Shares of Konecranes Plc (HEL:KCR) declined 6.02% on Friday following the company’s Annual General Meeting, where shareholders approved a two-for-one share split. The vote will result in the issuance of two additional shares for each existing share, creating a total of 158,443,812 new shares based on the share count at the meeting date.
Company filings state that the newly issued shares will be entered into shareholders’ book-entry accounts on or about March 31. Those new shares will not be eligible for the dividend that the meeting approved.
The AGM approved a dividend of EUR 2.25 per share. That dividend is scheduled to be paid on April 8 to shareholders who are registered on the record date of March 30. The dividend will be distributed from the distributable assets of the parent company.
Board composition and remuneration
The meeting also reshaped the Board of Directors. Pasi Laine, Ulf Liljedahl, Gun Nilsson, Päivi Rekonen, Thomas Schulz and Birgit Seeger were re-elected to the board. Matts Rosenberg and Marco Wir e9n were elected as new members. Following the appointments, Laine was chosen as Chair and Liljedahl as Vice Chair.
Annual remuneration for board members was set by the AGM: the Board Chair will receive EUR 160,000, the Vice Chair EUR 100,000 and other members EUR 72,000. The company noted that 40% of the annual remuneration will be paid in Konecranes shares.
Share buyback and issuance authorizations
The AGM authorized the Board of Directors to repurchase up to 22,500,000 shares, which the company said represents approximately 9.5% of all shares after the split. In addition, the Board received authorization to issue up to 22,500,000 shares and to transfer the company’s own shares.
These authorizations are effective until the closing of the next Annual General Meeting but in any case no longer than until September 26, 2027, according to the approvals recorded at the meeting.
Market reaction and implications
The immediate market reaction was negative, with the share price posting a single-day decline of 6.02% after the AGM. The company’s actions at the meeting - notably the split and the exclusion of new shares from the approved dividend - were central to investor response. The AGM also confirmed governance changes and executive compensation mechanisms tied partly to share payments.
The combination of the share split, dividend timing and the broad authorizations for buybacks and new issuance were the principal items ratified at the meeting and form the basis for next steps in the company’s capital structure decisions.