DSV, 1051 - NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2025
Notice of Annual General
Meeting
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General
Meeting of DSV A/S will be held on:
Thursday, 20 March 2025, at 14:00 CET, at DSV A/S’
registered office
DSV A/S
Hovedgaden 630, 2640 Hedehusene, Denmark
Doors open at 13:00 CET |
Light refreshments will be served before the Annual General Meeting
(from 13:00 CET).
1
Agenda
1. Report of
the Board of Directors and the Executive Board on the Company's
activities in 2024
2. Presentation
of the 2024 Annual Report with the audit report for adoption
3. Resolution
on application of profits or covering of losses as per the adopted
2024 Annual Report
4. Approval of
the proposed remuneration of the Board of Directors for the
financial year 2025
5. Presentation
and approval of the 2024 Remuneration Report
6. Election of
members for the Board of Directors
7. Election of
auditor(s)
8. Proposed
resolutions
8.1. Authorisations
to increase the share capital
8.2. Authorisation
to acquire treasury shares
8.3. Amendment
to the Remuneration Policy
9. Any other
business
Language:
The Board of Directors has decided that all presentations and
discussions at the Annual General Meeting will be conducted in
English in accordance with the Company’s Articles of
Association.
2
Explanation of the agenda
items
Re item 1 of the agenda
Report of the Board of Directors and the Executive Board
on the Company’s activities in 2024
The Board of Directors proposes that the report of the Board of
Directors and the Executive Board on the Company's activities in
2024 is noted.
Re item 2 of the agenda
Presentation of the 2024 Annual Report with the audit
report for adoption
The Board of Directors proposes that the audited 2024 Annual
Report is adopted.
Re item 3 of the agenda
Resolution on application of profits or coverage of
losses as per the adopted 2024 Annual Report
The Board of Directors proposes a dividend per share of DKK
7.00.
Please also refer to page 18 of the Annual Report 2024.
Re item 4 of the agenda
Approval of the proposed remuneration of the Board of
Directors for the financial year 2025
In consideration of the Company’s increased
organization, complexity and internationalization, to reflect the
Board members’ actual functions and responsibilities and to secure
remuneration levels comparable to company peers, the Board of
Directors proposes that remuneration of its members for 2025 will
be based on a base fee of DKK 800,000 per annum per ordinary board
member. The base fee in 2023 through 2024 was DKK 600,000.
Accordingly, in 2025 the remuneration will be as follows:
- Ordinary members of the Board of Directors receive basic
remuneration amounting to DKK 800,000.
- The Chairman of the Board of Directors receives 3 times the
basic remuneration (DKK 2,400,000).
- The Vice-chairman of the Board of Directors receives 1.5 times
the basic remuneration (DKK 1,200,000).
In addition, Board committee members shall receive the following
remuneration:
- The chairman of the Board Audit Committee receives 1 time the
basic remuneration (DKK 800,000) for the chairmanship, while each
Audit Committee member receives 0.5 times the basic remuneration
(DKK 400,000) for this committee seat.
- The chairmen of the Board Nomination and the Board Remuneration
committees receives 0.5 times the basic remuneration (DKK 400,000)
for each chairmanship, while each member of these committees
receives 0.25 times the basic remuneration (DKK 200,000) for each
of these committee seats.
Re item 5 of the agenda
Presentation and approval of the 2024 Remuneration
Report
The Board of Directors proposes that the 2024 Remuneration
Report is approved.
Re item 6 of the agenda
Election of members for the Board of
Directors
The Board of Directors proposes that the Board
of Directors is composed of a total of seven members, and that the
following members are re-elected as members of the Board of
Directors:
Thomas Plenborg
Jørgen Møller
Beat Walti
Tarek Sultan Al-Essa
Benedikte Leroy
Further, in view of the upcoming
transformational events, the Board of Directors has assessed that
candidates with international experience and competence will be
required and proposes that the following candidates are elected as
new members of the Board of Directors:
Natalie Shaverdian Riise-Knudsen
Sabine Bendiek
As regards these nominations, reference is made
to Company Announcements no. 1145 and 1149 which also confirm that
Marie Louise Aamund, Niels Smedegaard, and Helle Østergaard
Kristiansen do not stand for re-election to the Board of Directors
at the Annual General Meeting.
Background information on the candidates is
attached to this notice.
Re item 7 of the agenda
Election of auditor(s)
The Board of Directors proposes re-election of
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Statsautoriseret Revisionspartnerselskab,
certified accounting member firm, CVR no. 33771231, as auditor for
both financial and sustainability reporting purposes.
This proposal is based on an updated review and
recommendation by the Company's Audit Committee. The Audit
Committee has not been influenced by third parties or been subject
to any agreements restricting the election of auditor(s) by the
Annual General Meeting.
Re item 8 of the agenda
Re item 8.1 of the agenda
Authorisations to increase the share
capital
Background
The Board of Directors proposes to amend Articles 4a1, 4a2 and 4a3
of the Articles of Association granting authorisations to the Board
of Directors to increase the share capital with and without
pre-emptive rights, respectively, by a nominal amount of up to DKK
48,088,000, corresponding to 20 per cent of the Company’s
share capital, in the period until 20 March 2030.
The proposal is a renewal of the existing
authorisations, which have been partly utilised in connection with
the acquisition of Schenker AG.
Mergers & Acquisitions (“M&A”) is a
vital part of DSV’s strategy and has been the foundation for
creating significant value for our shareholders. The Board of
Directors believes that the freight forwarding industry will
continue the consolidation and it is our continued strategy to
actively take part in this.
A renewal of the authorisations to issue up to
20 per cent additional share capital will reaffirm the Board of
Directors’ strong mandate to execute in future M&A
negotiations. A strong mandate provides leverage and flexibility to
DSV’s management in negotiations and reduces the transactional
risk, thus increasing the likelihood of a continued successful
execution of DSV’s M&A strategy.
The recent Panalpina and Agility acquisitions
were both all-share deals, and this was a decisive condition for
the sellers in these transactions. Also rapidly securing of capital
market equity for the acquisition of Schenker AG provided a robust
position for DSV in that transaction. The Board of Directors
believes that equity funding (partly or in full) or other equity
capital market resources will be an important element in future
transactions also.
The proposal implies that the wording of the
amended Articles of the Articles of Association will be as
follows:
“Article 4a1
In the period until 20 March 2030, the share capital may be
increased through one or more issues by the issuance of new shares
of a nominal value of up to DKK 48,088,000 following a resolution
by the Board of Directors. The increase may be effected by payment
in cash as well as in any other manner.
The shares are to be issued at market price,
and the subscription is to be made without preemptive rights for
existing shareholders. The Board of Directors may decide that the
capital increase can only be subscribed for by one or more named
investors, by creditors' conversion of debt, or as full or partial
payment for acquisition of an existing enterprise or specific
assets.
The new shares are negotiable instruments
and shall have the same rights as the Company's present shares. The
new shares must be registered in the names of the holders. No
restrictions shall apply to the transferability of the new shares,
see Article 5. The new shares shall be fully paid. The Board of
Directors shall lay down any other conditions for effecting the
capital increase.
Article 4a2
In the period until 20 March 2030, the share capital may be
increased through one or more issues by the issuance of new shares
of a nominal value of up to DKK 48,088,000 following a resolution
by the Board of Directors. The increase shall be effected by
payment in cash.
The subscription is to be made with
pre-emptive rights for existing shareholders. The Board of
Directors shall determine the subscription price.
The new shares are negotiable instruments
and shall have the same rights as the Company's present shares. The
new shares must be registered in the names of the holders. No
restrictions shall apply to the transferability of the new shares,
see Article 5. The new shares shall be fully paid. The Board of
Directors shall lay down any other conditions for effecting the
capital increase.
Article 4a3
The nominal share capital increase, which the Board of
Directors may decide upon pursuant to Article 4a1 and Article 4a2,
cannot exceed DKK 48,088,000 in the total aggregate.”
Re item 8.2 of the agenda
Authorisation to acquire treasury
shares
For the purposes of maintaining an active
capital allocation strategy and covering the incentive programmes
of the Company, the Board of Directors proposes that the Board of
Directors is authorized, in the period until 20 March 2030, to
acquire treasury shares of a nominal value of up to DKK 24,044,000,
corresponding to 10 per cent of the Company’s share capital,
provided that the Company’s portfolio of treasury shares does not
exceed 10 per cent of the share capital at any time. The purchase
price of treasury shares cannot deviate by more than 10 per cent
from the last recorded listed share price at the time of purchase.
The new five-year authorisation will replace the existing
authorisation.
Re item 8.3 of the agenda
Amendment to the Remuneration
Policy
Background
At the Company’s initiative and consistent with the requirement
that the Company’s General Meeting at least every fourth year
considers this, it is proposed to update the Remuneration Policy
applicable to the Board of Directors and the Executive Board. The
Remuneration Policy was lastly amended and approved at the
Extraordinary General Meeting held 8 September 2021.
The Board of Directors proposes a general update
of the Remuneration Policy to clarify certain principles for the
remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors and of the
members of the Executive Management. The following material
amendments to the Remuneration Policy are included in the proposed
updated Remuneration Policy: (i) implementing a short-term cash
bonus for members of the Executive Board based on achieving defined
annual performance targets; (ii) revising the share option grant
provisions for the Executive Board in order for such to focus on
long-term share value creation, removing the short term bonus grant
of stock options that could influence the long term grant which was
misunderstood in the market. The short-term part will now be
converted to a cash element; (iii) restricting share options grants
to Executive Board members during termination notice periods; (iv)
adopting an authorisation for the Board of Directors to grant
extraordinary remuneration to members the Executive Board.
A draft of the updated Remuneration Policy is
available at the Company’s website https://investor.dsv.com/.
3 Adoption requirements
The following requirements must be satisfied for
the proposed resolutions to be considered adopted:
The resolutions proposed under items 2 through
7, 8.2 and 8.3 can be adopted by a simple majority of votes in
favour.
The resolution proposed under item 8.1 can be
adopted if at least two-thirds of the votes cast as well as at
least two-thirds of the share capital represented at the Annual
General Meeting vote in favour.
4 Amount of share capital and
shareholders' voting rights
Pursuant to section 97 of the Danish Companies
Act, notice is hereby given that the Company’s nominal share
capital amounts to DKK 240,444,523 and is divided into 240,444,523
shares of DKK 1 each. Each nominal share amount of DKK 1 entitles
the holder to one vote.
5 Attendance and voting at
the Annual General
Meeting
In order to attend and to vote at the Annual
General Meeting, the following conditions apply:
The voting rights of a shareholder are
determined by the number of shares held by the shareholder on the
Registration Date. Shares sold or acquired in the period between
the Registration Date and the date of the Annual General Meeting do
not affect the voting rights.
The Registration Date is: Thursday, 13 March
2025, at 23:59 CET.
The shares held by each of the Company's
shareholders are calculated at the end of the Registration Date at
23:59 CET. The calculation is made based on the shares registered
in the register of shareholders and shares duly evidenced by
notices to the Company about any purchase of shares not yet
registered in the register of shareholders but received by the
Company before the end of the Registration Date.
Only physical persons and legal entities
registered as shareholders at the Registration Date are entitled to
attend and to vote at the Annual General Meeting, cf. the below
regarding shareholders’ timely request for admission cards.
Attendance in person, admission cards
and registration
In order to attend the Annual General Meeting in
person, shareholders must request an admission card no later than
Monday, 17 March 2025, at 23:59 CET via DSV’s online Shareholder
Portal, which is accessible via the Company’s website at
https://investor.dsv.com/communication-shareholders.
Admission cards may also be requested on the
website of Computershare A/S, www.computershare.dk no later than
Monday, 17 March 2025, at 23:59 CET, or by contacting Computershare
A/S by telephone on +45 4546 0997 no later than Monday, 17 March
2025 at 15:30 CET.
Admission cards will be distributed via email to
the specified address. Accordingly, please make sure to register
the correct email address. Both a printed version and an electronic
version on smartphone or tablet of the admission card qualify for
admission. Presentation of photo ID also qualifies for admission to
the Annual General Meeting, provided that an admission card has
been requested in due time.
Voting ballots will be handed out upon entry to
the Annual General Meeting.
Proxy
Shareholders may also attend the Annual General
Meeting by appointing a proxy.
A proxy can be appointed electronically on DSV’s
online Shareholder Portal accessible via the Company's website at
https://investor.dsv.com/communication-shareholders, or the website
of Computershare A/S, www.computershare.dk, no later than Monday,
17 March 2025, at 23:59 CET.
A proxy can also be appointed in writing using
the proxy form, which is available on the Company's website at
http://investor.dsv.com. Signed proxy forms must be sent to
Computershare A/S, Lottenborgvej 26 D, 1. sal, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby,
Denmark, or emailed to GF@computershare.dk, and must reach
Computershare A/S no later than Monday, 17 March 2025, at 23:59
CET.
A proxy may be revoked at any time.
Postal voting
Postal votes can be cast electronically on DSV’s
online Shareholder Portal accessible via the Company's website at
https://investor.dsv.com/communication-shareholders, or at the
website of Computershare A/S, www.computershare.dk, no later than
Wednesday, 19 March 2025, at 14:00 CET. Hard copy signed postal
voting forms must be posted to Computershare A/S, Lottenborgvej 26
D, 1. sal, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark, or emailed to
GF@computershare.dk, and must reach Computershare A/S no later than
Wednesday, 19 March 2025, at 14:00 CET.
Once submitted, a postal vote cannot be revoked
or changed.
Comments or questions to the Company’s
management
All presentations and discussions at the Annual
General Meeting will be conducted in English.
Shareholders who are physically present at the
Annual General Meeting may verbally make comments or ask questions
to the Company’s management at the meeting. Further, shareholders
may make comments or ask questions in English to the Company’s
management in writing by submitting the comment or question in
advance of the Annual General Meeting by email to investor@dsv.com.
All written questions must clearly state the identity of the
applicable shareholder. Questions from shareholders will – to the
extent possible – be answered either in writing prior to the Annual
General Meeting and uploaded on the Company’s website or presented
by the chairman of the Annual General Meeting and answered verbally
during the Annual General Meeting.
Further information about the Annual
General Meeting
The agenda and the full text of the proposed
resolutions are included in this notice.
It will be possible to follow the Annual General
Meeting via live webcast on DSV’s online Shareholder Portal, which
is accessible via the Company’s website at
https://investor.dsv.com/communication-shareholders. It is noted
that there will be no virtual voting option or live chat function
for shareholders during the Annual General Meeting. As perthe
above, shareholders who are not attending the Annual General
Meeting in person should submit any written questions or comments
in advance of the Annual General Meeting.
Further information on the Annual General
Meeting is available on the Company’s website at
http://investor.dsv.com, including the total number of shares and
voting rights on the date of the notice convening the Annual
General Meeting; this notice; proxy and postal voting forms; and
any other documents to be presented at the Annual General
Meeting.
The custodian bank is Danske Bank, through which
shareholders can exercise their rights.
This convening notice is published on the
Company’s website on http://investor.dsv.com, via Nasdaq Copenhagen
and is forwarded by email (electronic communication) to the
shareholders registered in the Company’s register of shareholders
who have so requested.
DSV A/S is a data processor, which means that
DSV A/S is responsible for the appropriate handling of the
shareholders’ personal data in accordance with the applicable
rules. For further information, the Company's privacy policy is
available at
http://www.dsv.com/responsibility/responsibility/Compliance/data-privacy.
Practical questions from
shareholders
Shareholders will have an opportunity to ask
practical questions about the agenda and other material relating to
the Annual General Meeting before the meeting by contacting
Veronica Pontoppidan, DSV A/S, Hovedgaden 630, 2640 Hedehusene,
Denmark, Telephone +45 43 20 30 40, in person or in writing, or by
email to investor@dsv.com.
Shareholders wishing to contact the office of
Computershare A/S in person can do so during business hours on
weekdays from 9:00 to 15:30 CET.
DSV A/S, 18 February 2025
Thomas Plenborg, Chairman of the Board of
Directors
Jens H. Lund, Group CEO
Background information on candidates for the Board of
Directors
Nominated for
re-election
Thomas Plenborg
Chairman of the Board of
Directors
Year of birth: 1967
Member of the Board of Directors since: 2011
Nominated for re-election: 2025
Skills and experience:
- International Management experience
from directorships and honorary offices
- Strategy and financial
management
- Professor of accounting and
auditing at Copenhagen Business School
Other Board positions:
- Chairman: ECIT AS
- Board member: Menzies Aviation
Limited
Non-independent Board member.
Jørgen Møller
Deputy Chairman of the Board of
Directors
Year of birth: 1950
Member of the Board of Directors since: 2015
Nominated for re-election: 2025
Skills and experience:
- General international management
experience
- Extensive experience in shipping
and logistics (industry expert)
- CEO of DSV Air & Sea Holding
A/S 2002-2015
Other Board positions: None
Independent Board member.
Beat Walti
Member of the Board of
Directors
Year of birth: 1968
Member of the Board of Directors since: 2019
Nominated for re-election: 2025
Skills and experience:
- Professional board and general
management experience
- Dr. jur. and legal experience
serving as attorney-at-law
- Acquisition and divestment of
enterprises
Other Board positions:
- Chairman: Ernst Göhner Foundation,
Rahn AG
- Board member: Siegfried Holding
AG*, Wenger Vieli AG, EGS Beteiligungen Ltd
Independent Board member.
*Listed company
Tarek Sultan Al-Essa
Member of the Board of
Directors
Year of birth: 1964
Member of the Board of Directors since: 2021
Nominated for re-election: 2025
Skills and experience:
- Extensive experience in shipping
and logistics
- Acquisition and divestment of
enterprises
- General international management
experience
- Extensive insight in environmental,
social and governance regulation (sustainability expert)
Other Board positions:
- Chairman: Sultan Center Food
Products Company K.S.C*, Agility Global PLC*
- Deputy Chairman and CEO: Agility
Public Warehousing Company K.S.C.P.*
- Board member: National Real Estate
Company K.P.S.C.*
Independent Board member.
*Listed company
Benedikte Leroy
Member of the Board of
Directors
Year of birth: 1970
Member of the Board of Directors since: 2022
Nominated for re-election: 2025
Skills and experience:
- International board and general
management experience
- Extensive experience in technology
from international leadership roles in Dell, Symantec, GE and
Apple
- Legal compliance, ethics and
extensive insight in environmental, social and governance
regulation (sustainability expert), latest in Volvo Trucks
- Acquisition and divestment of
enterprises
Other Board positions: None
Independent Board member.
Nominated for election
Natalie Shaverdian
Riise-Knudsen
Member of the Board of
Directors
Natalie Shaverdian Riise-Knudsen is a Swedish
national citizen with international experience from executive and
non-executive leadership roles in various industries.
Born: 1981
Supervisory boards:
Corporate experience:
- From 2021: COWI Holding A/S, Group
CFO, EVP
- 2019 - 2021: Novozymes A/S, Vice
President Business Finance
- 2010 - 2019: RSA Nordic, various
positions
- 2006 - 2010: GE Capital Solution
Nordic EMEA Nordic, various finance positions
- 2005 - 2006: PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Sweden, Associate
Education:
- 2002-2005: Örebro University, MSc
Business and Economics
- 2004: Institut des Hautes Etudes
Economiques et Commerciales (INSEEC) Paris
- 2000-2002: Linköpings University:
International Business Program
Independent Board member.
Sabine Bendiek
Member of the Board of
Directors
Sabine Bendiek is a German national citizen with
extensive executive experience from international IT executive and
non-executive leadership roles and is currently holding various
non-executive board positions.
Born: 1966
Supervisory boards:
- From 2018: Schaeffler AG* (D,
Member of Presidential Committee)
- From 2024: SUSE SA (LUX, Chair of
Remuneration and Nomination Committee)
- From 2024: Vistra Ltd. (HK, Chair
of Remuneration Committee)
- From 2024: Sunlight Group Energy
Storage Systems (GR, Chair of Remuneration and Nomination
Committee)
- From 2025: Sensio AS (NOR,
Chairperson of the Board)
Corporate experience:
- 2021 - 2023: SAP SE, Executive
Board, Chief People and Operations Officer
- 2016 - 2021: Microsoft Deutschland
GmbH, Chair of the Executive Board
- 2011 - 2015: EMC Corporation,
Managing Director Germany
- 2003 - 2011: Dell Corporation,
London and Frankfurt, various management positions
- 1999 - 2003: Earlybird Venture
Capital, Partner
- 1996 - 1999: McKinsey&Company,
Hamburg (Germany), Engagement Manager
- 1988 - 1996: Siemens Nixdorf
Information Systems AG, various positions
Education:
- 1994 - 1996: Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), MSc in Management
- 1985 – 1988: Berufsakademie of
Mannheim
Independent Board member.
*Listed company
- 1151 - Announcement (18.02.2025) - NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING 2025
Grafico Azioni DSV AS (TG:DS81)
Storico
Da Feb 2025 a Mar 2025
Grafico Azioni DSV AS (TG:DS81)
Storico
Da Mar 2024 a Mar 2025