Metro : Focus on growth in wholesale, stable dividend, elections to the Supervisory Board

At today's Annual General Meeting, Olaf Koch, Chairman of the Management Board of METRO AG, drew positive conclusions for the financial year 2018/19.

• Olaf Koch, Chairman of the Management Board of METRO AG: 'METRO has decisively advanced the transformation to become a focused wholesaler. We have created the basis for further growth.'
• Dividend of €0.70 € per share approved
• Marco Arcelli elected as a new member of the Supervisory Board. Gwyn Burr, Prof. Dr. Edgar Ernst and Dr. Liliana Solomon re-elected as members of the Supervisory Board

'In the financial year 2018/19 METRO decisively advanced its transformation to a pure wholesaler. With the sale of METRO China and the envisaged sale of Real GmbHwe are creating a basis for further growth and are strengthening our leading position in wholesale', says Olaf Koch. 'We have achieved our goals for the financial year 2018/19. Now our focus is to improve our operating performance.'

The Annual General Meeting approved the proposed dividend of €0.70 per share. About 80.9% of the total voting capital was present. The Annual General Meeting has approved the actions of the Supervisory Board and Management Board.

Marco Arcelli was elected as a new member of the Supervisory Board. Prior to this, Dr Florian Funck, Chief Financial Officer at Haniel, resigned from office as a member of METRO's Supervisory Board with effect as of the end of 7 December 2019. Marco Arcelliis Director Business Development at Energeticky a prumyslovy holding, a.s (EPH), Prague, Czech Republic. Furthermore, Gwyn Burr, Prof. Dr Edgar Ernstand Dr Liliana Solomonwere re-elected as members of the Supervisory Board and confirmed in their offices for a further three years. Gwyn Burris Member of Board of Directors of Hammerson plc, London, United Kingdom. From 2015 until the demerger of METRO Group in July 2017 Gwyn Burrwas a member of the Supervisory Board of former METRO AG(now CECONOMY AG). Since 2017 she has been a member of the Supervisory Board of today's METRO AG. Prof. Dr Edgar Ernstis President of Deutsche Prüfstelle für Rechnungslegung (German Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel) and since 2017 member of the Supervisory Board of METRO AG. Dr Liliana Solomonis Chief Financial Officer of Awaze Group Limited, London, United Kingdom, and also member of the Supervisory Board of METRO AGsince 2017.

Marco Arcelli was elected by a majority vote of 99.56% in the Annual General Meeting of METRO AG. Gwyn Burrwas re-elected by a majority vote of 97.46%, Prof. Dr Edgar Ernstwas re-elected by a majority vote of 98.08% and Dr Liliana Solomonwas re-elected by a majority vote of 90.54%.

METRO is a leading international wholesale company with food and non-food assortments that specialises on serving the needs of hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa) as well as independent traders. Around the world, METRO has some 16 million customers who can choose whether to shop in one of the large-format stores, order online and collect their purchases at the store or have them delivered. METRO in addition also supports the competitiveness of entrepreneurs and own businesses with digital solutions and thereby contributes to cultural diversity in retail and hospitality. Sustainability is a key pillar of METRO's business. METRO has been the European sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The company operates in 34 countries and employs more than 100,000 people worldwide. In financial year 2018/19, METRO generated sales of €27.1 billion. In September 2018 METRO initiated the divestment process for the food retail chain Real with its more than 34,000 employees.