Share / Investor relations
The Siemens share / Investor relations
The Siemens share price developed positively over the course of fiscal 2012. However, the markets were volatile during this period due to ongoing uncertainty in the eurozone. After increasing at the beginning of the fiscal year, stock markets in general and the Siemens share price in particular declined for several months. Then, in June 2012, a positive stock market trend began. This trend continued until the end of fiscal 2012. In August 2012, the Company launched a share buyback program. From the start of the buyback program until the end of the fiscal year, the Siemens share price gained more than 13%.
In the last few years, we have increased our dividend several times – in some cases substantially – from €1.60 per share in fiscal 2009 to €3.00 per share in fiscal 2011. In line with the dividend policy of the One Siemens framework, we intend for our shareholders to profit significantly from Siemens’ financial success again this year. As a result, the Managing Board and Supervisory Board will propose a dividend payment of €3.00 per share for fiscal 2012, representing a payout ratio of 56%. Siemens AG continues to have a very sound financial basis. In an environment in which the ratings of many countries have come under pressure, the Company continues to enjoy good investment-grade credit ratings. In the course of the above-mentioned share buyback program, we repurchased shares up to the end of November 2012 with a value of about €2.9 billion. In September 2012, the Company also retired some 33.2 million of its own shares, thereby reducing its capital stock from about 914 million shares to 881 million.
Stock markets – Siemens share price increases
Reflecting economic developments, the stock market environment was characterized by continuously increasing share prices during the first four months of fiscal 2012 (October 1, 2011 to January 31, 2012). These gains were then lost in the following months, with prices bottoming out in June 2012. The markets subsequently recovered steadily from this trough, again reaching their previous high for the year toward the end of fiscal 2012.
Over the entire fiscal year, Siemens stock performed comparatively well in this market environment, closing at €77.61 per share on September 30, 2012. For shareholders who reinvested their dividends, this amounted to a gain of 18.6% (fiscal 2011: a loss of 9.5%) compared to the closing price a year earlier. The Siemens share performed somewhat more weakly than the leading international index, MSCI World (which rose 21.6%), and remained noticeably behind the leading index of the German stock market, the DAX (which advanced 31.2%).
A long-term comparison illustrates the strength of the Siemens share: the assets of an investor who acquired Siemens stock worth €1,000 at the beginning of fiscal 2003 and reinvested the dividends in additional Siemens shares would have increased to €2,911 by the end of fiscal 2012. This annual return of 11.3% is noticeably above the corresponding results for the DAX 30 (+10.1%) and MSCI World (+8.0%).
Stable dividend proposed
At the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board will propose a dividend payment of €3.00. After the substantial dividend increases in fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011, this proposal reflects our earnings position in fiscal 2012 and is in strict accordance with our payout policy. Representing a payout ratio of 56%, this proposal continues our tradition of paying attractive dividends to our investors.
Share buyback program and reduction of capital stock
In August 2012, against the backdrop of favorable capital market conditions, Siemens optimized its capital structure and initiated a buyback of Company stock with a value of approximately €2.9 billion. Under this program, which was finalized on November 7, 2012, a total of about 38 million shares were acquired at an average price of €76.90 per share. The repurchased shares can be used to cancel and reduce capital stock, to issue shares to employees, the board members of Affiliated Companies and members of the Managing Board and to service convertible bonds and warrant bonds. The share buyback was financed through long-term debt.
In addition to the share buyback program, the Company also retired approximately 33.2 million of its own shares in September 2012, thereby reducing its capital stock from about 914 million shares to 881 million.
Shareholder structure
With some 740,000 shareholders, Siemens AG is one of the world’s largest publicly owned companies. An analysis of our shareholder structure conducted in August 2012 showed that shareholders in Germany hold the largest percentage of our share capital, about 30% of all outstanding shares. Shareholders in the U.S. hold roughly 16% and shareholders in the U.K., around 9%, while investors in France and Switzerland hold 8% and 6%, respectively.
Some 59% of Siemens’ outstanding shares are currently held by institutional investors, about 20% by private shareholders and around 6% by members of the Siemens family.
Credit ratings
Siemens AG has good, investment-grade credit ratings: “Aa3/P-1/outlook stable” from Moody’s Investors Service and “A+/A-1+/outlook stable” from Standard & Poor’s are very positive ratings – particularly when compared to those of our competitors in the industry segment. Our solid financial position gives us unrestricted access to the international financial and capital markets.
At the end of fiscal 2012, the net debt of Siemens AG was €9,292 million, with cash and cash equivalents of €10,891 million. For further information on our credit ratings and financial obligations, please see Note 28 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Siemens on the capital market
We take our responsibility to maintain an intensive dialogue with the capital market very seriously. Cultivating close contacts with our shareholders, we keep them informed of all major developments throughout Siemens.
As part of our investor relations work, we provide information on the Company’s development in quarterly, semiannual and annual reports. Our CEO and CFO also maintain close contact with investors through roadshows and conferences. In addition, Siemens holds Sector Capital Market Days, at which the management of our Sectors informs investors and analysts about the Sectors’ business strategies and market environments.
We also provide extensive information online. Quarterly, semiannual and annual reports, analyst presentations, press releases and our financial calendar for the current year (please see Financial calendar), which includes all major publication dates as well as the date of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, are available at www.siemens.com/investors
Profit-sharing culture/Stock-based compensation programs
Siemens has set itself the goal of more intensively fostering a profit-sharing culture at the Company and encouraging employees to become shareholders. That’s why we offer various share-based payment programs to our employees. In fiscal 2012, 5,225,138 Siemens shares were issued to service these programs, namely, the Stock Awards program, the Share Matching Program (including the Base Share Program, the Share Matching Plan and the Monthly Investment Plan) and the Jubilee Program. Non-vested and outstanding grants under the various plans will result in additional share issuances to employees in the future. For more detailed information on share-based payment, please see Note 33 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Our Company-wide Share Ownership Guidelines specify that the members of the Managing Board and roughly 550 senior executives must hold an interest in Siemens equal in value to between 50% and 300% of their base compensation for the period in which they hold office. For further information on our employee share programs, please see Note 33 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.