Hapag-Lloyd AGM Okays All Proposed Resolutions
Hapag-Lloyd AG shareholders approved with the required majority all items on the agenda put to a vote at the Annual General Meeting in Hamburg.
This included an agreement upon the use of the net profit (item 2) and thereby the payment of a dividend of EUR 0.57 per share. Shareholders also formally approved the actions of the sitting members of the Executive Board for the financial year 2017 (item 3) and also the actions of the sitting members of the Supervisory Board (item 4) for that period.
“Our fast and successful merger with the United Arab Shipping Company has significantly strengthened our competitive position. We achieved good results for the last financial year and have made a solid start to the first quarter of 2018. Our shareholders have kept their faith in us and supported us during the difficult times as well. So I am delighted that we can pay a dividend for the last financial year,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG.
The shareholders also approved the proposal of the Supervisory Board to elect Turqi Abdulrahman A. Alnowaiser to the Supervisory Board as a shareholder representative (item 6). He is Head of International Investments with the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and succeeds His Excellency, Dr Nabeel M. Al-Amudi, who resigned from office as a member of the Supervisory Board in late November 2017 following his appointment as Transport Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Looking ahead, the market environment remains challenging. This is particularly reflected in operating costs and Hapag-Lloyd AG’s recently adjusted annual forecast. “We will secure our competitiveness in the short term through accelerated cost management and greater efficiency. In the medium term, we will further advance digitalisation efforts at Hapag-Lloyd and continue to strengthen our position as a quality service provider. We must also respond with increasing agility to a dynamic environment and geopolitical developments. Stricter limits on sulphur in fuel from 2020 onwards will pose a major challenge for the shipping industry, as we will have to simultaneously use new technologies and fuels which are currently only being trialled or are not sufficiently available,” said Habben Jansen.