BMW 2015 Annual Report Download - page 89

89 COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT
In this context, and with the approval of the Super-
visory Board, the Board of Management increased
BMW AG’s share capital by € 309,860 from € 656,494,740
to € 656,804,600 by issuing 309,860 new non-voting
shares of preferred stock. The increase was executed on
the basis of Authorised Capital 2014 in Article 4 (5) of
the Articles of Incorporation. The new shares of pre-
ferred stock carry the same rights as existing shares of
preferred stock and were issued to enable employees to
obtain an equity participation in the Company. In addi-
tion, 84 shares of preferred stock were bought back via
the stock market in order to service the Employee Share
Programme.
Proposed dividend increase
Reflecting the good earnings performance, the Board of
Management and the Supervisory Board will propose
to the Annual General Meeting to use BMW AG’s un-
appropriated profit of € 2,102 million (2014: € 1,904 mil-
lion) to pay a dividend of € 3.20 for each share of com-
mon stock (2014: € 2.90) and a dividend of € 3.22 for each
share of preferred stock (2014: € 2.92), a distribution rate
of 32.9 % for 2015 (2014: 32.7 %).
Ratings remain at top level
The BMW Group continues to have the best ratings in
the European automobile sector. Since December 2013,
BMW AG has had a long-term rating of A+ (stable out-
look) and a short-term rating of A-1 from the rating
agency Standard & Poor’s, currently the highest rating
given by Standard & Poor’s to a European car manufac-
turer.
On 24 March 2015, Moody’s raised the outlook for
BMW AG’s rating from “stable” to “positive”. At the same
time, it confirmed BMW AG’s long-term rating (A2) and
its short-term rating (P-1), both of which represent the
best ratings currently awarded in the European automo-
bile sector.
The rating assessments underline the BMW Group’s ro-
bust financial condition and excellent creditworthiness.
Thanks to these attributes, the Group not only has good
access to international capital markets, it also benefits
from attractive refinancing conditions, which are par-
ticularly
helpful for the BMW Group’s financial services
business.
Intensive communication with capital markets
The BMW Group continued to keep analysts, investors
and rating agencies up to date throughout 2015 with
regular quarterly and year-end financial reports. As in
previous years, numerous one-to-one discussions,
group discussions and dedicated Socially Responsible
Investment (SRI) roadshows were held for investors
wishing to incorporate sustainability criteria in their in-
vestment decisions. This comprehensive communication
with relevant capital market participants was supple-
mented by debt roadshows for capital debt investors
and credit analysts. Communication focused primarily
on developments on the Chinese market, digitalisation
and other technological trends in the automobile
in-
dustry, and the relevance of alternative drive systems.
Events organised during the year included a Capital
Markets Day for analysts and investors at the BMW
Group’s
Spartanburg plant in the USA.