The foundation stone of the future converter station was laid on the morning of February 23rd in Folkestone by Jesse Norman, Minister for Industry and Energy signalling the start of the construction work for high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) project ElecLink. Siemens has been awarded an order to supply a link between the French and British power grids by customer ElecLink Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Groupe Eurotunnel SE. The ElecLink high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) link will enhance power supply reliability in both countries and promote the integration of renewable energy sources into the power grid. ElecLink, when complete, will supply enough electricity to power more than 1.65 million typical households per year. The HVDC link between France and Great Britain has been designated as one of the European Commission's projects of common interest to help create an integrated European Union energy market.
- Next step in further improvement of competitive position
- Setup of standalone company under Siemens umbrella
Siemens is giving its mechanical drives unit (Mechanical Drives, MD) a new setup that will enable the business to operate more efficiently and flexibly in implementing its growth plans in a competitive environment. MD's market, which is dominated by medium-sized companies, is currently characterized by weak growth, increasing competition from the Asian region and overcapacities, with correspondingly high price pressure. To achieve greater room to maneuver and intensify its business-specific orientation, the unit is to be managed in the future as a separate company under the Siemens umbrella.
- 165,000 Siemens employees own company shares, up 12,000 from last year
- 49 percent of all eligible employees are also shareholders
- Siemens distributes €56 million in shares to employee shareholders
Of Siemens' 351,000 employees worldwide, nearly one in two is also a company shareholder. The number of employees holding Siemens shares increased eight percent to 165,000, compared to 153,000 in the previous year. This year, more than 131,000 employees – or 39 percent of all eligible employees – took part in Siemens' Share Matching Program, a very high figure compared to similar global share programs. Particularly noteworthy was the positive trend in North America and Asia: Participation in the U.S. alone increased by around 18 percent and even climbed by roughly 32 percent in China.
- Annual Shareholders' Meeting ratifies acts of Managing and Supervisory Boards by large majorities
Shareholders at Siemens' Annual Shareholders' Meeting have approved distribution of a dividend of €3.60 per share for fiscal 2016 as recommended by the Managing and Supervisory Boards. This dividend is ten cents more than for fiscal 2015. The Annual Shareholders' Meeting also ratified the acts of the members of the Managing and Supervisory Boards for fiscal 2016. The proposals on these and the other agenda items were approved by large majorities.
Siemens held its Annual Shareholders' Meeting at the Olympia Hall in Munich on February 1, 2017. The topics of the Siemens Annual Shareholders' Meeting are available here. Please find below the opening and the speeches of Dr. Gerhard Cromme, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and Joe Kaeser, CEO, press pictures of the event and a best-of-video of the press conference and Annual Shareholder's Meeting.
- Siemens ensures continuity and long-term succession planning for Supervisory Board
- International leader with industry expertise to strengthen Siemens' key future-oriented field of software and digitalization
The Nominating Committee of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG has recommended Jim Hagemann Snabe for the office of Supervisory Board Chairman. Siemens' Supervisory Board unanimously endorsed this recommendation at its meeting on Tuesday. The regular elections to Siemens' Supervisory Board will take place at the company's Annual Shareholders' Meeting on January 31, 2018. Mr. Snabe is to be elected Chairman at the Supervisory Board's constitutive meeting immediately thereafter.
We released our first quarter results for fiscal year 2017 on January 31, 2017. The Press Conference and the Analyst Call were broadcast live.
Effective October 1, 2016, Siemens will set up a separate unit to foster disruptive ideas more vigorously and to accelerate the development of new technologies. The unit's name, "next47," plays on the fact that Siemens was founded in 1847. At next47, the company will pool its existing startup activities. The new unit will have funding of €1 billion for the first five years. Siegfried Russwurm, Siemens Chief Technology Officer, will head the new unit on an acting basis. The new unit will be given the necessary independence but can nevertheless leverage the advantages offered by Siemens. It will have offices in Berkeley, Shanghai and Munich and cover all regions of the world from those locations. next47 will build on Siemens' existing startup activities. The new unit will be open to employees as well as to founders, external startups and established companies if they want to pursue business ideas in the company's strategic innovation fields.
- Free "fill ups" at up to 100 Siemens locations in Germany to begin in 2017
- Charging stations to supply green electricity and be internationally linked
Beginning in 2017, Siemens employees at as many as 100 of the company's locations in Germany can "fill up" their electric vehicles free of charge. This will apply not only to all-electric vehicles but also to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. For this service, Siemens will use its existing network of charging stations, which it is expanding with normal and high-speed charging stations.