Nokia has announced schedule for its next AGM. Its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has resolved to convene the Annual General Meeting on May 23, 2017. In a press statement sent to media, it revealed that following proposals will be submitted.
Press Release:
Nokia Board of Directors convenes the Annual General Meeting 2017
Espoo, Finland – Nokia announced today that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has resolved to convene the Annual General Meeting on May 23, 2017 and that the Board and its committees submit the following proposals to the Annual General Meeting:
Proposal on the payment of dividend
As announced earlier, the Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 0.17 per share be paid for the financial year 2016. The ex-dividend date would be on May 23, 2017 at New York Stock Exchange and on May 24, 2017 at Nasdaq Helsinki and Euronext Paris. The dividend record date would be on May 26, 2017 and the dividend is expected be paid on or about June 9, 2017. The actual dividend pay date outside Finland will be determined by the practices of the intermediary banks transferring the dividend payments.
Proposal on the Board composition and remuneration
The Board’s Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the number of Board members be ten (10) and that the following current Board members be re-elected as members of the Nokia Board of Directors for a term ending at the close of the Annual General Meeting 2018: Bruce Brown, Louis R. Hughes, Jean C. Monty, Elizabeth Nelson, Olivier Piou, Risto Siilasmaa, Carla Smits-Nusteling and Kari Stadigh.
In addition, the Committee proposes that Jeanette Horan, who is a former executive of IBM and Edward Kozel, who is an independent consultant and an investor, be elected as new members of the Board of Directors for the same term.
Additional information on the Board candidates will be available in the Committee proposal which will be published simultaneously with the notice to the Annual General Meeting.
The Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee will further propose at the assembly meeting of the new Board taking place after the Annual General Meeting on May 23, 2017 that Risto Siilasmaa be elected as the Chair of the Board and Olivier Piou as the Vice Chair of the Board, subject to their election to the Board of Directors.
With regard to the Board remuneration, the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee proposes that the annual fee payable to the Board members elected at the same meeting for a term ending at the Annual General Meeting in 2018 remains on the following levels: EUR 440 000 for the Chair of the Board, EUR 185 000 for the Vice Chair of the Board and EUR 160 000 for each Board member, EUR 30 000 for the Chair of the Audit Committee and the Chair of the Personnel Committee as an additional annual fee and EUR 15 000 for each member of the Audit Committee as an additional annual fee. In addition, the Committee proposes that a meeting fee be paid to all other members except the Chair of the Board, based on travel required between the Board member’s home location and the location of a Board or committee meeting. The meeting fee would be paid for a maximum of seven meetings per term and be paid as follows: EUR 5 000 per meeting requiring intercontinental travel and EUR 2 000 per meeting requiring continental travel.
Further, the Committee proposes that in line with Nokia’s Corporate Governance Guidelines approximately 40 per cent of the annual fee be paid in Nokia shares either purchased from the market or alternatively by using treasury shares held by the company. The directors shall retain until the end of their directorship such number of shares that corresponds to the number of shares they have received as Board remuneration during their first three years of service in the Board (the net amount received after deducting those shares needed to offset any costs relating to the acquisition of the shares, including taxes). The proposed meeting fee would be paid in cash.
Proposal to authorize the Board to repurchase company’s shares
The Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting authorize the Board to resolve to repurchase a maximum of 560 million Nokia shares by using funds in the unrestricted equity. The proposed amount represents less than 10 per cent of the total number of Nokia shares. The shares may be repurchased in order to optimize the capital structure of the Company and are expected to be cancelled. In addition, shares may be repurchased in order to meet obligations arising from debt financial instruments that are exchangeable into equity instruments, to settle equity-based incentive plans for employees of Nokia or of its associated companies, or to be transferred for other purposes such as financing or carrying out acquisitions. The shares may be repurchased either through a tender offer made to all the shareholders on equal terms or in another proportion than that of the shares held by current shareholders (directed repurchase).
The authorization would be effective until November 23, 2018 and terminate the authorization granted by the Annual General Meeting on June 16, 2016.
In line with the earlier announced capital structure optimization program, the Board resolved in November 2016 to commence a share repurchase program of up to EUR 1 billion under the authorization granted by the Annual General Meeting in 2016. The share repurchase program is intended to be continued subject to the repurchase authorization being granted by the Annual General Meeting.
Proposal to authorize the Board to issue shares
The Board also proposes that the Annual General Meeting authorize the Board to resolve to issue a maximum of 560 million shares through issuance of shares or special rights entitling to shares in one or more issues. The proposed amount represents less than 10 per cent of the total number of Nokia shares. The Board proposes that it may issue either new shares or treasury shares held by the company. In addition, the Board proposes the authorization to be used to develop the company’s capital structure, diversify the shareholder base, finance or carry out acquisitions or other arrangements, to settle the company’s equity-based incentive plans or for other purposes resolved by the Board. The proposed authorization includes the right for the Board to resolve on all the terms and conditions of the issuance of shares and special rights entitling to shares, including issuance in deviation from shareholders’ pre-emptive rights.
The authorization would be effective until November 23, 2018 and terminate the authorization granted by the Annual General Meeting on June 16, 2016. The proposed authorization would not terminate the authorization granted to the Board by the Extraordinary General Meeting on December 2, 2015.
Proposals on re-election of the auditor and the auditor’s remuneration
The Board’s Audit Committee proposes to the Annual General Meeting that PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy be re-elected as the company’s auditor, and that the auditor be reimbursed based on the invoice and in compliance with the purchase policy approved by the Audit Committee.
The notice to the Annual General Meeting and the complete proposals by the Board and its committees to the Annual General Meeting will be available on Nokia’s website at www.nokia.com/agm on or about April 4, 2017.
