The 36th Annual General Meeting of Krones AG was held today in Neutraubling. The presence, meaning the proportion of the company’s total share capital represented at the AGM, was approximately 83 %. The shareholders approved by large majorities all the agenda items submitted.
Executive Board reported a successful business year in 2015
Executive Board Chairman Christoph Klenk and Michael Andersen, the board member responsible for finances, reported to the shareholders present a highly gratifying business year in 2015. Last year, Krones met the forecasts for all significant key financial indicators, and progressed its profitable growth. Prospects for the ongoing business year are also auspicious overall. Revenues are set to rise by 3 % in 2016, and for the EBT margin, i.e. earnings before taxes in relation to revenues, Krones is aiming for 7.0 %, as in the preceding year.
An increased dividend: Krones pays out 1.45 euros per share (preceding year: 1.25 euros)
To enable the shareholders to participate appropriately in the company’s success, the Executive and Supervisory Boards proposed to the AGM a dividend of 1.45 euros per share for the 2015 business year, 0.20 euros up on the preceding year’s figure. The AGM accepted the proposal by a large majority. The payout corresponds to 29 % of consolidated earnings in 2015, and is thus at the upper end of the 25-to-30-per-cent target corridor.
Changes in the Supervisory Board of Krones AG
Supervisory Board Chairman Ernst Baumann had sad news for the shareholders. The long-serving member of Krones’ Supervisory Board, Dr. Alexander Nerz, passed away on 30 May 2016. According to the agenda, Dr. Nerz would have stepped down from the Supervisory Board upon conclusion of the 2016 AGM.
The AGM again expressed its confidence in the Supervisory Board members Philipp Graf von und zu Lerchenfeld, Norman Kronseder and Hans-Jürgen Thaus, who were re-elected. As a new member of Krones’ Supervisory Board, the shareholders elected Prof. Dr. Susanne Nonnast. The law graduate, now a Professor at the East Bavarian University of Applied Science in Regensburg, is the second woman, after Petra Schadeberg-Herrmann, to represent the shareholders on Krones’ Supervisory Board. “I am delighted that with my professional experience and personal competences I will be able to contribute towards sustainable success for Krones,” said the new Supervisory Board member.
Volker Kronseder is the new Supervisory Board Chairman
In addition, the AGM elected Volker Kronseder to the Supervisory Board. From 1996 to the end of 2015, Volker Kronseder was the company’s Executive Board Chairman, and now, on the Supervisory Board, intends to continue assuming responsibility in Krones AG. At its constitutive meeting following the AGM, the Supervisory Board unanimously elected Volker Kronseder as its Chairman. “In my new role as the Supervisory Board Chairman, I shall be contributing my long decades of experience at Krones for the benefit of the company, its staff and all shareholders,” to quote Volker Kronseder.
His predecessor Ernst Baumann stepped down from the Supervisory Board upon conclusion of the AGM. The former director of BMW AG joined Krones’ Supervisory Board in 2001, and had been its chairman since 2009. At the AGM, Krones’ Executive Board Chairman Christoph Klenk reviewed Ernst Baumann’s highly successful work at Krones, and on behalf of the entire Executive Board expressed his thanks for long years of mutually supportive collaboration. “My dear Herr Baumann, you have made a crucial contribution towards Krones’ success.” The shareholders present echoed his valediction with heartfelt applause. As his last official act at Krones, Ernst Baumann closed the AGM after approximately four hours.
