<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Marel is committed to being open and transparent in all matters, and that includes information related to shares. View our latest results, see a rundown of the largest shareholders, and learn more about our dividend policy.</span></p>
Marel hf. is listed on Nasdaq OMX Iceland under the symbol MARL.
Nominal value of each share is one ISK. Shareholders are around 2,500.
Marel had approximately 2,500 shareholders at year-end 2018 whereby Eyrir Invest hf. is Marel’s largest shareholder. In total the ten largest shareholders held 67.2% of the total issued shares and thereof the Icelandic pension funds held 41.4% of Marel’s issued share capital.
Marel shares were the most actively traded on NASDAQ Iceland in 2018 and the free float was 72%.
| Rank | Shareholders | Type | Shares | % |
| 1 | Eyrir Invest hf. | Investment company | 190,366,838 | 28.37 |
| 2 | Lífeyrissjóður verslunarmanna | Pension fund | 66,454,042 | 9.90 |
| 3 | Gildi - lífeyrissjóður | Pension fund | 38,593,561 | 5.75 |
| 4 | Lífeyrissjóður starfsmanna ríkisins A-deild | Pension fund | 30,858,000 | 4.60 |
| 5 | Smallcap World Fund Inc. | Asset management | 30,060,697 | 4.48 |
| 6 | Birta lífeyrissjóður | Pension fund | 24,116,917 | 3.59 |
| 7 | JNE Partners | Investment company | 24,100,000 | 3.59 |
| 8 | Teleios Global Opportunities | Asset management | 16,705,468 | 2.49 |
| 9 | Festa - lífeyrissjóður | Pension fund | 12,637,988 | 1.88 |
| 10 | Stapi lífeyrissjóður | Pension fund | 12,375,961 | 1.84 |
| 11 | Frjálsi lífeyrissjóðurinn | Pension fund | 12,234,289 | 1.82 |
| 12 | Landsbankinn - safnreikningur 1 | Bank - custody account | 11,772,189 | 1.75 |
| 13 | Lífeyrissjóður starfmanna ríkisins B-deild | Pension fund | 10,262,370 | 1.53 |
| 14 | Stefnir - ÍS 15 | Asset management | 9,988,065 | 1.49 |
| 15 | Stefnir - ÍS 5 | Asset management | 9,004,924 | 1.34 |
| 16 | Almenni lífeyrissjóðurinn | Pension fund | 8,889,220 | 1.32 |
| 17 | Brú - lífeyrissjóður starfsmanna sveitarfélaga | Pension fund | 7,523,631 | 1.12 |
| 18 | Lífsverk lífeyrissjóður | Pension fund | 5,706,695 | 0.85 |
| 19 | American Funds Insurance Series | Asset management | 5,419,903 | 0.81 |
| 20 | Söfnunarsjóður lífeyrisréttinda | Pension fund | 5,368,994 | 0.80 |
| Top 20 total | 532,439,752 | 79.35 | ||
| Others | 127,288,350 | 18.97 | ||
| Marel hf.* | 11,279,814 | 1.68 | ||
| Total issued shares | 671,007,916 | 100.000 |
*The EGM on 22 November 2018 approved all proposals presented by the board. There were two proposals on the meeting’s agenda. The meeting approved that the Company’s share capital shall be reduced by ISK 52,983,076 nominal value, from ISK 735,568,997 to ISK 682,585,921 nominal value. The reduction will be executed by way of canceling 52,983,076 of the Company‘s own shares of ISK 1 each, in accordance with the provisions of Act No. 2/1995 on Public Limited Companies.
The EGM also approved an authorization for the Company to initiate a formal share buyback program that complies with the provisions of the Act on Securities Transactions No. 108/2007 and appendix to Regulation on Insider Information and Market Manipulation No. 630/2005. The Company may purchase up to 34,129,296 shares in total under the program, corresponding to 5% of the share capital. For further information, please see Marel’s announcement on 22 November 2018.
Marel’s dividend policy was first disclosed at Marel’s annual general meeting in March 2011. Over the past five years, the dividend payout ratio has been between 20-30%.
| Year of payment (for previous year of operations) | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014* | 2013 |
| Dividend per share EUR cents | 2.14 | 1.58 | 0.48 | 0.00 | 0.97 |
| Dividend yield, %** | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.5% | - | 1.2% |
| Payout ratio, %*** | 20% | 20% | 30% | - | 20.% |
| Ex. Dividend date | Mar 3 | Mar 3 | Mar 5 | - | Mar 7 |
| Record date | Mar 6 | Mar 4 | Mar 6 | - | Mar 11 |
| Payment date | Mar 23 | Mar 23 | Mar 27 | - | Apr 5 |
*No dividend was paid 2014 for the operational year 2013.
**Dividend yield, %: Dividend per share / Price per share at previous year-end
***Payout Ratio: Total dividend paid / Net income of previous year
<p>Each Marel annual general meeting is one of the most important events in the company’s calendar. The AGM enables shareholders to discuss performance, make proposals, vote, and agree upon the company’s future objectives, ambitions and direction.</p>
At year-end 2018, there were 682.6 million Marel shares issued, all in one class. Of the total share capital base, Marel holds 1.6% or 10.8 million shares (2017: 41.7 million treasury shares).
Marel‘s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), held on 22 November 2018, approved the two proposals that were on the agenda. Firstly, to reduce the company‘s share capital by ISK 53.0 million nominal value, by cancelling 53.0 million of the Company‘s own shares. The company‘s share capital was thus reduced from ISK 735.6 million to ISK 682.6 million nominal value.
Secondly, to initiate a formal share buyback program, under which the Company may purchase up to 34,129,296 shares in total, corresponding to 5% of share capital. The main purpose of the program is to reduce the company‘s share capital and to meet its obligations under share incentive programs with employees.
At year-end 2018, Marel hf. had purchased a total of 4.1 million shares under the buyback program, which corresponds to 0.6% of issued shares in the company, for a total purchase price of EUR 11.3 million.
During the year, Marel purchased 24.1 million shares for a total amount of EUR 71.7 million, thereof 4.1 million shares for EUR 11.3 million according to the buyback program. Marel sold 2.1 million treasury shares for EUR 2.2 million to fulfill employees’ stock option schedules and subsequently cancelled 53.0 million own shares.
Stock options are granted to management and selected key employees. Granted and unexercised stock options totaled 11.9 million shares, of which 1.7 million were exercisable at the end of 2018. The remainder will become vested in the years 2019 to 2021.
At the company’s 2014 Annual General Meeting (AGM), shareholders authorized the Board of Directors to increase the company’s share capital by 35 million shares to fulfill stock option agreements. This authorization is valid for five years following its adoption. No new shares were issued in 2018 under this resolution.
| Number of shares | Shareholders | % | Shares | % |
| 1 - 9,999 | 1,607 | 64.51 | 5,360,170 | 0.79 |
| 10,000 - 99,999 | 714 | 28.67 | 21,134,295 | 3.10 |
| 100,000 - 9,999,999 | 155 | 6.22 | 139,559,123 | 20.45 |
| 10,000,000 - 99,999,999 | 14 | 0.56 | 315,403,089 | 46.21 |
| 100,000,000 and more | 1 | 0.04 | 190,366,838 | 27.89 |
| Total without treasury shares | 2,491 | 100.00 | 671,823,515 | 98.42 |