EQS-News: ElringKlinger Annual General Meeting approves unchanged dividend

ElringKlinger Annual General Meeting approves unchanged dividend

• Approval of unchanged dividend payment of EUR 0.15 per share
• Other proposed resolutions adopted by large majorities
• Helmut P. Merch becomes new Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ElringKlinger AG
• Ludger Heuberg newly elected to the Supervisory Board
• CEO Thomas Jessulat: "Against the backdrop of a challenging market environment, ElringKlinger has demonstrated that the Group possesses a robust business model in support of transformation – with a long-standing product portfolio as its backbone and sought-after solutions for electromobility, as evidenced by numerous nominations.“

Dettingen/Erms (Deutschland), May 16, 2024 +++ The shareholders of ElringKlinger AG today approved all items on the agenda by a large majority at the 119th Annual General Meeting, which was held as a virtual event. In total, 72.0% of voting share capital was represented at the Annual General Meeting. The Supervisory Board and Management Board had proposed to the Annual General Meeting that the dividend for the 2023 financial year be kept unchanged and paid out at 15 cents per share. The AGM approved this proposal with a large majority of 99.7%.

The other proposed resolutions put to the vote also met with broad approval from shareholders. In addition, the Annual General Meeting approved the actions of the Management Board and Supervisory Board with 98.0% and 96.4% of the votes respectively and approved the compensation report and the compensation system for the Management Board. Deloitte GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Stuttgart, was again appointed as auditor for the current financial year.

In his report, CEO Thomas Jessulat emphasized that the Group had succeeded in putting in an encouraging overall business performance within a challenging market environment. At the same time, he highlighted the strategic positioning: “Our broad-based product portfolio is a key success factor when it comes to further transformation. Our business model with the well-established portfolio as the backbone and sought-after solutions for electromobility is robust, also when it comes to potential differences in the speed of transformation. With our SHAPE30 Group strategy, we are pursuing a clear path through the far-reaching transformation of the industry." SHAPE30 is ElringKlinger's roadmap for further transformation and comprises five success factors with clear targets. For example, the Group aims to achieve a revenue share of more than 50% with products for applications beyond the combustion engine by 2030. 

The CEO was confident with regard to the current financial year despite persistently challenging economic conditions. ElringKlinger anticipates slight organic growth in terms of revenue, while the target relating to earnings performance is an adjusted EBIT margin of around 5%.

After Supervisory Board Chairman Klaus Eberhardt had announced in March 2024 that he would step down from his position on the Supervisory Board of ElringKlinger AG, Ludger Heuberg was elected as a new member of the Supervisory Board as proposed by the Annual General Meeting. Ludger Heuberg, born in 1958, most recently spent 10 years as sole General Manager of the holding company and CFO of the ARVOS Group, a global industrial plant manufacturer, where he was responsible for IT, HR, communications, and internal auditing, in addition to finance.

Klaus Eberhardt will be succeeded as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ElringKlinger AG by the former Chairman of the Audit Committee, Helmut P. Merch. The 68-year-old business graduate was elected as the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board as part of a meeting held subsequent to the Group's Annual General Meeting today.

Asked to comment on this, Helmut P. Merch emphasized, “I am greatly honored by the appointment as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and the trust placed in me as a result. I look forward to continuing my good and constructive partnership with my colleagues on the Supervisory Board and with the ElringKlinger Management Board. My special thanks go to Klaus Eberhardt, whose many years of service on the Supervisory Board and as its Chairman have contributed to the development of the Group and played a key role with regard to ElringKlinger's current positioning. ElringKlinger is in a very good position to help shape the mobility of the future. I am confident that, on this basis, we will successfully continue on our chosen path towards the necessary transformation.”

A detailed overview of the individual voting results as well as the speech by the CEO can be found on the ElringKlinger AG website (www.elringklinger.de) in the Investor Relations section under “Annual General Meeting”.

For further information, please contact:
ElringKlinger AG   |   Strategic Communications
Dr. Jens Winter
Fon: +49 7123 724-88335   |   E-Mail: jens.winter@elringklinger.com

About ElringKlinger AG

As an independent supplier operating worldwide, the ElringKlinger Group has established itself as a powerful and trusted partner to the automotive industry – acknowledged for its exceptional depth of expertise.

Our product portfolio encompasses innovative solutions for passenger cars and commercial vehicles powered by electric motors, hybrid technology, or combustion engines. Alongside the powertrain, other areas of application include the underbody, chassis, braking system, interior, and vehicle body. We were among the frontrunners when it came to positioning ourselves as a specialist in the field of e-mobility – with pioneering battery and fuel cell technology, electric drive units, and associated components and assemblies, such as plastic housings, and punched and formed metal parts.

Customized lightweight components engineered by ElringKlinger can be used throughout the entire vehicle; they deliver tangible benefits in terms of weight reduction, efficiency, and functional integration, especially in e-mobility applications.

We offer specifically adapted sealing systems, thermal, and acoustic shielding parts, and dynamic drive components for a wide range of applications and for any type of drive technology. Additionally, we serve the aftermarket in more than 140 countries with an extensive range of spare parts.

This is complemented by state-of-the-art tooling technology and products made from high-performance plastics – tailored to the requirements of the automotive industry and other sectors. Building on our excellence in the field of components and systems, we are also maintaining our forward momentum in the non-automotive sector.

These efforts are supported by a dedicated workforce of around 9,600 people employed within the ElringKlinger Group. Operating at more than 40 sites worldwide, ElringKlinger has established a global presence and is closely aligned with its customers in all major automotive regions.