Wisr shareholders made their feelings about the recent executive and board upheavals at the consumer finance company clear yesterday, when they voted down the remuneration report and two other resolutions at the company’s annual general meeting.
The only resolution that passed was the re-election of director Matthew Brown, who has taken over as chair.
In addition to rejection of the remuneration report, shareholders blocked an incentive plan and a plan to increase the company’s placement capacity by 10 per cent.
Wisr chief executive Anthony Nantes was sacked in August. It was later revealed that he is facing stalking charges and spent time in custody.
His brother John took a leave of absence from the board to avoid any conflict of interest while the board sorted out Anthony Nantes’ termination arrangements. A couple of months later, he stepped down to spare the company any reputational damage in relation to the criminal charges.
In the meantime, the business has been in the doldrums. A move to moderate loan origination to focus on profitability and balance sheet strength has resulted in a declining loan book balance, lower revenue and ongoing losses.
In the year to June, loan origination was down 19 per cent. Revenue rose but only enough to allow it to report a smaller loss - A$13.1 million, compared with a loss of $19.9 million the previous year.
The trend continued in the September quarter, when there was a 6 per cent fall in origination quarter-on-quarter and a 5 per cent fall in the loan book.
Revenue for the quarter was down 1 per cent to $24.3 million and the EBTDA loss was $800,000.
The company has a new chief executive, Andrew Goodwin, a new chief operating officer, Joanne Edwards, and a new chair.
Shareholders have made it clear that they want to see some stability at the company and better results before they give their support.