This is a very important time of year for Koniag, for two reasons. First, we are in the final days of our fiscal year, which ends next Tuesday on March 31st. Second, the call for nominations for Koniag Board members is underway and also closes on March 31st.
Shareholders have mentioned to us that it would be helpful to have some information about the status of the corporation before they make a decision to run for the Board of Directors. How is Koniag performing financially? If I were elected to the board, what kind of business challenges or opportunities would I be expected to govern?
Since our year is not over, we are not able to provide you with final results. However, we wanted to share our preliminary forecast for the end of the year, and describe some of the upcoming work of the corporation that would be of interest to a potential board member.
Status of Year-End Goals:
Koniag’s most fundamental goal this year was to once again improve our earnings over the last year, and increase our financial stability and predictability. At this point we anticipate meeting this goal, although final earnings must be audited by KPMG, a process which we expect to conclude in June. Importantly, this anticipated improvement will come in large part from our operating companies meeting or exceeding their plans for earnings for the year. Our management team has worked very closely with our subsidiary companies this year to assist in this goal of continuing to grow our bottom line. Showing year-over-year improvement in our earnings demonstrates stability and predictability to our Shareholders and business partners.
What to Expect Next Year:
Over 80% of Koniag’s annual operating revenues comes from two sectors: Information Technology and Government Services. Both of these sectors performed well this year, and are poised for success in the coming year with a strong backlog of work and solid business development plans. Shareholders can expect that these sectors will receive attention and evaluation by Koniag management and the Board in the coming year.
In addition to these sectors, at the start of last year Koniag also held interest in companies in the Technical Services, Oilfield Services, Tourism, Real Estate, Natural Resources, and Aerospace Manufacturing Sectors – which combined make up less than 20% of our operating revenues. This year, Koniag made a strategic decision to sell our Port Angeles, Washington based aerospace manufacturing company, Angeles Composite Technologies Inc. (ACTI). This decision was based on a number of factors including market research, fit with Koniag’s business model, strategic considerations, and return on investment. Koniag closed on this sale in February, which contributes to our ability to complete the acquisition of Koniag’s largest subsidiary, Open Systems Technologies.
Our priority going forward will be sustaining the gains Koniag has made in the last two years. We will focus on furthering growth in our largest sectors, improving performance in our smaller sectors, and advancing the development of our Granite Quarry. The management team and the Board of Directors will participate in strategic planning sessions to evaluate our path forward, and to advance our mission of sustaining growth and providing increasing dividends while celebrating community and culture.
Call for Nominations:
One of the most important activities of Koniag each year is the annual election of directors at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders in October. If you are interested in running for the Board of Directors this year, now is the time to submit your application. As stated, the deadline to submit your application is Tuesday, March 31, 2015 by 5:00 pm ADT.
All applications will be forwarded to Koniag’s Nomination Committee for consideration. Each year, the Nomination Committee reviews applications received from Shareholders wishing to run for the Board, conducts interviews of the candidates and forwards three names to the Board as recommendations as the Board Endorsed Slate . All individuals who submit a valid application, in accordance with the Koniag Bylaws and before the deadline, will have their names appear on the Koniag proxy.
Director Perry Eaton has announced he is retiring from the Board of Directors and will not be seeking re-election to the board this year. Koniag is deeply grateful to Perry for his years of service to Koniag, Inc. and wish him well in his future endeavors. More information about Perry’s service on the Board of Directors will be included in upcoming Shareholder publications.