At the recent AGM, Glanbia’s chairman Donard Gaynor assured former IFA President Tom Clinton that there were no plans at this stage to follow Cement Roadstone off the Dublin stock market and onto the New York exchange.

Perhaps not at this stage, but the meeting felt like it belonged in Manhattan rather than a hotel in Kilkenny. I must admit, I have ended up as an accidental shareholder in Glanbia plc because of trading with the co-op, now Tirlán.

As a farmer, I was given the opportunity to buy co-op shares and have automatically qualified for the spin-outs and opportunities to acquire shares in the plc. Glanbia plc has essentially become an American company, with the United States by far its most important market and place of business.

The votes of the shareholders present were in effect, irrelevant, as we were told in advance that the chairman’s proxy votes and other votes already cast ensured that each motion was passed by a huge margin.

In response to a question, CEO Siobhán Talbot told the meeting that the Slimfast acquisition had been badly affected by COVID-19, but that every effort was being made to get it back on track.

Dividends

Among the motions passed was the increase in dividends payable by 10%, and also the recommendations of the remuneration committee which awarded Talbot a pay increase from €2.3 million for 2020 to almost €6 million (€5.99 million) for 2022.

The non-executive chairman has seen his package rise from €95,000 for 2019 to €150,000 for 2020 and to €335,000 for 2022. Mr Gaynor was previously chairman of the remuneration committee. The co-operative Tirlán, at approximately 28.5%, is by far the biggest shareholder and more than 50% of shares are held in Ireland – a significant number of which are presumably held by farmers.

Confusion

While the importance of the relationship with Tirlán was stressed, there was confusion as to how the disposal of the 50% stake in the mozzarella joint venture with Leprino was handled.

In any event, the €180 million raised from the sale to Leprino will be distributed to shareholders through a share buy-back scheme. It is ironic that Glanbia’s main farmer relationship is with its American farmer suppliers to its enormous cheese plants in the US.

Some Irish farmers will probably look back with a certain amount of nostalgia to the days of former founding chairman, the remarkable John Duggan and his protégé John Moloney. From a personal viewpoint, I will probably hold Glanbia shares as an investment and continue to trade as a farmer with Tirlán. Time to move on.