Pre-empting a looming legal requirement for listed companies to feature electronic participation in an Annual General Meeting (AGM), telecommunications specialist TeleMasters was the first South African company to live stream the proceedings of its AGM, held on Wednesday 1 April, to its Web site.
Those following on the company portal were able to follow what turned out to be important proceedings for the company.
TeleMasters announced at the AGM that in lieu of a second quarter dividend of 4c, the board of directors resolved to declare an interim capital distribution out of share premium of 4c per share, payable on Monday, 4 May 2009.
“This approach allows the company to reduce its share premium entry by R6 million, which has a significant impact on our STC obligations,” says outgoing Chairman Mario Pretorius. “The move is in line with our focus on ensuring we're in a healthy cash position and are operationally lean and able to keep on growing, even in the context of the global downturn.”
The AGM saw several changes announced to the TeleMasters board. The most significant move sees Pretorius stepping down as Executive Chairman, to be replaced by Daniel Stephen van der Merwe, formerly MTN SA Executive: Third party distribution. Board member Tumi Moji also did not stand for her position again due to her increased commitments.
The revised TeleMasters board structure sees a mix of three independent executive directors and three independent non-executive directors. Mario Pretorius remains in place, however, as TeleMasters CEO.
“The shift was important in terms of focus,” he says. “The company's ongoing growth places increasing pressure on both chairman and CEO positions, and so it makes good strategic and governance sense to make sure the positions are occupied by individuals who can offer unfettered focus.”
The first company on the JSE to declare quarterly dividends, TeleMasters has enjoyed very strong performance since listing in March 2007. The company's annual report, covering the period up to September 2008, reveals ongoing growth, year-on-year, across all key indicators:
* Revenue up by 18.75%
* Operating profit (before tax) up by 34.76%
* Earnings per share up 23.75%
* Dividends per share of 24 cents
“It's obviously satisfying to be able to report such good news,” says Pretorius. “TeleMasters' performance in a slumping economy reflects, I believe, the validity of our aggressive approach to the downturn. By focusing on boosting our sales team and developing a lean, performance-orientated mindset, the company continues to grow sustainably. The fact that we're almost totally un-geared and have strong cash flows only reinforces this position.”
Telemasters board structure: as of April 2009
Non-Executive Chairman:
Daniel Stephen Van der Merwe
Non-executive directors:
1. Jaco Voigt
2. Vernon Beck
Executive directors:
1. Mario Pretorius CEO
2. Natie Bekker CTO
3. Brandon Topham CFO
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