Shareholders support all proposals at 2022 Annual General Meeting
Holcim shareholders approved all of the Board of Directors’ proposals at the Annual General Meeting that took place in Zug today.
Applying utmost caution to the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic, the Board of Directors decided to hold the Annual General Meeting without the physical presence of shareholders. All legal proceedings were carried out as required. Shareholders were able to exercise their voting rights through the independent proxy Dr. Sabine Burkhalter Kaimakliotis of Voser Attorneys at Law, who represented 349,297,884 nominal shares, resulting in 56.71% of the share capital of the company.
Beat Hess, Chairman of the Board: “I highly regret that we were unable to meet in person this year, as we decided to put our shareholders’ health and safety first to best navigate the challenges of the pandemic. I am very proud of how the Holcim team delivered record financial results in 2021, with sustainability at the core of our strategy. Our industry-first Climate Report is a testimony to their commitment to lead our sector’s transition to net-zero with a clear roadmap of action. I would like to sincerely thank all of our shareholders, whose continued trust empowered us to deliver this outstanding performance. I very much hope that we will be able to meet in our usual face to face way next year, as I highly value our personal contact and rich discussions.”
Shareholders confirmed the proposed distribution of a dividend of CHF 2.20 per registered share of Holcim Ltd from the capital contribution reserves.
The Annual General Meeting confirmed Beat Hess as Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors. All members of the Board standing for re-election have been confirmed in office and Leanne Geale and Ilias Läber have been elected as new members. Dieter Spälti, Adrian Loader and Colin Hall decided not to stand for re-election. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Chairman thanked them for their invaluable contributions.
The members of the Board of Directors are now as follows: Beat Hess (Chairman), Philippe Block, Kim Fausing, Leanne Geale, Jan Jenisch, Naina Lal Kidwai, Patrick Kron, Ilias Läber, Jürg Oleas, Claudia Sender Ramirez and Hanne Birgitte Breinbjerg Sørensen.
Shareholders also confirmed the following members of the Nomination, Compensation & Governance Committee: Claudia Sender Ramirez and Hanne Birgitte Breinbjerg Sørensen; and elected Ilias Läber and Jürg Oleas as new members. Ms. Sørensen will serve as Chair.
Shareholders approved the annual report and annual financial statements of the Group and of Holcim Ltd. They also approved the compensation report in an advisory vote. In two separate binding votes shareholders approved the maximum overall amount of compensation to be paid to members of the Board for the period between the 2022 and 2023 Annual General Meetings. In addition, they approved the total maximum amount of compensation to be paid to members of the Executive Committee for the 2023 financial year.
Shareholders approved the company’s first Climate Report in an advisory vote. With sustainability at the core of its strategy, Holcim’s Climate Report shares its net-zero journey with 2030 and 2050 targets, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. A first in its industry, it details Holcim’s decarbonization actions, from green building solutions with innovative raw materials like calcined clay and construction & demolition waste, all the way to circular construction. It shares Holcim’s focus on next generation technologies such as its portfolio of over 30 carbon capture, utilization and storage projects and innovation programs cutting across digitalization, energy efficiency and renovation. With this Climate Report, Holcim advances its alignment with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, which the company has supported since 2017. Holcim’s Climate Report is available here.
The shareholders granted discharge to the members of the Board and the persons entrusted with management during the financial year 2021.
Ernst & Young Ltd has been appointed as auditors for the financial year 2022.
The full results of the Annual General Meeting and speeches from the Chairman and CEO will be available here as of today.
About Holcim
Holcim builds progress for people and the planet. As a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, Holcim is enabling greener cities, smarter infrastructure and improving living standards around the world. With sustainability at the core of its strategy Holcim is becoming a net zero company, with its people and communities at the heart of its success. The company is driving circular construction as a world leader in recycling to build more with less. Holcim is the company behind some of the world’s most trusted brands in the building sector including ACC, Aggregate Industries, Ambuja Cement, Disensa, Firestone Building Products, Geocycle, Holcim, Lafarge and Malarkey Roofing Products. Holcim is 70,000 people around the world who are passionate about building progress for people and the planet through four business segments: Cement, Ready-Mix Concrete, Aggregates and Solutions & Products.
Learn more about Holcim on www.holcim.com, and by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter
Important disclaimer – forward-looking statements:
This document contains forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements do not constitute forecasts regarding results or any other performance indicator, but rather trends or targets, as the case may be, including with respect to plans, initiatives, events, products, solutions and services, their development and potential. Although Holcim believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions as at the time of publishing this document, investors are cautioned that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Holcim, including but not limited to the risks described in the Holcim's annual report available on its website (www.holcim.com) and uncertainties related to the market conditions and the implementation of our plans. Accordingly, we caution you against relying on forward-looking statements. Holcim does not undertake to provide updates of these forward-looking statements.
