Peaceful Telecom meeting predicted

By PAUL BRISLEN

The fireworks of last year's Telecom annual meeting are not expected to be repeated this year.

Last year's meeting saw heated debate over the appointment of ex-BNZ chief executive Lindsay Pyne to the board as well as opposition to the chief executive's pay packet.

This year, Pyne has gone and CEO Theresa Gattung could well be considered to have earned her money with the company's net earnings up 6.3 per cent to $754 million and a minimum pay out to investors of 75 per cent.

One analyst said more cash was expected to be returned to investors next year so the chances for a repeat of last year's anger were somewhat limited.

"I'm not expecting too many fights this year, no."

Even the Shareholders' Association is expecting a quiet day. National board member Oliver Saint said association members would be attending.

"There's nothing really that will come up. I think they'll be glad if we don't even get to our feet," he said.

The AGM is scheduled for 2.30pm today at the Duxton Hotel in Wellington.