(Correcting that Inmarsat shareholders voted against approval of the remuneration report, not the policy, and that in 2017 shareholders had voted 49% against approval of the remuneration report, not the policy.)
LONDON (Alliance News) - FTSE 250-listed Inmarsat PLC said its shareholders have rejected its remuneration report approval resolution following its annual general meeting on Wednesday.
The satellite communications provider said 58% of voting shareholders, effectively all of whom voted on the resolution, voted against its remuneration report. Last year, 49% of shareholders voted against the remuneration report.
The company said Wednesday it consulted "widely" with shareholders following its 2017 AGM vote to address their concerns, and made a plan accordingly.
However, Inmarsat said, shareholders have raised new concerns, and the Remuneration committee is to review feedback as it considers a new structure to its remuneration policy.
Further shareholder dissent came at resolution 18, where Inmarsat sought authority to make political donations. On this vote, 34% of voting shareholders opposed the motion, with 9.5% abstaining.
Chairman Andrew Sukawaty said: ""Inmarsat recognises that shareholders have raised some new concerns on resolution 2 and we will consult will them further ahead of the 2019 AGM."
"We note the votes received against resolution 18 and appreciate the comments provided by shareholders on this resolution as part of the AGM engagement process. We will take these into account as we review our future position on this matter."
Inmarsat PLC earlier Wednesday reported a large jump in profit for the first three months of the year, and reiterated "all elements" of its future guidance.
The satellite communications services provider said revenue for the first quarter of 2018 rose 4.8% to USD345.4 million from USD329.5 million, though earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation dipped 4.5% to USD174.9 million from USD183.1 million.
The Ebitda fall reflected changes in revenue mix, Inmarsat said, particularly in the Government area, and an adverse impact of currency movements on indirect costs of USD9.1 million.
Pretax profit jumped to USD56.0 million from USD1.3 million last year, in part due to net financing costs of USD84.5 million in the first quarter of 2017 which fell to just USD3.4 million in 2018.
Shares were up 7.9% Wednesday afternoon at 390.50 pence each, the best in the FTSE 250 index.
