Following a proposal from both the board and supervisory board, the 27th Annual General Meeting of Voestalpine AG on Thursday announced a dividend of € 1.10 per share for the 2018/19 financial year. At this year's general meeting of shareholders, Herbert Eibensteiner also became Chairman of the Management Board, taking the place of Wolfgang Eder, who in turn was elected to the Supervisory Board, the group's highest corporate body.
Voestalpine reported record revenues for the 2018/19 fiscal year, but its earnings figures lagged significantly behind the previous year due to external and internal negative factors. The current dividend is a 21.4 percent decrease compared to the € 1.40 dividend for the previous financial year.
However, it should be noted that the 2017/18 fiscal year was the most successful in Voestalpine's history.
The meeting also authorized the board to buy back its own shares, which make up no more than 10 percent of the authorized capital. In essence, this represents the renewal of the 2017 permission to repurchase own shares, which, among other things, serves to expand the scheme for holding employee shares or convertible bonds, if any. The permission to buy out own shares will be valid for 30 months.
At the close of today's AGM, Herbert Eibensteiner has taken over as chairman of the Voestalpine board, replacing Wolfgang Eder, who has held this position for over 15 years. Herbert Eibensteiner is an internationally experienced manager who began his career in an Austrian steel company as an engineer in 1989 after receiving a degree in mechanical engineering and business management.
Wolfgang Eder, outgoing CEO, worked for Voestalpine Group for 41 years, of which he served as chairman of the board for more than 15 years. Under his leadership, the Voestalpine Group has grown from an Austrian steel company to a global technology group.
Voestalpine CEO Herbert Eibensteiner will be responsible for corporate development, R&D and innovation strategy, corporate human resources, corporate communications and market presence, legal, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, strategic environmental management, investor relations and will also lead the information competence center and internal audit.
