The CEZ General Meeting is accompanied by strict security measures

Prague – The General Meeting of the ČEZ energy company, which started shortly after ten o’clock today, is accompanied by strict security measures. On the one hand because of the danger of the spread of coronavirus, and on the other because of fears of protests by environmental movements. CEZ has also taken measures to shorten the length of contributions from individual speakers. Last year’s general meeting lasted a record 20 hours. CEZ CEO Daniel Beneš stated that members of the Supervisory Board participate in the meeting via video conference from another room in the building.

Even before entering the Prague Congress Center, where the General Meeting is being held, police protection was patrolling. The organizers of the event had mostly plexiglass shields fitted from the entrance to the building to the entrance to the hall. It included mandatory hand disinfection and temperature measurement. Before entering the hall, the participants underwent a thorough inspection at the X-ray frame. They have to go through this every time they go for refreshments in a nearby hall. The first point on the information boards was the emphasized obligation for all participants to wear veils throughout the meeting.

Board members sitting on stage are separated from other participants by plexiglass barriers. All four lecterns in the auditorium are also framed in plexiglass. Due to compliance with mandatory distances, ČEZ moved the event from the Cubex congress center, which has a significantly lower capacity. Several dozen people are present in the large hall of the Prague Congress Center with a stated capacity of 2,764 seats. According to Beneš, thanks to the representations, it holds almost 80 percent of the company’s shares. 30 percent is enough for the general meeting to have a quorum.

CEZ also took maximum measures to ensure that last year’s record length was not repeated. “CEZ has decided to shorten the presentation of some reports and proposals. There is a maximum of five minutes for the presentation of the request for explanation.

According to analysts, Monday’s general meeting of ČEZ will once again bring a clash of arguments between the company’s board of directors and minority shareholders, especially those associated with the critic of the company’s current management, Michal Šnobr. The topic will be, among other things, the planned construction of a new unit at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant. Experts generally expect that the proposals of the company’s board of directors will be accepted. The majority owner of the company is the state through the Ministry of Finance – it owns 70 percent of the shares. Voting at the ČEZ General Meeting thus generally ends according to the wishes of the Ministry.

Among other things, shareholders will traditionally approve the amount of dividends paid. The company’s management stated in April that it was proposing a pre-tax dividend of CZK 34 per share. CZK 18.3 billion should be distributed among the shareholders and the state, as the majority shareholder, will receive approximately CZK 12.8 billion. Last year, ČEZ paid a dividend of 24 crowns to shareholders from the previous year’s profit, the lowest in 12 years.

CEZ’s net profit last year rose by four billion to 14.5 billion crowns year-on-year. The company was helped mainly by rising electricity prices and trade in commodities. The company’s revenues increased from 184.5 billion in 2018 to 206.2 billion crowns last year.

energy company ČEZ pile

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