12/06/2023 | 20:00 CEST | Company announcement
Stäfa (Switzerland), June 12, 2023 – At the 38th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Sonova Holding AG, all of the proposals submitted by the Board of Directors were approved. More than 400 shareholders personally attended the AGM in Zurich. In total, 65% of the share capital was represented.
The shareholders approved the Annual Report, the Annual Consolidated Financial Statements of the Group and the Annual Financial Statements of Sonova Holding AG for the 2022/23 financial year and authorized the proposed appropriation of retained earnings and a gross dividend of CHF 4.60 per registered share. This amounts to a payout of approximately CHF 274.1 million, corresponding to an adjusted payout ratio of 41%. The distribution will be made with the anticipated value date of June 20, 2023.
The shareholders formally approved the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the Management Board for the 2022/23 financial year. With the exception of Jinlong Wang, all members of the Board of Directors stood for re-election and were confirmed individually for a further term of office.
The Chair of the Board of Directors, Robert F. Spoerry, was confirmed in office for another term. Roland Diggelmann (chair), Lukas Braunschweiler and Stacy Enxing Seng were re-elected to the Nomination & Compensation Committee. In addition, Julie Tay was newly elected as member of the Nomination & Compensation Committee.
The compensation report for the 2022/23 financial year was ratified by the shareholders in a non-binding advisory vote. In two separate binding votes, the shareholders approved the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Board of Directors covering the time period from the AGM 2023 to the AGM 2024 and the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Management Board for the 2024/25 financial year. Furthermore, the capital reduction through cancellation of shares was approved. All proposed amendments to the Articles of Association were accepted.
Ernst & Young AG, Zurich, was re-elected as Auditor for a period of one year and the Law Office Keller AG, Zurich, was re-elected as the Independent Proxy.
The next AGM will be convened on June 11, 2024.
The minutes of the AGM 2023 (in German), which also include the detailed voting results, will soon be available on the Sonova website under the following link: https://www.sonova.com/en/AGM.
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