00:00The little mouse has roared. That's how I would put it. The little mouse has roared.
00:04Because as you know, the government has over 23% of the shareholding, and I think one of
00:09the other large institutions voted with them. And they asked for a poll, and at the end
00:16of the poll, the votes didn't go in their favour. It went against the two nominees.
00:22And as I said, that speaks volumes to the power of minority shareholders.
00:27In what can be described as an historic event, OCM minority shareholders banded together
00:33in a show of solidarity at today's 2024 AGM, voting decidedly against the government's
00:40nominees. When the votes were done and counted, favour was not on the side of the government's
00:45nominees, with insurance executive Dale McLeod securing roughly 49% of the votes and Shaka
00:52Subbaru a mere 18%.
00:55The shareholders are not stupid. They understand, they understood the issues that were raised
01:00prior to the meeting and during the course of the meeting, because quite a number of
01:04people spoke at the meeting. And clearly they understood the message and they voted accordingly.
01:11I think OCM has earned its reputation as being one of the fearless reporters of the news.
01:19And I think that is one of the things I wanted to ensure that was preserved, that you all
01:22must not be worried when you have to break a story as to whether there could be any possible
01:28retaliation for doing so. And I think based on the results, I think you all can rest assured
01:35that you all can continue with that fearless approach to reporting.
01:39OCM chairman Fareed Sosein noted that while a poll was requested by one shareholder, the
01:45meeting was carried out in a very professional and orderly manner. The process was overseen
01:51by an independent scrutineer. Meantime, the OCM group is reporting decent performance
01:56for 2023, despite some challenges. While group revenues declined by 3%, net profit before
02:05tax saw a conservative increase of 1% up to $37.2 million. Of note, broadcast assets performed
02:14commendably, with radio and television reporting profitability of 17% and 34% respectively.
02:22Group CEO Dawn Thomas says the journey ahead for the group looks promising. She adds, management
02:28recognizes the important role that a free press plays in any democracy. And as such,
02:34the group is driven to ensure continued relevance with its audiences and create increased shareholder
02:40value. Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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