04.24.20
Meyer Burger Technology AG published the invitation to this year's ordinary Shareholders' Meeting on May 13, 2020.
In accordance with the measures taken by the Swiss Federal Council to combat the coronavirus, this ordinary Shareholders Meeting will be held without the physical presence of the shareholders at the company's headquarters in Thun.
Accordingly, shareholders may only be represented by the independent proxy.
The Board of Directors of Meyer Burger Technology AG will present the management report, the annual financial statements and the consolidated financial statements 2019 for approval.
The Board of Directors will propose the re-election of the current Board members Andreas R. Herzog and Franz Richter.
Hans-Michael Hauser has decided to resign from the Board of Directors with immediate effect.
Richter is also proposed for election as chairman of the Board of Directors. He succeeds Remo Lütolf, who will not stand for re-election.
In order to integrate investors' voices, the election of Mark Kerekes of Sentis Capital PPC and Urs Fähndrich of Elysium Capital AG as shareholder representatives to the Board of Directors will be proposed.
The Shareholders Meeting will also vote on the appropriation of the accumulated loss, the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, and the election of the Compensation Committee, the auditors and the independent proxy.
The remuneration report for the 2019 financial year will be submitted to the Shareholders Meeting for consultative approval. In the application of the Ordinance against Excessive Compensation in Listed Companies (OAEC), the remuneration of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee will be submitted to the Shareholders Meeting for prospective approval.
In addition, the authorized capital, which expires in May 2020, is to be renewed. Finally, the Board of Directors proposes amendments to the Articles of Association to make it easier for shareholders to attend future Shareholders' Meetings of the company and to enable the Shareholders' Meeting to be held more quickly after publication of the annual financial statements, without limiting the improvements introduced in 2019.
As already announced with the annual results 2019, Meyer Burger has delivered the proof of concept of its leading technology by the successful production ramp-up of REC’s ALPHA solar module. The new modules manufactured with Meyer Burger's equipment and technology set new standards in terms of efficiency and production costs. The adapted business strategy with increased vertical integration shall enable Meyer Burger to benefit more from the value creation of the heterojunction/SmartWire technology in the future.
The focus lies on setting up an own cell and module production facility in Europe (particularly Germany) in order to exploit the full potential of Meyer Burger’s leading heterojunction/SmartWire technology, to maintain the technological lead and to protect intellectual property against abuse.
The company is working at full speed to implement the strategic shift to set up its own production capabilities, including the corresponding financing alternatives.
At the same time, the partnership-based cooperation with important customers (such as REC) is being further pursued. The Board of Directors and the Executive Committee are convinced that this change of course will create significant value for the shareholders. The Board of Directors will again address the shareholders when resolutions relating to these strategies need to be passed by the Shareholders’ Meeting.