Okay. Thank you, Stephen, for the question. The Board conducted a comprehensive process initially mapping the market. We did use independent third-party. We moved from the long list that was provided to us and some names that were known to some of our directors as appropriate people, Greg Walker was not one of those names that we communicated to our third party.

We then progressed through the normal process of moving from a long list to a short list. And we interviewed a number of candidates, the interviewing conducted across the entire Board. I will say if I had a potential nonexecutive director who didn't want to meet every single one of their colleagues, I would be a bit startled by that turn of events, but it certainly didn't happen in this case.

To the final part of the question as it relates to relationships that Greg Walker had. I do not believe there are any at all, and I'm looking down the row of directors and everyone is shaking their heads.

So I think I got all the parts of that question. Stephen, comfortable with that? Great. Thank you. And thank you for the question. Are there any further questions? No.

As there are no further questions, let me invite you to vote on this resolution.

[Voting]

We'll now move on to special business. Under resolution 5, the company is seeking a refreshed shareholder approval of the incentive rights plan for the purposes of the financial assistance provisions of the Corporations Act in order to facilitate the ongoing use of an employee share trust as outlined in the explanatory memorandum.

The incentive rights plan was previously approved by shareholders for this purpose in 2019 when the plan was established. However, the incentive rights plan has recently been updated, and the company is seeking fresh shareholder approval this year as a matter of good corporate governance.

I now move that resolution 5 as follows and as set out in the Notice of Meeting be passed as an ordinary resolution. That for the purposes of Section 260C #4 of the Corporations Act and for all other purposes, the incentive rights plan as described in the explanatory memorandum be approved.

The Board unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. The proxy votes received in relation to the resolution are shown on your screens. And any open and usable proxies held by me as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.

Do we have any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? Seeing no questions in the room, I'll ask if there's any questions from our web phone participants on this item.

There are no questions via the phone lines.

Thank you. Are there any online questions? No. As there are no questions on this item, I'll now invite you to vote on this resolution.

[Voting]

Now as mentioned earlier, the Board has decided to withdraw resolution 6 in light of the proposed transition of the MD and CEO role in due course. As a result, no FY '26 long-term incentive performance rights will be issued to Mark this year. But let me thank again those who voted by proxy for your overwhelming support for this proposed resolution.

So let's move on to resolution 7. Under resolution 7, the company is seeking shareholder approval for the proposed grant of STI rights under the company's incentive rights plan to Mark Norwell or his nominee as part of the short-term incentive earned for FY 2025. These short-term incentive rights represent 1/3 of Mark's short-term incentive award to the last financial year, which ended on the 30th of June 2025.

As Mark has already satisfied the performance hurdles relating to the short-term incentive, we'll proceed to a vote on resolution 7, which simply provides for 1/3 of his short-term incentive to be paid in the form of deferred equity rather than in cash.

So I now move that resolution 7 as follows and as set out in the Notice of Meeting be passed as an ordinary resolution. That for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.14 and for all other purposes, approval is given to issue up to a maximum of 212,526 STI rights under the incentive rights plan to the MD and CEO of the company, Mr. Mark Norwell, or his nominee, as part of Mr. Norwell's short-term incentive for the financial year ended 30th of June 2025, as described in the explanatory memorandum.

The Board, other than Mark Norwell who abstains, unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favor of resolution 7. Voting exclusions apply to this resolution, and that's described in the Notice of Meeting. The proxies that we've received are displayed on your screens. Open and usable proxies held by me as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.

Are there any comments or questions from shareholders who are here today? Seeing no questions, I'll ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item.

There are no questions via the phone lines.

Thank you. Are there any online questions?

There is one from Stephen Mayne. Effectively, it's quite a long question, but he's asking for a summary of past STI and LTI grants that have been -- that are vested with the MD? And have you ever sold any ordinary shares in the company or bought any?

I'm assuming when he's asking you, he's relating to Mark, and I will note that this information, I think, is well available in our annual reporting, and we can refer you to those pages.

Page 90, I believe.

Thank you, Page 90 of the annual report. And Perenti obviously follows all of our disclosure obligations. And any trading by our KMP is reported to the exchange. And I will note that on the 18th of September, make sure I get the date right, Mark did make a sale of shares, which was in the more than 7 years that he's been at the organization, the first time he had traded Perenti shares. And it was conducted in accordance with Perenti's securities trading policy.

And just for the ease of reference, Stephen, following that sale, Mark retains a holding of 2,928,676 shares and 2,665,896 performance rights, but someone needs to inform me whether this total needs to be added on to by the STI rights should shareholders approve this today once the poll is concluded. So I'm assuming those shares would be additive to the number that I have just provided.

Mark, do you want to add anything on to this, just to confirm what I've provided?

I think the other part...

It looks like we have a microphone swap.

The other part of the question is whether I have bought any shares on market over my tenure. The answer is yes, three different parcels, 50,000 shares back in 2020. 100,000 shares in 2021 and then another 50,000 shares in 2023, which went in family trust, the first two were in my personal name.

Okay. Thank you, Mark. And I'm looking at my Chair, Rem Committee, Mr. Longstaff, to see if there's anything that we would like to add on to this.

Look, I'll just add what I've got here. Percentage of Mark's STI as a percentage of maximum, it range between 29% in 2020 to around 94.2% in 2023 as a range. So there's been a balance of alignment between shareholders and performance of the company and the remuneration of the Chief Executive. And in the FY '25 year, as disclosed in the annual report, 74.9% of the maximum STI was paid to Mark in short-term incentive.

Thanks very much, Tim. I think taken all of that together, you can see that the company is following the processes for disclosure and has a remuneration system around the short-term incentive that's working as intended. That said, as I said earlier, we take these matters very seriously and continue to look at our remuneration framework on a regular basis to ensure that it remains fit for purpose. Is it possible to check with Stephen that we've got the answer that he is looking for? Or shall I move on?

I think we can move on.

Okay. Thank you. As there are no further questions, then I will invite you to vote on this resolution. We'll take a slight pause for that voting.

[Voting]

So under resolution 8, the company seeks shareholder approval to renew the proportional takeover provisions contained in Article 101 of the company's constitution. So I now move that Resolution 8 as follows and as set out in the Notice of Meeting be passed as a special resolution, that with effect from the close of the meeting for the purposes of Sections 136 and 648G of the Corporations Act and for all other purposes, the proportional takeover provisions contained in Annexure B of the Notice of Meeting being Article 101 of the constitution of the company be renewed.

The Board unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of resolution 8. The proxies that we've received are displayed on your screen. And any open and usable proxies that I am holding as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.

Are there any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? Seeing no questions, I ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item.

There are no questions via the phone lines.

Thank you. Any questions online?

There is one. It's not necessarily a question. It's probably more of a statement, but it's a thank you from Stephen, again, for a best practice hybrid AGM. One particular request he has is for disclosure of proxies to be made to the ASX along with formal addresses which -- and I've -- we've received an answer to this from our lawyer.

The exact number of shareholders who voted in favor and against is not typically market practice or legally required. But we do obviously release all of the votes after the meeting, and we do release the addresses as we have done this morning as the meeting started.

Thanks very much, and thank you to our [indiscernible] for the response, which I support. It hasn't been our practice to do this typically. But I will say to Stephen, I'm very happy to have a cup of coffee next time we find ourselves in the same geography so that we can have a chat about the pros and cons of that process.

But as there are no further questions, I'll now invite you to vote on the resolution.

[Voting]

So all resolutions have now been put to the meeting. So please ensure that you complete your vote now. If you're attending the meeting in person, please remain seated and the registry staff will collect the voting papers from you once you've completed voting. If after they've walked around you requiring more time to complete and lodge your voting paper, please raise your hand, and we'll give you more time or will assist with any questions you may have. Mark, would you mind putting mine in the bucket? Thank you.

For those online, you've got 5 minutes after the poll has been closed to complete your votes. If you've got any questions, having any trouble, please refer to the virtual meeting online guide or call the registry number on -- that is set out in your guide or on the screen in front of you. So I'll just pause while we get all of those yellow voting papers in.

Okay. It looks like all the yellow voting papers have been collected. Everyone good? All right. Thank you. Justin, am I able to declare the poll closed? Yes, I will now declare the poll closed, but online participants will have that 5-minute count down, and it will appear on your screen counting down to 5 minutes to complete your votes. The votes are going to be counted by the registry and the results of the poll will be announced to the ASX shortly.

Now in the meantime, let's move on to other business. So as I mentioned before in my address, at our Annual General Meeting, shareholders are entitled as they are at every Annual General Meeting to ask questions about or make comments on the management of the company. And then so before calling this meeting to a close, I would like to provide shareholders with the opportunity to ask any questions that you haven't had an opportunity to ask earlier.

For online shareholders, please follow the steps in the virtual meeting online guide to ask a question or make a comment. And for shareholders attending in person, just please state your name and confirm that you're a shareholder or proxy holder because, of course, your voting paper has gone in the box.

So are there any questions or comments from shareholders in attendance today? We've got one towards the back of the room.

[ Craig Morris ] is my name. I'm very happy with the performance of the company. Two quick questions. Progress on franking credits. And the second one is that outline your contingency plans if there's a downturn, which inevitably will be in the economy or in mining.

Thanks very much for those questions. On franking credits, this is not something we're expecting to be able to add to our dividend in the short to medium term. Mark, do you want to make a few comments in addition to just add a bit of color to that?

Thanks, Diane. Yes, we've got $450 million of Australian gross tax losses. So the short to medium term will be more than 3 years.

Thanks very much, Mark. And on the downturn question, obviously, Perenti is very keen to have consistency in the way we deliver to our shareholders. And the strategy has been very much to provide a diversification of our activities so that if one division in the business is going through a particular point in the cycle, we have other divisions that are able to continue to provide our growth and returns.

And I think you've seen this operating over the last little while. And this was behind the acquisition of DDH1 to create the Drilling Services division as a critical mass and scale business. It's been going through some interesting time, shall we say, with real focus on production drilling, a bit harder in exploration, which has intrigued us given the current commodity cycle, but I think I might hand over to Mark for a few additional comments.

Thanks, Diane. Yes, just to add in a couple of points to Diane's commentary there, if I think about the Contract Mining division, when we look at what mines to tender on, we also look at where they sit on the cost curve. So to the point that you raised inevitably, we go through the commodity cycle.

And so as we go down into a dip subject to what the commodity is, then ideally, we're working at mines at the lower end of the cost curve. So they continue to operate through the down cycle. So that's certainly a focus when we're prioritizing projects that we target, particularly within Contract Mining.

The other item that when we do go through the down cycle, which is inevitable in addition to Diane's point about the diversification of the portfolio, we do see a reduction in capital allocation. So we have our stay-in business capital. We actually generate pretty good cash through a down cycle because we're using any other fleet to deploy into existing mines and displacing new capital.

So -- and that's something that's particularly with the debt markets, they've been very positive about over the last sort of 20-odd years of, I guess, operating in that debt cycle. So a number of areas we focus on, ready for the downturn.

Thanks very much, Mark. Any other questions in the room? Seeing no more, do we have any questions or comments from shareholders on web phone?

There are no questions by the phone lines.

Any questions online?

Yes. One question, again from Stephen Mayne. How many full-time equivalent staff do we currently have, which is the easy part of the question. And is this likely to fall over in the coming 12 months with the rapid rollout of AI? Which parts of our business and operations are the most prospective for AI productivity gains? And how energetically are we embracing those opportunities?

Right. Thank you. Thanks, Stephen. That's a great question. Actually, exactly how many FTE staff, Mark, do you want to go at that?

Look, I'm just going to go with about 10,000.

About 10,000. Yes. And it's slightly less, I think, at this point than it would have been last year because of the roll-off of that contract that I mentioned earlier in Botswana. I think Perenti has done a very good job of leaning into automation and considering AI in a thoughtful way. Obviously, we're very keen on automation as a safety angle and to be able to ensure that we engineer our high-risk tasks for our people.

And we're also deeply interested and well engaged in electrification as this is going to be a very important theme for the industry and needs to be solved, not just for Perenti but for the industry as a whole because we're in this interesting dynamic where the resources that are necessary for electrification are the ones that we deliver to -- through our clients' mine ownership to the world. So we've got quite a lot of activity there.

When it comes to AI, we are seeing the opportunity to use some of this in our simulation tools that the idoba business used. The [ MineSim ] will have an AI evolution pathway. But in terms of the numbers of our roles that are likely to be disrupted by AI in the short term, it will only be when automation comes first. So I think we have quite a distance to go before we see a real impact on the number of people that we have in the business.

Mark, do you want to add on to that?

So completely agree with Diane's points that she's raised. We are definitely looking at applications for AI in all parts of our business, certainly with idoba for the simulation tool that Diane spoke about, that's a key focus, but also in all other aspects of our organization. In terms of in 12 months' time, do we see an impact on workforce from, I guess, a reduction due to AI, the short answer is no.

In terms of the business, we're looking to continue to grow the business, we might see in time, and I'd be surprised if it's within 12 months time where roles change and evolve with the application via AI, but given our growth plans and where we want to take the business, it would be redeployment of roles and new skill development within the organization as opposed to a reduction in personnel. But I think we've got a way to go down the AI path, but we're certainly looking at it.

Thanks very much, Mark. Anything further online? So thanks, everyone, for questions and comments. As I mentioned earlier, the results of the poll will be available shortly and they'll be announced via the ASX platform.

Thanks for those that have come along in person for your attendance and your interest and to the shareholders and visitors who participated online, we are pleased that the technology worked today and enabled your attendance, and we thank you for joining us remotely. We look forward to your continued support in the coming year.

That ends the meeting, which I now declare closed. And for those who have attended in person, please join us outside for some light refreshments. Thank you all. Thanks to the team.