KEY POINTS:
Asbestos victims have won a long-awaited victory in their compensation battle with James Hardie Industries after shareholders of the building-products maker approved a A$4 billion asbestos compensation deal.
James Hardie shareholders voted overwhelming in favour of the funding package in the Netherlands this morning (NZ time).
The agreement, which comes after years of wrangling, paves the way for victims of asbestos-related diseases caused by products made by former James Hardie subsidiaries, to get their hands on compensation worth up to A$4 billion over the next 40 years.
James Hardie chairwoman Meredith Hellicar said she was pleased shareholders had approved the plan.
"I am extremely heartened and proud that the long-term compensation proposal has won the approval of our security holders and is ready for implementation," Ms Hellicar said.
"It has been a long, complex and often difficult process but ... such an unprecedented arrangement could not be settled with a quick fix, given the fund is intended to last for 40 years and possibly longer."
The company expects to make a first payment of $184.3 million to the Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund (AICF) within the next five working days.
It said accounting firm KPMG had estimated the net present value of the liabilities over the life of the fund at $1.55 billion, as at September 30, 2006.
Ms Hellicar said all parties involved in drawing up the compensation plan recognised it was in all stakeholders' interests that the housing materials group stay financially strong and in a position to grow its business.
The compensation deal was negotiated with the company by asbestos victims' groups, unions and the NSW government, whose support for the deal has been widespread, even though James Hardie has said it could not guarantee the package would provide enough funds to meet all long-term claims made against it.
The company reached an agreement with the Australian Taxation Office last November, allowing payments from the special purpose fund to be tax deductible.
Its investors were briefed on the deal at an extraordinary information meeting in Sydney last week.
At the time, Ms Hellicar said it was the company's success in the United States, from where most of James Hardie's income now came, that made the deal possible.
About 59.4 per cent of shareholders took part in the poll, of which 99.6 per cent voted in favour of the proposal.
Ms Hellicar said she looked forward to guiding the ongoing growth of the company with Don DeFossett and Brian Anderson, who were re-elected as directors at Wednesday night's meeting, and newly elected directors, Michael Hammes and Rudy van der Meer.
"In part, our looking to the future has begun at this extraordinary general meeting with the re-election and election of four directors to the supervisory and joint boards," she said.
- AAP
* James Hardie Industries operate in the US, Australia and New Zealand. At present, no details of asbestos-related payouts involving New Zealand customers are available.
