Shareholders have their say at FTSE 100 income stock and two others

After a recent meeting demonstrated how much power investors wield, money is at the centre of a number of upcoming shareholder votes. But which way will they vote?

Retail chain Topps Tiles (LSE:TPT) hailed the engagement of its shareholders after a record number of votes were cast at its AGM this week.

The 161 million votes amounted to 81.9% of its share capital, with the turnout boosted after the company’s biggest shareholder tabled a resolution calling for chairman Darren Shapland to be removed from his post.

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The motion by MS Galleon, which owns the tile brand Cersanit, was defeated as 62.49% of votes backed Shapland. Other resolutions, including on the annual remuneration report, were passed but with considerable votes against the company.

Imperial Brands

When: 2.30pm, Wednesday 1 February.

Where: Bristol Marriott Hotel City Centre, 2 Lower Castle Street, Old Market, Bristol, BS1 3AD.

How to participate: Proxy voting instructions need to be returned no later than 2.30pm, Monday 30 January. More AGM details can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Thérèse Esperdy, who has held senior roles at JP Morgan, joined the Imperial Brands (LSE:IMB) board in 2016 and has been chair since January 2020.

How did the company do in the year to 30 September? Revenues on a constant currency basis rose 1.5% to £7.8 billion, with tobacco up 1.3% and next generation products 10.8% higher at £208 million. Adjusted operating profit lifted 1.8% and earnings per share rose 4.9% to 265.2p, but reported profit of £2.68 billion fell 15% due to Imperial’s exit from Russia and previous year’s disposal of its premium cigar division. A final dividend of 49.32p a share, which is due to be paid on 31 March, has lifted the total award for the year by 1.5% to 141.17p. It has been accompanied by an ongoing £1 billion share buyback.

How have shares performed? Up 20% to 1,855p (2,051p on Thursday).

How much is the boss paid? Stefan Bomhard has received a 3% pay rise, taking his basic salary for the current financial year to £1.34 million. His total remuneration for 2021/22 came to £5.7 million, including £2.18 million after the annual bonus scheme paid 84% of the maximum opportunity. Half of this bonus is deferred into Imperial shares for three years. Long-term incentives amounted to just over £2 million after awards granted in 2020 vested at 19.83% of the total, while Bomhard also benefited from the third and fourth tranches of recruitment awards that vested in April 2022.

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How did last year’s AGM go? The annual remuneration report was approved with 95.93% of votes in favour.

What’s the view of voting agencies? Glass Lewis recommends shareholders vote in favour of the annual remuneration report.

How’s the company doing on diversity? Female board membership is 40% and two directors identify as being from an ethnic minority background.

Sage

When: 12 noon, Thursday 2 February.

Where: 5 & 6, Cobalt Park Way, Cobalt Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE28 9EJ.

How to participate:Sage Group (The) (LSE:SGE) shareholders attending the physical venue or following electronically will be able to vote in real time. Those unable to attend or who would prefer to vote in advance should return proxy voting instructions by 12 noon, Tuesday 31 January. Questions in advance should be sent to agm2023@sage.com. More AGM details can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Andrew Duff has held the role since October 2021. The former chief executive of npower was chair of Severn Trent between 2010 and 2020.

How did the company do in the year to 30 September? Organic recurring revenue rose by 9% to £1.8 billion and was underpinned by Sage Business Cloud growth of 24%. Underlying earnings at the accounting software business increased 3% to £468 million but statutory operating profit fell 2% to £367 million. Underlying earnings per share rose 8% to 25.74p, partly due to the impact of a £600 million share buyback. A 4% higher final dividend of 12.1p is due to be paid on 10 February and lifts the total for the year by 4% to 18.4p.

How have shares performed? Down 1% to 697.2p (753.2p on Thursday).

How much is the boss paid? Steve Hare’s base salary for the current financial year has been increased by 4% to £841,500. His single figure remuneration for 2021/2022 came to £2.48 million, which included £1.24 million after the annual bonus scheme paid 88% of the maximum opportunity. Performance share plan awards granted in 2019 vested at 20% of the total, amounting to £317,000 with a two-year holding period.

What’s the view of voting agencies? Glass Lewis recommends shareholders vote in favour of the annual remuneration report.

How did last year’s AGM go? The annual remuneration report was approved with 98.46% of votes in favour, while the new three-year remuneration policy got 99.12% support.

How’s the company doing on diversity? The board comprised two women and seven men, although this 22% gender balance has since increased to 30% following the  appointment of Maggie Chan Jones as a non-executive director. Sage continues to meet the Parker review recommendation to have at least one director from an ethnic minority background.

Hollywood Bowl

When: 9.30am, Monday 30 January.

Where: Investec Bank, 30 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7QP.

How to participate: Proxy voting instructions must be received no later than 9.30am, Thursday 26 January. More AGM details can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Peter Boddy has chaired Hollywood Bowl Group (LSE:BOWL) since 2014 and oversaw the company’s stock market flotation in September 2016. He has led a number of private equity backed leisure sector companies, including Fitness First UK, Megabowl and Maxinutrition.

How did the company do in the year to 30 September? Record revenues of £193.7 million were up 49.2% on their pre-pandemic level in 2019. Adjusted earnings of £60.6 million lifted  58.6% on the 2019 result. The company, which reported earnings per share of 21.91p, intends to pay a final dividend of 8.53p a share as well as a special dividend of 3p a share on 24 February. This brings the total dividend to 14.53p, an increase of 21.7% on a year earlier.

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How have shares performed? Down 22% to 187.4p (259.5p on Thursday).

How much is the boss paid? The base salary for Stephen Burns has increased by 7.5% in the new financial year to £443,260, in line with the 7.6% average rise for the wider workforce. The change also reflects his increased responsibilities following a period of expansion. His total remuneration for 2021/22 came to £1.14 million, which included an annual bonus of £412,300 after all targets were met in full. Long-term incentives granted in 2020 are due to vest in full next month and accounted for £263,100 of the final remuneration figure.

What’s the view of voting agencies? Glass Lewis recommends shareholders vote in favour of the annual remuneration report but against the board re-election of chief people officer Melanie Dickinson on the grounds of independence. It regards four of the seven directors standing for re-election at the AGM as not independent, including the chairman.

How did last year’s AGM go? The annual remuneration report was approved with 97.58% of votes in favour, while the resolution on the new three-year remuneration policy got 98.09%. More than 7% of votes were against the re-election of Boddy as chair.

How’s the company doing on diversity? The proportion of women on the board is 38% but this will fall to 29% when Claire Tiney steps down as a non-executive director at the AGM.