Methanex sees no changes after annual meeting
The board of Methanex remains unchanged following its annual general meeting on Thursday, held one month after the company’s largest shareholder stated it might seek changes at the top level.
U.K.-based M&G Investments filed paperwork in March stating that it would actively pursue larger dividends instead of new capital expansions, including one proposed in Medicine Hat.
The 12-person board received near unanimous support for re-election at the AGM in Vancouver.
The meeting coincided with the release of the company’s first quarter financial report, which stated world methanol prices has risen by sharply while the company is producing at record levels.
The board announced that it would increase dividend by nine per cent and was about one-third of the way to its 2017 goal of repurchasing 4.5 million shares.
“With the higher production capacity we have demonstrated in 2017, we believe the increased dividend is sustainable even at a significantly lower methanol price environment,” CEO John Floren told analysts during a conference call.
During the first three months of the year, methonal prices averaged $365 per tonne, up 30 per cent over the $278 average in late 2016.
The company has considered a $1-billion twinning of its Medicine Hat since 2013, as well as further expansion of its facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
M&G has supported a relatively cheap restart of Chilean plant to boost production planned for this year, but has stated that after a years of increasing capacity, the company should return more profits to investors rather than consider .
It would seek to replace board members that
Only between a small fraction and 3 per cent of votes were withheld as 82 per cent of shares were represented.
M&G holds about 20 per cent of the total Methanex shares, making it unlikely their shares weren’t counted.