LafargeHolcim shareholders approved all of the Board of Directors’ proposals at the Annual General Meeting that took place in Zug today.
Due to health and safety concerns and in line with the current rules of the Swiss authorities, shareholders could not attend the meeting in person. 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 367,478,010 nominal shares resulting in 59.66% of the share capital of the company.
Beat Hess, Chairman of the Board: “It is with great regret that we were unable to meet in person at this year’s Annual General Meeting due to the pandemic. I am very proud of the resilience demonstrated by LafargeHolcim throughout the crisis. Our management and employees have shown their true colors with brilliance, keeping our people and business safe, while standing by our communities. I would like to thank all of our shareholders for their continued trust and confidence and look forward to meeting in person next year.”
Shareholders confirmed the proposed distribution of a dividend of CHF 2.00 per registered share of LafargeHolcim 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 Jan Jenisch has been elected as a new member. Oscar Fanjul did not stand for re-election as he decided to step down from the Board. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Chairman thanked Oscar Fanjul for his invaluable contributions since joining the Board of LafargeHolcim in 2015. He played an instrumental role in the successful merger of Lafarge and Holcim, and in making it the global leader in building materials and solutions that it is today.
The members of the Board of Directors are now as follows: Beat Hess (Chairman), Dieter Spälti (Vice Chairman), Philippe Block, Kim Fausing, Colin Hall, Jan Jenisch, Naina Lal Kidwai, Patrick Kron, Adrian Loader, Jürg Oleas, Claudia Sender Ramirez and Hanne Birgitte Breinbjerg Sørensen.
Shareholders also confirmed the following members of the Nomination, Compensation & Governance Committee: Colin Hall, Adrian Loader, Claudia Sender Ramirez and Hanne Birgitte Breinbjerg Sørensen; and elected Dieter Spälti as a new member. Ms. Sørensen will serve as Chair.
As the company transforms to become the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, the Board of Directors recommended to simplify its Group name for efficiency and impact. Shareholders voted in favor of the proposed Group name change from LafargeHolcim Ltd to Holcim Ltd. This name change applies only to the Group company name with all market brands remaining in existence. The new Group name will become effective upon entry in the commercial register.
Shareholders also approved the move of the company’s registered office from Jona-Rapperswil to Zug, Switzerland, completing the company’s restructuring of its office locations.
Shareholders approved the annual report and annual financial statements of the Group and of LafargeHolcim 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 2021 and 2022 Annual General Meetings. In addition, they approved the total maximum amount of compensation to be paid to members of the Executive Committee for the 2022 financial year.
The Board of Directors also reaffirmed its commitment to publish the company’s first climate transition report in 2022. It will follow the completion of the company’s work with the Science-based Targets initiative, consistent with LafargeHolcim’s rigorous approach to climate action. The climate transition report will be submitted to shareholders for a non-binding vote in 2022.
The shareholders granted discharge to the members of the Board and the persons entrusted with management during the financial year 2020.
Deloitte AG has been appointed as auditors for the financial year 2021.
The full results of the Annual General Meeting and speeches from the Chairman and CEO will be available as of today on www.lafargeholcim.com/agm.