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Valmet Oyj — Proxy Solicitation & Information Statement 2024
Feb 7, 2024
3247_rns_2024-02-07_dd18a78c-8d55-4b0b-9259-beec48b0c151.html
Proxy Solicitation & Information Statement
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Notice convening the Annual General Meeting of Valmet Oyj
Notice convening the Annual General Meeting of Valmet Oyj
Notice convening the Annual General Meeting of Valmet Oyj
Valmet Oyj's stock exchange release on February 7, 2024 at 1:05 p.m. EET
Notice is given to the shareholders of Valmet Oyj (“Valmet” or the “Company”) to
the Annual General Meeting to be held on March 21, 2024 starting at 1:00 p.m.
(EET) at Siipi Conference Centre of Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre
(Messukeskus Helsinki), hall 101 at the address Rautatieläisenkatu 3, 00520
Helsinki, Finland. The reception of the shareholders who have registered for the
meeting and the distribution of voting tickets will commence at 12:00 noon.
The shareholders have the opportunity to exercise their voting rights also by
voting in advance. In addition, the shareholders who have registered for the
meeting can follow the Annual General Meeting via a webcast. For further
instructions, please refer to Section C. “Instructions for the Participants in
the Annual General Meeting” of this notice.
After the Annual General Meeting, coffee will be served at the meeting venue.
A. Matters on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting
- Opening of the meeting
- Calling the meeting to order
- Election of the persons to scrutinize the minutes and to verify the counting
of the votes - Recording the legality of the meeting
- Recording the attendance at the meeting and adoption of the list of votes
-
Presentation of the financial statements, the consolidated financial
statements, the report of the Board of Directors and the Auditor's report for
the year 2023 -
Review by the President and CEO.
-
Adoption of the financial statements and the consolidated financial
statements - Resolution on the use of the profit shown on the balance sheet and the
payment of dividend
The Company's distributable equity as of December 31, 2023 totaled EUR
1,502,676,727.91, of which the net profit for the year 2023 was EUR
296,787,891.20.
The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of
EUR 1.35 per share be paid based on the balance sheet to be adopted for the
financial year which ended December 31, 2023 and the remaining part of profit be
retained and carried further in the Company's unrestricted equity.
The dividend shall be paid in two instalments. The first instalment of EUR 0.68
per share shall be paid to shareholders who on the dividend record date March
26, 2024 are registered in the Company's shareholders' register held by
Euroclear Finland Oy. The dividend shall be paid on April 11, 2024.
The second instalment of EUR 0.67 per share shall be paid in October 2024. The
second instalment shall be paid to shareholders who on the dividend record date
are registered in the Company's shareholders' register held by Euroclear Finland
Oy. The dividend record date and payment date shall be resolved by the Board of
Directors in its meeting preliminarily scheduled for September 26, 2024. The
dividend record date for the second instalment would be October 1, 2024 and the
dividend payment date October 10, 2024.
- Resolution on the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the
President and CEO from liability - Presentation of the remuneration policy
The remuneration policy of the Company was adopted by the Annual General Meeting
in 2020. The remuneration policy must be presented to the General Meeting at
least every four years or every time a material change is made to the policy.
The most material changes to the remuneration policy relate to increasing the
transparency of remuneration and changes in the earning and holding periods.
The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting adopts the
remuneration policy of the Company.
- Adoption of the remuneration report for governing bodies
The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting adopts the
remuneration report of the Company.
- Resolution on remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors
The Nomination Board proposes that the annual remuneration payable to the
members of the Board of Directors to be elected for the term expiring the close
of the Annual General Meeting in 2025 be increased as follows:
-
EUR 150,000 for the Chair of the Board (2023: EUR 145,000),
-
EUR 82,500 for the Vice-Chair of the Board (2023: EUR 80,000), and
-
EUR 66,000 for a Board member (2023: EUR 64,000).
Furthermore, the Nomination Board proposes that a base fee of EUR 7,300 (2023:
EUR 7,000) shall be paid for each member of the Audit Committee, EUR 16,700
(2023: EUR 16,000) for the Chair of the Audit Committee, EUR 4,200 (2023: EUR
4,000) for each member of the Remuneration and HR Committee, and EUR 8,500
(2023: EUR 8,000) for the Chair of the Remuneration and HR Committee.
In addition, the Nomination Board proposes that a meeting fee in the amount of
EUR 750 shall be paid for those members whose place of residence is in Nordic
countries, EUR 1,500 for those members whose place of residence is elsewhere in
Europe and EUR 3,000 for those members whose place of residence is outside of
Europe for the Board meetings attended, including the meetings of the committees
of the Board of Directors.
For meetings in which a Board member participates via remote connection,
including the meetings of the committees of the Board of Directors, the
Nomination Board proposes that a meeting fee of EUR 750 shall be paid to Board
members. Furthermore, the Nomination Board proposes that a meeting fee of EUR
1,500 shall be paid to Board members for a Board travel meeting.
The Nomination Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that as a condition
for the annual remuneration, the members of the Board of Directors are obliged
directly based on the Annual General Meeting's resolution to use 40 percent of
the fixed annual remuneration for purchasing Valmet shares at a price formed on
a regulated market on the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd stock exchange,
and that the purchase will be carried out within two weeks from the publication
of the Interim Review for the period January 1 to March 31, 2024.
- Resolution on the number of members of the Board of Directors
Valmet's Nomination Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting, that the
number of members of the Board of Directors for the term expiring at the close
of the Annual General Meeting 2025 be eight (8).
- Election of the members of the Board of Directors
Valmet's Nomination Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting, that
-
Mikael Mäkinen, Jaakko Eskola, Pekka Kemppainen, Monika Maurer, Anu Hämäläinen
and Per Lindberg are re-elected as Board members, -
Annareetta Lumme-Timonen and Annika Paasikivi are elected as new Board
members, and -
Mikael Mäkinen be re-elected as the Chair of the Board and Jaakko Eskola be re
-elected as the Vice-Chair of the Board for the term expiring at the close of
the Annual General Meeting 2025.
Eriikka Söderström, member of the Board of Directors, and Aaro Cantell, member
of the Board of Directors, have informed Valmet's Nomination Board that they
will not be available in the election of the Board of Directors in the next
Annual General Meeting. Eriikka Söderström has served as a member of Valmet's
Board of Directors since 2017. Aaro Cantell has served as a member of Valmet's
Board of Directors since 2016.
The Nomination Board notes that all proposed Board members are independent of
the Company. With the exception of Annareetta Lumme-Timonen, the proposed board
members are independent of the Company's significant shareholders. Annareetta
Lumme-Timonen is evaluated as being not independent of significant shareholders
due to her role as Investment Director at Solidium Oy. Valmet's definition of
Board members' independence complies with the Finnish Corporate Governance Code.
Personal information and positions of trust of the proposed individuals are
available on the Company's website (www.valmet.com). All candidates have given
their consent to the appointments.
- Resolution on the remuneration of the Auditor
Based on the proposal of the Audit Committee, the Board of Directors proposes to
the Annual General Meeting that the remuneration to the Auditor be paid in
accordance with the Auditor's invoice and the principles approved by the Audit
Committee.
- Election of the Auditor
The Company has an obligation to organize an audit firm selection procedure in
accordance with the EU Audit Regulation (537/2014) concerning the audit for the
financial year 2024 (mandatory auditor rotation).
The Audit Committee has prepared its recommendation in accordance with the EU
Audit Regulation and organized a statutory audit firm selection procedure. The
Committee has reviewed potential audit firm candidates and identified
PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy and Ernst & Young Oy as the best candidates for the
global audit engagement of the Company. These candidates have been evaluated
against a variety of selection criteria such as proposed audit plan and
methodology, experience and composition of the audit team, audit quality, and
price. The selection process included multiple rounds of information
submissions, testing of technological capabilities, interviews and presentations
by the candidates as well as external reference checks. After careful
consideration based on the selection criteria, PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy became
the Committee's preference and recommended audit firm for the term expiring at
the close of the Annual General Meeting 2025. The Audit Committee confirms that
its recommendation is free from influence by a third party and that no clause of
the kind referred to in paragraph 6 of Article 16 of the EU Audit Regulation,
which would restrict the choice by the Annual General Meeting as regards the
appointment of the auditor, has been imposed upon it.
Based on the proposal of the Audit Committee, the Board of Directors proposes to
the Annual General Meeting that Authorised Public Accountants
PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy are re-elected as the Auditor of the Company.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy has informed that Pasi Karppinen, Authorised Public
Accountant (KHT), will act as the responsible auditor of the Company.
The Company shall report its first sustainability report for the financial year
2024. If Authorised Public Accountants and Authorised Sustainability Auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy are re-elected as the auditor of the Company,
PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy would, in accordance with Act 1252/2023 regarding
amendments to the Finnish Companies Act, also carry out the assurance of the
Company's sustainability reporting until the close of the Annual General Meeting
2025. PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy has notified the Company that Pasi Karppinen,
Authorised Public Accountant (KHT), Authorised Sustainability Auditor (KRT),
would act as the responsible sustainability reporting assurance provider.
- Authorizing the Board of Directors to resolve on the repurchase of the
Company's own shares
The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the Annual
General Meeting authorize the Board of Directors to resolve on the repurchase of
the Company's own shares in one or several tranches. The maximum number of
shares to be repurchased shall be 9,200,000 shares, which corresponds to
approximately 5.0 percent of all the shares in the Company. Based on the
authorization, the Company's own shares may be repurchased otherwise than in
proportion to the shareholdings of the shareholders (directed repurchase). The
Company's own shares may be repurchased using the unrestricted equity of the
Company at a price formed on a regulated market on the official list of Nasdaq
Helsinki Ltd on the date of the repurchase or at a price otherwise formed on the
market. The Board of Directors resolves how the own shares will be repurchased.
Own shares can be repurchased also by using derivatives.
The Company's own shares may be repurchased for reasons of developing the
Company's capital structure, financing or carrying out acquisitions, investments
or other business transactions, or for the shares to be used in incentive
schemes, however so that a maximum of 500,000 shares may be repurchased to be
used in incentive schemes, which corresponds to approximately 0.3 percent of all
the shares in the Company.
The Board of Directors resolves on all other terms related to the repurchasing
of the Company's own shares.
The authorization shall remain in force until the close of the next Annual
General Meeting, and it cancels the authorization granted in the Annual General
Meeting of March 22, 2023, related to the repurchasing of the Company's own
shares.
- Authorizing the Board of Directors to resolve on the issuance of shares as
well as the issuance of special rights entitling to shares
The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the Annual
General Meeting authorize the Board of Directors to resolve on the issuance of
shares as well as the issuance of special rights entitling to shares pursuant to
Chapter 10, Section 1 of the Finnish Companies Act in one or several tranches.
The issuance of shares may be carried out by offering new shares or by
transferring treasury shares held by Valmet. Based on this authorization, the
Board of Directors may also resolve on a directed share issue in deviation from
the shareholders' pre-emptive rights and on the granting of special rights
subject to the conditions mentioned in the Finnish Companies Act.
Based on this authorization, a maximum number of 18,500,000 shares may be
issued, which corresponds to approximately 10.0 percent of all the shares in
Valmet.
The new shares and treasury shares may be issued for consideration or without
consideration.
The Board of Directors may resolve on all other terms of the issuance of shares
and special rights entitling to shares pursuant to Chapter 10, Section 1 of the
Finnish Companies Act. The Board of Directors may use this authorization, for
example, for reasons of developing the Company's capital structure, in financing
or carrying out acquisitions, investments or other business transactions, or for
the shares to be used in incentive schemes, however so that the Board of
Directors may issue a maximum of 500,000 shares to be used in incentive schemes,
which corresponds to approximately 0.3 percent of all the shares in the Company.
The authorization shall remain in force until the close of the next Annual
General Meeting, and it cancels the authorization granted in the Annual General
Meeting of March 22, 2023, to resolve on the issuance of shares as well as the
issuance of special rights entitling to shares.
- Closing of the meeting
B. Documents of the General Meeting
The proposals for resolutions on the matters on the agenda of the Annual General
Meeting and this notice are available on Valmet's website at www.valmet.com/agm.
The Financial Statements 2023, which includes the financial statements, the
consolidated financial statements, the Report of the Board of Directors and the
Auditor's Report, as well as the remuneration policy and remuneration report
will be published and available on Valmet's website at www.valmet.com/agm at the
latest as of February 28, 2024.
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting will be available on the above
-mentioned website at the latest as of April 4, 2024.
C. Instructions for the participants in the Annual General Meeting
- Shareholders registered in the shareholders' register
Each shareholder who is registered on the record date of the Annual General
Meeting March 11, 2024 in the shareholders' register of the Company held by
Euroclear Finland Oy has the right to participate in the Annual General Meeting.
A shareholder, whose shares are registered on their personal Finnish book-entry
account or equity savings account, is registered in the shareholders' register
of the Company. Changes in shareholding after the General Meeting record date
affect neither the right to participate in the General Meeting nor the
shareholders' number of votes.
A shareholder, who is registered in the shareholders' register of the Company
and who wants to participate in the Annual General Meeting, has to register for
the meeting no later than on March 14, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. (EET) by giving a prior
notice of participation.
Registration for the General Meeting will commence on February 13, 2024 at 10:00
a.m. (EET). The notice has to be received before the end of the registration
period. Such notice can be given:
(a) on the Company's website at www.valmet.com/agm
Electronic registration requires strong authentication of the shareholder or
his/her legal representative or the proxy representative with a Finnish, Swedish
or Danish bank ID or mobile certificate.
(b) by regular mail by submitting the registration and
advance voting form, which is available on the Company's website at the latest
as of February 13, 2024, or corresponding information, addressed to Innovatics
Ltd, Annual General Meeting / Valmet Oyj, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, 00520 Helsinki,
Finland.
(c) by e-mail by submitting the registration and advance
voting form, which is available on the Company's website at the latest as of
February 13, 2024, or corresponding information, addressed to [email protected].
In connection with the registration, a shareholder must state the requested
information such as his/her name or business ID, date of birth and contact
details, as applicable. Any personal data provided to Valmet or Innovatics Ltd
will only be used for the purposes of the General Meeting and for the processing
of related registrations.
The shareholder, their proxy representative, legal representative or assistant,
if any, shall be able to prove their identity and/or right of representation at
the General Meeting.
- Holders of nominee-registered shares
A holder of nominee-registered shares has the right to participate in the
General Meeting by virtue of such shares based on which they on the General
Meeting record date March 11, 2024 would be entitled to be registered in the
shareholders' register held by Euroclear Finland Oy. The right to participate in
the General Meeting requires, in addition, that the shareholder on the basis of
such shares has been temporarily registered into the shareholders' register held
by Euroclear Finland Oy at the latest by March 18, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. (EET). As
regards nominee-registered shares, this constitutes due registration for the
General Meeting. Changes in shareholding after the General Meeting record date
affect neither the right to participate in the General Meeting nor the
shareholders' number of votes.
A holder of nominee-registered shares is advised to request without delay the
necessary instructions regarding temporary registration in the shareholders'
register, the issuing of proxy documents, registration in the General Meeting
and advance voting from their custodian bank.
The account management organization of the custodian bank shall register a
holder of the nominee-registered shares, who wants to participate in the General
Meeting, temporarily into the shareholders' register of the Company at the
latest by the time stated above and arrange advance voting on behalf of the
holder of nominee-registered shares. More information on this matter is
available on the Company's website at www.valmet.com/agm.
- Proxy representative and powers of attorney
A shareholder may participate in the Annual General Meeting and exercise their
rights at the meeting also by way of proxy representation. A proxy
representative shall provide a dated proxy document or otherwise in a reliable
manner demonstrate their right to represent the shareholder at the General
Meeting. The right to represent may be demonstrated by using the suomi.fi
authorization service available on Innovatics Ltd's registration service. More
information is available on www.suomi.fi/e-authorizations.
Should a shareholder participate in the Annual General Meeting by means of
several proxy representatives representing the shareholder with shares in
different book-entry accounts or equity savings accounts, the shares by which
each proxy representative represents the shareholder shall be identified in
connection with the registration for the General Meeting.
A proxy and voting instruction template will be available on the Company's
website at www.valmet.com/agm at the latest as of February 13, 2024.
Possible proxy documents should be delivered primarily as an attachment in
connection with the electronic registration or alternatively by regular mail
addressed to Innovatics Ltd, Annual General Meeting / Valmet Oyj,
Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, 00520 Helsinki, Finland or by email to [email protected]
before the expiry of the registration period on March 14, 2024 at 4:00 p.m.
(EET), by which time the proxy documents must be received.
In addition to delivering proxy documents, a shareholder or his/her proxy
representative shall take care of the registration for the General Meeting and
possible advance voting in the manner described in this notice.
- Advance voting
Shareholders with a Finnish book-entry account or equity savings account may
vote in advance on certain agenda matters of the General Meeting during the
period from February 13, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. until March 14, 2024 at 4:00 p.m.
(EET).
A shareholder who has voted in advance may request information under the Finnish
Companies Act, request a vote at the General Meeting or vote on a possible
counterproposal only if they are present at the General Meeting by themselves or
by proxy.
Advance voting can be done in the following ways:
(a) on the Company's website at www.valmet.com/agm
Electronic registration and advance voting require strong authentication of the
shareholder or his/her legal representative or the proxy representative with a
Finnish, Swedish or Danish bank ID or mobile certificate.
(b) by email or regular mail
A shareholder may submit the registration and advance voting form available on
the Company's website or corresponding information to Innovatics Ltd by email
addressed to [email protected], or by regular mail addressed to Innovatics Ltd,
Annual General Meeting / Valmet Oyj, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, 00520 Helsinki,
Finland.
If a shareholder participates in the General Meeting by submitting the votes in
advance, submission of the votes before the end of the registration and advance
voting period constitutes due registration for the General Meeting, provided
that they contain the above-mentioned information required for the registration.
The advance votes must be received by the end of the registration and advance
voting period at the latest.
A proposal subject to advance voting is considered to have been presented
without amendments at the General Meeting.
Instructions regarding the advance voting, and the terms related to the
electronic advance voting are also available on the Company's website at
www.valmet.com/agm.
- Other instructions and information
The meeting language will be Finnish. There is simultaneous interpretation into
English at the meeting venue.
Further information on registration and advance voting is available from
Innovatics Ltd during the registration and advance voting period by telephone
from +358 10 2818 909 on weekdays at 9:00-12:00 and 13:00-16:00 (EET).
Pursuant to Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act, a shareholder
who is present at the General Meeting has the right to request information with
respect to the matters to be considered at the meeting.
The Company will arrange an opportunity for shareholders who have registered for
the meeting to follow the meeting online via a webcast. Detailed instructions on
following the webcast will be available on the Company's website
www.valmet.com/agm before the General Meeting. Shareholders are asked to take
into account that following the meeting via webcast is not considered
participating in the General Meeting, and that it is not possible for the
shareholders to exercise their shareholder rights in the General Meeting through
the webcast. Shareholders that wish to follow the webcast can exercise their
voting rights by voting on the matter on the agenda in advance in accordance
with the instructions provided above.
On the date of this notice February 7, 2024, the total number of shares and
votes in Valmet is 184,529,605. The total amount includes 368,500 treasury
shares held by the Company. Such treasury shares held by the Company do not have
voting rights.
Espoo, February 7, 2024
VALMET OYJ
Board of Directors
Further information, please contact:
Rasmus Oksala, General Counsel, Valmet, tel. +358 50 3173 830
Pekka Rouhiainen, VP, Investor Relations, Valmet, tel. +358 10 672 0020
DISTRIBUTION:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Major media
www.valmet.com
Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies,
automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. With our
automation systems and flow control solutions we serve an even wider base of
process industries. Our more than 19,000 professionals around the world work
close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance
forward - every day.
The company has over 220 years of industrial history and a strong track record
in continuous improvement and renewal. Valmet's net sales in 2023 were
approximately EUR 5.5 billion.
Valmet's shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki and the head office is in
Espoo, Finland.
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