DGAP-News: Vonovia SE: Shareholders Pass Resolution on Dividend of € 1.57 at Annual General Meeting

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Vonovia SE: Shareholders Pass Resolution on Dividend of € 1.57 at Annual General Meeting

- Vonovia holds virtual Annual General Meeting for the first time

- Vonovia once again offers a scrip dividend

- Vonovia creates 100 additional trainee positions

Bochum, June 30, 2020 - The shareholders of Vonovia SE ("Vonovia") approved all resolutions proposed by the Supervisory Board and Management Board with the required majority at today's Annual General Meeting. They also formally approved the actions of the Supervisory Board (91.83 % of the votes) and the Management Board (97.65 %) for the 2019 fiscal year with a large majority.

In order to protect the individuals involved, Vonovia organized a virtual Annual General Meeting for the very first time. The Annual General Meeting was held using a new and creative format. "We see the event as an opportunity to forge ahead with digitalization and exploit the advantages it offers," said Chairman of the Supervisory Board Jürgen Fitschen. Representatives of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board spoke to their shareholders from the studio set up at the corporate headquarters in Bochum. Key stakeholders made statements by video.

The shareholders used a live stream to follow the Annual General Meeting. 700 attendees simultaneously followed the live stream.

They had submitted their questions electronically in the period leading up to June 27. A sign language interpreter provided a live translation of the entire Annual General Meeting for attendees with hearing impairments. Voting rights could be exercised before and during the Annual General Meeting per postal vote or by authorizing the company's proxies.

"Well Positioned Even for Turbulent Times"


Rolf Buch, CEO of Vonovia SE, spoke of the "memorable circumstances" surrounding the Annual General Meeting. In his review of the successful fiscal year, he said to the company's shareholders, "We have achieved everything that we set out to achieve. Vonovia is well positioned - even for turbulent times. We are aware, however, that we would not have made it this far without your support. On behalf of the entire Management Board, I would like to thank you most sincerely."

The dividend proposed by the Supervisory Board and the Management Board for the 2019 fiscal year found broad support among Vonovia's shareholders. This means that Vonovia will be distributing € 1.57 per share, which corresponds to an increase of 9% compared to the previous year. Shareholders can once again choose a scrip dividend this year instead of a conventional cash dividend.

Trust as a Key Foundation


"The most important thing in our business is trust," said Rolf Buch in his speech. He included that Vonovia needs "the trust of our employees and our tenants," as well as the trust of policymakers and the population at large. What is more, "We need the trust of our shareholders." The CEO emphasized, "Trust is something that we have to earn, time and time again. By having courage and confidence. By listening. By showing that we are taking responsibility. By making sure that others understand the decisions we make. And by keeping the promises we have made."

100 Additional Apprenticeships


In the morning, Vonovia had also announced that it would be almost doubling the number of apprenticeships in the trades this year by 100 to 210. Including the company's commercial apprentices, this will allow 265 career entrants to start their vocational training at Vonovia, the highest number ever recorded. Up-and-coming specialists can also start or continue their training at Vonovia if the company they are currently training with has become insolvent.

The additional apprenticeships - plant engineer, tiler, electronics technician, painter and gardener - will be available in all Vonovia regions throughout Germany. "We offer prospects for young people," said Rolf Buch during the Annual General Meeting. Young people just starting out in working life have a good chance of being taken on permanently by Vonovia once they have completed their training. The training rate stood at 5% last year, outstripping the average for the DAX companies.

The Supervisory Board of Vonovia SE includes: Jürgen Fitschen (Chairman), Prof. Edgar Ernst (Deputy Chairman), Burkhard Ulrich Drescher, Vitus Eckert, Dr. Florian Funck, Dr. Ute Geipel-Faber, Daniel Just, Hildegard Müller, Prof. Klaus Rauscher, Dr. Ariane Reinhart, Clara-Christina Streit and Christian Ulbrich.

The Management Board of Vonovia SE includes: Rolf Buch (CEO), Arnd Fittkau (CRO), Daniel Riedl (Development and Austria) and Helene von Roeder (CFO).

The detailed voting results of the Annual General Meeting will be published at https://investoren.vonovia.de/hv.

Supplementary material on the Annual General Meeting is also available at vonovia.de/hauptversammlung2020.

2020 Financial Calendar

August 5: Interim Financial Report for 2020
November 4: Interim Statement for the first nine months of 2020

About Vonovia

Vonovia offers a home to around one million people in Germany. The residential real estate company plays a central role in society, which is why Vonovia's activities are never focused exclusively on financial aspects, but also take social factors into account. Vonovia is helping to provide answers to the current challenges on the housing market. The company is committed to more climate protection, more senior-friendly apartments and a positive community spirit in its neighborhoods. In cooperation with social institutions and the municipal districts, Vonovia supports social and cultural projects that enrich community life. Vonovia is also helping to address a social issue that is particularly important at the moment: the construction of new apartments.

Our activities focus on our customers and their needs. On site, caretakers and our own craftsmen take care of our tenants' concerns. Being close to our customers ensures fast and reliable service. In addition, Vonovia invests generously in the maintenance of the buildings and develops housing-related services for a better quality of living. For answers to any questions in connection with lease agreements and ancillary expense bills, the central customer service center can be contacted via a regional service hotline as well as by email, fax, app or by post.

Vonovia has a workforce of more than 10,000 employees and its CEO is Rolf Buch.

Additional Information:

Approval: Regulated Market/Prime Standard, Frankfurt Stock Exchange ISIN: DE000A1ML7J1 WKN: A1ML7J Common code: 094567408 Registered headquarters of Vonovia SE: Bochum, Germany, Bochum Local Court, HRB 16879 Business address of Vonovia SE: Universitaetsstrasse 133, 44803 Bochum, Germany

This press release has been issued by Vonovia SE and/or its subsidiaries solely for information purposes. This press release may contain statements, assumptions, opinions and predictions about the anticipated future development of Vonovia ("forward-looking statements") that reproduce various assumptions regarding, e.g., results derived from Vonovia's current business or from publicly available sources that have not been subject to an independent audit or in-depth evaluation by Vonovia and that may turn out to be incorrect at a later stage. All forward-looking statements express current expectations based on the current business plan and various other assumptions and therefore come with risks and uncertainties that are not insignificant. All forward-looking statements should not therefore be taken as a guarantee for future performance or results and, furthermore, do not necessarily constitute exact indicators that the forecast results will be achieved. All forward-looking statements relate solely to the day on which this press release was issued to its recipients. It is the responsibility of the recipients of this press release to conduct a more detailed analysis of the validity of forward-looking statements and the underlying assumptions. Vonovia accepts no responsibility for any direct or indirect damages or losses or subsequent damages or losses as well as penalties that the recipients may incur by using the press release, its contents and, in particular, all forward-looking statements or in any other way, as far as this is legally permissible. Vonovia does not provide any guarantees or assurances (either explicitly or implicitly) in respect of the information contained in this press release. Vonovia is not obliged to update or correct the information, forward-looking statements or conclusions drawn in this press release or to include subsequent events or circumstances or to report inaccuracies that become known after the date of this press release.