Australia's leading coal producer has avoided a board spill as activists staged a colourful protest at its annual general meeting.
Climate activists protested outside Whitehaven Coal's meeting in Sydney on Wednesday, where clean energy lobbyists Market Forces attempted to lead a shareholder revolt against the company for a second year.
But the 12.93 per cent vote against the remuneration report fell well short of 2023's first strike, when 41 per cent of shareholders voted against it and the 25 per cent required for a board spill motion.
More than 40 per cent of shareholders voted against Whitehaven's proposed shareholder package for chief executive Paul Flynn worth about $7 million and 19 per cent against the re-election of chair Mark Vaile.
Mr Vaile told the meeting the company had engaged with shareholders after the 2023 vote to understand their concerns about the remuneration report.
He said the incentive plan remained fit for purpose and the company rejected Market Forces' allegation it was over-incentivising coal production growth compared to other miners and driving executives to pursue risky, long-life projects.
"On the contrary, we are playing an important role to help address the risks associated with the multi-decade transition to a lower carbon world," he said.
Mr Vaile said Whitehaven's thermal coal was needed for energy security during the transition and metallurgical coal was needed for steel making.
"Our strategy is not only aligned with our customers' needs, it is also resulting in strong shareholder value creation," he said.
Whitehaven reported $3.8 billion in revenue for the 2024 financial year and $1.4 billion in earnings, including $272 million from the Daunia and Blackwater mines.
Underlying net profit was $740 million before $385 million in acquisition expenses and the statutory net profit fell to $355 million from $2.67 billion.
Despite failing to secure a second strike, Market Forces said the votes showed investors were fed up with Whitehaven's growth strategy that is "pouring fuel on dangerous climate change”.
“Whitehaven Coal must take heed of repeated investor backlash and adopt a business model that prioritises returning capital to shareholders while winding down coal production in line with the 1.5C global warming pathway needed for a safe and secure economy," Market Forces chief executive Will van de Pol said.
Mr van de Pol said the company was ignoring the rapid transition to clean energy around the globe and pursuing a misguided growth strategy through massive executive bonuses.
“Our modelling shows the value of Whitehaven’s planned growth projects would be decimated by even small policy and market shifts towards alignment with global climate goals,' he said.
