Shareholder raises issues over Ryman
Retirement business challenged by ex-mp
I’m trying to seek extra disclosure for
shareholders. Now, it might upset a few people.
John Boscawen
Aformer MP and long-term shareholder in New Zealand’s biggest listed retirement business challenged the board over its reporting at yesterday’s AGM and plans to take matters up with the Financial Markets Authority.
John Boscawen, a former Act Party president and MP, criticised Ryman Healthcare’s board about aspects of the 2022 annual report and financial statements being “misleading” in terms of the number of new retirement village units stated as being delivered and what was actually delivered.
He left the meeting dissatisfied and plans to complain to the FMA.
At the Christchurch AGM, he disputed what was listed as being built and delivered or completed and whether that was true.
He cited units without kitchens or bathrooms which he said were listed as being complete but were not.
Director Claire Higgins said the answer was somewhat technical but the audit committee was happy with the numbers reported on.
She had accompanied auditors on site visits and said accounts appropriately reflected the situation to provide good information to shareholders. However, she acknowledged disclosure could be improved.
Boscawen said he regularly visited Ryman villages and development projects and saw inconsistencies in what he saw physically and in
Ryman’s completed units quoted in its accounts.
Boscawen said he had attended to raise the issue of disclosure but had been a shareholder for 10 years and his own mother had lived in an Auckland Ryman village.
Just because the company had pandemic difficulties in the past two years, “that’s no reason to say you’ve 12,777 units when you’ve only got 12,350”, Boscawen said.
By 11.30am, chairman Greg Campbell said the company was happy to engage further with Boscawen but the meeting had been running for oneand-a-half hours.
“I could go village by village,” Boscawen said, referring to the difference in his numbers and the company’s.
He remained unhappy with the answers received.
“I’ll put it with the Financial Markets Authority and leave it with them,” Boscawen concluded.
His concerns date back some years to around 2016.
He also challenged whether 411 of the 419 units were actually completed
in the year’s second-half when the company issued those numbers in a full-year result.
Yet he had visited sites and it wasn’t true, he said. Positions were overstated, he said.
Higgins, referring to what was built, said while “descriptions could be improved”, Ryman was complying with accounting standards.
“I’m trying to seek extra disclosure for shareholders. Now, it might upset a few people,” Boscawen told the meeting.
Higgins said the words “built, complete and delivered” were not as descriptive as she’d like them to be, but that would be looked at.
Campbell said there was other business for the meeting.
Director George Savvides said what Boscawen had described was “physically correct” but the way
Ryman accounted for units was different and complied with standards.
The board was also asked why it wasn’t reporting quarterly sales as some other listed retirement village operators were.
Campbell said that would be considered, adding: “It is certainly our objective to be transparent. Nothing to hide here.”
Another shareholder asked what effect softening residential market sales would have on Ryman.
“We’ll be keeping a close eye on it. But right now, sales are still holding.
“We’re not seeing that demand fall away. People coming to us are looking for more, not less. More and more potential customers have other sources of capital available to them.”
Asked about staff shortages and pay rates, Campbell said: “It’s a very, very live question. There is a nursing
shortage. DHBS are feeling that. As far as the pay rates, we pay the same as the DHBS.”
He expressed hope about immigration numbers rising.
An online shareholder asked about fixed fees for life and Campbell said that was one of Ryman’s strengths.
The dramatic share price fall had not been addressed, a shareholder said. Campbell said the board was acutely aware of the pain for shareholders.
He said the company was focused on improving commercial outcomes “and that will rise value to shareholders over a period of time. We’re not hiding away from that.”
Shareholder Kevin Taylor asked if a dividend reinvestment plan was considered but Campbell said there were no such plans.