Full house and important decisions

The 24th Annual General Meeting of WEB Windenergie AG filled the town hall of Waidhofen an der Thaya to capacity on May 12, 2023. The shareholders adopted all the proposed resolutions and – as has become tradition at W.E.B – made use of the general debate to ask numerous questions about the report of the Management Board, the proposed resolutions, and the development of the company. Moreover, over 130 shareholders took advantage of the opportunity to follow the Annual General Meeting via live stream.

In the report of the Management Board, Frank Dumeier called to mind the expansion of plant capacity with an addition of 52.4 MW in 2022. He placed particular emphasis of the first Austrian power plant projects based on Power Purchase Agreements. The photovoltaic systems on the roofs of Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment AG (SBO) had already been put into operation in 2022, and the CEO talked about the recently commissioned Götzendorf wind power project that will supply electricity to OMV to produce green hydrogen.

Dumeier also shed light on their plans for the future: hybrid projects, meaning joint power plant sites for wind and photovoltaic systems with one access point to the power grid in order to optimally use the already existing power grids. W.E.B currently has power plant projects amounting to 180 MW either under construction or in a tender. The project development pipeline is over 100 projects strong, including projects in combination with battery storage units or the production of green hydrogen.

CFO Michael Trcka pointed out the successful business year 2022 with a significant increase in sales revenue thanks to the expansion of the power plant portfolio and higher electricity prices, resulting in excellent annual results. In his financial report, Trcka also explained the effects of mechanisms in EU countries to skim off excess revenue as well as the consequences of turbulent energy markets for the customer segment of W.E.B.

Trcka explained the proposed resolution for the separation of W.E.B Green Power with the development history of the customer segment, meaning the wish of shareholders to buy electricity directly from W.E.B power plants. The overall demand in the product has been soaring ever since. For reasons of risk management and profitability, the electricity sales will be managed by WEB energy sales GmbH, a 100 percent subsidiary of WEB Windenergie AG, which requires approval from the Annual General Meeting.

As the market environment has recently been in clear favor of renewable energy, W.E.B intends to exploit this opportunity for further growth. In consequence, the Management Board and Supervisory Board adjusted their dividend strategy accordingly. The distribution ratio should amount to about one third of the reported profit, while two thirds will be invested into further growth by the company.

All the proposed resolutions were adopted by the shareholders by a large majority. Brigitte Ederer was appointed to the Supervisory Board for the second time. Moreover, the proposal for the distribution of a dividend amounting to EUR 2.90 per share was accepted just as the separation of W.E.B Green Power and changes in the Articles of Incorporation.

The 24th Annual General Meeting of WEB Windenergie AG ended at 8:26 in the evening.