James Hardie faces shareholder pushback on remuneration, director re-elections

James Hardie Industries plc held its 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on October 29, 2025 (Dublin time) / October 30, 2025 (Sydney time). Chief executive Aaron Erter addressed shareholders, describing fiscal year 2025 as transformative, marked by the AZEK transaction. This deal aims to expand the company's addressable market and strengthen its competitive position. The company anticipates realizing $125 million in cost synergies within three years and expects to unlock further revenue synergies. Strong performance from the Deck, Rail & Accessories segment, coupled with preliminary Q2 results, underscores progress toward building a diversified and resilient business.

Shareholders voted on several key resolutions. Resolution 1, regarding the financial statements and reports for fiscal year 2025, passed with 99.02% of votes for. However, Resolution 2, concerning the Remuneration Report for Fiscal Year 2025, did not pass, with 66.26% of votes against.

Director elections saw Gary Hendrickson and Howard Heckes elected with 58.33% and 55.25% of votes for, respectively. Jesse Singh was elected with 98.19% of votes for. Peter John Davis, Anne Lloyd, and Rada Rodriguez were re-elected with 52.64%, 67.31%, and 59.58% of votes against, respectively. Resolution 4, authorizing the board to fix the external auditor's remuneration for fiscal year 2026, passed with 98.87% of votes for. Resolutions 5 and 6, approving the granting of ROCE and TSR RSUs to the chief executive, both failed. Resolutions 7 and 8, related to the issue of Shares under the NED Equity Plan and increasing the non-executive director fee pool, also failed.