Annual Shareholders’ Meeting 2017: WACKER intends to continue its growth in the current fiscal year
After a good year in 2016, Wacker Chemie AG expects continued sales growth in the current year. Rudolf Staudigl, CEO of the Munich-based chemical company, underscored this point at WACKER’s 2017 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. “We want to lift our sales by a mid-single-digit percentage this year,” said Staudigl in his speech to some 1,000 shareholders at the International Congress Center in Munich. In the first quarter of 2017, WACKER’s sales and EBITDA figures were markedly better both year over year and quarter over quarter. On the other hand, full-year EBITDA (adjusted for special income) is forecast to decline by a mid-single-digit percentage, primarily due to rising raw-material prices. Staudigl thereby confirmed the annual forecast, which the chemical company had updated in its Q1 2017 report following deconsolidation of Siltronic.
In his speech, Staudigl gave details of the company’s direction in the years ahead and explained the strategic goals WACKER will be focusing on until 2020. “We will continue expanding our production capacities, with capital expenditures staying below depreciation,” said the CEO. “We want to grow faster than the chemical-sector average and achieve attractive margins with our products. At our chemical divisions, we are targeting an EBITDA margin of over 16 percent. For our polysilicon business, the target margin is in excess of 30 percent.” According to Staudigl, a further priority is the development of new products with a focus on sustainable energy generation, electromobility and energy conservation. As examples, he mentioned high-performance silicones for electric cars, adhesive additives for wind turbines and dispersible polymer powders for building insulation systems. Moreover, the company intends to work on the process efficiency of its production plants. The goal is to achieve a reduction in raw-material and energy consumption, coupled with higher output.
“Sales growth, lower capital expenditures and continuing efficiency and cost improvements will all lift our cash inflow from operating activities in the coming years,” emphasized Staudigl. With this in mind, the company reformulated its previous dividend policy. Now, the company is distributing about half of its annual net profit to shareholders, instead of at least 25 percent as in the past. For full-year 2016, the dividend payout is €99.4 million. The dividend per dividend-bearing share is €2.00. The Executive and Supervisory Boards’ other proposals were also adopted by large majorities.
Resolutions and Voting Results
At today’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, 43,637,257 voting shares were represented – 83.67 percent of all eligible shares (number of shares outstanding: 49,677,983). The voting results were as follows for agenda items 2 through 5:
Item 2: Resolution on the Appropriation of Net Retained Profit
The Executive and Supervisory Boards proposed that 2016’s retained profit of €1.24 billion be appropriated as follows: €99.4 million to be distributed to shareholders and €1.15 billion to be carried forward to new account. The proposal was adopted. The result was:
– 43,591,997 Yes votes (99.99 percent)
– 2,076 No votes
Item 3: Resolution on the Ratification of the Actions of the Executive Board
The proposal of the Executive and Supervisory Boards to ratify the actions of the members of Wacker Chemie AG’s Executive Board during fiscal 2016 was adopted. The result was:
– 42,903,781 Yes votes (99.12 percent)
– 382,002 No votes
Item 4: Resolution on the Ratification of the Actions of the Supervisory Board
The Executive and Supervisory Boards’ proposal to ratify the actions of the members of Wacker Chemie AG’s Supervisory Board during fiscal 2016 was adopted. The result was:
– 42,068,008 Yes votes (96.65 percent)
– 1,457,740 No votes
Item 5: Appointment of Auditor
The Supervisory Board’s proposal to appoint KPMG AG as auditor for 2017 was adopted. The result was:
– 42,416,509 Yes votes (97.53 percent)
– 1,072,712 No votes
Information for editorial offices: All documents relating to Wacker Chemie AG’s 2017 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting can be downloaded from WACKER’s website under Investor Relations.
This press release contains statements about the resolutions of the 2017 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. Said statements are not binding and serve the sole purpose of providing an overview. They may not always correspond to the exact wording and full extent of the resolutions adopted at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting.
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates of WACKER’s Executive Board. Although we assume the expectations in these forward-looking statements are realistic, we cannot guarantee they will prove to be correct. The assumptions may harbor risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual figures to differ considerably from the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such discrepancies include, among other things, changes in the economic and business environment, variations in exchange and interest rates, the introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance for new products or services, and changes in corporate strategy. WACKER does not plan to update its forward-looking statements, nor does it assume the obligation to do so.
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