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Clariant's Shareholders Approve All Agenda Items

Verwaltungsratspräsident Rudolf Wehrli eröffnet die 20. Ordentliche Generalversammlung der...

  • Distribution increases to CHF 0.40 per share
  • Annual Report and Group's Consolidated Financial Statements for fiscal year 2014 approved
  • Shareholders approve Compensation Report 2014 on a consultative basis
  • Susanne Wamsler newly elected as a member of the Board of Directors
Muttenz, March 31, 2015 – At today's Annual General Meeting in Basel, the shareholders of Clariant AG, a world leader in specialty chemicals, approved all agenda items and proposals put forward by the Board of Directors. The meeting was attended by 459 shareholders and shareholder representatives accounting for 189 451 802 shares or around 57.07 % of the share capital of Clariant.

Hariolf Kottmann, CEO, reconfirmed the mid-term target to achieve a position in the top tier of the specialty chemicals industry. "This corresponds to an EBITDA margin range of 16% to 19% before exceptional items, and a return on invested capital (ROIC) above peer group average", said Hariolf Kottmann. "For 2015, we expect low to mid-single digit sales growth in local currencies, an EBITDA margin before exceptional items above 2014, and a significantly increased generation of cash flow."

The Annual General Meeting approved the Annual Report as well as the Group's Consolidated Financial Statements for the fiscal year 2014 with 99.96 % of the votes in favor. The 2014 Compensation Report was also approved on a consultative basis with 88.71 % of the votes. The members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee were discharged with 99.74 % of the votes. In addition, the Annual General Meeting approved the appropriation of the accumulated profit for 2014 with 99.97 % of the votes in favor, as well as the distribution of reserves from capital contributions of CHF 0.40 per share with 99.97 % of the votes.

Nominated by the Board of Directors, Susanne Wamsler, a US citizen, was elected as the first female board member. She replaces Dolf Stockhausen who has reached the statutory maximum age for board members and will therefore resign. All other members of the Board of Directors were reelected for one year by a large majority, as was the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Rudolf Wehrli. PricewaterhouseCoopers AG was confirmed as the auditor for 2015.

The proposal for overall compensation of the Board of Directors for the period between the 2015 and 2016 Annual General Meetings was approved with 92.73 % of the votes, as was the overall compensation of the Executive Committee for financial year 2016, with 90.45 % of the votes.

NB: The speeches by Chairman of the Board of Directors Rudolf Wehrli and CEO Hariolf Kottmann along with Susanne Wamsler's CV are available under "Annual General Meeting 2015" in the "Investors" area at www.clariant.com

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