Dividend Information
We have proposed to the Annual General Meeting the distribution of a cash dividend of €0.12 per share for the 2011 fiscal year. This represents an aggregate distribution of approximately €130 million. The Company’s strategic realignment with a focus on more stable and more profitable market segments is aimed at achieving sustainable profitability and at generating excess liquidity. We intent to let our shareholders participate in this development on a long-term basis through continuous distributions whose level will be set such that on the one hand sufficient liquidity reserves are retained so that value-adding growth potential can be tapped into, even in times of challenging economic circumstances, while on the other hand regular dividend payments are possible throughout market cycles. In addition to dividends, other instruments, such as share buybacks, can be considered to repay capital to the shareholders. Under the German Stock Corporation Act (Aktiengesetz), the amount available for distribution as dividends to shareholders is based on the parent company’s net retained earnings, determined in accordance with the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch – HGB). The main factors for determining the dividend amounts from the Company will be the ratio of cash provided by operating activities to cash used in investing activities, i.e., the free cash flow as this ratio most closely reflects the financial performance of the business.
Any distribution of dividends jointly proposed by our management and supervisory boards requires the approval of our shareholders in a general meeting. Shareholders participate in profit distributions in proportion to the number of shares they hold.
Under German law, our company may declare and pay dividends only from balance sheet profits as they are shown in our company's unconsolidated annual financial statements prepared in accordance with applicable German law. In determining the distributable balance sheet profits, the management board and the supervisory board may allocate to profit reserves up to one half of the annual surplus remaining after allocations to statutory reserves and losses carried forward.
The shareholders, in determining the distribution of profits, may allocate additional amounts to profit reserves and may carry forward profits in part or in full.
Dividends approved at a shareholders' general meeting are payable on the first stock exchange trading day after that meeting, unless otherwise decided at the shareholders' general meeting. If you hold shares that are entitled to dividends in a clearing system, the dividends will be paid according to that clearing system's rules.
We will publish notice of dividends paid and the paying agent or agents that we have appointed in the German Federal Gazette.
- Does my entitlement to a dividend depend on my participation or voting in the AGM?
- What is the proposed dividend? What is the total amount proposed to be distributed for the 2010/2011 fiscal year?
- What will happen to the remaining part of the balance sheet profit (Bilanzgewinn)?
- Is the intended dividend payment subject to flat rate tax?
- How much is the dividend yield in percent?
- When do Infineon shares have to be in my securities account in order to qualify for a dividend?
- What is relevant for the dividend – the results of Infineon Technologies AG or of the Infineon group?
- When will the dividend be paid and when is the share to be traded ex dividend?
- How do I get the dividend payment?
- Who can I contact for questions on the dividend payment?
- Will I be notified of the dividend payment?
Does my entitlement to a dividend depend on my participation or voting in the AGM?
No. Your entitlement is independant of your participation or voting in the AGM. Please note, however, that a dividend can only be paid if a majority of shareholders participating in the AGM supports the boards’ proposals.
What is the proposed dividend? What is the total amount proposed to be distributed for the 2010/2011 fiscal year?
The Supervisory Board and Management Board propose to pay a dividend of EUR 0.12 per qualifying share. The total amount proposed to be distributed to the shareholders amounts to approximately EUR 130 mio. (the exact amount depends on the number of own shares held by the Company at the time of the calling of the Annual General Meeting).
What will happen to the remaining part of the balance sheet profit (Bilanzgewinn)?
According to the proposal of the Supervisory Board and Management Board the remaining part of the balance sheet profit will be transferred to other revenue reserves (andere Gewinnrücklagen), thereby strengthening the substance of the Company.
Is the intended dividend payment subject to flat rate tax?
Due to Infineon’s previous tax balance sheet losses, a dividend payment will be drawn from the contributions account for tax purposes. Hence. Infineon is not required to deduct and remit investment income tax or a solidarity surcharge on dividend payments from the contributions account for tax purposes. A dividend can thus in principle be paid to German shareholders gross with no tax deduction irrespective of whether the shareholder is a natural person or an institutional investor.
For a German investor, the dividend represents a return on capital that is tax-free in principle and merely reduces the original cost of the shares.
The dividend is also in principle paid gross with no tax deduction to shareholders outside Germany. However, it is not possible to make any generally applicable statement on taxation in specific countries of residence.
Our shareholders are too many and too variable in their circumstances for us to be able to provide any reliable general information on taxation and you are therefore requested to contact your tax advisor for specific details.
How much is the dividend yield in percent?
This depends on the share price. Relative to an assumed share price of EUR 6.00 and based upon a dividend of EUR 0.12 per share the dividend yield is 2.00%.
When do Infineon shares have to be in my securities account in order to qualify for a dividend?
Infineon shares that are in your securities account on the day of the Shareholders´ Meeting that decides upon the proposed dividend, qualify for a dividend.
What is relevant for the dividend – the results of Infineon Technologies AG or of the Infineon group?
The decisive accounts are those of Infineon Technologies AG, which have been prepared in accordance with the German Commercial Code (HGB). The balance sheet profit (Bilanzgewinn) shown there is subject to the resolution of the Shareholders’ Meeting.
When will the dividend be paid and when is the share to be traded ex dividend?
Provided that the Shareholders´ Meeting on March 8, 2012, decides a dividend, the payment will be effected on March 9, 2012 (ex dividend date).
How do I get the dividend payment?
The dividend will be credited to your bank account on the payment date. You have to care about nothing.
Who can I contact for questions on the dividend payment?
Please contact your personal/custodian bank.
Will I be notified of the dividend payment?
Normally the shareholder’s bank draws up a statement of the dividend paid and informs its customer accordingly. Infineon does not notify the shareholders.
(Status: January, 2012)