Unicaja held its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders today in Malaga, where, among other matters, the annual accounts, the consolidated statement of non-financial information and the management of the Board of Directors for the financial year 2024 were approved.
During the meeting, shareholders endorsed the proposed distribution of a total dividend of 344 million euros with a charge to 2024 earnings, equivalent to a pay-out of 60% of the ordinary consolidated net income for that year.
Of the 344 million allocated for dividends, 154.15 million were already paid last December, while the final dividend of 189.84 million will be paid on 24 April, with an amount of just over 0.07 euros gross per share.
In addition, within the framework of the proposed distribution of the bank’s profit for the year 2024, it has been agreed to allocate 135.23 million to voluntary reserves, thus reinforcing the bank’s financial soundness.
The Meeting has approved the appointment of César Bedoya Merino as proprietary director representing Desarrollos La Coronela, which has already obtained the non-opposition of the European Central Bank (ECB), so the incorporation will be effective shortly.
Likewise, the re-election of Carolina Martínez Caro, Rocío Fernández Funcia and Antonio Carrascosa Morales as independent directors was approved, as well as the re-election of Rafael Domínguez de la Maza as proprietary director, at the proposal of Global Portolio Investments.
After the agreed appointment and re-elections, the Board will be composed of 15 directors, six of whom will be women and nine men, with one executive director, seven proprietary directors and seven independent directors, thus complying with the applicable corporate governance recommendations.
In addition, the Meeting approved the usual delegations to the Board of Directors for the issuance of securities convertible into shares of the company, including the exclusion of pre-emptive subscription rights, and the acquisition or acceptance of treasury stock as collateral. The Annual Report on Directors' Remuneration for the year 2024 was also approved on a consultative basis.
Speeches
In his speech, the Chairman, José Sevilla, stressed the importance of 2024, “a year of change and the opening of a new stage, articulated in the protection of Unicaja's values and culture, guaranteeing stability and in the interest of growing based on better customer service”.
“This transformational effort has been carried out while maintaining the focus on the business and the customer,” said Sevilla, adding that the company continues to have “a sound capital and liquidity position, which gives us great strength to continue growing.”
The Chairman of Unicaja reported the “the unequivocal will to continue working at the service of the economy and society”. Precisely, he pointed out that “the new Strategic Plan leads us to redefine our corporate culture and business model, as well as to strengthen our technological capabilities”.
He stated that “we are facing these transformations and the definition of our strategy based on our strengths: proximity to the territories, high solvency, conservative and prudent risk management, and an excellent liquidity situation”.
For his part, the CEO, Isidro Rubiales, taking stock of 2024, described it as a “very positive year for Unicaja, not only because of the historical results, but also because of the progress in the transformation process, aimed at strengthening our position in the market and improving our structural profitability”. “The achievement of higher recurring results, together with the improvement in the quality of the balance sheet and the significant capacity for organic capital generation, have enabled us to meet the financial targets set,” he said.
In this regard, he emphasized the implementation of more than a hundred initiatives, with the aim of “strengthening ties with our customers”. These actions are based, as he explained, on “the simplification of processes and the commercial catalog, the acceleration of digitalization, and the incorporation of the customer's vision in everything we do”.
During his speech, Rubiales stressed that Unicaja's objective is to be “an better bank every day for our shareholders, for our customers and for our employees”, as well as to contribute positively to the evolution of the economy and society. At this point, he thanked the more than 7,500 professionals who make up the bank's staff for “their dedication and commitment”.
To this end, the bank's strategy is to “accelerate the transformation process of retail banking and the construction of a differential brand experience”. In fact, Unicaja's CEO assured that “the priorities are well focused and we have a defined and structured roadmap”.
