Mercedes 2015 Annual Report Download - page 56

A | TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS | DAIMLER AND THE CAPITAL MARKET 63
Daimler share price up by 12% over the year
Financial markets responded very favorably to the publication of
the Daimler Group’s results for 2014, the positive outlook for
2015, and the recommendation that the dividend be increased
from €2.25 to €2.45 per share. This helped the share price
to rise considerably (by 30%) in the first quarter of 2015 alone.
On March 16, 2015, the Daimler share price reached €95.79.
This was the highest price for the year and also the highest value
for Daimler shares in several years. However, the Daimler share
price was also not immune to growing concerns regarding the
escalation of the Greek debt crisis, as well as the market
turbulence in China. Many investors pulled out of the market
for a short period in August, and automotive stocks were
significantly impacted by this development in light of the
importance of the Chinese market for vehicle manufacturers.
A short period of recovery followed in the run-up to the IAA
International Motor Show in Frankfurt, due in part to our solid
sales development throughout the summer months. Starting
in mid-September, reports regarding irregularities with diesel
emissions of a competitor’s vehicles led to significant declines
in share prices also for other automakers and automotive
suppliers. In this situation, our share price reached its low
point of the year (€63.26) on September 29, 2015.
International stock markets then made substantial gains once
again in the fourth quarter, and our share price increased
at an above-average rate. Daimler shares closed at €77.58
on December 30. At the end of the year, the company had
a market capitalization of €83.0 billion (2014: €73.8 billion).
Daimler’s share price thus increased by 12% over the course
of the year, outperforming the DAX (+10%) and in line with the
Dow Jones STOXX Auto Index (+13%). When the dividend
payout of €2.45 per share is included, our shareholders saw
the value of their investment rise by 16%.
Stock exchanges started the year 2016 with falling prices
worldwide. The main unsettling factors were concerns about
China, tension in the Middle East and the sharp fall in
commodity prices. At 9,798 at the end of January, the DAX
was 9% lower than at the end of 2015.
Dividend of €3.25

A.02
The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will
recommend the payment of a dividend of €3.25 per share at the
Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on April 6, 2016. We are thus
raising the dividend substantially once again (+33%), and letting
our shareholders participate in the company’s financial
success. The total dividend will amount to €3,477 million
(2014: €2,621 million), which is by far the highest dividend
payout in Daimler’s history.
A broad shareholder structure

A.07
Daimler continues to have a broad shareholder base of approxi-
mately 900,000 shareholders. The Kuwait Investment
Authority (KIA) currently owns 6.8% of the company’s stock,
making it Daimler AG’s largest single shareholder. The Renault-
Nissan Alliance continues to hold 3.1% of Daimler’s shares.
BlackRock Inc., New York, still holds a stake above the 5%
reporting limit as defined by Germany’s Securities Trading Act
(WpHG). In December 2015, BlackRock notified us that its
proportion of the voting rights was 6.12% on November 26.
The Norwegian Finance Ministry informed us that on October 26,
2015, the shares held by Norges Bank, Oslo, dropped below
the reporting limit of 3%. As of that date, the bank held 2.99%
of the voting rights in Daimler.
The aforementioned and all other voting-rights notifications
as well as notifications of shareholdings pursuant to Germany’s
Transparency Directive Implementation Act are published on
the Internet at w daimler.com/investors/share/voting-rights.
Dow Jones STOXX Auto Index
DAX
Daimler AG
150
145
140
135
130
125
120
115
110
105
100
95
90
85
80
S
hare price index
A.04
12/31/
15
2/27/154/30/15 6/30/158/31/15 10/30/1512/31/14
50
55
60
65
70
12/1511/
15
10/
15
9/
15
8/
15
7/
15
6/
15
5/
15
4/
15
3/
15
2/
15
1/
15
75
80
85
A.03
90
95
100
105
110
Daimler share price (high/low), 2015
In euros