At the virtual Annual General Meeting of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA on June 17, 2020, the shareholders approved all items on the agenda. In particular, they approved the proposed dividend resolution and the proposals for new elections to the corporate bodies. In total, about 90 percent of the voting capital stock was represented. Due to the spread of the Coronavirus in Germany and the governmental requirements for mass events, Henkel had decided to conduct this year's Annual General Meeting as an entirely virtual meeting that was broadcast on the internet.
Dividend on prior-year level resolved
As proposed by the corporate bodies, the Annual General Meeting approved a dividend at the previous year's level for both share classes. A dividend of 1.85 euros per preferred share and 1.83 euros per ordinary share will be paid. Henkel’s total dividend payout amounts to 805 million euros.
The dividend payout ratio increased by 3.3 percentage points to 34.2 percent of net income after non-controlling interests and adjusted for exceptional items. It is within the target range of between 30 and 40 percent.
New members elected to the Supervisory Board and Shareholders’ Committee
Simone Menne and Lutz Bunnenberg were elected as new members of the Supervisory Board. They succeed Prof. Dr. Theo Siegert and Dr. Kaspar von Braun, who resigned from the Supervisory Board. Alexander Birken and Dr. Christoph Kneip were elected as members of the Shareholders' Committee. Stefan Hamelmann and Werner Wenning resigned from the Shareholders' Committee.
“With the new appointments, we are rejuvenating our committees, increasing diversity and expanding important areas of expertise. I am pleased that we can welcome excellent new members to our corporate bodies,” said Dr. Simone Bagel-Trah, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board and the Shareholders' Committee.
She also explicitly expressed her thanks to all departing members of the corporate bodies for their great commitment to the interests of the company and their membership, some of which was longstanding.
All other members of both the Supervisory Board and the Shareholders’ Committee were re-elected.
Creation of Authorized Capital as an anticipatory resolution
The proposal for new authorized capital as an ‘anticipatory resolution’ was also accepted. This puts the company in a position to cover any future financial requirements quickly and flexibly. At the same time, additional flexibility and reserves for liquidity management are created. The previous authorized capital approved by the Annual General Meeting in 2015 expired in April 2020.
This information contains forward-looking statements which are based on current estimates and assumptions made by the corporate management of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. Statements with respect to the future are characterized by the use of words such as “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, and similar terms. Such statements are not to be understood as in any way guaranteeing that those expectations will turn out to be accurate. Future performance and results actually achieved by Henkel AG & Co. KGaA and its affiliated companies depend on a number of risks and uncertainties and may therefore differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are outside Henkel’s control and cannot be accurately estimated in advance, such as the future economic environment and the actions of competitors and others involved in the marketplace. Henkel neither plans nor undertakes to update any forward-looking statements.
This document includes – in the applicable financial reporting framework not clearly defined – supplemental financial measures that are or may be alternative performance measures (non-GAAP-measures). These supplemental financial measures should not be viewed in isolation or as alternatives to measures of Henkel’s net assets and financial positions or results of operations as presented in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework in its Consolidated Financial Statements. Other companies that report or describe similarly titled alternative performance measures may calculate them differently.
This document has been issued for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute an investment advice or an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities.