Former Leader of the Opposition Cole Simons is among three new candidates up for election to the board of Argus Group Holdings Ltd at the company’s annual meeting.

In a letter to shareholders, board chairman David Brown said Argus has agreed to propose to all shareholders governance changes requested by Equilibria Capital Management Ltd, a significant shareholder of Argus.

The proposed election of Mr Simons as a board member, as well as that of Sergio Muñoz and Christian Teixidor Andersen, is at the behest of Equilibria.

Mr Brown said the other governance changes requested by Equilibria are amendment of the company’s by-laws to include a term limit of nine years for each director and to set the maximum number of directors of Argus at nine.

The election of Keith Abercromby, Barbara Merry, Constantinos Miranthis, Barclay Simmons, Kim Wilkerson and Mr Brown is also to be proposed at the AGM.

A proposal will also be tabled to approve that each director be paid a base fee of $25,000 annually, plus a fee of $1,000 for each board meeting – or meeting of a committee thereof – attended.

Addressing Argus’s financial performance, Mr Brown wrote: “The group performed robustly in 2023, with strong earnings performance and return on equity.

“The company accordingly declared a final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2023 of 12 cents per share, representing a nine per cent increase over the comparator dividend in the previous year.

“Over the three years ended 31 March 2023, our ROE has averaged approximately 15 per cent, while total shareholder return has exceeded 180 per cent.

“Since the end of the last financial year, the business has also continued to perform well, and in line with management’s expectations.”

He added: “In addition to this strong financial performance, I am also pleased to report meaningful progress in our broader business purpose to be a powerful force for sustainable wellbeing in our communities.

“A central focus has been to increase the quality and accessibility of healthcare, whilst managing the cost of that care for the benefit of policyholders, patients and shareholders.”

The virtual AGM will be held on December 29.