EQS-News: 2025 Annual Meeting of INDUS Shareholders: Actively shaping the future and seizing growth opportunities

2025 Annual Meeting of INDUS Shareholders: Actively shaping the future and seizing growth opportunities

• Dividend payment of EUR 1.20 per share resolved
• Positive response to EMPOWERING MITTELSTAND strategy
• Focus on acquisitions, internationalization and engineering competence

Bergisch Gladbach, 27 May 2025 – At today’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of INDUS Holding AG at Koelnmesse’s Congress Centre North, a large majority of the shareholders approved the resolutions proposed by the management. In total, about 47% of the share capital was represented. Even though the macroeconomic environment is challenging, the meeting focused on a positive outlook for the future: “Despite all adversity, we are looking ahead with confidence. We will strengthen the resilience of our portfolio and work together to develop sustainable ideas that will keep us profitable today and in the future,” explained Dr. Johannes Schmidt, Chairman of the INDUS Board of Management.

Expansion of M&A activities and organic growth

In his speech, Schmidt emphasized the future-oriented positioning of the Group: “Our EMPOWERING MITTELSTAND strategy clearly focuses on acquisitions, internationalization and engineering competence. We plan to invest EUR 500 million in acquisitions in the next six years to strengthen our portfolio in a targeted manner and to ensure sustainable growth. Our goal is to generate Group sales of EUR 3 billion by 2030.” The headcount of the M&A organization will be increased and M&A marketing will be internationalized. Besides generating additional sales through acquisitions, INDUS will also rely on strong organic growth in its existing portfolio. “We plan for an average annual growth rate of 5% to 6% in the portfolio. To achieve this, we are working intensively on internationalization and pushing ahead the development of new products, services and business models,” said Schmidt.

Internationalization as part of the corporate strategy

Internationalization remains a key component of the overall strategy. Schmidt emphasized that the already established “local for local” principle gives INDUS a decisive competitive edge and anticipates the decoupling of economic blocs: “We are creating local production sites and distribution structures in order to be present in the markets relevant to us. This strengthens the resilience of our portfolio companies and enables us to respond more quickly to market developments.”

Strength through technological expertise and innovation

The INDUS Group continues to focus on engineering competence. The development of new products and markets is pushed ahead by pooling expertise in technology fields. “We know the technologies that will be needed tomorrow and are making targeted investments in their development,” explained Schmidt. Opportunities are also expected to arise from the EUR 500 billion infrastructure package of the German government, which is set to be implemented starting in 2026 and promises a tailwind for the portfolio companies in the Infrastructure segment.

All agenda items approved by a large majority

In all voting items on the agenda, a large majority of the shareholders approved the proposals made by the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board. The dividend of EUR 1.20 per share (previous year: EUR 1.20) approved by the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting underlines INDUS’ position as a reliable dividend stock. The dividend yield increases to 5.9% per share (previous year: 5.4%), with a total distribution of EUR 29.9 million. Given the economic situation, the portfolio companies of the INDUS Group demonstrated their ability to perform in a challenging market environment in 2024: The Group generated an operating income (EBIT) of EUR 126.7 million (previous year: EUR 149.6 million). 

The actions of the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board for the financial year 2024 were approved by a large majority. In addition, PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH, Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main, was again appointed as auditors of the financial statements and precautionarily as auditors of the sustainability report. The Annual Shareholders’ Meeting approved the compensation report for the financial year 2024 and an enhanced compensation system for the members of the Board of Management. This includes the introduction of share ownership guidelines, clawback clauses and a stronger link of the variable compensation to the defined ESG targets. As part of an anticipatory resolution, the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting moreover authorized the company to purchase and sell treasury shares with the exclusion of subscription rights.

INDUS relies on continuity in management

At its meeting on 26 May 2025, the Supervisory Board of INDUS Holding AG resolved to appoint Dr. Johannes Schmidt as Chairman of the Board of Management through December 31, 2027. In 2024, the Supervisory Board had already extended the contract of Deputy CEO Rudolf Weichert for an additional three years, until 31 March 2028. In his speech, Supervisory Board Chairman Jürgen Abromeit stated: “We are very pleased to have two experienced leaders like Dr. Schmidt and Mr. Weichert with us during these challenging times.”

For further information on the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, the speech by the Chairman of the Board of Management, Dr. Johannes Schmidt, and the voting results, click here.

About INDUS
At INDUS, we have been generating sustained growth from a diversified portfolio of Mittelstand companies since 1989. We focus on acquiring family-owned businesses with special engineering capabilities and grow them internationally. To expand their business, we ensure that our managers act like true entrepreneurs. They can count on our reliable perspective as a long-term investor. Rooted in the German-speaking Mittelstand, INDUS today fully owns and successfully leads more than 40 companies with activities around the world. Listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (SDAX) since 1995, we have established a unique bridge between the SME sector and the capital market. For more information, visit www.indus.eu.

Note:
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the current views, expectations and assumptions of the management of INDUS Holding AG and comprise known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. INDUS Holding AG assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.