Objective

 

P&O, the UK's leading ports and ferries operator, required an interactive system that could simplify and accelerate the complex registration and voting processes of their EGM, whilst providing stockholders with instant voting results.

 

The Challenge

 

According to the rules of the Company’s Royal Charter, P&O were required to propose a series of resolutions to stockholders in connection with the recommended acquisition of P&O by DP World.

 

Compelled by charter rules to gain a majority approval from each of the share classes, P&O needed to hold votes on nine resolutions over five separate meetings. The complexity of this meeting structure would generate masses of paperwork, as time-consuming manual counts and verification checks for each polled vote would be required for every meeting.

 

An instant voting system that could automatically distinguish between holders of the different share classes was therefore crucial to the efficiency of P&O’s EGM.

 

P&O also needed to consider the possibility that attendees could propose a resolution to adjourn the meeting at any time.   Such a motion to adjourn would require an immediate, 'impromptu’ vote and an instant result.

 

The IML solution

 

IML’s interactive system accommodated the complex structure of P&O’s EGM, enabling nine resolutions to be cast over five class meetings, displaying live results within seconds.

 

The system automated the entire voting process, delivering instant and accurate results, whilst yielding the following benefits for P&O:

 

Automated registration

Registrars used IML’s automated system to scan stockholders’ bar-coded attendance slips on arrival. The system instantly registered each stockholder into all of the meetings they were entitled to attend.

 

Ease of voting for Corporate Representatives

A major benefit in P&O utilising IML’s instant electronic voting system was that Corporate Representatives were able to simultaneously cast votes for multiple accounts using one handset.

When Corporate Representatives representing multiple accounts registered, the details of each account were instantly stored to a single Smartcard and the total number of votes they represented were held on the IML system.

 

Instant information for the Chairman

IML’s system provided the Chairman with detailed management information throughout the EGM. The information was automatically updated as each attendee registered; enabling the Chairman to see exactly how many proxy votes he held, how many stockholders were registered from each class and how many shares were represented at every stage.

The potential vote swing for each resolution was automatically calculated by the system, providing the Chairman with greater confidence during a complex meeting with a potentially uncertain outcome.

 

Instant Identification

All attendees were issued with a personal Smartcard, automatically linking them to their voting rights and share class.

Before casting their votes, stockholders simply inserted their personal Smartcard into their handset and selected either For, Against or Abstain (represented by numbers 1, 2 and 3) on the handset.

The system also ensured that only the correct share class could vote during each class meeting. If a stockholder with no voting rights cast a vote, it would automatically be blocked by the system and their keypad screen would display the message: "No voting rights."

During Court meetings, there was no ‘Abstain’ option. In this situation, IML’s keypads only offered the options For and Against.

 

Rapid results

All live and proxy votes were automatically collated by the system, avoiding time-consuming manual counts. Stockholders could see the outcome of a vote immediately after every resolution and reports were displayed instantly, negating the need for P&O to advertise results in the following day’s broadsheets.

 

Accurate results

IML’s system is fully compliant with the Data Protection Act and is proven 100% accurate.

 

Confidence

Once a vote had been received by the system, the keypad screen displayed a message confirming to the stockholder that their vote had been registered.

 

Emergency resolutions

IML’s system is engineered to cope with emergency resolutions; ‘impromptu’ votes can be cast immediately and results are available instantly.

 

Client testimonial

 

“Electronic voting was an enormous help at our various Extraordinary, Court and Class meetings this year. The handsets were simple to operate and the speed of taking polls meant that the flow of the meetings was not interrupted by long pauses for manual counts. This all made for a relatively painless afternoon.”

David Leonard, Company Secretary, P&O