NESTE OYJ Neste Corporation
Stock Exchange Release
7 February 2018 at 9.30 am (EET)
Invitation to the Annual General Meeting
Neste Corporation's shareholders are hereby invited to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) to be held on Thursday, 5 April 2018, beginning at 1.00 pm EET, in the Helsinki Fair Centre at Messuaukio 1, 00520 Helsinki. Registration and the distribution of voting papers will begin at 12.00 noon EET.
A. Matters to be handled and the agenda
The following matters will be discussed and decided at the AGM:
1. Opening of the meeting
2. Calling the meeting to order
3. Election of the examiners of the minutes and the supervisors for counting of votes
4. Establishing the legality of the meeting
5. Recording the attendance at the meeting and the voting list
6. Presentation of the Financial Statements for 2017, including also the Consolidated Financial Statements, the Review by the Board of Directors, and the Auditor's Report
- Review by the President & CEO
7. Adoption of the Financial Statements, including also the adoption of the Consolidated Financial Statements
8. Use of the profit shown in the Balance Sheet and deciding on the payment of dividend
The Board of Directors proposes to the AGM that a total dividend of EUR 1.70 per share be paid on the basis of the approved balance sheet for 2017. The dividend shall be paid in two installments.
The first installment of dividend, EUR 0.85 per share, will be paid to shareholders registered in the shareholders' register of the Company maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the record date for first dividend installment, which shall be Monday, 9 April 2018. The Board proposes to the AGM that the first dividend installment would be paid on Monday, 16 April 2018.
The second installment of dividend, EUR 0.85 per share, will be paid to shareholders registered in the shareholders' register of the Company maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the record date for second dividend installment, which shall be Wednesday, 10 October 2018. The Board proposes to the AGM that the second dividend installment would be paid on Wednesday, 17 October 2018.
The Board of Directors is authorized to set a new dividend record date and payment date for the second installment of the dividend, in case the rules and regulations on the Finnish book-entry system would be changed, or otherwise so require.
9. Discharging the members of the Board of Directors and the President and CEO from liability
10. Deciding the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors
The Shareholders' Nomination Board makes, according to the decision made at the 2013 AGM, its proposals unanimously. The Shareholders' Nomination Board has not made any proposal concerning the remuneration to be paid to the Board of Directors for their following term of office. The Chair of the Shareholders' Nomination Board has informed the Nomination Board and the company about the intention of the State of Finland to propose in the AGM that remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors shall remain unchanged.
The remuneration paid to the Board of Directors at the moment is as follows:
Chair, EUR 66,000/year
Vice Chair, EUR 49,200/year
Member, EUR 35,400/year.
In addition to the annual fee, members of the Board of Directors receive a meeting fee of EUR 600 for each meeting held in the member's home country and EUR 1,200 for each meeting held in another country, plus compensation for expenses in accordance with the company's travel guidelines. The meeting fee for telephone meetings is paid according to the fee payable for meetings held in each member's home country.
11. Deciding the number of members of the Board of Directors
The Shareholders' Nomination Board proposes that the Board shall have eight members.
12. Election of the Chair, the Vice Chair, and the members of the Board of Directors
The Shareholders' Nomination Board proposes that the current Vice Chair of the Board, Mr. Matti Kähkönen shall be elected as the new Chair of the Board of Directors, and Board Members Ms. Martina Flöel, Ms. Laura Raitio, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Renard, Mr. Willem Schoeber, and Mr. Marco Wirén shall be re-elected for a further term of office. The Nomination Board further proposes that Ms. Rautio shall be elected as the new Vice Chair of the Board. In addition, the Nomination Board proposes that Ms. Elizabeth Burghout (BSc, Chemical Engineering) and Mr. Jari Rosendal (M.Sc. Eng.) shall be elected as new members.
All of those concerned have given their consent to serving on the Board and are considered to be independent of the company and its major shareholders.
The Chair of the Board of Directors Mr. Jorma Eloranta has informed that he will not be available for re-election.
Career and other relevant information on all those proposed for Board service can be found at www.neste.com.
13. Deciding the remuneration of the Auditor
The Board proposes, on the recommendation of the Audit Committee, to the AGM that the Auditor's fee shall be paid as invoiced and approved by the Company.
14. Election of the Auditor
The Board proposes, on the recommendation of the Audit Committee, that the AGM would elect PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy, Authorized Public Accountants, as the Company's Auditor. PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy has announced that it will appoint Mr. Markku Katajisto, Authorized Public Accountant, as the principally responsible auditor. The Auditor's term of office shall end at the closure of the next AGM.
15. Authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on the conveyance of treasury shares
The Board proposes that the AGM would authorize the Board to decide on the conveyance of the treasury shares held by the Company under the following terms:
Under the authorization, the Board shall be authorized to take one or more decisions on the conveyance of treasury shares held by the Company, provided that the number of shares thereby conveyed totals a maximum of 1,000,000 shares, equivalent to approximately 0.39% of all the Company's shares.
The treasury shares held by the Company may be conveyed to the Company's shareholders in proportion to the shares they already own or through a directed share issue that bypasses shareholders' pre-emptive rights if the Company has a weighty financial reason for doing so, such as using the shares in question as consideration in possible acquisitions or in other arrangements that are part of the Company's business, to finance investments, or as part of the Company's incentive program.
The treasury shares held by the Company may be conveyed against payment or free of charge. A directed share issue may only be made free of charge if there is a particularly weighty financial reason, in respect of the Company's interests and those of all its shareholders, for doing so.
The Board shall decide on other terms and conditions of share issue. The authorization shall remain in force until 30 June 2021.
16. Closing of the meeting
B. AGM documents
The proposals included in the agenda of the AGM, together with this invitation, shall be available at Neste Corporation's Web site at www.neste.com/en. Neste Corporation's Annual Report, including the Company's Financial Statements, the Review by the Board of Directors, and the Auditor's Report shall be available at the same site on 15 March 2018 at the latest. The proposals and financial statement documentation referred to above shall also be available for shareholders as of the same date at the Company's Head Office at Keilaranta 21, 02150 Espoo and shall be available at the meeting. Copies of these documents, together with this invitation, will be sent on request to shareholders. The minutes of the meeting will be available at the Web site referred to above from 19 April 2018 onwards.
C. Instructions for those attending the AGM
1. Shareholders registered in the shareholders' register
Shareholders registered in the shareholders' register of the Company maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd. on the record date of Thursday, 22 March 2018 shall be entitled to attend the Annual General Meeting. A shareholder, whose shares are registered on his/her personal Finnish book-entry account, is registered in the shareholders' register of the Company.
A shareholder registered in the shareholders' register of the Company and wishing to attend the AGM shall make a notice of participation by 4.00 pm EET on 28 March 2018 at the latest. Shareholders may make a notice of participation for the AGM:
a. Via Neste Corporation's Web site www.neste.com, by following the instructions detailed therein, or
b. By phone, on +358 (0)20 770 6862 (Monday-Friday, 9.00 am - 4.00 pm EET), or
c. By letter, addressed to Neste Corporation, Annual General Meeting, POB 95, FI-00095 NESTE.
When registering, shareholders should provide their name, personal identification number/business identity code, address, telephone number, and the name of a possible assistant or proxy representative and the personal identification number of a proxy representative. All personal data provided to Neste Corporation will only be used for the purposes of the AGM and in connection with processing the necessary registrations relating to the meeting. Shareholders, their representatives, or proxy representatives present at the meeting should, where required, be able to prove their identity and/or authorization to represent a shareholder.
2. Shareholders with nominee-registered holdings
Shareholders with nominee-registered holdings are entitled to attend the AGM on the basis of shares held on the record date, i.e. 22 March 2018, that would entitle them to be included in the shareholders' register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd. Attendance also requires that these shareholders are included temporarily in the shareholders' register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd. by 10.00 am EET on 29 March 2018 at the latest. This is considered as registering a shareholder with nominee-registered holdings to attend the AGM.
Shareholders with nominee-registered holdings are encouraged to request their custodian bank for the necessary instructions concerning temporary registration with the shareholders' register, issuing letters of proxy, and registering for the meeting in good time. Account managers at custodian banks should register shareholders with nominee-registered holdings, that wish to attend the AGM and that would be entitled to be included in the shareholders' register on the basis of shares held as mentioned above, in the shareholders' register on a temporary basis by the date and time referred to above at the latest.
Further information can also be found at the Company's Web site, www.neste.com/en.
3. Use of a proxy and authorizations
A shareholder is entitled to participate and make use of his or her rights as a shareholder at the Annual General Meeting by proxy.
A person holding a shareholder's proxy should be in possession of a dated letter of proxy or otherwise be able to show in a reliable manner that he or she is entitled to act in this capacity on behalf of a shareholder. Authorizations shall be considered to cover one meeting only, unless otherwise stated. In the event that a shareholder is represented by more than one proxy representative representing shares held in different securities accounts, each proxy representative should state which shares he or she represents when registering to attend the AGM.
Originals of shareholders' letters of proxy should be sent to Neste Corporation, Annual General Meeting, POB 95, FI-00095 NESTE to reach the Company before the last date for registration.
4. Other instructions and information
Shareholders attending the Annual General Meeting shall be entitled under Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act to request information with respect to the matters to be considered at the Annual General Meeting.
The total number of shares in Neste Corporation on the date of this invitation, 6 February 2018, is 256,403,686, representing an equivalent number of votes.
There are two entrances to the Helsinki Fair Centre: the southern entrance from Messuaukio and the northern entrance from the car park. Participants can park at the Fair Centre's car park at their own expense. Details on how to reach the Fair Centre by public transport can be found at the Finnish Fair Corporation's Web site, www.finnexpo.fi.
Espoo, 6 February 2018
Neste Corporation
Board of Directors
Neste in brief
Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) creates sustainable solutions for transport, business, and consumer needs. Our wide range of renewable products enable our customers to reduce climate emissions. We are the world's largest producer of renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, introducing renewable solutions also to the aviation and plastics industries. We are also a technologically advanced refiner of high-quality oil products. We want to be a reliable partner with widely valued expertise, research, and sustainable operations. In 2017, Neste's revenue stood at EUR 13.2 billion. In 2018, Neste placed 2nd on the Global 100 list of the most sustainable companies in the world. Read more: neste.com
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Neste Oyj via Globenewswire
