TAKKT AG / Key word(s): AGM/EGM P R E S S R E L E A S E
TAKKT AGM approves total dividend of 85 cents per share - New members elected to Supervisory Board Ludwigsburg/Stuttgart, Germany, 08 May 2012. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of TAKKT AG today approved the payment of a total dividend of 85 cents per share. TAKKT Group achieved organic turnover growth of 7.3 percent in 2011. All earnings figures were improved again. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 20.3 percent to EUR 121 million, the EBITDA margin was in the upper third of TAKKT's own target corridor of 12 to 15 percent at 14.2 percent. In the current financial year, substantial impulses for growth are expected to come from business in North America. In addition, at the AGM the TAKKT Sustainability Report was presented to the public for the first time. With the dividend payment of 85 cents per share approved by the shareholders, the total payout will be around EUR 56 million. This corresponds to a payout ratio of around 85 percent of the profit for the period, which totalled EUR 66 million for the financial year 2011. As TAKKT Group did not realise any larger acquisitions or investments in 2011, the positive earnings development resulted in an equity ratio of 54.7 (46.5 in the previous year) percent, thereby reaching the upper end of TAKKT's own target corridor of thirty to sixty percent. In addition to the ordinary dividend, a special payout was therefore proposed by Management in order to maintain the balance between sufficient financial scope to fund further growth and optimised cost of capital. Even after the dividend payout and the acquisition of GPA, a B2B direct marketing company for display articles in the US, at the beginning of April, the Group's equity ratio will be above forty percent. 'TAKKT is healthy, soundly financed and has still got all options for further growth,' said CEO Dr Felix A. Zimmermann at the AGM. The shareholders approved all items on the agenda - including the discharge of both the Management and the Supervisory Board for the financial year 2011 - by a large majority. Since the terms of office for all members of the Supervisory Board ended after the 2012 AGM, new elections for the Supervisory Board were pending according to plan. Voted onto the Supervisory Board for the next five years were Prof. Dr Klaus Trützschler and Dr Florian Funck, members of the Management Board at Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, Dr Johannes Haupt, Chairman of the Management Board of E.G.O. Blanc und Fischer & Co. GmbH and Chairman of the Management Board of the E.G.O. Group, Prof. Dr Jürgen Kluge, Chairman of the Management Board at Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, Thomas Kniehl, Logistics employee at KAISER+KRAFT GmbH, and Prof. Dr Dres. h.c. Arnold Picot, Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Dr Zimmermann thanked Dr Dr Peter Bettermann and Stefan Meister, who resigned from the Supervisory Board with effect from 04 May 2011 and 31 August 2011 respectively, for their good cooperation.
German business and online sales drive growth While a marked slowdown in the economic development emerged towards the end of the year in Europe, the North American economy started an upward trend again. Nevertheless, TAKKT EUROPE - and especially business in Germany - was the main growth and earnings provider for the full-year 2011. Across the Group, the online business was the main growth driver, the share of e-commerce turnover was above twenty percent for the first time. Very high growth rates were achieved in e-procurement solutions, i.e. electronic catalogues, which are adapted individually to the needs of key accounts and integrated into their IT systems. The demand for these solutions derives no longer only at large corporations, but also increasingly at large medium-sized companies with recurring order processes. Here, TAKKT can deliver a noticeable benefit by optimising the procurement processes and costs for the customers.
Sustainable management as an integral company objective At today's AGM, Zimmermann also presented the first TAKKT Sustainability Report in line with the international standards set by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI distinguishes between three application levels - A, B and C. The Sustainability Report has been awarded a rating of 'C+' in accordance with the GRI certification.
Joining the United Nation's Global Compact For example, as concrete measures in the area of Corporate Responsibility (CR), the main German sites switched entirely to eco-power supply in 2011 and all of KAISER+KRAFT's, Topdeq's and gaerner's mailings and catalogues in Germany were distributed CO2 neutrally with GO Green. In the meantime, the paper advertising media are predominantly produced with certified paper from renewable sources. Furthermore, one of the biggest photovoltaic systems in whole Ohio was recently installed on top of the Hubert warehouse in the USA. Measuring more than 11,000 square metres, this solar roof is already up and running and will generate more than a million kilowatt-hours of electricity every year. This corresponds to slightly more than a quarter of the total amount of energy needed at Hubert every year. For all TAKKT groups, sustainability targets will be defined in the future, and their achievement will be monitored through the existing planning and controlling tools. This integrates CR as a decision criterion within all business processes. For TAKKT, CR does not only refer to the environment, but also to the way of cooperating with employees, customers and suppliers. TAKKT's corporate values, which were first set out in writing in 2011, provide orientation and form the basis both for internal teamwork as well as collaboration with external business partners.
Outlook: A good start for TAKKT AMERICA TAKKT Group employs some 1,900 staff, has around three million customers worldwide and distributes more than 45 million catalogues and mailings per year. TAKKT AG is listed on the SDAX and was admitted to Deutsche Boerse's Prime Standard on 01 January 2003.
Contacts: Email: investor@takkt.de End of Corporate News 08.05.2012 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de |
Language: | English | |
Company: | TAKKT AG | |
Presselstr. 12 | ||
70191 Stuttgart | ||
Germany | ||
Phone: | +49 (0)711 346 58 -0 | |
Fax: | +49 (0)711 346 58 - 10 | |
E-mail: | investor@takkt.de | |
Internet: | www.takkt.de | |
ISIN: | DE0007446007 | |
WKN: | 744600 | |
Indices: | SDAX | |
Listed: | Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Stuttgart; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München | |
End of News | DGAP News-Service |
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