26 October, 2012
Dear Whitehaven Shareholder,
WHITEHAVEN BOARD RECOMMENDATION - VOTE IN FAVOUR OF EXISTING DIRECTORS
As you are aware, the Whitehaven Coal Limited Annual General
Meeting will be held next Thursday, 1 November 2012 at 11 am
at the Sofitel Wentworth Hotel, 61-101 Philip Street
Sydney.
At that meeting, a number of resolutions will be voted upon
to approve the company's remuneration report and to
re-appoint five of our Directors, who were appointed to the
Board at the time of the merger of Whitehaven and Aston
Resources Limited in May this year.
DEMANDS MADE BY TINKLER GROUP
You will probably be aware that Whitehaven's largest shareholder, Tinkler Group Holdings Pty Ltd, last Tuesday made unexpected and widely publicised demands of Whitehaven for certain information; indicating that it would vote against all of the resolutions re-appointing Directors at the AGM unless these demands were met.
All of the requested information was contained in the Whitehaven September Quarterly Report released to the ASX on Friday, 26 October 2012. The Whitehaven Board does not understand the motivation for the Tinkler Group demands and remains concerned at the way
these demands were made and published; and the disruption and
uncertainty this has
caused for the company's customers, employees, joint venture
partners, financiers,
community stakeholders and shareholders.
STRONG REPUTABLE BOARD AND MANAGEMENT TEAM
Since its merger with Aston Resources, Whitehaven has made significant progress toward achieving its ambitious growth plans, as set out in the 2012 Annual Report and in the September Quarterly Report.
The company expects to almost double production in the
current financial year and, once all approvals for the Maules
Creek project are received, is poised to become a major
supplier of high quality semi-soft coking coal and low-ash
thermal coal to global markets.
Whitehaven has a strong and independent Board of Directors
that has performed well since the merger; and a very
experienced and capable management team that is highly
regarded.
Page 1
The Board and management are focused on creating value for
all of Whitehaven's shareholders by developing and enhancing
the company's excellent assets while maintaining its
reputation as a capable and respected corporation.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO SUPPORT THE EXISTING BOARD AND MANAGEMENT TEAM? The Whitehaven Board seeks your support in favour of the resolutions being put to the AGM.
It is important that Whitehaven has a stable board and
management team that are capable
and committed to building its business for the benefit of all
shareholders.
You should be aware that the resolutions are being supported
by a large cross section of institutional shareholders and
all independent proxy advisory firms.
You are able to vote your shares online by visiting
www.investorvote.com.au at any time up to 11.00 am (Sydney
Time) Tuesday, 30 October 2012. Please call 1300 552 270
(within Australia) or +61 3 9415 4000 (outside Australia) if
you have any queries on how to cast your vote.
On behalf of the Board I thank you for your support.
The Hon. Mark Vaile AO Chairman
Page 2
distributed by |