Vienna Insurance Group: Virtual Annual General Meeting 2021
- Dividend of EUR 0.75 per share approved
- Supervisory Board expanded from 10 to 12 members
- Zsuzsanna Eifert and Robert Lasshofer elected to the Supervisory Board
The 30th Annual General Meeting of VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe was held virtually on 21 May 2021. It was streamed online entirely in German, English and Czech, starting at 11.00 am (CEST).
Dividend approved
The Annual General Meeting approved the dividend proposal of the Vienna Insurance Group Managing Board and Supervisory Board of EUR 0.75 per share. This corresponds to a dividend payout ratio of 41.5% of the profit after taxes and non-controlling interests. The dividend yield is 3.6%.
The ex-dividend day is 25 May 2021, the record date is 26 May 2021 and the dividend payment day is 27 May 2021.
During the Annual General Meeting, CEO Elisabeth Stadler presented a review of the solid performance in the 2020 financial year, in which the VIG Group recorded yet another increase in premiums, with a premium volume of over EUR 10 billion, in spite of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also outlined the key elements of “VIG 25”, the Group’s new strategy programme for 2021-2025. A video of the presentation is available on the Vienna Insurance Group website at vig.com/annual-general-meeting. Afterwards, the Managing Board answered questions from the shareholders.
Supervisory Board membership increased from 10 to 12
The maximum number of members of the Vienna Insurance Group Supervisory Board permitted under the Articles of Association was increased from 10 to 12 by means of an amendment to the Articles of Association. Two new members were elected to the Supervisory Board for the first time: Ms Zsuzsanna Eifert and Mr Robert Lasshofer. They will be appointed with effect from the registration of the amendment to the Articles of Association in the company register, in accordance with point 12 of the agenda of the Annual General Meeting.
Zsuzsanna Eifert and Robert Lasshofer appointed Supervisory Board members
Zsuzsanna Eifert (42) completed her degree in finance and accounting in Budapest and has extensive experience of the telecommunications sector in Central and Eastern Europe. The Hungarian citizen is currently Head of Internal Audit at Deutsche Telekom’s Hungarian subsidiary Magyar Telekom Group. At T-Mobile Austria, she is also Head of Risk Management and Internal Control, as well as Internal Audit. She previously performed such duties at T-Mobile CZ and Slovak Telekom, both of which are also owned by Deutsche Telekom AG. Zsuzsanna Eifert was CFO of Invitel International Group, a telecommunications company, from 2008-2011.
Robert Lasshofer (63) has decades of top-level experience in the insurance industry to his name. Born in Vienna, he is currently General Manager and Managing Board Chairman at Wiener Städtische Wechselseitiger Versicherungsverein – Vermögensverwaltung – Vienna Insurance Group. He also held those same posts at Wiener Städtische Versicherung until the end of 2020. With a degree in economics, he is currently President of the Austrian Insurance Association (VVO), as well as a member of the supervisory boards of AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft, Erste Asset Management GmbH and Österreichische Verkehrsbüro AG.
Ms Eifert and Mr Lasshofer have been appointed to the Vienna Insurance Group Supervisory Board until the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting in 2024. As a result of the appointments, the percentage of women on the VIG Supervisory Board has risen to 41.7%.
The resolutions of the Annual General Meeting were passed by a substantial majority. Further information is available online at vig.com/annual-general-meeting.
