Campus

Once again, former Supervisory Board chair Piech gets more than anybody

Frankfurt-based HKB group has announced that 2014 remuneration for the chairpersons of the 30 DAX-listed companies had risen by 6.6% and now stood at 390,000 Euros. Most of the increase appears in the fixed and attendance fees, and this turn of events was accompanied by a reduction in short-term variables. In the meantime 14 of the 30 DAX-listed group of companies shifted to fixed emoluments. An additional two companies, SAP and Heidelberg Cement also announced their intention of adopting this system in 2015. Future emoluments paid to Supervisory Board members will become progressively unrelated to the success or otherwise of their company. Appearances gave the impression that there was an enormous gap between the highest and the lowest paid. Last year the highest figure went to Ferdinand Piech who recently resigned as chair of the Supervisory Board at Volkswagen; his total remuneration of 1.48 million Euros was the biggest amount paid out since 2006 when the law obliging companies to publish the amounts they pay their top management came into force.

Record dividends for ever fewer shareholders

Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz (DSW) has announced that the 620 German stock market-listed companies will be paying out a record dividend of 41.7 thousand million Euros in 2015, beating the 2008 highpoint of 38.2 thousand million Euros by 9.2 percent and an improvement on 2014 by no less than 13.4 percent. Year on year, almost one third of the DAX, MDAX, TecDAX and SDAX-listed companies are increasing their percentage to be paid out compared to 2014. The number of German savers who are interested in making cash investments in stocks and shares are very few and they will be happy with this bonanza is the wry comment by DSW. The number of shareholders has fallen from 4.5 million in 2014 to 4.1 million today despite a constant rise in share listings. Some 64 percent of the stock of DAX-listed companies is held by foreign investors. Within the DAX group this year, Allianz takes the King Midas slot with 3.13 thousand million Euros followed by Siemens (2.91 thousand million Euros) Daimler is third with 2.62 thousand million.