Nordzucker Annual General Meeting 2016: great support for the company strategy

11-Jul-2016 - Germany

Dividend of EUR 0.10 per share approved

Authorized share capital created

Reduction of Supervisory Board adopted

Actively exploit growth opportunities

Supervisory Board and Executive Board endorsed

The motto of this year’s Annual General Meeting of Nordzucker AG was “Shaping the transition”. A challenging year in a tense market environment and the forthcoming upheaval on the European sugar market were the main subjects of the event.

Some 200 shareholders attended the Annual General Meeting of Nordzucker AG in the Stadthalle in Braunschweig. Hans-Christian Koehler, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, started by telling shareholders about the importance of efficiency and growth for the company’s future: “Nordzucker is approaching the new EU market without sugar quotas and minimum beet prices from a position of financial strength and is well prepared.” The focus on efficiency in all areas and on safeguarding beet cultivation by means of attractive, new contract models throughout the Group were decisive steps, he said.

The main items on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting were dictated by the overarching theme. In accordance with this, a vote was held on reducing the number of Supervisory Board members, among other changes made to the Articles of Association. Also on the agenda was the creation of authorized share capital of up to 11.1 per cent of the company’s current share capital.

“Creating authorized share capital sends an important signal and gives us the flexibility required to implement our growth plans”, emphasized Koehler.

The Supervisory Board Chairman saw the vote to reduce the number of Supervisory Board members as a contribution towards greater efficiency, and more streamlined and faster decision-making processes, in which the focus was on the Board’s highly professional work, and not the number of its members.

Improved earnings in sight for 2016/2017

CEO Hartwig Fuchs and his fellow Executive Board members had earlier explained the earnings situation and the forecast for the current financial year.

The last financial year did finish better than expected, but earnings were still unsatisfactory.

Revenues fell by more than 14 per cent year on year in the 2015/2016 financial year to EUR 1,607 million (previous year: EUR 1,866 million). Nordzucker had to report another steep fall in the operating result, with EBIT of EUR 16 million (previous year: EUR 26 million), but managed to break even, contrary to the expectations at the beginning of the year.

The new system of contracts will ensure that beet farming stays attractive after 2017, too. Volume planning will be based on market forecasts in future. Contracts for 2017 have already been signed in Germany and the available volumes were oversubscribed.

Nordzucker intends to invest a total of EUR 82 million in storage capacities and energy savings in the current financial year, while introducing lean management methods is also expected to increase the efficiency of all areas and processes.

For the 2016/2017 financial year, Nordzucker is projecting a slight year-on-year increase in revenues as well as much better earnings.

The company intends to achieve further growth. “Standing still is not enough. We will be looking at investments in the sugar industry within and outside of Europe very carefully going forward and we intend to seize our chances”, declared Hartwig Fuchs before the assembled shareholders.

The Annual General Meeting confirmed the path taken by the company by endorsing the actions of the Executive Board and Supervisory Board. The shareholders also approved the dividend proposal of EUR 0.10 per share. Some EUR 4.8 million in total is to be distributed.

The terms of office of Supervisory Board members Gerhard Borchert (farmer, Brome), Hans-Theo Jachmann (Syngenta) and Matts Rosendahl (consultant) came to an end at the close of the Annual General Meeting. Gerhard Borchert and Hans-Theo Jachmann were re-elected for one year. Dr Carin-Martina Tröltzsch (DuPont Deutschland) was elected as a new member of the Supervisory Board.

The changes made to the Articles of Association and the creation of authorized share capital were approved by the necessary majorities.

Constitutive meeting of the Supervisory Board

After the Annual General Meeting the newly elected Supervisory Board of Nordzucker AG came together for its constitutive meeting. Hans-Christian Koehler – farmer from Barum-Eppensen – was re-elected as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Jochen Johannes Juister was confirmed as Deputy Chairman for the shareholder representatives and Dieter Woischke as Deputy Chairman for the employee representatives.

https://www.yumda.com/en/news/1148528/nordzucker-annual-general-meeting-2016-great-support-for-the-company-strategy.html