Annual General Meetings (AGMs) or shareholders’ meetings are usually the most preferred place for senior citizens in the city to have a chat with their long-lost friends and company top management, over a cuppa.
However, this year, the usual charm will be missing at the AGMs, as most firms have decided to hold it virtually due to COVID-19. Hence, the ever-bustling marriage halls, sabhas and community halls in the city, where the AGMs are usually conducted, are now wearing a deserted look.
From mid-July to September, it is the AGM season, wherein the shareholder has a field day to quiz the top management on any company related topic.
But, this time, they might not be able to ‘grill’ the CEOs, CMDs, CFOs or board members as the AGM will shift to digital mode due to the new normal followed by the company and most of the senior citizen shareholders are probably not used to videoconferencing apps. Earlier, the AGMs would go on for hours, but this season, there is going to be a time out.
While AGMs are dubbed as a routine affair, it can turn interesting, if a company is in the news over a scam, merger or acquisition, strike or closure of unit, among other issues. Generally, there will be usual questions from the shareholders at the MRF annual meet on bonus shares and at TVS Motor, about a visit to its plants.
Madras Fertilisers used to hire buses to take shareholders to its Manali facility, but shareholders would want the AGM to be held in the City as attending this particular company’s meeting would mean loss of time for them.
Hilarious moments
Sometimes, the questions would also evoke laughter in the hall. For instance, in one of the AGMs in Tuticorin, a shareholder meant to ask the management when it was planning to restart production. Instead he asked when it was going to “start re-production”. This question, as expected, turned around the otherwise dull AGM.
In the past, this reporter had seen a fraction of shareholders hopping from one venue to another to have a chat with top company officials, collect balance sheets and then proceed to have tea, before sometimes, hoarding sweet boxes.
The reason is simple. These firms, apart from paying dividends to the shareholders, as a special gesture, would offer snacks and sweet boxes to those attending the AGM. Some investors do have shares in several names. And each folio earns them one additional box of sweet/savouries.
“It is usually a good opportunity to meet the investors. We have been doing it for years and this is the first time, since the inception of the company that we will be missing them. They may be asking some intriguing questions. On the other hand, they might offer also some suggestions. Clearly it is a loss of opportunity for them to meet the board members,” said A.V. Dharmakrishnan, CEO, Ramco Cements Ltd.
While most of the companies offered tea, coffee and sweets, this group is known to serve a full-course lunch on banana leaves to the shareholders in Rajapalayam,
A spokesperson for Music Academy, which is the preferred destination for several AGMs, said they had lost an opportunity to host at least 25 AGMs this season.
“Over the years, we have developed rapport with board members. This time, we might not be able to have a personal chat with them,” rued L. Subramanian, a retired Central Government employee.
