Philip Morris International held its 2022 annual meeting of shareholders on May 4. André Calantzopoulos, executive chairman of the board, addressed shareholders and answered questions. CEO Jacek Olczak gave the business presentation, which included an overview of PMI’s financial performance and its efforts to support employees impacted by the war in Ukraine, along with an update on the company’s progress in its smoke-free transition and investments in the wellness and healthcare categories.
“The recent months have been an extremely challenging time for many in the PMI family given the war in Ukraine. Our primary concern is for our people and their families, and we are doing everything in our power to help them,” said Olczak in a statement.
“Despite this tragic situation, and the related impacts on our operations in the region and more broadly, the outlook for our business excluding Russia and Ukraine remains strong and our smoke-free ambition remains intact. We are off to a strong start to the year, following an excellent performance in 2021, with robust underlying momentum and a reacceleration in IQOS user growth.
“We continue to prioritize returns to shareholders and have increased the dividend for 14 consecutive years since the 2008 spin. In 2021, we raised the dividend by 4.2% to an annualized rate of $5.00 per common share. In addition, since July 2021, we have repurchased approximately $1 billion in shares as part of our current three-year program.”
Approximately 81 percent of the shares entitled to vote were represented at the meeting in person or by proxy. The shareholders elected 14 nominees for director; approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of named executive officers; approved the 2022 performance incentive plan; ratified the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers as independent auditors; and voted against a shareholder proposal. Final voting results will be included in a Form 8-K that PMI will file with the SEC in the coming days.
An archived copy of the webcast of the meeting will be available for approximately one year from the date of the meeting at http://www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/PMI2022.