Gelsenkirchen, May 20, 2021 – At yesterday’s Annual General Meeting of Masterflex SE, which was once again held in virtual form, the shareholders approved the proposal of the Management Board and Supervisory Board and resolved a dividend of EUR 0.08 per share (previous year: EUR 0.07) for fiscal year 2020. This means that a total of around EUR 769,467 (previous year: EUR 673,283) will be distributed from the net retained earnings of Masterflex SE. The members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board were also discharged by the shareholders for the past fiscal year.
In his address to the Annual General Meeting, CEO Dr. Andreas Bastin reported on fiscal year 2020, which was significantly impacted by the corona pandemic, and in which the company made great progress in implementing its "Back to Double Digit" optimization program, the effects of which are now becoming visible. CEO Dr. Andreas Bastin made this particularly clear in the increase in operating profitability in the first quarter of 2021, in which the EBIT margin of 11.3% was well within the double-digit target range. Based on the good start in the first quarter, the Management Board reaffirmed the forecast for 2021, which envisages sales growth of 2% to 5% and operating EBIT above the previous year in absolute and percentage terms. In a separate section of his speech, the CEO explained the sustainability strategy of Masterflex SE with regard to future ESG requirements.
Dr. Andreas Bastin, CEO of Masterflex SE: "In fiscal year 2020, we made the best of the extreme situation with the coronavirus and showed what we are capable of as a company when it counts. Internally, we have done our homework in terms of profitability and productivity to such an extent that it is now time to set our sights on the next growth steps in order to also tap into new potential through selective acquisitions."
The resolutions proposed under the agenda items Top 1 to Top 9 received clear approval from the Annual General Meeting. The supplementary proposals by J.F. Müller & Sohn AG, Hamburg, did not receive the required voting majorities. The voting presence was 56.17%. Further information on the 2021 Annual General Meeting and the detailed voting results will be available for downloading from the Investor Relations section of www.masterflexgroup.com.