(Alliance News) - Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC on Wednesday noted that 22% of its shareholders vote against Chair William Rice's reappointment.
Having consulted with major shareholders extensively in recent weeks, the company said it understands that shareholders' primary concern was that Ultra Electronics has not yet met the target of 33% of women on its board.
"The board and Nomination committee are disappointed by this vote. Our chair is a strong advocate of diversity and has been instrumental in overseeing and supporting a large scale and necessary cultural change and transformation across Ultra Electronics," the company said in its statement Wednesday.
The company said it will continue to engage with those shareholders who voted against this resolution to better understand their specific concerns.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ultra Electronics said operating performance is progressing largely as anticipated, while cash generation remains robust.
The London-based company serving the defence, security, critical detection & control markets said it has experienced strong order book growth in the period since year end and order intake was well ahead of the same period in 2020.
By division, the FTSE 250-listed company said Maritime was marginally behind the prior year, mainly due to pandemic driven milestone delays as well as some short-term supply chain and productivity issues.
Intelligence & Communications delivered strong revenue growth in the first quarter of 2021 and was well ahead of the prior year.
Meanwhile, sales in Critical Detection & Control declined relative to the same period in 2020 due to global weakness in commercial aerospace. There was, however, a stronger than expected performance in Ultra Electronics' other Critical Detection businesses, particularly Forensic Technology.
"We continue to expect 2021 to be another year of good progress for Ultra Electronics," the company said in its statement.
Ultra Electronics shares were trading 1.2% higher in London on Wednesday afternoon at 2,040.00 pence each.
The company said it will report its results for the six months to the end of June on August 3.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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