Peter Taylor is a smash repair veteran running for a board spot on beleaguered ASX-listed industry giant AMA Group, but calculates he will probably not be selected.
“I understand that I’m probably not going to get a gig on this,” Taylor told The Australian Financial Review (AFR).
“But I want to raise the obvious, that no one on the board … has anything to do with the uniqueness of how you run a [smash repair] business – not down to the operational level of someone who’s run a panel shop.”
The sitting directors at Gold Coast-based AMA have argued against his election in an annual general meeting to be held on November 18. The existing directors said Taylor’s “stated skills and experience would not add to the effectiveness of the board”.
They also disputed details about the size of businesses that Taylor, who had sold some previous operations to AMA, had supplied in a brief curriculum vitae for the election. That included disputing statements about the contribution of profits of the assets he had sold.
It marks the latest corporate tussling at AMA, reports the AFR, which has become a favourite target of short-sellers, making money from share prices falling. AMA has seen the departure of a significant amount of senor management while COVID-19 lockdowns have seen the business bleeding millions of dollars a month.
Taylor, who has previously served on boards such as the AFL team GWS Giants and runs 180-staff, repair and service business Autoco, stood by his statements. He also acknowledged a legal dispute with AMA over payments, saying a director could still serve on a board despite such lawsuits. “We’re all grown-ups [and can] put that aside,” he said.
The company has recently raised $150 million in fresh equity and convertible notes. Mr Taylor said this balance sheet shoring up was positive, but the question was “how does [AMA] move forward here”?
The company on Friday revealed quarterly cash burn showing an outflow of $12.8 million in operating cash flows. But the period also included a reduced level of employee costs, with some 190 staff being stood down at panel shops as lockdowns resulted in fewer crashes.
The company also paid $8.4 million in principal payments for leases, which are separately part of financing cash flows.
AMA said it had almost $117 million in cash and unused borrowings, including a recent $46 million from a retail investor-fund raising.
It said unused capacity by mid-October nationally at workshops was at 41 per cent for light accidents and 20 per cent for heavier repair jobs. The problem states were Victoria and NSW, where there had been lockdowns.
For the full story click through to the AFR site.