Today, Wednesday, at the 20th Annual General Meeting of voestalpine AG, a dividend of EUR 0.80 per dividend-bearing share was approved. Compared to the previous year, the dividend remained unchanged despite the decline in results.
Relative to the earnings per share of EUR 1.98, this dividend represents a payout ratio of 40.5% and thus a substantial increase over last year’s value of 26.3%. With an average voestalpine share price of EUR 27.78 in the 2011/12 business year, this corresponds to a dividend yield of 2.9% (previous year: 2.8%). The dividend is scheduled for payment as of July 16.
Wolfgang Eder, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of voestalpine AG, emphasized the “consistent dividend policy” of the company, which has paid out more than EUR 1.7 billion in dividends to owners since its IPO in 1995. Against this background, keeping the dividend at last year’s level despite lower earnings has to be regarded as a
deliberate signal of stability, also vis-à-vis our shareholders.
Also on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting was a change in the voestalpine AG Supervisory Board: Heinrich Schaller, Chairman of the Managing Board and CEO of Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, was newly appointed to the Supervisory Board, succeeding Ludwig Scharinger who has retired. Like all other members of the Supervisory Board, Schaller’s mandate runs until the 2014 Annual General Meeting.
The voestalpine Group is a globally active steel, processing, and technology Group, which produces, processes, and further develops high-quality steel products. The Group is represented by 360 production and sales companies in more than 60 countries on five continents and has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995. With its highest quality flat steel products, the Group is one of Europe’s leading partners to the automotive, white goods, and energy industries as well as of the oil and gas industries worldwide. Furthermore, the voestalpine Group is the world market leader in turnout technology, tool steel, and special sections. In the business year 2011/12, the voestalpine Group generated revenue of more than EUR 12 billion and an operating result (EBIT) of EUR 704 million; the Group has around 46,500 employees worldwide.