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Wacker Neuson SE: Wacker Neuson shareholders approve higher dividend

DGAP-News: Wacker Neuson SE / Key word(s): AGM/EGM/Dividend
Wacker Neuson SE: Wacker Neuson shareholders approve higher dividend

27.05.2014 / 16:36

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Wacker Neuson shareholders approve higher dividend

(Munich, May 27, 2014) The annual general meeting of Wacker Neuson SE took
place in Munich today. In addition to a resolution on the appropriation of
profit for fiscal 2013, the agenda included presentation of the annual
financial statements, approval of Executive Board and Supervisory Board
actions, the appointment of two new Supervisory Board members and the
appointment of the auditor for the current year.

248 shareholders representing 58,323,626 of voting rights in total attended
the Wacker Neuson SE annual general meeting (AGM) in Munich today. Based on
a share capital of 70.14 million shares, this corresponds to a
83.15-percent attendance.

CEO Cem Peksaglam's assessment of fiscal 2013 was generally positive. Two
particular success stories he highlighted were the international expansion
of compact equipment sales and increased diversification into other
industries with products tailored to local requirements. "Beyond the
construction industry, our products are popular for farm, yard, barn and
riding stable work, but also in gardening, landscaping, energy, logistics,
recycling and municipal services. Meanwhile, we continued to tailor our
versatile compact product portfolio to the needs of regional markets,"
affirmed Peksaglam. "Despite difficult market conditions, we managed to
achieve growth through our strategy of cross-selling across our product
segments and by increasing our international footprint," Peksaglam added.
The Group's CEO also highlighted the performance of the Europe region,
which was well above average for the industry. The Group was able to
further expand its market position in all three of its business segments
(light equipment, compact equipment and services), which brought in record
revenue of EUR 1.16 billion for 2013.

CFO Günther Binder pointed to factors like the reduced ratio of operating
costs (sales plus general and administrative expenses and R&D expenses) to
revenue, thus underlining the productivity gains achieved throughout the
Group. The strong increase in cash flow from operating activities, flanked
by a slight drop in investment compared with the previous year, resulted in
a positive free cash flow for the first time since 2009, something the
Group aims to repeat in 2014.