Mercedes 2012 Annual Report Download - page 31

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1 | To Our Shareholders | Daimler Shares
Large number of visitors to Annual Shareholders’ Meeting.
Our Annual Shareholders’ Meeting at the International Con-
gress Center (ICC) in Berlin on April 4, 2012 was attended by
approximately 5,700 shareholders (2011: 5,100). With 44.1%
of the share capital represented at the Annual Meeting, share-
holder representation (attendance plus absentee votes) was
higher than in the prior year (43.3%). In voting on the items
of the agenda, the shareholders adopted the recommendations
of the management with large majorities. Dr. Clemens Börsig
was reelected to the Supervisory Board for a further five years.
The shareholders are able to exercise their voting rights at
the Annual Meeting either in person or through a proxy of their
own choice or through a proxy appointed by Daimler who is
bound by their voting instructions. For the Annual Shareholders’
Meeting in 2012, we once again offered the possibility of
absentee voting. All documents and information on the Annual
Meeting are available at w daimler.com/ir/am. Daimler
utilized the exhibition space at the ICC to demonstrate to the
shareholders the Group’s technological expertise and broad
spectrum of products, with a focus on the new vehicles in the
compact-car segment. The shareholders made good use
of this interesting opportunity.
Comprehensive investor relations activities once again.
In the year 2012, the Investor Relations department once again
provided timely information on the development of the Group
to institutional investors, analysts, rating agencies and private
investors. Our communication activities for institutional
investors and analysts included roadshows in the major finan-
cial centers of Europe, North America, Asia and Australia,
as well as large numbers of one-on-one meetings. These took
place in the context of investor conferences, in particular
during the international motor shows in Geneva and Paris.
We regularly reported on our quarterly results via conference
calls and Internet broadcasts. The presentations can be
seen on our website at w daimler.com/ir/event/e.
The focus of discussions with analysts and investors was
on current earnings expectations for the year 2012, as well
as business developments and profitability in the various
divisions and regions. For the first time, we additionally carried
out three roadshows, featuring speeches and individual discus-
sions with sustainability-oriented investors.
Additional attractive events were two capital-market days.
In late March, the Board of Management presented the
strategies, main thrusts and key goals of the Mercedes-Benz
Cars division on the occasion of opening our new car plant
in Kecskemét, Hungary. In late June, the management team
of Daimler Trucks provided information on that division’s
strategies, main thrusts and goals in the various regions at the
truck plant in Mannheim. Audio recordings and presentation
slides of the events can be accessed on our Internet website
at Investor Relations – Presentations & Events. In Beijing,
Daimler participated in two investor conferences in June and
November, and explained its strategy and position in the
important Chinese market.
Internet presence established on many channels. The
broad range of information provided by our Internet website
is reaching more and more people. In addition to the estab-
lished addresses, w daimler.com and w daimler.mobi, Daimler
has further intensified its social-media activities. Besides
current information on the Group, our brands and products, tech-
nologies and innovations, starting in 2012, the Daimler app
offers iPhone® and iPad® users comprehensive and up-to-date
information from the area of investor relations.
Daimler received some coveted awards for its online Annual
Report 2011. This report under the motto of “Innovation
and Growth” was for the first time also published as a touch-
optimized tablet version – a new approach in the digital
financial reporting of German DAX companies.
Number of online shareholders remains at a high level.
Our electronic information and communication service was
as popular as ever: Approximately 86,000 shareholders
chose to receive their invitations to the Annual Meeting by e-mail
instead of by post in 2012. We thank them for helping us to
protect the environment and reduce costs. As in previous years,
we held a lottery amongst the participants with attractive
prizes for the winners. Access and further information on the
e-service for shareholders can be found on our website at
w https://register.daimler.com.