Online Service
Virtual Annual Shareholders' Meeting on August 4, 2020
Here you can find all the information about the Annual Shareholders' Meeting which will take place virtually.
Online service for our shareholders
Due to the ongoing corona pandemic, Wacker Chemie AG has decided to hold a virtual Annual Shareholders’ Meeting this year, without the physical presence of its shareholders or their proxies.
Here you can find all the information about the Annual Shareholders' Meeting 2020.
Hotline
For questions and/or suggestions, we will be glad to attend to you on telephone +49 89 6279-1444 (from Monday to Thursday, between 09:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. (noon)) or you can contact us via E-Mail: hauptversammlung@wacker.com.
Invitation
Dear Shareholders,
The coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted our lives and work environment over the past several months. At WACKER, we have taken all necessary measures to ensure that production continues. In doing so, our top priority has always been – and remains – to protect the health of our employees to the greatest possible degree. And we have been successful so far.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, German legislation now includes a special temporary rule that permits us to hold the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting without shareholders being physically present. The Executive Board has decided, with the consent of the Supervisory Board, to make use of this option. The virtual Annual Shareholders’ Meeting enables us to protect your health, as well as the health of our employees and service providers, and to minimize the risks for all participants as far as possible.
For you as a shareholder, this means that you can follow the entire Annual Shareholders’ Meeting live via the internet. After registering by the time specified, you will be able to exercise your voting rights either via absentee voting or the Company-appointed proxies. This is possible either in advance of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting or online during the event. You can submit your questions about agenda items beforehand.
Even though this year’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting is going to differ greatly from those in past years, we look forward to continuing our dialogue with you.
We had a challenging year in 2019, with economic momentum weakening significantly during the year. The main factors dampening our operating performance were substantially lower average prices for solar-grade polysilicon and price declines for standard silicones. On balance, price effects reduced Group sales by €365 million. Sales came in at €4.93 billion, down 1 percent versus the previous year. EBITDA came in at €783.4 million, down 16 percent. It included insurance compensation of €112.5 million for the damage related to the incident at our Charleston plant (USA) in 2017.
Contrary to our assumption at the beginning of 2019, solar-grade polysilicon prices did not recover in the second half-year. After adjusting our price outlook accordingly, we recognized an impairment charge of €760 million on our facilities. This not only impacted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes), but also weighed on the Group’s net result, where we posted a loss of €630 million.
At WACKER SILICONES, business normalized after the market shortages of 2018. At WACKER POLYMERS and WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS, performance was good given the challenging economic conditions. Both divisions generated sales and EBITDA growth.
The Executive and Supervisory Boards will propose to the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting that a dividend of 50 cents per share be distributed. This proposal is a sign of our confidence in the company’s future.
We hereby invite WACKER’s shareholders to attend the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of Wacker Chemie AG, Munich, on Tuesday, August 4, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. Central European Time.
This year’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting is being held as a virtual Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, with neither shareholders nor their authorized representatives (other than Company-appointed proxies) physically present. The virtual Annual Shareholders’ Meeting will be streamed live from WACKER’s headquarters at Hanns-Seidel-Platz 4, 81737 Munich, Germany, on the internet at: www.wacker.com/hauptversammlung
Sincerely,
Wacker Chemie AG
Dr. Peter-Alexander Wacker
Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Dr. Rudolf Staudigl
President and CEO
Agenda (summary)
- Presentation of the adopted Annual Financial Statements as of December 31, 2019, the approved Consolidated Financial Statements as of December 31, 2019, and the combined 2019 Management Report including the Executive Board’s Explanatory Report on the information pursuant to Section 289a (1) and Section 315a (1) of the German Commercial Code (“HGB”), and of the 2019 Supervisory Board Report
- Resolution on the Appropriation of Profits
- Resolution on the Ratification of the Actions of the Executive Board
- Resolution on the Ratification of the Actions of the Supervisory Board
- Election of the Auditor of Financial Statements
- Resolution on the Authorization to Acquire and Utilize Treasury Shares, and on the Exclusion of Preemptive and Tender Rights
- Resolution on Amendments to Section 14 of the Articles of Association
Downloads and Documents
Invitation and Agenda
(PDF 187.4 KB) - english
Speech by Dr. Rudolf Staudigl, President & CEO and Dr. Tobias Ohler, CFO
(PDF 291.8 KB)
Presentation for the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting
(PDF 10.2 MB) - English
Voting Results
(PDF 192.1 KB) - english
Detailed Explanations of Shareholders’ Rights and Agenda Items Not Requiring a Resolution
(PDF 231.3 KB) - english
Proxy Authorisation Form
(PDF 123.3 KB) - english
Annual Report 2019
(PDF 5.8 MB) - english
Wacker Chemie AG’s 2019 consolidated financial statements, Combined Management Report and compensation report – only in German
(PDF 3.7 MB) - german
Articles of association (current version)
(PDF 87.8 KB) - english
Synopsis Amendment Section 14
(PDF 193.2 KB) - english
Report by the Executive Board on Authorization to Acquire Treasury Shares
(PDF 106.1 KB) - english
Virtual Annual Shareholders' Meeting 2020 – Procedure
- The entire Annual Shareholders’ Meeting will take place virtually and without participants physically present. It will be streamed live for all shareholders online in the shareholder portal.
- Shareholders can submit their questions about agenda items beforehand. Questions from shareholders submitted via the shareholder portal by the end of August 1, 2020 will be answered during the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. When answering questions, we intend to only state questioners’ names if this is expressly desired. Please also refer to the more detailed explanations on shareholder rights and data protection provided in the invitation, on our website and in the shareholder portal.
- Countermotions and election nominations properly received by the Company by, at the latest, 12:00 midnight (CET) on July 20, 2020 will be made accessible on the Company’s website immediately after receipt under the further preconditions of Sections 126 and 127, AktG, including the name of the shareholder and – for motions – the justification.
- Shareholders who have properly registered can watch live video and audio of the entire Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in the shareholder portal starting at 10:00 a.m. (CET) on August 4, 2020. The shareholder portal will be available as of July 14, 2020.
- For further questions and/or suggestions, we will be glad to attend to you on telephone 089 6279-1444 (from Monday to Thursday, between 09:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. (noon)) or you can contact us via E-Mail: hauptversammlung@wacker.com.
Your Questions
Due to the spread of the coronavirus WACKER’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting will take place on August 4, 2020 as an entirely virtual shareholders’ meeting without the presence of shareholders. The health of employees, shareholders and the service providers involved takes priority. Further information is available on our website.
For all registered shareholders, a live video and audio broadcast of the entire Annual Shareholders’ Meeting will be transmitted via the Investor Portal.
To log in, all you need is the five-digit number printed at the very top of your registration confirmation and the single check digit just to the right of it. Enter these numbers in the corresponding fields and click on [Next]. Then follow the subsequent instructions.
The Annual Shareholders’ Meeting is a stock corporation’s key event, which provides shareholders with the opportunity to ask questions and vote. Of course, any shareholder can participate in the meeting directly or via a proxy. The preconditions for participation are possession of WACKER shares at the time of the “Record Date” on July 14, 2020 at 0:00 a.m., and having registered in time – by 12:00 a.m. (midnight) of July 28, 2020.
Yes, this is necessary if you intend to exercise your voting rights and ask questions. The preconditions for participation are possession of WACKER shares at the time of the “Record Date” on July 14, 2020 at 0:00 a.m., and having registered in time – by 12:00 a.m. (midnight) of July 28, 2020. You will receive a confirmation of registration instead of an admission ticket.
Shareholders who duly request a confirmation of registration from a depositary bank usually do not need to do anything else. In such cases, registration and proof of share ownership are handled by the depositary bank. Please refer to the information in the invitation and any deadlines that may have been set by your depositary bank.
- June 25: 2020: Convening of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in the electronic version of the German Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger)
- about July 6, 2020: Custodian banks start to issue invitations
- July 14, 2020: “Record Date” (reference date for proof of shareholder status)
- July 28, 2020: Last day of registration for shareholders
- August 4, 2020: Virtual Wacker Chemie AG’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting Start: 10:00 a.m.; Finish: following determination and announcement of voting results
- August 5, 2020: Dividends Announcement
- August 7, 2020: Payout of the dividends
Investor Portal and Livestream
The Annual Shareholders' Meeting 2020 live
Here can access the shareholder portal. To use the shareholder portal, shareholders need to log in with their individual access data (participant no. and code) that they received in their registration confirmation.
The livestream of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting via the shareholder portal will begin at 10:00 a.m. (CET) on August 4, 2020. All registered shareholders can watch the entire Annual Shareholders’ Meeting live there.
Further Information
Contact
Do you have questions about the virtual Annual Shareholders' Meeting 2020?
Our Investor Relations team is always happy to help.
For further questions and/or suggestions, we will be glad to attend to you on telephone +49 89 6279-1444 (from Monday to Thursday, between 09:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. (noon)) or you can contact us via E-Mail: hauptversammlung@wacker.com.
Annual Report 2019
The Future of Living and Building
Every construction project offers an opportunity for improving the quality and sustainability of the buildings that surround us.
Solutions to Global Challenges
There is no alternative to sustainable urban planning. The battle against climate change will be decided in cities.
Building on Sustainability – with Silicones and Polymers
The complexity of the task makes climate protection an ambitious mission. WACKER’s innovative construction chemicals contribute to more sustainable buildings and homes.
Protecting and Preserving
WACKER products make a vital contribution