Siemens Gamesa held its Annual General Meeting today in Zamudio (Vizcaya) at which its shareholders approved its fiscal 2017 financial statements. The company's shareholders also ratified the company's management in the year since the merger last April between Gamesa and Siemens Wind Power.
"We are definitely on solid ground and the rationale for our merger has been strongly confirmed throughout the integration process. This rationale brings us a great competitive advantage, thanks to our size and scale; our unmatched business and geographic diversification; our technological leadership; and the extraordinary synergy and transformation potential resulting from the merger", said Markus Tacke, the company's Chief Executive, during his speech. "Now it is time to look forward and to take advantage of our strengths to reap the rewards of our hard work and to seize the opportunities before us. I'm very confident that we have a bright future ahead of us", he added.
Tacke reminded his audience that the integration process remains ongoing but that 90% of the necessary have already been executed. He also overviewed the key levers of the 2018-2020 Business Plan recently unveiled by the company.
Designed to spearhead the global industry by means of sustainable and profitable growth in the years ahead, this plan encompasses a three-year program- L3AD2020 - articulated around four cornerstones: a more agile business model; best-in-class levelised cost of energy; digitalisation; and change management, framed by execution of the people & culture program.
The plan also contemplates a series of measures that will unlock €2 billion of cost savings. These include accelerated delivery of the targeted merger synergies (over €400 million by 2020) and fine-tuning of the product portfolio, purchasing policy and industrial footprint.
For her part, Rosa García, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, stressed the fact that "the company is setting out on a new phase, better prepared to take on new challenges, with renewed motivation and firmly on the path towards global leadership".
Turning to the sector environment, the Chairwoman talked about the strategic commitment to renewable sources of energy. According to current estimates, the wind sector stands to multiply its contribution to the global energy mix four-fold by 2040, attracting $3.3 trillion of investment in the process. She went on to add that the company is faced by a highly competitive yet equally promising market, for which Siemens Gamesa has already adapted so as to take advantage of the opportunities emerging.
Committed to Spain
Tacke underscored Siemens Gamesa's commitment to Spain and, specifically, the Basque region, home to the company's headquarters. "We are a global company with our headquarters in Spain. We are proud of our roots in the Basque Country and highly appreciate the favourable industrial environment which we're also happy to contribute to".
In Spain the company has nearly 4,500 employees, 15 factories and three R&D centres. Its registered offices are located in Zamudio (Basque region), where Siemens Gamesa's onshore business is also headquartered.
Reinforcement of the company's corporate governance
The company boasts a very strict procedure for approving transactions with majority shareholders, which it enforces rigorously. The Audit, Compliance and Related Party Transactions Committee, made up of three independent directors, is tasked with analysing these transactions and bringing them to the Board for approval, where they are deliberated and voted on in the absence of the implicated shareholders.
