Standard Capital AGM runs into ‘storm’ of issues
View(s):Standard Capital Plc, whose last 2015/16 annual report showed post-tax losses nearly doubling to Rs. 64.5 million from Rs.33.3 million in the earlier year, ran into a ‘storm’ of issues from shareholders at the recently held annual general meeting.
According to shareholder A.K. Gnanakanthan, the AGM held on June 30 at the Colombo City Hotel – in the view of many shareholders – should be declared deemed null and void.
Company officials were not immediately available for comment and clarification. The company is in the business of manufacturing and selling Sulphuric Acid and Aluminium Sulphate.
In a letter to the newspaper, Mr. Gnanakathan, giving details of the meeting, said:
“Mr. K.C. Vignarajah is in the top 20 major shareholder list and largest individual shareholder in position number 5 and he was the former truly independent Director who opposed the controlling interest and their nominee directors when there were (alleged) wrongdoings in the company and in a very scrupulously manner they manipulated his exit from the board at a previous AGM after unanimously endorsing him in the Annual Report of 2014/15.
At the meeting Mr. Vignarajah read out the “Note of Protest” which enumerated many of the faults in the process prior to the AGM. The Secretaries were not able to announce the proxies received “for and against”, the resolution at the beginning of the meeting as required. The Chairman did not ask the Secretaries to announce the proxies received for or against. In fact the Secretaries stated that they were kept away from the process altogether. Most of the shareholders who were present complained that they did not receive the notice of the above meeting and the annual report.
No independent shareholders proposed or seconded the resolutions to elect the directors. Mr. Vignarajah pointed out the distorted percentages shown by including totally different categories of non-voting, redeemable shares, etc. Auditors explained that the percentages reflected only adjustments for consolidation and will not affect the voting equity.
During elections, the company staff issued and collected the ballot papers counted and did everything related to the poll. At a later stage the Auditors helped in the count of ballot papers shown to them.
The AGM was not conducted in a proper manner and the chairman didn’t release the details of the polls as demanded by all. Several shareholders including myself raised many issues of vague statements, lack of transparency and exaggerated forecasts from the board of directors without any valid explanations and plans. Considering all the above facts and the ‘no care attitude’ towards the public shareholder concerns, relying only on the strength of majority control, the public shareholders agree that the AGM was null and void.”