Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our shareholders' meeting. As there is a quorum present, I declare the meeting open, being 10:00 A.M. this morning. I'm José Parés, Chairman of Restaurant Brands. Welcome to the 26th Annual Shareholders' Meeting of the company. Today's meeting is being held both in person and online via the Computershare Online Meeting platform. This allows shareholders, proxies, and guests who are not able to attend the meeting in person to attend the meeting virtually. All online attendees can watch a live webcast of the meeting and read the company's documents associated with the meeting. In addition, shareholders and proxies have the ability to ask questions and submit votes. For those of you attending the meeting virtually, if you have a question to submit, please select the Q&A tab on the right half of your screen at any time. Type your question into the field and press Send. Your question will be immediately submitted. If you require any assistance, you can type your query, and one of the Computershare team will assist with a chat function. Alternatively, you can call Computershare on 0800 650 034. As there is a slight time delay between the in-person and online elements of this meeting, it would be appreciated if shareholders attending the meeting virtually could please submit any questions they already have in mind now so that they can be received in good time to be read out during the question-and-answer section of the meeting. Please note that while you can submit questions from now on, I will not address them until the relevant time in the meeting. Finally, due to time constraints, we may not have time to answer all questions. If this happens, we will answer them in due course via email. All voting today will be conducted by way of poll. In order to provide all online attendees with enough time to vote, I will shortly open the online voting for all resolutions. At that time, if you are eligible to vote at this meeting, you will be able to cast your vote under the Vote tab. To vote, simply select your voting direction from the options shown on the screen. Your vote has been cast when a tick appears. To change your vote, simply select Change Your Vote. You have the ability to change your vote up until the time I declare the voting closed. I now declare voting open on the items of business. Please submit your vote at any time. I will give you a warning before I move to close voting. The company's share register, Computershare, will carry out the poll. If you submitted a proxy prior to the meeting, you don't need to complete another proxy form. Your vote will be exercised by your proxy holder. Now, I would like to introduce the company's directors, all of whom are here with us today. Full details of their backgrounds are included in the annual report. Carlos Fernández. Luis Miguel Álvarez. Good morning. Emilio Fullaondo. Good morning. Lyn Lim. Good morning. Malena Pato- Castell. Good morning. Stephen Ward. Good morning. Myself, José Parés. First, I would like to acknowledge the time, expertise, and commitment each director has contributed over the past year. Thank you so much for your help. As outlined in the notice of meeting, and in line with the NZX listing rules, six of us, Carlos Fernández, Luis Miguel Álvarez, Emilio Fullaondo, Lyn Lim, Stephen Ward, and myself, retired by rotation and being eligible, offer ourselves for reelection. We will move to those resolutions following today's presentations. I would also like to introduce our Chief Executive Officer, Arif Khan. Good morning. Our Chief Financial Officer, Julio Valdés. Good morning. All present today are representatives from the company's auditors, Karen Shires of PwC, and Callum Webb, our internal legal counsel. We also have a number of other staff members from the company assisting today. The company has received, within the prescribed time, 200 signed proxies representing 107,031,474 votes, being 85.79% of the votes available to be cast. The results of the proxy votes for the resolutions being tabled will be displayed when the resolution is put to the meeting. The notice of meeting, which outlines the agenda for today and the resolutions will be put to the meeting, has been circulated to all shareholders. You will have all received the annual report, including the financial statements and the auditor's report for the 2024 financial year. You will also have received the 2024 climate-related disclosures report. Today, I will provide you a brief overview for the full year 2024 results and highlight some of the opportunities we see for growth in the coming years. Our CEO, Arif Khan, will then report in more detail our divisional performance, our refresher strategy, and the current trading environment. I will then invite questions from shareholders on any matter raising in the financial statements, the annual report, or our addresses to you. Let me now turn to the chair's address. On behalf of the board, I would like to acknowledge our shareholders, the Restaurant Brands team, and our customers for their continued support and their passion for our brands. The past year brought both pressure and progress, and with 2025 well underway, we expect a similar year ahead. Across our markets, persistent inflation and elevated living costs continue to strain household budgets and reshape spending patterns. Escalating global trade tensions are also contributing to a more complex operating landscape. While there were areas of improvement during last year, it's become increasingly clear to recover across our regions, we will be gradual and uneven. Trading conditions remain constrained in all markets, and the near-term outlook suggests that consumer spending will stay under pressure. In this environment, we remain focused on protecting and improving margins through cost control and revenue optimization, at the same time retaining brand strength and consumer relevance. Despite this backdrop, we've continued to move forward, delivering record sales, strengthening operational execution, expanding our network, and maintaining brand momentum. I will now provide a brief overview for our 2024 result. In 2024, total group sales reached a new record of NZD 1.4 billion, up 5.4% year-on-year, despite the difficult economic conditions. New Zealand and Hawaii stood out as the strongest performers, delivering positive same-store sales and solid top-line growth. This helped offset performance in Australia and California, where economic conditions were more constrained. Our margin recovery initiatives are delivering positive results. Group store EBITDA increased by 8.9%, or NZD 16 million, reaching NZD 194 million. At the same time, store EBITDA margins strengthened to 13.9% over sales, up from 13.5% in 2023. This reflects the benefits of the continued investment in digital channels, product innovation, and distinctive brand marketing. G&A, as a percentage of revenue, was 4.5%, down on 2023 at 4.8%, as a result of targeted initiatives to reduce non-essential G&A expenses. These factors resulted in a group NPAT of NZD 26.5 million, representing a considerable 62.6% uplift from last year. As I said earlier, this was supported by effective revenue optimization, cost control measures, and operational efficiencies. Importantly, we have made these gains while maintaining value for our customers, protecting brand loyalty, and preserving the quality of the customer experience. Net operating cash inflows increased to NZD 133 million, up NZD 5 million in 2023, driven by stronger sales and disciplined working capital management. Net investing cash outflows were NZD 53 million, down NZD 31 million compared to 2023, reflecting a deliberate focus on capital efficiency, which also enabled a special dividend of NZD 22 million to shareholders in December 2024. At the end of full year 2024, group net debt was NZD 253 million, down slightly from NZD 257 million in 2023, reflecting net repayments of NZD 27 million, partially offset by foreign exchange movements. The group maintained total banking facilities of NZD 405 million, with NZD 120 million of available on-drawn capacity. Banking covenants remain comfortably within range, and there are no forecast breaches of any of the group's banking covenants. As of 31st December 2024, Restaurant Brands operated 521 restaurants across all the four regions, 381 company-owned and 140 franchise stores. The strength of our brands and franchise partnerships is reflected in the continued growth of our store network, particularly in New Zealand, where Pizza Hut operates 141 stores with 135 owned and operated by independent franchisees. The 27 new stores were opened across the group network in 2024, made up of 9 company-owned stores and 11 franchise stores. 40 stores were also refurbished. We maintain committed to our store development program, with further new builds, refurbishments, and portfolio optimization planned for this year 2025. Looking ahead, the pace of recovery is proving slower than anticipated, while inflation and volatility persist. Given the uncertainties in the prevailing environment, the board will not be providing guidance at this time. We remain committed to our continuous disclosure obligations, and any material matters will be communicated to the market in a timely manner. With 2025 well underway, our focus remains clear: improving margins, deploying capital carefully, and reinforcing the strength of our brands across all markets. We are guided by a highly experienced leadership team, with a strong track record navigating difficult and different times, market cycles. Their discipline in execution and customer-led decision-making continues to deliver tangible results. We are continuing to invest and deliver in the areas that matter most: network expansion, digital innovation, operational excellence, and, more importantly, our people. These strong foundations, anchored by our refreshed group strategy, position us to navigate change, drive performance, and deliver sustainable growth for our shareholders. Now, I will hand over to our Chief Executive Officer, Arif Khan. Arif. Thank you, José. Hello and a very good morning to you all. I'm grateful to be here today and be able to reflect on the year that's been and to share how we are building for the future. In financial year 2024, we were proud to serve more than 61 million customers, deliver another year of record sales, and work alongside a passionate and dedicated team of 12,500 people across our four markets. As José outlined, it was a year of pressure, but also progress. While economic conditions remain challenging, we delivered margin improvements and top-line growth, all while executing a broader transformation agenda. We've continued to modernize our business, accelerating digital capabilities, enhancing customer and team experiences, and positioning our brands for long-term resilience and relevance. I will briefly take you through some of the key highlights of financial year 2024. Our BD opened 27 new stores in this climate, I must say, including digital-first formats designed for speed and convenience, and grew our network by 5%. 40 stores were also remodeled to elevate the customer journey and overall experience. Digital sales hit a record 40% of total transactions, driven by strong adoption of kiosk, click-and-collect, and app-based ordering. Our BD's total group sales grew by 23%. Digital group sales grew by 23%. Our digital and e-commerce team continues to set the pace globally, with Pizza Hut New Zealand winning the Global Digital Excellence Award during a recent global franchise convention in Sydney. Taco Bell New Zealand was recognized as the brand's best-performing international market, while Pizza Hut Hawaii was awarded the best operations in the U.S. franchise system last year. Alongside these flagship wins, our teams across KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell were recognized with multiple global and regional awards for operational excellence and customer experiences. We introduced a new group—excuse me—we introduced a new group operating model to streamline our structure, to sharpen our execution, and align our teams behind our strategic priorities. We also delivered significant operational improvements, reducing costs and lifting store EBITDA by 9%. As we continue to invest in our people, we invested over NZD 1 million in external training for our staff to drive performance in their areas of work. Let me now provide a brief overview of our FY2024 performance across each market. A more detailed breakdown is available in the latest annual report. The New Zealand division delivered strong top-line growth despite a broader economic slowdown, supported by effective marketing strategies and new product launches. Total sales increased to NZD 626 million, up 9.5% on FY2023. Same-store sales grew 4.6%, driven by strong transactional growth. Store EBITDA rose to NZD 104 million, up 29%, with margins improving from 14.1% to 16.6%. KFC New Zealand delivered record sales, and Pizza Hut network maintained its strong growth momentum. Taco Bell is also cementing its place in the New Zealand QSR sector, with growth in same-store sales, transactions, and store count. Carl's Jr. performed in line with expectations. Looking ahead, consumer spending has weakened further at the start of this year, with households feeling the brunt of recessionary conditions, in particular Auckland, while the regions remained more resilient. Revenue optimization and cost control measures, supported by enhanced marketing programs, including value-led promotions, continue to be key drivers for customer retention and margin recovery in our business. While the outlook remains uncertain, we hope to see some improvement in the second half of the year as interest rate reductions begin to ease household pressures. Australia remained challenging in 2024. Persistently high inflation and rising interest rates continue to impact consumer confidence and spending in Australia, driving a shift towards more value-led, affordable options, which reduced frequency. Operating costs also remained elevated, in particular energy costs, labor costs, which further pressured our margins over the year. Value-led promotions were introduced to support cost-conscious consumers, but top-line growth remained constrained. Total sales were AUD 284 million, down 0.8% on prior year. Same-store sales declined 3.3%. Store EBITDA was AUD 32 million, down from AUD 35 million, with margins reducing from 12.2% to 11.4%. While KFC delivered lower store EBITDA versus FY23, that result came off an exceptionally strong prior year base. Taco Bell's performance was below expectations, but we remain confident in the strategy which is put in place to lift its momentum, as we have seen in New Zealand. Looking ahead, we are monitoring economic conditions closely. Cost of living relief is anticipated later in the year, but we expect recovery to remain gradual. Value-led marketing and targeted investment in customer experience remain our priorities, and margin protection will remain a key focus in the near term. The Hawaii division delivered another year of growth. While inflation and high energy pressures limited consumer spending, enhanced marketing and product innovation helped protect the performance. Total sales were $170 million, up 6.3% year on year. Same-store sales increased 4.2%. Store EBITDA rose to $29 million, an increase of $1 million, representing 16.9% of sales. EBITDA margin decreased slightly as a result of continued inflationary pressures. Taco Bell continued to perform strongly, and Pizza Hut delivered moderate growth. Looking ahead, Hawaii is showing the strongest signs of sustained recovery. A focused marketing, menu enhancements, and continued investment in brand visibility will continue to support growth across both brands in Hawaii. California remains the group's most challenged market. Ongoing cost of living pressures and high operating costs, including a 29% increase to the minimum wage in April 2024, have significantly impacted both consumer demand and profitability. Total sales were $107 million, down 3.2% year on year. Same-store sales declined 3.9%, though there was an improvement in Q4 performance, supported by new KFC marketing campaigns and in-store initiatives such as kiosk rollout and catering offers. Store EBITDA fell to $5 million, down 50.5% from prior year. Four stores were closed during the year as part of a strategic shift to focus on higher growth locations as we regionalized some of the store footprint. While recovery in California will take time, we remain committed to the market. Key foundations are improving, including labor retention, staffing levels, and customer engagement. We continue to implement targeted initiatives across margin improvement, marketing, store optimization, and energy efficiency. Our operations scorecard in California, KFC, remains the best across the U.S. system. We are closely monitoring trading conditions, along with federal and state-level policy developments, and will continue to adapt our approach as the broader economic environment evolves. Every day, we are building something bigger: a portfolio of distinctive digital-first brands that connect with our customers in new, useful, and powerful ways. From world-first brand activations to seamless digital ordering and modern store formats, we are redefining the customer journey and setting new standards across the industry. Behind this all sits our refreshed group strategy: focus on accelerating recovery and delivering lasting value for our customers, our teams, our franchisees, and our shareholders. At the heart of this strategy are four clear priorities. Delivering profitable and sustainable growth, we are on a clear path towards achieving our NZD 2 billion in group sales, powered by smart store expansions, stronger brand access, optimized store formats, and sustainable margin improvements, putting customer centricity at the core. Winning in QSR today isn't just about price and discounting everything. It's about creating experiences, great customer journeys that customers love and keep coming back for in all our brands. We are modernizing menus, expanding digital channels, upgrading store formats, and making every interaction more seamless and rewarding. Driving operational innovation and excellence, behind every great brand is a smarter, faster, more resilient system. We are embedding new technologies, advancing sustainability initiatives, and enhancing our operational processes to lift performances across the business and building great performing teams. It is the heart of the business. We are investing in training, leadership development, and operational tools to help our teams perform at the best every day. When our people are winning, our customers will win, and the rest takes care of itself. Much of our momentum today is driven by the way we connect with our customers, pushing creative boundaries and sparking cultural moments that build loyalty and keep our brands relevant. Recent highlights include, and you must have seen this in Auckland if you live here, KFC's fish and chips pop-up shop. To drive brand buzz and community connection, we opened a KFC pop-up next to the Mairangi Bay Surf Club in February, with all our proceeds supporting Surf Life Saving New Zealand. The campaign delivered standout results, and more than NZD 40,000 was raised for Surf Life Saving New Zealand. Pizza Hut's 50th anniversary pop-up hut, a sold-out event that brought back All You Can Eat Buffet for a week, reconnecting with generations of Kiwi customers through a nostalgic brand experience. The KFC Gravy Train, a world-first activation where a branded locomotive delivered hot KFC chicken to fans on the way to the Blues vs. Force rugby game at Eden Park. These initiatives show how our brands are leading, innovating, and creating stronger emotional connections with customers and the community, and contributing to the community which we operate in, where we operate in, I should say, going well beyond just food and stores. Looking ahead, we remain cautiously optimistic. We've made headway, but macroeconomic and spending recovery would occur at a slower pace than expected. A higher level of uncertainty remains in play. We're staying alert to global trade developments and prepared to adapt where we can as conditions evolve, as we've always done. Financial year 2024 showed that strong brands, sharp execution, and a focused strategy can deliver meaningful progress even in tough economic conditions. That same focus will guide us in 2025. Our priorities are very clear: driving revenue and margin gains, expansion into high-growth locations, unlocking further cost savings and efficiencies, pushing the boundaries of marketing, digital, and e-commerce. We are also scaling on automation, advancing sustainable initiatives, and strengthening cross-market alignment to improve performance and future-proof the business for future growth. With the passion and commitment from our teams, the loyalty of our customers, and the strength of our franchise partners, we are confident we can navigate through what lies ahead. I would like to sincerely thank our board, my leadership team, they're all here, our restaurant support and field teams across all our markets, our franchise partners, our customers, and of course, our shareholders for their continued trust and support. Thank you, and I'll now hand back to you, José. Thank you. Thank you, Arif. I am pleased to open for discussion the financial statements, the auditor's report, and our addresses today. Before we proceed to the general Q&A session, we have received three written shareholder questions prior to the meeting, questions that we will answer now. These three questions are all related to Restaurant Brands' supply chain arrangements, so it is important to note that our procurement model differs by region. In New Zealand, we manage our own sourcing, while in Australia and the U.S., supply chains are centrally managed by our franchisor Yum! First question: What are KFC's plans around sourcing free-range, not cage-raised chickens? All chicken used in New Zealand is barn-raised and cage-free. Our New Zealand suppliers comply with MPI and SPCA animal welfare standards, while in Australia and the U.S., as I just said, sourcing is overseen by Yum! The second question is KFC's global commitment to eliminate non-recoverable plastic-based packaging by 2025. Please report on progress. All plastic-based packaging in New Zealand is made from recoverable materials. In Australia, only one remaining item is non-recoverable, and we're working to finalize that. In the U.S., progress continues but has been slower due to the lack of federal regulation on packaging. Third question: In your CRD 2024 report, you note that you started measuring Scope 3 GHG emissions in 2022. How would you plan to reduce emissions from purchased goods? Scope 3 emissions make up the majority of our total footprint, with purchased goods the largest contributor. Our influence over supplier emissions varies region by region. In Australia and the U.S., sourcing is centrally managed. In New Zealand, we're working directly with suppliers to understand their emissions. As supplier data improves, we will look to adjust procurement practices. We already prefer locally produced goods like chicken, fries, and packaging, which helps reduce transportation emissions and improves supply resilience, and more importantly, supports the communities where we do operate. Now, I'm pleased to ask for questions from our shareholders. May I remind you that this is a meeting of shareholders. It's only shareholders, proxy holders, and shareholder company representatives who may speak at the meeting. I would be grateful if you could stand up when you are about to speak so that a microphone can be brought to you and then let the meeting know who you are and whether you are a shareholder or a proxy holder. Are there any questions? Thank you. Paul Grant, shareholder. I just want to commend the CEO and CFO. I think you've done another good year. They said at the end of the meeting last year, "Give us another year." You are probably a bit burdened now. I think my biggest worry is California. California, NZD 26 million loss. You have to do something about it. I know it will be a huge write-off of assets, but we need to see more agility. I do not know how you are going to turn it around because you are doing things on the fringes, but it is not going to achieve what we need. My request to the board is to show some more agility, maybe take some hard decisions on California because it is not sustainable. Thank you. Thank you so much. Let me assure you that, yes, it is an important thing that at the board we are constantly overlooking at. I'm glad to say that even though the numbers that we have seen so far do not show the improvement that the team is putting in place, not only the top management from this company, but the local management is doing, is showing good results. They've been working on the labor side. They've been working on the sourcing. They've been working on revenue initiatives that are helping to improve a little bit. Unfortunately, economic conditions over there are not helping either. Yes, we are addressing this every single time that we meet because it's such an important thing for the board and for the company and obviously to the shareholders. Yes, make sure that we're working on it. Thank you for your comment, and totally agree with you. John Shearer, shareholder. A couple of years ago, maybe three, the share price was about NZD 15. You're now NZD 3.20. You've asked year after year to give us some more time, and you'll sort it out. I do remember that comment from last year as well. I think the price might be lower this year than it was last year. I am not sure either whether you've got it correct or working towards shareholder value. I've heard a comment saying that low share price can be because of post-maturity and decline, mismanagement, or you do not care about the shareholders. I am not certain where you sit with your program of development, your expansion, California, but there's very little return to shareholders. It does speak to the latter. What are you going to do to increase the share price? Thank you for your question. Obviously, it's our concern. It's an issue that we review and get a report from the CFO in every board meeting. It's comments from investors, analysts that they meet regularly and frequently and that they speak about what we're doing and explanations to all that. It is true. Even we entered at a higher price than it is what it is today. It's a reality. It's a pain for all of us. We are obviously working in what we can control, and what we can control is driving the business in the best way possible, leaving the conditions that we have today, making better returns. If you look at the profitability of the business, it's recovering. We are working in initiatives to continue driving value. Unfortunately, markets are the ones that decide which are the prices. Markets have been very volatile, and it's something that we cannot control on that. On our hand, everything that we can do to create that value, it's being done. We continue exploring initiatives to continue driving more value to shareholders. The share price that is reflecting what the reality of the stock market is having today is nothing that we can do on that, except for more transparency, more communication, more contact with shareholders, with analysts. Believe me, we're working on that. Sure, please. There are things you can do. Your expansion rates, your debt levels, California, what you choose is important to the company as a whole. At the moment, I'm not sure if that balance is correct. By not reflecting value back to shareholders, you have suppressed the value of the company. You do not seem to care. Excuse me. For example, this company used to be a hospitality company. We used to actually have a morning tea. To blame the venue as the reason why you can no longer supply morning tea and your hospitality perhaps also reflects you're facing shareholders with an empty hand. I'm not certain that the trust and the support that you're getting is reflective. Can you at least look to a different venue for next year where you can supply perhaps? I know a scone. Thank you so much for that. Thank you for the suggestion. We will work on that. Definitely, we've been bringing down debt. We've been paying dividends in a way that we can keep the company in a strong way, in a financially strong capability, and also rewarding the shareholders in the way that we can with the resources that we have. Definitely, yes, being prudent in where we invest because it was said California is facing tough times. Yes, we would have loved to expand in that region, but today we need to correct and fix certain things that are happening there that are out of our control. Labor costs that were not expected in the way that they were raised a year ago and other challenges like competition that at that moment was not there. Yeah, we need to do it, and we're addressing it, and we're working on it. Thank you. Hi, this is Yazid. I'm a proxy for the Lobos. I had two questions. One was your capital efficiency. You spoke about it and where your network growth is. I'd invite the board to go along Massey Road in Māngere. You all have two KFC stores which are within 30 seconds of each other. I can literally walk down. I know there were some issues around the land, etc. I was just wondering what your network optimization plan was. You'll say capital efficiency. You'll have borrowed in a high-interest rate environment, but there's no throughput. I don't see that. You're discounting during the week. You all don't discount even on your app. You're saying that margin optimization, but you're not giving people options even on your app. Those are the two things that I would be trying to understand because that's reflected in your share price. That's why it's such a high discount. Is there a way to drive more capital efficiency? In other words, is there a network optimization plan in New Zealand? I know it's a very high-demand area, especially in the south, but I don't see that happening. Just two comments around that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for that question. Appreciate that. I think we're very mindful of the two stores that operate on the same road, probably 150 meters apart from each other. We've had comments on the social page as to people who are loving two KFC stores, and some are very worried about our investments. However, we took the opportunity to build a drive-through, which was a business decision to have a drive-through with the demand of our brand there, which we let. The reason for operating two is we have a lease obligation at the moment on the current site. Our teams are working with the landlord in terms of how, where it's prudent. If it's prudent to exit now, we would have exited. Overall, the two stores are generating more sales than we ever were in the trade area. In time, I think you are right. When it makes sense, we will exit the site. If both sites can coexist, it's an inline store, drive-through store with delivery channels. It opens up to more customers at different occasions, different demographics, which is currently working for us. You're right. In time, if it doesn't work for us, we will exit. Let me tell you, we are more prudent than ever in this environment in how we allocate our capital and our resources in every market, not just in New Zealand. On your second point, in terms of discounting, if you see how the competitors have grown in the different customer base, building loyalty, app programs, and loyalty is important to any brand, especially when we're in this environment where consumers, their confidence has weakened and they're suffering. Their spending power is less. We need to make sure that we have the right programs, the right value-led programs and price points to attract our customers into our brands rather than going to the competitor. One of our major competitors in New Zealand has a very good app and loyalty program. We've been a bit behind in this journey. There is a lot of work to be done. As I said in my presentation, we are not going into heavy discounting. We're not going to discount the farm on everything. We've got to be prudent, but loyalty is important. There are customers who look for great loyalty and great deals. We have to open the channel. We have to open the funnel to bring everybody into our brand. We do not want to miss any consumer in that sense. However, we want to be sure that we are not heavily discounting as we grow our loyalty base. Thank you. Thank you, Arif. Any other question? Thank you. My name's Richard Flower. I'm a shareholder. What this company does need is a coherent dividend policy. In my opinion, the special dividend just confused the market. It seemed to indicate that things were going a lot better. From what I've heard today, that's not the case. I think that you should have a meeting and sort something out. You pay dividends, then you don't pay dividends. Thank you. Thank you so much for your comment. That is something that we constantly analyze. The reason for not having a set committee is because we are constantly looking for opportunities to improve shareholders' value if there are raises. On the other hand, being prudent because nowadays, with the current volatilities that we're seeing, interest rates going up, and all this, obviously, it's very prudent to try to manage the things with our own cash flow rather than going and leveraging more. That's why we've been a little bit prudent. When the time comes and we see that we have the capability to do it, it's when we pay the dividend. You're completely right. It's something that we analyze and constantly evaluate. Thank you for your comment. Any other question from the audience? Yes, please. Thank you. Michael Chin, shareholder. My question is directed to CEO Khan. You rattled off in your speech about increased record revenues, increased EBITDA, and so on and so forth, and opening chains here and there, right, and investing in equipment. At the end of the day, I'm following up on my friend's paused question here. What matters to us as shareholders is not EBITDA. It is net profit. If you're going to lose money every year, the company is going to be sustainable, right? Now, increased revenue is one thing, right? Yeah, we can do all the things that you mentioned, open chains and all those things. That costs a lot of money, isn't it? A lot of funds, a lot of cash to do all those things, employ more employees. At the end of the day, increasing revenue is one side. What about the cost? If you increase revenue and your cost goes up, it's not going to work, right? My question is, can you in a summary here of your curve here for those of us who may not have read the report in detail? Provide us a very quick summary of what efforts in your strategy are taking or you can take to reduce the other side of the equation, the cost side, so that at the end of the day, maybe not next year, maybe in years to come, the company will turn profitable. Thank you. Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. I do appreciate in this tough environment, we are increasing sales and we need to deliver more for our shareholders. As you have seen, the results versus last year, given in the tough economic conditions that we are trading in, the NPAT results are much higher, 62% up versus 2023. The initiatives that we work on and the team is constantly challenged by the board, by me, and all of us, we challenge ourselves in how do we deliver better margins in anything that we do? How do we deliver better flow-throughs? You're absolutely right. We need to look at menu. We need to look at better value programs, not just discounting. Also, the key is working with our suppliers. We procure a lot of product, not just supply chain through ingredients, opening stores. We invest a lot in technology and store builds. The cost of store builds in the last few years, it was up 20%. Our CapEx moved up by about 20%. We are seeing CapEx coming down. If you visit our store, and I encourage you to visit the new stores that we have built, sir, in East Tamaki Road, in Cavendish Drive, which are re-engineered stores. They allow our footprint. We are sourcing better. We are sourcing better materials. As I said, our CapEx is going down. We are looking at, if you had Mr. Chairman's address, our G&A are down. So we're looking at where we can mitigate in areas of procurement, not just spending on people on the ground or by building stores, but there's smart spending in procuring in supply chain. We're one of the largest QSRs combined in New Zealand. So we work very closely with our chicken supplies, our bread supplies, our potato supplies. So those are the things that we work on to mitigate some of the costs. But given the inflationary pressures, this is not just our brand. This is a global impact on every other brand in every other country. Let me tell you this. And we've seen this not in New Zealand, not in Australia, not in California. Yes, California had that 29% impact of labor last year. But we challenge ourselves in how do we, as I said before, where do we put our money? How do we invest in capital? How do we invest in labor in these challenging markets? And if you read the reports, how are we flowing, how the margins are flowing through versus last year? It is ongoing. We still are in uncertain times. As you know, Australia 2023, I think Q4, started to soften up all of last year. The predictions were that Australia will bounce back earlier this year. It has not. Mid-year, it has not. It still continued to be challenging. We need to challenge ourselves in terms of how do we better run our operations. We control margins. We control cost. Again, where we invest. For example, a gentleman mentioned why we are running two stores in Massey Road. That is a very strategic decision. There are competitors who are entering the market. We have got to be ahead of the game. We do not want to be stagnant and just be operating the 100 stores in New Zealand. When we have stores, we have to be growing the business so that you get better returns in the end. Teams are committed. We are not just concerned about the shareholder return. Yes, we are. We are challenged by the board every month. We challenge our teams and ourselves every month how we can do better. Savings are being had. In these times, it still remains uncertain. Costs continue to go up. We have managed to bring costs down with our supplies and also with store developments. Please do visit the new stores that we have built. You will see a big difference where the brand was maybe 5- 10 years ago to where it is now. Thank you. Thank you, Arif. Gordon Wallace, shareholder. Look, no one's disputing, and I imagine most shareholders, what you've done and trying in this market. Like you just said again, what you're trying to do. It's so tough out there. It's not that. We're trying to say to you, and I'm a lot of saying this to you, that there's areas of your business you've really got to look at, that you've got to hit the hard bullet. I hate to say it, like they have said here, is like California. There's so much pouring in there of even a director's time and money. Yet, all right, you're up to 70 stores there. You've actually committed so much. It's so hard to pull back. Has there been many stores in California that you've had to drop off or because they're not performing well? Because obviously, there are stores there maybe doing well, but it still comes back over the whole thing. You know yourself, if it was not for New Zealand, that is where your growth has been really incredible, has it not? And you have made the right decisions here, obviously. Mexico has got a problem with Trump. So why do you not kick him back? There is another way of saying it, though. Thank you so much for your question and comment. Obviously, yes, we are working hard and we need to remember something. Just right after COVID, or even during COVID time, California was a very productive and profitable generator model of this company. Unfortunately, the living conditions in California have deteriorated after that. No longer are consumers receiving paychecks from the government. They have less purchasing power. On the other hand, you are seeing people moving away after COVID from California. You have less consumers that are moving more towards the center and east coast of the U.S. You're also having pressures like labor pressures that were just targeted to our industry. It was not a general wage increase, minimum wage increase. It was just targeted to the QSR, unfair, definitely. The reality is, yes, we constantly assess how the market where we operate is behaving, how the stores are behaving. When we need to have a hard time and decision of closing the store, we do it because we don't see any other option after. It is not a decision that is taken on day one. It is a decision that is taken, believe me, after a thorough exercise of finding ways and initiatives to try to turn around the business. What you can, you can't. That's what we've been doing. The thing is, there are restaurants that are working well there, obviously not to the level that we expected. We need to improve. We need to work on different ways because wage is a reality. We need to work on ways on how to scale the labor in that restaurant. We need to find ways to find more appealing new products in the restaurant. That is why we have strong and direct conversations with John as franchisor, owner of the brand, so we can bring new occasions of consumption. On the other hand, we work on our side individually in the communities that we are activating locally to try to bring traffic again. Believe me, we hear your concern. That is right. It is okay. You do not have to say anymore. It is just giving you the point of view because. We hear that. Now you have a problem, but how are you going to extract it, John? That's the situation for that person. Let's leave it at that. Thank you so much. We're working on it. Believe me, we're trying to make as much value as we can on this. Yeah. It's Hailey Cheng, a shareholder of KFC. Recently, I've been to quite a number of KFC, and I'd like to, what should I say, give you my observation and comments. Maybe it can improve the profits of the company. Yeah. For the KFC in Takapuna, it's very busy, particularly during lunch hour or after office hour. There are plenty of cars queuing up to buy the food. Also in the city, which I visited as well, they are very busy. On last Saturday, I've been first time to Grand Inns. It is also very busy. The only one that is not, I noticed, no customer at all around 2:30 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. in the afternoon is in the Dominion Road near Mount Albert, maybe 1,000 something there. I do not know whether you can find out which store has the least business so that you cut down the hours so that you do not need to pay so much, what should I say, employees' fee or electricity fee, running costs as well. You have to notice store by store in order to improve business. Every cent counts. Yeah. I am happy to be a shareholder of Restaurant Brands. This year, I have read a news from the New Zealand Herald mentioning an employee who had worked continuously for 50 years for KFC in South Auckland. She is really happy. She said that every day she went to work, she felt really happy. I think she used a lot of KFC as well. She is still very healthy at the age of 74 years old. Yeah. I wish you, just like California, you notice each store, what's the problem there, etc., etc. Or maybe if it is money losing, close it. Maybe move to, say, Texas where Donald Trump said, "Joe, Joe, Joe." There are a lot of workers who would like to buy fast food meals. Maybe also in, what should I say, Mexico as well. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for your observations. Definitely, we are working on being more efficient on the labor scheduling. Also, more importantly, one of the things that the team is working on is product innovation because we believe that product innovation can bring consumers and customers to our stores at hours that we normally do not sell. Samples, shakes, or breakfast time that we still have the restaurant there. We have to pay the rent, but we are missing that consumer occasion because we do not have a product to offer. Through new product innovation is how we are trying to bring more traffic, more sales, and more products to have more productive hours in our restaurants. Yes, we are really proud of having people that stay longer, not only here. A couple of weeks ago in Hawaii, a person being with us 45 years retired. That is the type of people that we like to have in the team, people that come and stay and work and retire here. More importantly, hopefully, that they bring their kids or their grandsons and grandkids to work for us because for us, Restaurant Brands is like a big family. All the 10,000 people that work in the organization are treated like family. That is what we aim to continue doing, fostering and keeping all of us together. Thank you for your comments and for your constant and loyal support. Thank you. Any other question? Are there any questions from the online attendees, Callum? No? Very good. If there are no further questions or comments, I propose that we now conclude this discussion and move to the next item on our agenda. I thank you for your contributions. We now move to the formal business of the meeting. There are seven items of business which are required to be passed by a simple majority vote, that is, approval by more than 50% of the vote cast. I've already outlined the process for online attendees to vote. For those of you attending in person, shareholders who are entitled to vote and proxy holders will have received a proxy voting form prior to the meeting or will have been issued with a form when they register upon arrival. If you submitted a proxy prior to the meeting, you don't need to complete another proxy voting form. Your vote will be exercised by your proxy holder. If you are eligible to vote and do not have a form, please go to the Computershare desk at the back of the room for assistance. After completing voting, you should place your proxy voting form in one of the ballot boxes which Computershare will bring around the room. Please ensure that you sign the form before placing it in the ballot box. I will invite you to vote after each resolution has been introduced to the meeting. Please indicate your vote for, against, or abstain by placing a tick in the appropriate box. There will be an opportunity to ask questions on or speak to each resolution being put to shareholders. I ask that in the interest of fairness to all shareholders attending this meeting, anyone wishing to speak to a resolution be as concise as possible to be considerate to the other shareholders who may also wish to ask questions. The first six resolutions concern the election of directors. All six directors standing for election are retired by rotation as required by the NZX listing rules. Being eligible, all six directors have offered themselves for reelection. Their biographical details are contained in the notice of meeting. Current board members intend to vote all of their shares if applicable, and discretionary proxies in favor of the resolutions to elect each of the six nominated directors. It's customary for board members seeking reelection to address the meeting. Each director will therefore briefly address you before the motion is put forward. Shareholders are welcome to submit any questions they may have for a director following the conclusion of their respected address. I will now hand the chair over to Luis Miguel Álvarez. Thank you, José. Resolution number one proposes that José Parés, who is eligible for election, be elected as a director of the company. The board has determined that José, as an employee of Finaccess Capital, is standing as a non-independent, non-executive director. The board recommends José to you as a director of Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited and unanimously supports his election. José will now address the meeting. Thank you, Luis. It's a privilege to stand before you this year, particularly as I mark a decade of active involvement in this exciting and challenging industry. I've spent close to 30 years working in the consumer goods sector. I currently serve as CEO of Finaccess Capital, where I'm directly responsible for a group of Finaxis investments in the real economy. These include our investments in Restaurant Brands and AmRest, our European restaurant company. Through our involvement with Restaurant Brands and AmRest, I work closely with senior leadership to foster collaboration, share best practices, and build stronger, more resilient businesses, ensuring we learn from each other and continually raise the bar. Together, these two businesses operate more than 2,500 restaurants and employ nearly 60,000 people across Europe, Australasia, and the United States. Throughout this journey, I've been committed to embedding a culture anchored in strong values, customer focus, and teamwork. I'm proud that we continue to place our customers at the center of every decision we make and that every day we're strengthening alignment across our brands, teams, and markets. Finally, thank you for your support over the years, and I look forward to continue to contribute to the growth and leadership of Restaurant Brands in the regions that we operate today. Thank you. I now put to the vote the ordinary resolution that José Parés, who is eligible for election, be reelected as a director of the company. Please take a moment to vote on resolution number one if you have not done so already. Thank you, Luis. Resolution Number Two, reelection of Director Emilio Fullaondo. Resolution Number Two proposes that Emilio Fullaondo, who is eligible for election, be elected as a director of the company. The board has determined that Emilio is standing as an independent, non-executive director. The board recommends Emilio to you as a director of Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited and unanimously supports his election. Now, Emilio will address the meeting. Thank you, José. Good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here again and an honor to stand for reelection as an independent director of Restaurant Brands. You may be familiar with my background from the company's annual reports, so I'll keep it brief. I would, however, like to highlight a couple of areas where I believe I bring the most value to the company's continued development and profitable growth. Over the course of my career, I have the privilege of holding several leadership positions in accounting and finance, including serving as CFO. I also led human resources function as Chief People Officer of Grupo Modelo for five years, overseeing more than 40,000 employees following its acquisition by AB InBev. Overseeing this combination of financial and people leadership has given me a broad, balanced perspective on what I believe are two of the most critical aspects of business success. In recent years, Restaurant Brands has undergone meaningful changes at the leadership level. I'm pleased to see that those changes are delivering positive results. The team is fully engaged, getting stronger, and moving in the right direction. As directors, one of our key responsibilities is to ensure we have the right talent in place and to support that talent in achieving the company's strategic goals. I remain deeply committed to serving on this board and working closely with my fellow directors and management to support the company's ongoing progress. I respectfully ask for your support for my reelection. Thank you. Thank you, Emilio. Are there any questions for Emilio? No? Now I put to the vote the ordinary resolution that Emilio Fullaondo, who is eligible for reelection, be reelected as a director of the company. Please take a moment to vote on Resolution Number Two if you have not done so already. Resolution Number Three, reelection of Director Huei Min Lyn. Resolution Number Three proposes that Lyn Lim, who is eligible for election, be elected as a director of the company. The board has determined that Lyn is standing as an independent, non-executive director. The board recommends Lyn to you as a director of Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited and unanimously supports her election. Lyn will now address the meeting. Good morning, everyone. It is a privilege to be here. I'm seeking to be elected by you to share with us at the company as an independent director. You would have seen my bio in the notice of meeting. You would also be aware that I chair the Health and Safety and Sustainability Committee. In my past life, I suppose, I always had an interest in this area of health and safety, and now it's been extended to climate change recently. That's part of my governance work now. I was interested and remain very interested, and I'm motivated as a board member to work with my colleagues, management, and to ensure that Restaurant Brands remains a good place for our people to work in, a good company for you to invest in and continue to invest in, and also a responsible corporate citizen. Thank you. Please do elect me. Thank you, Lyn. Are there any questions for Lyn? I now put to vote the ordinary resolution that Lyn Lim, who is eligible for election, be reelected as a director of the company. Please take a moment to vote on Resolution Three if you have not done so already. Resolution Number Four proposes that Stephen Ward, who is eligible for election, be elected as a director of the company. The board has determined that Stephen is standing as an independent, non-executive director. The board recommends Stephen to you as a director of Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited and unanimously supports his election. Stephen will now address the meeting. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and fellow shareholders. It has been a privilege to represent you on this board. I very much heard all the comments from shareholders today about their concerns, and I can assure you the board and management has this as its core and does all its thinking and all of its planning. I have extensive experience in business and in governance, and I believe I have significantly more to offer to Restaurant Brands. I look forward to working with my fellow directors and management to focus on those core shareholder issues that you've just raised today. I seek your support and thank you very much for your support today. Thank you, Stephen. Are there any questions to Stephen? I now put to vote the ordinary resolution that Stephen Ward, who is eligible for election, be reelected as director of the company. Please take a moment to vote on Resolution Four if you haven't done so already. Resolution Number Five proposes that Carlos Fernández, who is eligible for election, be elected as a director of the company. The board has determined that Carlos, as the principal of a group of Finaxis, is standing as non-independent, non-executive director. The board recommends Carlos to you as a director of Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited and unanimously support his election. Carlos will now address the meeting. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, everyone. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders of Restaurant Brands, thank you for the opportunity to address you today. It's both an honor and a responsibility I take seriously. I come from a family of hardworking people who left Spain in search of a better opportunity and settled in Mexico, where I was born. From a young age, I was taught the importance of hard work, good manners, and strong values, principles that have guided every step of my personal and professional journey. At 13 years old, I began working as a bellboy. That early experience taught me about humility, discipline, and the value of serving others, lessons that still resonate with me today. In 1989, I graduated as an engineer. I began my career focused on operations, but I always was eager to learn and evolve. Over time, I expanded my expertise across various areas, strategic planning, for instance, business development, and organizational leadership. This continuous growth led me to serve as CEO and chairman of a major international company. After its successful sale, I decided it was time to build another venue and create something meaningful. That decision led me to the creation of a new company, which has invested in Restaurant Brands and today owns 75% of its capital. Believe me, we are not a private equity, and this is not just a financial investment for me. It's a personal commitment. I recognize the value of staying close to operations and leadership. That's why I've chosen to be an active member of the board of Restaurant Brands New Zealand. I believe my broad experience across sectors, my long-term vision, and my leadership style can contribute meaningfully to the success of this organization. I'm here to support the management team, the personnel, and all the stakeholders. I believe Restaurant Brands, I believe in its potential, and I believe in the people behind it. Together, we can build a stronger, more resilient company, one that honors its values and creates lasting value for all. That's why I seek your support for my reelection. Thank you very much. Thank you, Carlos. Are there any questions for Carlos? Now I put to vote the ordinary resolution that Carlos Fernández, who is eligible for election, be reelected as a director of the company. Please take a moment to vote on Resolution Five if you haven't done so already. Resolution Number Six proposes that Luis Miguel Álvarez, who is eligible for election, be elected as director of the company. The board has determined that Luis Miguel, as a representative of Finaccess Group, is standing as a non-independent, non-executive director. The board recommends Luis Miguel to you as a director of Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited and unanimously supports his election. Luis Miguel will now address the meeting. Thank you, José. Good morning, everyone. It's always hard to be the last to speak, both for the speaker as well as the audience, so I appreciate your patience and bearing with me. Esteemed shareholders, colleagues, and friends, it's an honor to stand before you. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today. It has been a privilege to serve on the board of Restaurant Brands New Zealand, and I stand before you to respectfully seek your support for another term. With your permission and for the sake of time, I will not enter into my professional background details since I have already shared this piece of information in previous shareholder meetings, and it is also stated in the company's annual report. It is amazing how time flies. Ten years have passed since we did, through Finaxis, our first important investment in the restaurant sector through AmRest in the European market, and four years later, we entered in Restaurant Brands New Zealand with our investment in this part of the world. Throughout these years, in hand with my colleagues, has allowed meaningful board discussions and decisions. Over this period, my tenure has been committed to and focused on setting the correct strategies to steer Restaurant Brands through both unprecedented challenges and transformative opportunities. I can assure you that the board has worked diligently with our leadership team to help guide our strategic growth, maintain operational excellence, and ensure we deliver long-term value to you, our shareholders. From expanding our brand footprint to navigating unprecedented industry challenges, passing through a very complicated pandemic that later on provoked supply chain disruptions, rapid digital transformations, inflation, cost pressures, abnormally high interest rates, organizational structures, geopolitical uncertainty, etc., we have made our best effort to remain focused on what matters the most: our consumers, our people, and our growth. Together, with a highly professional, very committed management team, and hand in hand with our diverse, talented, and experienced board colleagues, I believe we've achieved some remarkable milestones considering the market circumstances and the high volatility that surrounded us. Our work is far from done. The restaurant industry continues to evolve rapidly, shaped by technology, tough competition, sustainability demands, and shifting consumer expectations. Are we satisfied? Of course not. There's still a lot of work to be done. With all these challenges ahead of us, an experienced and consistent board is critical to be able to keep on the right path. I am committed to continuing to provide thoughtful oversight, strategic insight, and a shareholder-first mindset. As a member also of the Remunerations and Nominations Committee, I strongly believe that our people are our most important asset, and we will continue to strengthen our bonding and maintain our teams motivated to help grow a healthy and resilient business. Looking ahead, I am energized by the opportunities. I firmly believe we are duly armed to anticipate risks, seize trends, and keep Restaurant Brands ahead of the curve. Thus, I stand here before you seeking for your trust and vote to continue this journey. Let's keep building a future where Restaurant Brands isn't just a company that offers a place to dine, founded by great global brands, but a benchmark for innovation, sustainability, and outstanding customer experience within the industry. Thank you for your faith in me and in our shared value. Together, we'll keep setting the table for success. Thanks again, and God bless you. Thank you, Luis Miguel. Are there any questions for Luis Miguel? Yes, please. Paul Grant again, shareholder. Luis, you're the last, lucky last. I've just come to the meeting. It's undeniable you're working hard. You're putting your best foot forward. I think so many of us have come to the meeting thinking working harder is probably not going to solve the Californian drain. It's a sinkhole. Are there any step changes that you can talk to us about? Whether you take them or not, we're just wanting to hear, is there a step change rather than trying harder because we don't see it resolving the problem? Thank you. Thanks for your question. You know, in my opinion, it's not a matter of working harder, but working wiser, and that's what we're trying to do. You know, California has been brought up in this conversation quite a few times, and rightly so. As José mentioned, California was also pretty much the division that was sustaining us throughout the COVID times. There are some aspects outside our hands and our control that happened, and that has been the case also. We're trying to do our best to manage all these uncertainties and circumstances. You know, we didn't envision at the time that the cost of labor was going to have an increase of almost 30% in our costs or competition. I mean, we're seeing we had a few meetings these past years, and we've seen talking with Raziel, our head of the division in California, that it's competition stuff. I mean, and we're seeing Burger Kings and Wendy's closing all over the place. Some others are also managing fairly well. It was also, you know, fairly good to know that within the JAM world in California, our division is doing, let me put it this way, not as bad as the rest or the average, even nationally within the KFC JAM system. Again, let's assure that we're trying to do our best to handle the situation the best as we can, and we remain truly hopeful in the future. We just need to surf through, you know, tough waves right at the moment. So, but we'll get there. Thank you, Luis Miguel. Any other question? Now I put to vote the ordinary resolution that Luis Miguel Álvarez, who is eligible for election, be reelected as the director of the company. Please take a moment to vote on Resolution Six if you haven't done so already. Resolution Number Seven is on the agenda, concerns about the remuneration of the auditors. Resolution Two proposes that the directors be authorized to fix the auditor's remuneration for the ensuing year. PwC are pursuant to the Companies Act automatically be reappointed as the company's auditors for the new financial year. Is there any discussion? No. I now put to vote the ordinary resolution that the directors be authorized to fix the auditor's remuneration for the ensuing year. Please take a moment to mark your proxy voting form in election to the resolution if you haven't done so already. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our items of business today. Shortly, I will close the online voting system. If you are participating online, please ensure that you have cast your vote on the resolutions. I will now pause to allow you time to finalize your vote. Voting is now closed. For those of you attending in person today, please hand in your completed voting forms to Computershare representatives at the conclusion of the meeting. The final result of the resolutions will be announced to the NZX and ASX later on today. Is there any item of general business any shareholder wishes to raise? This brings us to the end of our agenda. It remains for me simply to thank you again for your attendance, for your participation, your comments, and your support. I declare the meeting closed. Thank you so much, and I invite you to, sorry, that's it. I'm done. Thank you so much. God bless you.