Around 450 shareholders attend ČEZ's AGM in Czechia, as last year

Attendance at today's annual general meeting of energy company ČEZ is comparable to last year. When the meeting opened shortly after 09:00, around 450 shareholders were present at the Prague Congress Centre, according to Daniel Beneš, the group's CEO and chairman of the board. As they represented more than 30 percent of the company's registered capital, the meeting was declared quorate. Minority shareholder Michal Šnobr, also one of the strongest critics of ČEZ's management, once again protested against the rules of procedure after the opening speech, calling them discriminatory. A group of activists protested outside the centre before the meeting began. The general meeting of the semi-state-owned company will decide on the payment of a dividend from last year's adjusted profit.

Shareholders had to pass through security screening gates before entering the hall today. They were not allowed to bring food or drinks with them. Before the meeting's governing bodies were approved, one shareholder proposed that each member be voted on separately. Under the company's articles of association, this could take place only if the proposed governing bodies were not approved. However, 90 percent of shareholders approved the proposal, so the so-called vote per partes did not take place.

Šnobr regularly protests against the format of proceedings at the start of every ČEZ annual general meeting. He considers it discriminatory and says it puts minority shareholders at a disadvantage. The state is ČEZ's majority shareholder, holding around 70 percent of its shares through the Ministry of Finance, even though it receives 90 percent of net profit, according to Šnobr. “I think we have crossed some line of fair and sustainable logic for the proceedings of ČEZ's highest governing body,” he said. His remarks were followed by applause, and two other shareholders joined the protest.

Beneš then presented the company's financial results for 2023. According to ČEZ's annual report, the company earned 29.6 billion korun last year, with net profit down more than 63 percent year on year. The company said the main reason was extraordinary taxes and levies, on which it paid around 40 billion Kč. Despite the steep year-on-year decline, this was the highest profit in the past ten years apart from the record year of 2022. Net profit adjusted for extraordinary effects, which is key to determining the dividend, amounted to 34.8 billion Kč last year.

Around ten young activists from the Fridays for Future association gathered outside the Congress Centre before the annual general meeting began. They called on ČEZ to phase out coal, gas and other fossil fuels. They consider it problematic that ČEZ seeks to present itself as a leader in sustainable energy while continuing to operate most of the coal-fired power plants in Czechia.

In May, the company's board proposed paying out 80 percent of profit, equivalent to 52 crowns per share and a total dividend of 28 billion korun. The state, the company's largest shareholder, did not submit a counterproposal, although it has done so in some previous years. If ČEZ's proposal is approved, the state would receive more than 19 billion korun, compared with 54 billion last year.