Coloplast A/S (COLOB) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon. It's my pleasure to welcome you to this year's Coloplast Annual General Meeting. This year, we are back at an ordinary general meeting with physical attendance. After last year, we had to encourage shareholders to follow proceedings via a webcast because of the recommendations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. True to tradition, we have transmission in Danish with translation into English directly on the website of the company, allowing shareholders all over the world to follow proceedings. And welcome to you, too, if that's the way you are present at the meeting. I'd like to introduce the Board and the executive team. Together with me up here, we have the Vice Chairman of the Board, Niels Peter Louis-Hansen; and the President and CEO of the company, Kristian Villumsen. Other members of the board elected by the AGM are: Birgitte Nielsen, Carsten Hellmann, Jette Nygaard-Andersen and Marianne Wiinholt. As appears in the convening notice, Birgitte Nielsen has decided not to be available for reelection to the Board. I'd like to thank her for her dedicated contribution to Coloplast. The 3 board members elected by the employees are Thomas Barfeld, Roland Vendelbo Pedersen and Nikolaj Kyhe Gundersen. The other members of the executive leadership team of Coloplast are: Anders Lonning-Skovgaard, Allan Rasmussen, Nicolai Buhl Andersen, Paul Marcun and Camilla Guldhammer Møhl. According to our Articles of Association, the Board appoints the Chairman of the AGM. And as last year, we have asked attorney-at-law Niels Kornerup from law firm Bech-Bruun to act as Chairman of the meeting. And I will now hand over the meeting to him.

Thank you very much. And thank you for appointing me Chairman of the meeting. I hope that we will have a good meeting and a good discussion. In this connection, I recommend that you silence your mobile phones so that we have a good discussion and not a concert of ringing mobile phones. Also, the press has access to the meeting and recordings of sound may be made for reporting purposes, but no images may be recorded. First of all, I have to check that the meeting has been legally and lawfully convened and that it is quorate. Before the meeting, I found that the convening notice has been sent to shareholders in accordance with the company's Articles of Association and the provisions of Danish company law. I, therefore, find that the meeting has been legally and lawfully convened and is quorate when we look at the business to be transacted. I hope that the shareholders agree that it appears to be the case, I will enter that into the protocol. I have been told that the access control shows that we are 105 people in the room, 76% are shareholders, 29% are guests, reporters, advisers and so on. Also, just before we started the meeting, we know that 81.4% of the voting stock is represented and that is with the deduction of treasury shares, 67.21% of the share capital is represented at the meeting also after deduction of treasury shares. There has been a considerable number of proxies and postal votes sent to the Board. The Board has 81.06% of the represented votes via proxies and postal votes and 66.65% of the capital represented at the meeting. All these figures will appear in the protocol. According to Danish company law, there must be a complete explanation of the votes in connection with all the resolutions made at the AGM. For instance, how many vote in favor, how many are against, even though if it's a fairly clear result. And I find that it is possible to actually waive that right of shareholders. We have done that on all previous occasions at the Coloplast AGMs, and I'd like your permission to do the same this year, so we don't have to have these unnecessary lengthy voting proceedings. That appears to be the case. Thank you very much. For practical reasons, if you wish to take the floor under the items on the agenda, please approach me. You can give me a slip of paper with your name or your access card, and I will make sure that you are called to the rostrum when it is your turn. And we have 2 chairs over here so that you can be ready for when it's your turn in order for us to have a smooth meeting. The agenda appears on the screen behind me. And it is in keeping with the convening notice agenda. First, we will hear the report by the Board of Directors. Item 2 is presentation and approval of the annual report. Item 3 is a resolution on the distribution of profit. Item 4, presentation and approval of the remuneration report. 5 is approval of the remuneration of the Board of Directors. 6, proposals from the Board of Directors and shareholders. 7, election of members to the Board of Directors. 8, appointment of auditors. And 9, which is the last point item on the agenda, any other business. Now with these words, we will embark on the agenda and the business to be transacted. In keeping with Coloplast tradition, we will deal with the first items in 1 row. And I'm talking about items 1 to 4. So I will now hand over to the Chairman of the Board, Lars Rasmussen, who will give us the report by the Board of Directors and present the annual report and show us a resolution on the distribution of profit. You have the floor, sir.

Thank you very much for choosing to participate in this year's Annual General Meeting. I'm glad that it is, once again, possible for all of us to attend a physical meeting. In the financial year 2020 to '21, Coloplast delivered 7% organic growth and EBIT margin before special items of 33% and the return on invested capital after tax before special items of 45%. That's a strong result. We have continued to take market share. We are still among the fastest-growing companies in the med tech industry. And we have succeeded in relation to our mission of making life easier for people with intimate health care needs. I'm proud that Coloplast has helped more than 2 million people worldwide this year. Our performance should be viewed against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also affected Coloplast activities all over the world. So on behalf of the Board and myself, I would like to start by expressing my sincere thanks to the management, all employees of Coloplast for having made an extraordinary effort in a difficult year. Our priorities are and have been clear during the COVID-19 pandemic. We must keep our people safe while also serving our customers and keeping the business going. And we have succeeded in doing that. This underscores the strength of our business model. We set the standard for innovation and deliver products that make a clinical difference. With Coloplast Care, we can support users in more than 30 countries. We also have direct distribution in our 5 largest markets. This gives us access to our users so that we can provide strong service even during a pandemic. And we can take rapid action because we have a single IT infrastructure with shared systems across the organization, but we will also be rethinking the way we do things. Digital interaction with our users has accelerated during the pandemic and the ability to interact virtually is now more important than ever. That also applies to interaction with health care professionals. We still believe in the value of physical meetings, but hybrid solutions are here to stay. For that purpose, we have invested in new digital tools. That leads me to the Board of Directors and our collaboration with the executive leadership team over the past year. One of my key priorities has been to broaden the scope of the Board's strategic work. Over the past year, the Board has been involved in important discussions of strategic topics such as innovation, sustainability and M&A as well as the company's commercial activities in the U.S. and China. At the same time, our handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a focus, obviously. This year's evaluation concluded that the collaboration between the leadership team and the Board was good. It also showed a high degree of satisfaction with a range of competencies covered by the Board. However, the Board does wish to strengthen its competencies within innovation given the important role of this area in the company's Strive25 strategy. The Board evaluation is conducted with external assistance every 2 years, that was the case last year. So this year, an internal evaluation was performed. The board also wishes to propose a new Board member Annette Brüls, who has extensive commercial experience from the U.S., one of Coloplast's key markets. I look forward to continuing the good working relationship between the Board and executive leadership team in the coming years. And let me now focus on our strategy, Strive25. In 2020, we launched our new 5-year strategy, Strive25, with the overall target of creating value for users, employees, health care professionals, shareholders and the societies in which we operate. This will be achieved through a strong focus on innovation and growth on our key markets in the U.S. and China and important growth enablers such as unparalleled efficiency, sustainability and talent and leadership and culture. The strategy is supported by annual investments of up to 2% of revenue in innovation and commercial initiatives. And that is in addition to the existing R&D sales and marketing budgets. The increased investments are aimed at boosting growth across all of our business areas. Moreover, we will actively look at acquisition targets with a view to improving the company's growth opportunities. So let me start my review of the results in the first Strive25 year with the acquisition of Atos Medical. On Monday, the 8th of November, Coloplast concluded an agreement with PAI Partners to acquire Atos Medical for DKK 16 billion. This transaction is our largest ever acquisition. Atos Medical a global market leader and pioneer within medical aids for people living with laryngectomy, a surgical procedure that involves removal of the voice box in patients with advanced stage cancer of the voice box or larynx. For more than 30 years, Atos Medical has delivered innovation and personal care to help restore the ability to speak and breathe. The company serves customers in 90 countries, has around 1,150 employees, and it is physically present in 30 countries worldwide with their headquarter in Malmö, in Sweden. Coloplast and Atos Medical have much in common, especially if you consider the way the 2 companies have developed in recent decades. Atos Medical's purpose of making life easier for people living with a neck stoma is closely aligned with Coloplast's purpose of making life easier for people with intimate health care needs. With the acquisition of Atos, Coloplast adds a new category to its Chronic Care business that matches our business model. Like Coloplast, Atos Medical has become the market leader via innovation, strong relations with health care professionals and direct contact with users. Atos Medical will be run as a separate strategic business unit, but will operate on shared Coloplast infrastructure in order to achieve operational synergies and harness Coloplast's operational strength. Atos Medical presents an attractive long-term growth opportunity. The company has a track record of high single-digit organic growth and solid EBITDA margins. We expect Atos Medical to deliver future organic growth of 8% to 10% year-on-year and EBITDA margins in the mid-30s. This means that Atos Medical will make a positive contribution to Coloplast's long-term guidance of 7% to 9% organic growth year-on-year and an EBIT margin above 30%. This acquisition is historic for Coloplast, and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the entire Atos Medical organization to the Coloplast family. I look forward to working with you. Before I continue my presentation, I think we should meet an Atos medical user, Joachim. In 2020, he had a full laryngectomy due to the cancer of the voice box. And afterwards, he was introduced to Provox Life, the company's most recent product launch. This is Joachim's story. [Presentation]

That brings me from the acquisition of Atos Medical to the next area of the Strive25 strategy, innovation. Coloplast's ambition is to set the standard for innovation in all of our business areas. We will do so by developing solutions that are user-centric and meet specific clinical needs. A good example is our clinical performance program within the Chronic Care business. This program is important because clinical evidence and data play an increasing role in the dialogue with health care systems. We need to be able to document the value we create to users, to health care professionals and not least, to payers. This year, we have seen significant progress in relation to a number of products. We obtained CE labeling for our new digital ostomy product, Halo, which has been developed with a view to preventing leakage, and we have initiated pilot studies in Germany and the U.K. Soon, we will also be initiating a pivotal study of our new ostomy platform, which has been designed to reduce skin irritation. We are also making progress with a new catheter platform. Pivotal studies will be initiated next year, and we expect a launch date within the first half of this strategy period. In Wound Care, Biatain Fiber has been launched in 9 markets. It's a gel-forming fiber for wounds with considerable exudate, and this product has been met with a very favorable reception. Within Interventional Urology, we acquired Nine Continents Medical, an early-stage med tech company that has developed an implantable products for treatment of overactive bladder. The first results are promising, and we expect to initiate a pivotal study at the end of 2021. So we are making good progress with innovation. We have high expectations for these products, which will drive the company's long-term value creation. And this brings me to another core area of the strategy, growth. Strive25 is a growth strategy with ambitious growth targets for all the company's business areas and regions. The U.S. and China are key markets in which we, once again, made important strategic progress within the Chronic Care business. In the U.S., we were awarded a 3-year contract for the supply of ostomy products to the country's largest health care performance improvement company, Vizient. This contract is a milestone and supplements the contract signed with another leading company, Premier, in 2020. With these 2 contracts, Coloplast now has access to 75% of all U.S. hospitals. In China, we are working to improve health care standards for Chinese users. This year, we launched a large project with hundreds of Ostomy Care nurses with a view to improving patient care and boosting the quality of life among Chinese ostomy care patients. The U.S. and China are key markets in our long-term growth opportunities, and we will continue to invest in new growth initiatives in the coming years. Within Interventional Urology, we invested in commercial activities within our men's health business. In our Wound & Skin Care business, our focus is on the fast-growing silicon and fiber segment in the wound care market. That leads me to another topic which is important for Coloplast, sustainability. I believe that all global companies should have the topic of sustainability high on their agendas. Firstly, I believe we all have a shared responsibility for contributing to resolving serious challenges in society. And secondly, sustainability has become a prerequisite for operating in the market as a responsible organization. Last year, Coloplast included sustainability as a core focus area in the company's Strive25 strategy and invested around DKK 250 million in driving sustainable development in a number of areas. Coloplast has committed to the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to less than 1.5 celsius. Within Scopes 1 and 2, the ambition is to become net zero by 2025. 2 key initiatives in this respect will be 100% renewable energy in our own production and 50% electric cars in the Coloplast corporate fleet by 2025. In addition, we have set a clear target for Scope 3, which concerns CO2 reduction in the supply chain. By the end of 2030, we will reduce CO2 emissions in Scope 3 by 50% per product. That is an ambitious target, and therefore, we have set up a new supplier program under which we work with our suppliers and business partners to reduce emissions in the value chain. All Coloplast submission targets under Scopes 1, 2 and 3 have been submitted to the science-based targets initiative for validation. At the same time, we are implementing the recommendations from the task force on climate-related financial disclosures. And climate targets are now included in the short-term remuneration of the executive management. Our target when it comes to product and packaging is to have 50% recycling of production waste by 2025. We have also developed a method for recycling the company's Hungarian production waste this year. And that means that the company now recycles 58% of its production weight. So we have set a new target of 75% for recycling of production waste by 2025. The third focus area is responsible operations, which includes the company's social and ethical responsibilities. With our program access to health care, we have supported a project advocating for better access to hydrophilic catheters in Poland. The authorities have now decided to improve the local reimbursement schemes, which means that thousands of people with, for example, spinal cord injuries will now have an improved quality of life. This year, Coloplast also decided to publish country-by-country tax reporting. Our approach to tax is and has always been very clear: we pay the tax we should in the countries where we operate. We do so because we respect local legislation and regulation and because we believe it's the right thing to do. That brings me to the next area of the strategy, one of the cornerstones in Coloplast's value creation history, unparalleled efficiency. Last year, we launched our Global Operations Plan 5 and we are now well into the execution phase. Among other things, we have begun to implement our extensive automation program. Automation means that we can produce more efficiently at our factories without increasing the number of operators. This is being done in order to counter the shortage of labor in Hungary and to mitigate the impact of Hungarian wage inflation, which continues to exert pressure on our costs. Earlier this year, we opened our new factory in Costa Rica, and our next factory also in Costa Rica is expected to open next year, and you can see it here. You can seek for posting there, if you wish. The establishment of these 2 factories is to support Coloplast's high growth. At the same time, we want a more global and diversified production network. We expect that 25% to 30% of Coloplast's overall production will come from Costa Rica by the end of this strategy period. I would also like to draw attention to the Coloplast Business Support Center, which currently provides a wide range of services to the entire organization. There are more than 500 employees that contribute to the streamlining of corporate processes on a continuous basis. We are, however, also facing a new financial year in which we will experience headwinds in the form of rising input costs due to wage inflation in Hungary and rising prices for raw materials. We will continue to deliver strong results with Strive25. We are one of the most profitable companies in the industry, and we want to continue to be so for many years to come. And that leads me to the element in the strategy that is right at the heart of the company, talent, leadership and culture. Coloplast's success depends on its employees and the talent we are able to attract and retain. We regularly consider how to create the best possible framework for our employees so that they can experience high engagement and so that they're able to perform well. Twice a year, we collect feedback via global employee service. The most recent figures from October show a high level of engagement. 90% of the employees participated and with a score of 8.2 out of 10, we're in the top 25% compared with other companies in the health care industry. We believe that high employee engagement is closely linked to the corporate culture, so we are continuously working to develop our culture. This year, we updated our leadership principles and introduced our leadership promise. We have worked with Coloplast's more than 1,300 global leaders to develop 4 elements of this promise, which are: we aim for people with intimate health care needs, not least when we achieve our ambitions through innovation. [Presentation]

Coloplast announced its full year results for 2021 on the 1st of November. And on the same day, we published our annual report, sustainability report and remuneration report. Organic growth came to 7%, and reported in DKK, revenue increased by 5% to DKK 19.4 billion. Chronic Care was negatively affected by COVID-19, but I am optimistic as the inflow of new patients is approaching the normal level. Our smaller business areas, Interventional Urology and Wound & Skin Care, made a strong recovery this year as elective procedures and hospital activity resumed. Operating profit before special items increased 9% to DKK 6.4 billion, resulting in an EBIT margin before special items of 33% against 32% last year. ROIC after tax before special items was 45% against 46% at the year earlier level. Net profit for the year after special items came to DKK 4.8 billion against DKK 4.2 billion last year, which means that the profit increased by DKK 628 million or 15% on the year before. Now to the business areas. Sales of Ostomy Care products generated 6% of organic growth and 4% of reported growth. It is primarily SenSura Mio and Brava that drive revenue growth. Emerging markets such as China and Latin America made the strongest contribution to growth, but the U.K., Germany and the U.S. also posted robust figures. All the same growth was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in Europe and the U.S., where at times, only the most acute ostomy operations were performed. However, the situation normalized in the second half of the year. Ostomy Care revenue amounted to DKK 7.8 billion, corresponding to 40% of total revenue. And Coloplast maintains its global leadership position in the Ostomy care market with a market share of between 35% and 40%. Sales of Continence Care products generated 5% organic growth and 3% reported growth. SpeediCath intermittent catheters and Peristeen continue to be the main drivers of revenue growth, but growth was negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as treatment of nonacute patient groups was given a low priority. This was especially in the U.K. and the U.S. However, the situation here also improved in the second half of the year. Revenue came to DKK 7 billion, corresponding to 36% of total revenue, and Coloplast maintains its global leadership position in the Continence Care market with a market share of around 40% to 45%. Sales of Interventional Urology products increased by 19% in terms of organic growth and 14% in terms of reported growth. This is attributable to the resumption of elective procedures. Growth was primarily driven by the sale of Titan penile implants in the U.S., but euro also made a positive contribution to growth. Revenue amounted to DKK 2.1 billion or 11% of total revenue. The company's share of the total global market for interventional urology products is around 15%. Coloplast made a further provision of DKK 200 million this year in -- to cover potential settlements and costs related to the existing litigation in the U.S. concerning product liability in connection with vaginal surgical mesh products. We now conclude the settlements in some 98% of all known cases. Sales of Wound & Skin Care products generated 8% in organic growth, 6% in reported growth. The Biatain Silicone portfolio continued to drive growth, but the recently launched Biatain Fiber portfolio also made a positive contribution, especially the European markets and China delivered strong results for the year. Revenue from Wound & Skin Care products amounted to DKK 2.5 billion or 13% of total revenue. Coloplast's share of total market for Wound & Skin care products is between 5% and 10%. Another financial highlights for the various geographical area. In the European markets, organic growth was about 4%. Revenue amounted to DKK 11.3 billion or 58% of total revenue. In other developed markets, organic growth came to 8%, revenue amounted to DKK 4.8 billion or 25% of total revenue. In emerging markets, organic growth was 15%. Revenue increased to DKK 3.4 billion or 17% of total revenue. And profit for the year, operating profit was positively impacted by efficiency gains from the global operations plans 4 and 5, less travel activity, lower sales and marketing costs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic also played a role. The company continued to invest in commercial activities in Asia, the U.S. and Interventional Urology and in digitization and initiatives targeted at users. Gross profit increased by 6% to DKK 13.3 billion from DKK 12.6 billion last year, corresponding to a gross margin of 69% against 68% last year. Operating profit for the year was DKK 6.4 billion before special items, which is 9% higher than the preceding year. EBIT margin before special items were 33% against 32% last year. And now balance sheet and cash flows balance sheet assets totaled DKK 15.8 billion, up DKK 2.3 billion since the beginning of the financial year. Equity had risen by DKK 762 million since the beginning of the financial year to DKK 8.2 billion. Free cash flow for the year came to DKK 3.3 billion, down 15% from DKK 3.9 billion last year because of the acquisition of Nine Continents Medical and also including -- included in this, a one-off tax payment related to the acquisition and investments in Costa Rica and in automation. At today's AGM, the Board of Directors proposes the distribution of a dividend of DKK 14 per share on top of the half year dividend of DKK 5 per share, which brings the total dividend paid for the year to DKK 19 per share compared with DKK 18 last year. The total dividend paid out for 2021 will be DKK 3.8 billion, corresponding to a payout ratio of 81% before special items. On the last trading day of the previous financial year, our shares traded at a price of DKK 1,003.5 at NASDAQ Copenhagen. Yesterday, the closing price was DKK 1,086.5. And in the period from 1st of October last year to 30 September this year, the return on Coloplast shares was 2%, including dividends paid out. And now the financial outlook and guidance for '21 '22, not including the impact of the acquisition made this Monday. We expect organic revenue growth in the region of 7% at constant exchange rates and around 8% in DKK. The outlook for organic revenue growth reflects further normalization of the inflow of new patients in the European Chronic Care business. But COVID-19 still gives rise to uncertainty as regards to the U.S. Continence Care business, while economic uncertainty in China affects Ostomy. The Interventional Urology and Wound & Skin Care businesses are expected to deliver in line with the Strive25 target. We expect a reported EBIT margin of around 32% in Danish kroner. The expected EBIT margin reflects efficiency gains from Global Operations Plan 5, further normalization of our activities, price pressure on raw materials, wage inflation in Hungary and investments of up to 20% -- 2%, sorry, of revenue in new growth initiatives. CapEx is expected at DKK 1.2 billion, reflecting, among other things: investments in automation, the new factory in Costa Rica and investment in new production machines. The effective tax rate is expected in the region of 22% to 23%, reflecting continued tax deductibility of R&D costs. This concludes my report for the financial year 2021 from the financial year 2022 -- '21, '22 and onwards, we will report on the updated recommendations from the Danish Committee on Corporate Governance published in December last year. The Board of Directors supports these recommendations, and we will generally observe the 2020 recommendations in Coloplast just as we did to a large extent observed the 2017 recommendations. Once again, a special thank you to Coloplast management and employees for delivering a very strong result this year. I would also like to express my respect for the health care professionals worldwide who have made a tremendous effort during a very difficult period. Thank you to all of Coloplast users for putting your trust in our products and services. And last but not least, thank you to all our shareholders for your faith in this company. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you for this report for the financial year 2020 to '21. Thank you for the presentation of the annual report and the remuneration report and the presentation of the distribution of profit. Before I open the debate, I can tell you that the annual report has been signed by the Board of Directors and the executive leadership team and that it has been approved by the company auditor with no reservations as you can see on Page 105 in the annual report. As the Chairman of the Board mentioned, the Board of Directors proposes a dividend for the financial year of 2020 to '21 of DKK 14 per share. This is in addition to the extraordinary dividend paid out in connection with the publication of the half year annual report where the company paid a dividend of DKK 5 per share. That brings the total dividend to 84% of this year's profit, corresponding to DKK 4,044 million. The remaining profit of DKK 687 million is proposed to be transferred to next financial year. With those words, I open for the debate. We already have 4 speakers. And the first speaker is from the -- is Claus Berner Møller from ATP.

Thank you for the floor. My name is Claus Berner Møller, and I represent the organization ATP. I would like to thank you for this report on the -- and this presentation of the annual report. This year, again, we can be very satisfied with the solid top line growth. We saw 7% to 8% organic revenue growth. We saw that was the expectation, and you did deliver 7% in spite of COVID-19, and that is a very good result. We do focus a lot on top line growth, but the big piece of good news only came in on the 8th of November. That was the day when Coloplast published the acquisition of Atos Medical. ATP has been urging Coloplast to perform larger acquisitions for several years. And as I see, that's -- that is very good news to the shareholders because Atos Medical is a world leader within laryngectomy patients and medical aid for them, and that's a market in growth. Atos Medical has a good business model in which they are very close to their end users, and that is very much in line with Coloplast's business model. We are seeing clear synergies in using Coloplast's infrastructure to ensure the rollout of Atos Medical products to new markets. Not least, it's a good idea because this acquisition has taken place at a fair price. ATP knows Atos Medical quite well, and we believe that the price is fair even without the synergy effects. In the annual report, the Chairman describes an increased focus on gender diversity and the target of a 40 to 60 ratio by 2030. This goes for the Board of Directors, but also for the daily management. And that is a target that ATP can fully support, and I'm glad to see that you have the focus on the gender balance of day-to-day management as well because that will help you achieve a recruitment pool with both genders represented. I would also like to add a comment to your sustainability focus. Last year, you launched the Strive25 strategy. And here, we saw that sustainability played a larger role. We set -- you set a number of targets when it came to reduction of emissions within Scope 1 and Scope 2, and you set targets for increased production waste recycling. I'm glad to see that you have continued this good development. And we can see that you now have set targets for reducing your Scope 3 emissions by 50% by 2030. When it comes to production waste, Coloplast has reached its target and therefore, you have adjusted the target from 50% to 75%. In the new remuneration policy, you opened up for nonfinancial KPIs to promote your ESG targets. That was something we urged you to do 2 years ago at the Annual General Meetings. So Coloplast has increased its focus on ESG significantly, and we would like to praise the company for doing just that. Finally, let me simply wish the management and employees of Coloplast the best of luck for the coming year. Thank you.

Thank you very much for Claus Berner Møller from ATP, and I pass the floor to the Chairman of the Board.

Well, thank you for those words of praise because there weren't really any comment -- any questions, but you said that you welcomed many of the initiatives that we have taken. There's no doubt that Coloplast has been an organic growth adventure. And now we open up a new chapter in that story. And we also make use of the muscle that we have that is our opportunity for acquisitions. And this is the first very large acquisition that we have carried out. And I'm happy to see that our investors welcome that acquisition. So thank you for those comments. And also thank you for your comments on inclusion and diversity and sustainability, which are all interlinked. Of course, this is a new reality today. In the past, you were a good company if you were simply able to make money and create profits. That is still true, but you also have to be responsible while doing so. And that is something we can all do better. You can do this in many ways, and we also need to start reporting so that you can compare companies on an equal footing. And in the coming years, we will see lots of new legislation coming from the EU in that respect. So that's a lot to look forward to here.

Thank you very much to the Chairman for this reply. The next speaker is [indiscernible] from 2 large pension funds.

Thank you and thank you to the Chairman for the report. Today, I speak on behalf of 2 major pension funds together. We have invested about DKK 500 million in Coloplast. And please listen to my 5 minutes. You are a Danish high-quality company. You have maintained a strong market position through innovation and renewal. And this gives you fine growth and robust earnings and also makes life easier for users of your products and takes courage, talent and discipline to keep up the very high business momentum. This is a job well done, gentlemen. Both pension funds find that you also need to be able to keep up this momentum in the long run, and I'm sure that you want the same. We are long-term investors, and we have focused on a number of things that are important to your business over time. And that's why, in keeping with ATP, we would like to focus on sustainability and good corporate governance among other things, but also climate-related business risks are important. But first, thank you for your very clear description of your commitment with regard to the Paris Agreement goals fulfillment. The climate report you have issued is convincing, and you have stated the relevant key figures and explains your strategy and also the science-based reduction targets I mentioned. With regard to identification of business risks related to the climate change, however, it is still early days, and there are some teething problems you haven't come as far as some other Danish listed companies, so we look forward to the promised strengthening of your reporting with regard to these business risks in future reports. The next topic is responsible tax practice. At the AGM last year, we made 2 proposals concerning transparency and tax. We did this in several Danish listed companies. We said whether it would be possible to have a country-by-country tax report from you. And we were satisfied to hear that you -- the Board supported our proposal which was adopted at a high majority. And we're interested to read this year that the Audit Committee on the Board has discussed the possibility of country-by-country tax reporting. You have decided to do this for the EU member states, whereas tax payments outside of the EU are listed in 1 grand total. And this makes it difficult. And there is a requirement coming up in the EU with regard to this tax reporting very soon. But you have certainly increased transparency. However, we don't know a lot more about whether you would be able to create more transparency in relation to countries outside the EU. So what speaks against using the same practice for countries outside of the as you do for EU member states? There may be very good reasons why you don't want to follow in the footsteps of companies such as Arsted. We look forward to knowing more about this. Soon, I hope. And we also would like to hear whether you expect tax payments on a country-by-country basis to be reported next year in the report. The remuneration report, well, this is a fairly new agenda topic. And that's why we have focused on this specific agenda item. And unfortunately, we find that there is still room for improvement in many Danish companies, and you're one of them. We don't have a full detailed outline of everything that is relevant here, and that's why we have decided to vote against it this year. Also, your Remuneration Committee is not independent in accordance with the recommendations of good corporate governance from the Danish Corporate Governance Committee. So when you get together for your first meeting after today, you might want to discuss this. To round off, we would like to commend Coloplast for its work with inclusion, diversity and gender balance. This is a value-creating factor. And it is clear that in the past year, you have done a major effort in a number of areas. And you have really thought this into your strategy and your values as a company. So we look forward to following you in future and to continuing the good dialogue we have with you. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much to [indiscernible]. And there were a couple of specific questions. So let's hear from the Chairman of the Board.

Thank you for your kind words and your proposals for improvements. I am pleased that you are long-term investors, so are we. But we also want the next quarter to be good. So we need to strike the right balance here. With regard to the first point you mentioned, the climate-related risks. Well, there is no doubt that we are in the process of learning here. That's very important for me to emphasize. We're new in the class here. But of course, we are striving to get better all the time. And we have focused on objectives on finding the right objectives. And on defining them to make sure that the cross bar, it is at a sufficiently high level. And next year, we will focus on more things. I'm just saying that the climate-related business risks, we don't think that we see an awful lot of risks in the short term. But we also need to consider the long term, of course. So your comment is taken on board. With regard to tax and transparency, we are following the applicable legislation. And well, it's not as if we have anything to hide. And it's difficult to explain why we decided not to disclose anything, but we paid DKK 1.5 billion in tax, about DKK 1 billion of this in Europe. And this is all apparent from the report. This year, we have paid an additional tax amount because of an acquisition made in the U.S. So when you take it all together, about DKK 150 million out of DKK 1.5 billion in total, is kind of not sufficiently explained, but we don't really have anything to hide and we're not trying to cut corners yet. But I agree with you that there's still room for improvement with regard to transparency. And then you had a report to the Remuneration Board, and I must confess, I can't remember what your question was. So if you would kind of come up here and repeat your question.

Thank you. Yes, I had a question concerning also country-by-country tax records. Will it be in the annual report instead of on a parallel basis? And with regard to the Nomination Committee, do you intend to make it independent in keeping with the recommendations in Denmark concerning good corporate governance?

Well, we will discuss your proposal concerning tax reporting. And with regarding -- with regard to the Nomination Committee, we are about to introduce change in the composition. Let's see what happens. We'll get back to that. Thank you.

Thank you to the Chair. That was the answer for these 2 pension funds. And our next speaker on the speakers' list is the Association of Danish Shareholders, and they are represented by Mr. Bjarne Kongsted.

I would like to start by thanking the Chairman of the Board for a very interesting report, which very clearly showed that it is still interesting to be a shareholder in Coloplast. As mentioned, my name is Bjarne Kongsted, and I attend this AGM here today representing the Association of Danish Shareholders. I've asked for the floor to present the views of our organization as the voice of the shareholders. Our goal is to participate in about 50 AGMs a year across the country. And we are very pleased to attend Coloplast's AGM as we have done before. When we attend AGMs in the different companies, it's to -- it's both to strengthen the shareholder democracy, but it's also to tell the company management that we work with a number of key issues and that we, in the interest of our members, focus on specific topics. It is no secret that the shareholders that we primarily represent are small holder -- shareholders. And it's everything from the average Joe that got a few shares as a present to the wealthy retiree or the local business owner or perhaps the young student wanting to try his hand in the universe of investments. So we speak for a diverse group of shareholders. And therefore, our key issues are also covering a broad range of topics. In 2021, we have chosen to focus on 3 key issues. Firstly, succession planning. Even great managements need new profiles with time. Which initiatives has Coloplast taken to ensure that they develop talents and new candidates for management to replace the current management when the time comes? The second issue is the whistleblower scheme. Has the company established a whistleblower scheme? And has there been any cases in recent years? And how do you see the EU requirement of establishments establishing such a scheme no later than by the end of 2021? The third key issue is good guidance in times of pandemic. How has the company adjusted to COVID-19, both in Denmark and abroad? And how does Coloplast guide its investors in this time of great uncertainty? Is there an established procedure for a proactive guidance in a time with low visibility? Those were our 3 key issues for 2021. I would now like to comment on the actual annual account and a few financial highlights. We would tell that the EBITDA margin before special items is 33%, up from 32% the year before, which reflects efficiencies and lower costs due to COVID-19, which were offset by commercial investments, and that is not the worst point of departure. The shareholders will receive DKK 19 per share for the financial year, of which we received DKK 5 last spring. Overall, that's a minimal increase of DKK 1 compared to last financial year. But I must say that it's a satisfactory dividend, all things considered. An increase of Danish -- of DKK 1 a year per share is something that I think most shareholders would be satisfied with if it continues into the future. If there's anything, the small shareholders notice, it's the actual figures that show the development in dividends and share price. In other industries, you have different challenges due to the corona epidemic. And therefore, I would like to ask whether Coloplast is challenged on the security of supply in Denmark as well as abroad? Otherwise, I would like to say that Coloplast ended the fourth quarter on a high note and that this financial year has landed very close to the expectations of the analysts, and that has been reflected in the share price, which has been increasing steadily, perhaps that's too much to call it that. But it has been on the rise since the publishing of the annual report. Finally, I would like to congratulate the company with a good operating profit, and let's hope that, that will continue to be reflected by the share price. Let me also wish the Board of Directors, the executive management and all employees a good working year next year. Thank you for giving me the floor.

Thank you very much to the Association of Danish Shareholders. There were a few questions and comments, and I will therefore pass the floor to the Chairman of the Board.

Thank you for those questions, Bjarne Kongsted. Succession planning. Well, attracting and developing talent is crucial to make sure -- to making sure that Coloplast has the right employees in the future. We have the luxury of being a growth company so that we can hire people for a career and not just for a job. And that really ensures that we have a strong pool of future managers in the pipeline. Succession planning is anchored in the Board, in the Board's Nomination Committee. And our goal here is that at least 2/3 of the people we recruit for critical management positions are recruited internally so that they have had a career internally in the company, and they have a good network here. And that means that it's something that we review and follow-up on continuously. In our commercial business, we follow up on succession planning every quarter. Everyone at the director-plus level will go through what we call our business leadership program. And the next level, VPs and SVPs will go through a senior leadership program, which was launched in connection with the strategy we talked about today, Strive25. Both leadership programs are focused on the development of our top management level. And all of these initiatives that focus on developing and attracting talent, also focus on diversity and inclusion at all levels of management. There was also a question about whistleblower scheme, and we do have such a scheme, and we have had 1 for many years. We have a whistleblower hotline to which employees or the interested parties can report any inappropriate behavior or unethical practices. We have a phone number and an app installed on every employee's phones. You can also use it if you are a supplier to Coloplast so that you can tell us what you think, good or bad. It's administered by an independent third party, and it is 1 of the Board committees that follow up on the administration of this Coloplast whistleblower hotline committee. And they have the responsibility of making sure that every single case is looked into. They also report on the cases and the results of these examinations and these results are brought before the Board of Directors so that we know everything. We also list in our sustainability report, the number of cases. It was 61 cases we had last year and only a few of them were relevant to our whistleblower scheme. Then there was a question about good guidance in times of pandemic. Of course, we have been focused on protecting the safety of our employees, all the while servicing our customers and keeping business running. We continue to take every measure to make sure that we follow all guidelines from health authorities all over the planet. And of course, we monitor the development in all our markets very closely. We have had a guidance in our markets ever since the start of the pandemic, and we follow it even more closely than usually because it's a very particular situation. And we continue to monitor the effect of COVID-19 and what it means for our commercial business. And we have also chosen to increase the transparency so that you can follow our financial expectations more closely due to the pandemic. And then you asked whether we can make sure that our customers get the products that they need, whether our supply lines are working, and they do. It's been functioning quite as normal. And you should bear in mind that even though there are lockdowns that hit certain markets and certain sectors, we are usually the last sector to be affected by this because we are of vital importance, and we expect that to continue. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for the reply to the Danish Association of Shareholders. The last speaker on my list is Bjørn Hansen. You have the floor, sir.

Hello, everyone. I am Bjørn Hansen. First of all, thank you to Mr. Rasmussen for a good report. He has a lot of competencies, that man. And I think he should be a bishop in this part of Denmark because I'm quite sure that he would be an excellent clergyman. He understands how to explain things to people. And there's 1 thing I'd like to say. This is a good company and you pay your people well, and that's only fine because when people are good performers, they should also be rewarded. The employees of this company have, for a number of years, make sure that this company has grown and grown year in, year out. There were a couple of parameters that worried us. Price developments in Hungary, for instance, but we have a good plant now in Costa Rica. Let's hope, Mr. Rasmussen, that you will invite us all on a trip there. You can be our guide. If you lease an airplane with Coloplast printed on it, it will be about DKK 4,000 per person. We'd like to see this with our own eyes. I think it's amazing that you have been capable of establishing a production plant in Costa Rica, and that is actually operational now. There have been number of tests made, I know, in order to make sure that supplies are coming in regularly. But I think it's as if you have toned it down a lot in your explanation. You said it was a photograph, not just a drawing. And Allan, one of your employees, told me that this is only the first production plant that started operations on the 5th of December. I don't know whether that's correct. But if it is sufficient to supply the U.S. market, I need this rostrum to go do, "Hey, Chairman of the Meeting, are you playing the Piano over there so that my rostrum is going up and down? Thank you, this is better." I think that factory, it is capable of supplying the U.S. market, we will save a lot of shipping costs. I have tried to call you on the phone when you make your quarterly presentations. And I get good answers to my questions. It's a competent group of people you have here. But have you got long-term contracts with Hapag-Lloyd or Maersk for the shipping of the products? And how about packaging? Can you reduce the size of the packaging by means of vacuum, so to save on the costs? I've heard that Maersk's price -- shipping prices have grown by 4 to 6x. And others have told me that you now have contracts where there is a guaranteed minimum and maximum price. Perhaps that would be an idea for you as well. We don't want costs to run wild. For many years, there have been litigation, lawsuits in the United States. I understand that it's still the only market where we've seen this. I don't understand how come our products are so poor in quality that we still have to pay compensation. Perhaps this is not our product at all that is to blame. When in future, you market a finished product, you need a PU code and a bar code as an added security and perhaps something more. Your band-aids that I use from time to time are excellent. And someone called me and said, I work at the Fredericksburg Hospital. This is in the capital region in Denmark. And I will not use band-aids that is not made by Coloplast. I've also talked to nurses that saved an old woman where the band-aid was instrumental in her good recovery. And I know the price is high, but I prefer paying a higher price for the brand at any time to having my leg taken off. Do you know this? Lars or perhaps someone else can answer. These American lawyers that take us to court, how much have they actually been paid? You have now kept the legal costs, and that's fine. 5.5 billion? Well, you have paid and paid and paid bill after bill. When I lived in the U.S. several companies simply decided to go bankrupt instead of paying, but you stand by your responsibility. And that's fine, and you [indiscernible] deserve to be commended for that. This Costa Rica production plant, the products go to which markets? South America? Europe? I'd like to hear more about that. And then a surprise in November, again, a fine achievement. There were people who criticized Kristian Villumsen. And he's sort of keeping staying in the wings. So I think that's a good strategy. I would like to hear more details about where you got the funding for that acquisition? And what about the competition authorities? What is their take on this? I hope they still take a positive attitude to this because I think it's a good idea to invest in this company because you have a distribution network that will mean a lot to this company in the future. Now the rostrum is disappearing into the ground, so I'm probably done here. I don't know who adjusted it. I'm quite sure that you have made sure that there's an excellent dinner waiting with a good roast and just call me, I'll be there if you invite me to one of your celebrations in this because of these fine results. Thank you for the good results achieved over many years. You have also been very timely in connection with the decision to split the shares. Many people don't understand about this, but you know how to do it, and the same apply to A.P. Moller. So thank you very much to all of you. And Merry Christmas, everyone.

Thank you, Mr. Hansen for your contribution about the rostrum. It's not a hidden signal that you're about to stop. It's just that you can't lean on it because it just -- it will just topple if you lean too heavily on it. I, for one, has done -- I've done nothing to send you back to your seat. But let's see what the Chairman has to say by way of answers to your questions.

Thank you for your questions. How nice with this adjustment now I can read my papers here. Compensation in relation to product liability in the U.S. It is primarily the U.S. and it has to do with the leakage system they have over there. But there are also cases in Canada and the U.K. and Scotland, but they don't have any material effect on us. We are responsible for the products we bring to market. And when you move in implants, then it is customary to have product liability cases in the U.S., so we may never be entirely without them. I'm talking implants here, right? We have been part of mass litigation that started in 2011, and now about 98% of the cases have been concluded. It's called an MDL, multi-district litigation. It was closed finally on the 18th of December last year, and it cost us DKK 5.85 billion. in legal costs and other payments. And we also got about DKK 500 million from the insurers, so you can deduct DKK 500 million. So we're talking DKK 5.3 billion that this cost us. There you are. Then the Costa Rica plant. The first one opened in 2021, i.e., this year. And the next one is planned for opening in '21, '22. We are primarily doing ostomy products there. And they will, in 2025, they will account for 25% to 30% of the global production of these products compared to 2% today. Our current strategy is for every plant producing products producing for the all markets all over the globe. It's the way that it makes sense for us to do things. Distribution costs, you see also need to be taken account of. We made our calculations at a time when distribution costs were lower than today, but still. And your comments concerning Atos Medical, our acquisition. This year, you see that we pay out all that we have in dividend to shareholders, so we have financed this by raising debt. But we are a successful business, so it's not a big problem for us. And Atos Medical is a near monopoly. There are not a lot of competitors in their area. But thank you for your questions and comments and Merry Christmas to you too.

Thank you to the Chairman of the Board. Those were the answers for Bjørn Hansen. Our next speaker is [indiscernible] The floor is yours.

Yes, I was tempted to say that my name is Patrick Santa, but I am not Santa Clause. I have a follow-up question. And my name is [indiscernible]. And I have a follow-up question for the Chairman of the Board. And as regards the representative from the pension funds, I understand that item 4 is a vote on the remuneration report, and these 2 pension fund wanted to vote against it. Did I understand that correctly? I hope to have an answer straight away because then I would like to add something. Thank you. Thank you. Then I would just like to add and then I will follow these 2 pension funds, and I will also vote against the remuneration report. Thank you for the floor.

Thank you very much to Mr. [indiscernible]. And our last speaker is Erik Rasmussen, is that correct? The floor is yours. Please come up here to the rostrum.

I would like to congratulate you with the fine results. You have done very well. And of course, the shareholders, including me and my many children, I have 5. And when I say children, they are boys from 59 to 14 by way of 2 wives. But there was 1 thing that I didn't really understand because I was looking in the annual report, and it didn't really say anything about solidarity. You have this solidarity with the executive leadership team. Perhaps that's date back to Le Valenza, who was educated as an electrician. And he made sure that the employees at the shipyard in Gdansk, they had an hourly wage of I think DKK 0.5. But here, the executive leadership team really has achieved a very solidary result. And I ask what about ordinary employees who are not given DKK 50,000 a day as Executive Management. Do they have -- do you show any solidarity with them? That is my basic question. That was the question. Do you have a good answer?

Well, I can answer.

Thank you very much. Mr. Erik Rasmussen. There was a very concrete question here, and I give the floor to the Chairman of the Board.

Please sit down before I give you the answer. So you don't fall over. Well, what is the right pay for the work done? And what is the right pay increase? Well, that's somehow an easy question to answer because there's a market price in any job, in any company, and that is what we want to pay, the market price. Because if you pay the right market price for the job, you can attract competent employees. And it costs 1 thing to have a good production employee in Hungary compared to China or Denmark, so it has to suit the market you're in. And there is a certain price that you need to pay for a competent -- and I can compare those market prices. Those figures, you can see what an executive management team will cost in any C25 index country or company. And that is something we work with in the Remuneration Committee in Coloplast. What I take into consideration is what is the market price, the correct market price for each function in the company. And that is what we work with. And you're quite right that solidarity is not the headline of our discussions here, but rather the market price on each job. And we would like to pay the right market price. And in some cases, we pay more because we have an ambition of being market leader or even world leader in our field. And we can only be the leader of our field if we pay the right price.

Thank you to the Chairman of the Board for that preliminary answer, and I understand that Erik has 1 more comment. You need to speak from the rostrum please because we are webcasting this AGM.

Well, that's all well and good. Well, my question was whether the employees also had the option of getting these DKK 50,000 a day in remuneration because that's a lot outside of your ordinary pay. What about the people on the production line? You can have vital employees here where you say, well, he's the only guy who can do this job. Is he rewarded as well in these schemes or? Well, I was informed that the 4 directors received DKK 100 million in payouts, is that correct? And the Chairman is answering without a microphone. Well, I'm thinking if you were to give the remaining 8,000 employees the same payout, then you would spend all of your money. And if 8,000 employees, of course, they shouldn't get the same because it is done in relation to qualifications. But I would just imagine that you perhaps set aside something for your employees, I don't know. I just -- I read the annual report, and I couldn't really find anything about it.

Thank you very much. Well, Out of respect for the Annual General Meeting and out of respect for the people who follow the debate via webcast, we need to speak from the rostrum. And there were a few clarifying questions and answers up here. I think we got the main points. But I would like to give the floor to the Chairman of the Board to elaborate.

Well, I just asked what the speaker mentioned DKK 50,000, and I just wanted to know what those DKK 50,000 were what they were referring to. I can say that we don't have bonus schemes for ordinary employees. We have incentive pay schemes for certain groups. And of course, there's a difference whether you are on the production line in Hungary or whether you're the CEO in Denmark. And any which way we pay according to the market price. I really can't tell you any more than that, and that's difficult exercise in itself. We have a unit working with this called compensation and benefits that work with this topic specifically to make sure that we pay what we need to pay so that we can attract and retain the right employees.

Thank you very much to the Chairman for his replies to Mr. Erik Rasmussen's questions. We have no more speakers on the list of speakers. I'd like to hear if there are other requests for the floor? We have 4 items on the agenda that we are covering in 1 go. That doesn't seem to be the case. Okay. The time has come for me to find that we have taken note of the report. We have approved the annual report and the resolution on distribution of profit has also been made. With regard to the remuneration report, I have heard the comments made that there are shareholders who wish to vote against. And we respect that, and it will appear from the protocol. Out of the 305,105,000 votes represented in the room, 292,000 have already voted in favor, so I have no objections. I think it's only natural to say that with the comments made by certain shareholders, the remuneration report has been approved. All this will be apparent from the protocol. So we have now dealt with items 1 to 4, which brings us to item 5, approval of remuneration to the Board for the current fiscal year. It's a fixed item on the agenda. And the Board proposes that the following be the remuneration paid to the Board for '21, '22. That is a basic fee of DKK 450,000 for what we call ordinary board members. The Vice Chairman of the Board will be given a remuneration of DKK 787,500, which is 1.75x the basic fee. And the Chairman of the Board will get DKK 1.35 million, which is 3x the basic amount. The Board proposes that the remuneration for each member of the Audit Committee amount to DKK 240,000, and that the Chair of the Audit Committee would get DKK 430,000. This is an increase of 30,000 over the current fiscal year. The Board also proposes that the remuneration paid to members of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee amounts to DKK 150,000 and that the Chairman will get 250 times twice the basic fee. And the fee, apart from the fee to the Chairman of the Audit Committee is unchanged, and that applies to the fees I have mentioned. It's also possible to obtain cover of certain costs, but this is all described in the remuneration policy of the company. This requires a simple majority to be carried. Are there any requests for the floor under this item? That doesn't appear to be the case. There are no requests for the floor. I find that this proposal has been carried, which brings us to Item 6, which is also a regular item on the agenda, which covers proposals from Board and shareholders. There is 1 proposal, an update of the remuneration policy. There is a draft version, which has been available on the company's website since the 9th of November this year. There's an amendment proposed for the remuneration policy so that it is now explicitly stated that the short-term variable pay to members of the executive team will contain 1 or several nonfinancial KPIs to -- that underpin Coloplast's sustainability objects and ambitions. Any requests for the floor? This is about the remuneration policy. There is one person from the 2 large pension funds that has requested the floor.

I will be brief. Just to avoid misunderstanding, the comments about the remuneration policy is not the same thing as going against the remuneration policy. We want more transparency in the report. But just to make that absolutely clear, we are for the remuneration policy and also the amendment.

Thank you for that clarification. I don't think we need to hear from the Chairman of the Board. Anyone else? That doesn't appear to be the case. Can I take this to mean that we have approved the remuneration policy. That appears to be the case. Thank you very much. It has been approved. The next item on the agenda is item 7, election of members to the Board. The proposal is for the reelection of the following members of the Board that have all been elected by the AGM. Lars Rasmussen, Niels Peter Louis-Hansen, Carsten Hellmann, Jette Nygaard-Andersen and Marianne Wiinholt. Unfortunately, the ladies are at the bottom of the list, that was not intended. Birgitte Nielsen has decided not to make herself available for reelection, so the board proposes that Annette Brüls be elected new member of the Board. Since 2018, she has been CEO of Medela AG, one of the leading suppliers of breast feeding products and medical vacuum technology. She has in-depth knowledge of an understanding of product development and commercialization in the med tech industry, in particular in relation to the handling of chronic diseases, including digital services and value-based health models. And I can inform you that the other management and board positions held by the candidates appear on Page 46 of the annual report and have also been enclosed with the convening notice. And you also find the same list for Annette Brüls. Are there any other candidates for a seat on the Board? That doesn't seem to be the case. The list of candidates, well, all candidates have been elected or reelected, well congratulations and godspeed. That leads us to item 8 on our agenda, appointment of auditor. The Board of Directors proposes reelection of PricewaterhouseCoopers auditing company. And in accordance with the audit regulation, I can inform you that this proposal is in line with the recommendation of the Audit Committee that has not been impacted by any third parties or bound by any agreements with third parties to limit the AGM's choice of auditor. Are there any other proposals for company auditor? That is not the case. And I, therefore, take note that PricewaterhouseCoopers have been reappointed as the company auditor. That leads us to the last item on our agenda, which is any other business. This is where the participants can take the floor, they can praise or criticize the company. They can say whatever they want, but they can't table any formal proposals. This is the last chance to take the floor and Mr. Bjørn Hansen would like to add a comment. No, you need to come to the rostrum, please. We are web streaming this AGM and therefore, we need to -- everyone to speak from the rostrum.

That's all right. I would just like to ask whether Annette Brüls here today? Or has she been elected in absentia?

Yes, that is the case.

Okay. I would just like to give a round of applause to give her a warm welcome.

The Chairman of the Board will answer that question.

That was a very relevant question, Bjorn. And Annette Brüls is not here today. She lives in Switzerland, and she needed to go into quarantine for 10 days in order to attend the AGM here today. And that was a bit much. So Annette Brüls is with us on the webcast. But please give her a round of applause anyway.

Thank you very much. I'm glad we greeted our new member of the Board. And let me know if anyone else wants the floor. That does not seem to be the case. That means that our agenda for today is exhausted. I would like to thank you for this good order in which we have had this meeting, and I hereby pass the floor back to the Chairman of the Board to round off.

Thank you. Thank you to the Chairman of the meeting for a job well done. And the meeting is adjourned, Merry Christmas, everyone.