3.5
The share

Listing

Accell Group shares have been listed on the official market of Euronext Amsterdam since 1998 and are included in the Amsterdam Small Cap Index (AScX). The listing contributes to disciplined and transparent operations and facilitates additional access to external capital for growth financing and consequently the realisation of our ambitions.

Each ordinary share entitles the holder to one vote. To protect the continuity of (the strategy of) Accell Group and its stakeholders, the Stichting Preferente Aandelen Accell Group has the option to acquire the number of cumulative preference shares B required to make the Stichting, once it has acquired said shares, the holder of one half, less one share, of the (increased) issued and paid-up capital. We refer you to Chapter 4, Supervision and Risk Management for more detailed information.
 

Share price movements and tradability

In 2017, the share price increased by 6.9%. This brought the total to 74.9% over the past five years. The share’s tradability has also increased in that time. Share turnover rose by 122.5% in 2017 and 373.6% over the past five years. Market capitalisation has almost doubled over the past five years and stood at € 615.2 million at year-end 2017.

Note: The percentages above represent real capital interests and are based on the disclosures of major holdings reported to the Dutch Financial Markets Authority AFM pursuant to the Financial Supervision Act (Wft). As soon as an interest rises to 3% or more of the issued share capital, the holder must report same. Shareholders are subsequently obliged to file a new disclosure as soon as the major holding reaches, exceeds or drops below a threshold level. This may be the case if a shareholder obtains or loses control of shares, or as a result of an increase or decrease in the company’s issued capital. The thresholds for this are: 3%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 75% and 95%. 
 

Dividend

Note: Data per share has been calculated on the basis on the average weighted number of outstanding shares. The data per share over the years 2013-2016 have been corrected for the dilution due to the stock dividend payment charged to the share premium reserve, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS33). The correction factor used in the year under review for 2016 and previous years is 0.98476.

Accell Group strives for a stable dividend policy, aimed at paying out at least 40% of its net profit. Historically speaking, the dividend pay-out percentage has been around 50%. Accell Group proposes to pay an optional dividend of € 0.50 for the financial year 2017 (2016: € 0.72), in cash or shares. The dividend proposal is based on the net profit, excluding exceptional expenses in 2017. In the past five years (period 2013 through 2017), shareholders have received a combined cash and stock dividend with a value of € 78.6 million. 

An optional dividend enables Accell Group to realise a higher pay-out while maintaining a strong balance sheet for the roll-out of our strategy and possible future acquisitions. This is an excellent fit with our strategy, which targets growth. In addition to a high dividend return for the shareholders, the optional dividend also enables Accell Group to improve its solvency ratio. Our dividend return and the type of dividend we pay out are competitive compared to other listed companies. In the previous four years (2013 – 2016), an average of around 51% of our shareholders opted for a stock dividend.

Investor relations

Accell Group strives to provide its shareholders, potential shareholders, analysts and other financial stakeholders with all relevant strategic, financial and other material information, accurately, meticulously and in a timely fashion, to improve insight into the company, current developments and the market in which it operates.

Accell Group’s financial year is the same as the calendar year and runs from January through December. Accell Group publishes its full financial results annually and semi-annually. From 2017 onwards, Accell Group only publishes interim trading updates on the company’s financial and operational developments when there is reason to do so. Such publications, as well as other (non-financial) announcements, appointments and reports will always be made in accordance with the prevailing regulations and the guidelines of Euronext Amsterdam and the Dutch Financial Markets Authority (AFM).

The company organises meetings with (major) shareholders, analysts and the media for the presentation and explanation of the annual and interim results. Prior to the publication of annual and interim results, Accell Group maintains closed periods of 30 days. We have no meetings or conversations with (potential) shareholders, analysts or other financial stakeholders during these closed periods.  

In the course of the year and outside the closed periods, members of the Board of Directors regularly have one-on-one meetings with (major) shareholders and interested institutional investors. It is worth noting that there is increasing awareness of and interest in Accell Group among foreign investors. The same is true for the interest shown by investors that focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility, themes Accell Group also focuses on via its products and strategy.

You will find more information on the policy regarding bilateral contacts with investors on Accell Group’s website.

Agenda 2018

The following publication dates and other relevant dates are on the agenda for 2018: