How Infratil connects every investorHow Infratil connects every investor

At Infratil, we understand that investing is not always just a financial transaction—it's also about trust, connection, and alignment of values. From our earliest days, we've made it a priority to connect with our investors, including those in the retail space. Every year, we set out on a nationwide roadshow, meeting face-to-face with thousands of retail investors across New Zealand. The value of these events goes beyond presenting the numbers—we build relationships, ensure transparency, and listen to the people who make our business what it is.

Today, we’re one of the few NZX-listed issuers that undertakes an annual retail roadshow, and this year was no exception. From late May through early July 2024, we welcomed more than 1,800 retail investors to 17 meetings in 16 cities and towns across New Zealand.

We visit all the usual spots: Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington. But we also make the journey to often-overlooked areas like Dunedin, Invercargill, Kāpiti, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, and Whangārei. While attendees everywhere gave us great feedback about hearing from Infratil firsthand, the in-person visit was highly valued by those in these less-populated areas. 

What makes these events unique is the opportunity they afford for our shareholders to feel heard. They put a human face on our business and the people who choose to invest in us. They help us stay attuned to the concerns of the people who own Infratil, whether they have 100 shares or 100,000. 

Undertaking such a large number of presentations each year is no small feat. We are fortunate as an organisation to have plenty of capable people who can present these sessions, ensuring the workload is shared rather than falling on just one or two key individuals.

So what do these events actually consist of? 

We’ve been doing this for a while now, so we’ve got a fairly consistent format. The Infratil team takes attendees through a formal presentation for 40-45 minutes, and then we open the floor for investor questions for about 20 minutes. This is followed by networking over coffee and refreshments for about an hour, to give retail investors the chance to talk to each other and to us in a more relaxed format.

This year was a bit different, as the roadshow coincided with the announcement of a major capital raise on 17 June. Seven of these events took place between the announcement of the equity raise and the closing date of the retail offer, which meant we were able to address the equity raise at these dates and answer shareholder questions live and in-person. 

This raise was well received, creating significant capacity to fund growth at our Trans-Tasman data centre platform, CDC, and across the broader Infratil portfolio. The offer was met with strong investor interest, being oversubscribed in both the placement and the retail offer. The combination of a placement and a retail offer was designed to give the vast majority of Infratil's shareholders the opportunity to maintain their relative shareholdings if desired. Our roadshow events gave us an excellent opportunity to head off any concerns on that front, discuss the opportunity, and clear any misconceptions.

Every shareholder counts

The way shareholders want to engage with us is changing, and over time, we will shift to doing less in person and more online. This year, Infratil held a separate presentation for Sharesies investors, as we know that this is where many of our shareholders are. While shareholders through a digital brokerage sometimes get missed in conventional investor relations programs, we want to ensure as best as we can that we provide every shareholder the same opportunities. 2024 was the first time we’ve directly connected with these investors, and we were really pleased with the results. The hybrid session was attended by over 100 shareholders, with our investors through this channel equally as tuned-in, curious, and savvy as others.

Meeting investors where they’re at

The decisions retail investors make about their money can be more personal, and they want to know that the companies they invest in share their values. In 2024, Infratil released our second set of climate related disclosures, had our emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, and we’re about to publish our second sustainability report. We also report on the diversity of our team and board, track carbon emissions for every company in our portfolio, and uphold high standards for how our portfolio companies interact with the communities in which they operate. 

Whether meeting investors in person in Invercargill or engaging digitally through platforms like Sharesies, our goal is always the same: to connect with and engage every shareholder, regardless of location or shareholding size. These events go beyond presentations—they're a chance to listen, learn, and make sure every shareholder feels valued.