[Foreign language]
Dear shareholders, welcome to ALK's annual general meeting. Thank you for taking the time to be with us, both those of you who are here in Hørsholm and those of you following the webcast. In the Board of Directors, we've been looking forward to telling you about our development and the future, and also to answer questions and comments. But first, we need to deal with formalities. According to the Articles of Association, the chair of the general meeting is chosen by the Board of Directors, and we're quite traditional here at ALK, so once again we have appointed Attorney at Law Niels Kornerup from Bech-Bruun to handle all the formalities. So I give the floor to Niels Kornerup.
[Foreign language]. Thank you for giving me the floor and for appointing me. I hope we will have a good AGM and a good debate. My first job is to ensure that the AGM has been legally convened so that we will be competent for the transaction of the business. Before we started, I checked that all the formalities are complied with, so it is legally convened and competent for the transaction of the business. Does anyone disagree with me on this? That's not the case, so I'll note this in the minutes. Just before we started, 85 persons are present here, 44 of them are shareholders, and 41 persons are guest journalists, advisors, or similar things. Looking at the represented share and voting capital, 86.78% of the votes are represented after deduction of own shares, and 75.1% of the share capital after deduction of treasury shares.
Some postal votes and proxies have come in, and that means that 99% of the votes and the share capital is represented. So I must end after counting the proxies. There's broad support for the proposals on the agenda. The exact number will appear from the minutes. As in previous years, we just need to deal with the Danish Companies Act, Section 101, about the complete record of votes, and that you are supposed to have a complete record, but I suggest that we deviate from that as we've done in previous years because it's quite cumbersome, and it seems that everyone agrees with me.
Thank you for that. One practical comment: if anybody wants the floor, I ask you to speak from up here at the rostrum, and if you'll give me your access card, I'll ensure that you get on the speakers' list, and I'll distribute the speakers in a good order. That brings us to the agenda, which has been sent out, and you can also see it on screen. The first item is the report on the activities of the company. Then there's approval of the annual report and resolution to discharge the Board of Directors and the Management. Item 3, resolution on the allocation of profits. Item 4, adoption of the remuneration report. 5, adoption of the remuneration for the Board of Directors for 2025. Item 6, election of Chairman of the Board. 7, election of the Vice Chair of the Board. 8, election of other members of the Board of Directors.
Item 9, appointment of auditor. Then we'll close with any other business. With that, we'll throw ourselves into the agenda. As we typically do here at ALK, the first items, one through four, will be covered as one, also for the debate. Now we'll hear the report on the activities, approval of the annual report, and resolution on allocation of profits and adoption of the remuneration report. With that, I give the floor to the Chairman of the Board, Anders Hedegaard.
[Foreign language] Thank you for the floor. 2024 was a good and rewarding year for ALK. Not only did we meet our short-term goals that we set ourselves, but we also established a robust and new strategic framework for the company's long-term development. After three guidance upgrades during the year, we delivered on our promise: a revenue increase of 15%, which was driven by very strong tablet sales in Europe, and the EBIT margin increased to no less than 20%. To put that into perspective, the EBIT margin was negative just five years ago. 2.6 million people with moderate to severe uncontrolled allergies were being treated with our products in 2024. With that said, and with all of these successes, we also started executing our new strategy, but first, a few key figures for 2024. Revenue was just over DKK 5.5 billion after a growth of 15% in local currencies.
The operating profit, the EBIT, exceeded DKK 1 billion for the first time and ended at DKK 1.1 billion. That is, line by line, our best results ever. These results are driven by higher sales, an improved gross margin, and tight prioritization of costs. Excluding one-off restructuring costs, our costs were largely unchanged compared to the year before. As you can see from the top graph on the right, the gross margin is growing steadily. We are earning more and more on every kroner of sales. This is partly due to changes in the sales mix, where tablets are taking a larger share, while better prices and ongoing efficiency improvements in the value chain are also contributing. The bottom graph shows that a decreasing proportion of revenue goes to cover costs for sales and marketing, research and development, and administration.
That is a clear indication of economies of scale. That also means that these will take up a smaller percentage. We are fully focused on continuing to improve the gross margin. There will be fluctuations, but we have a focus on continuing to improve. We are equally committed to making sure that our costs will take up a smaller part of our revenue so that ALK will become even more profitable. Growth in ALK has to be profitable. When it comes to remuneration, there was progress on almost all parameters in 2024, and this can also be seen in the variable remuneration of the board of management. Fortunately, I would say, because the whole point of the remuneration policy is to offer incentives to the management to put in that extra effort. When we pay more, it is because the company performs better.
The variable remuneration of the board of management, made up of a short-term cash bonus and long-term incentives such as performance shares and stock options, increased to DKK 20 million last year. The targets set by the Board of Directors for the board of management were almost completely met. This is true both for the financial goals, such as revenue and operating profits, and goals for sustainability, employee engagement, research and development, and more. The base salary paid to the board of management increased modestly by 3%, which is in line with the general salary increase for ALK's Danish employees. The total remuneration for the board was DKK 41 million compared to DKK 32 million in 2023. This has been adjusted for severance and sign-on benefits, but we must take care when comparing as the composition of the board of management has changed.
Our CEO, Peter Halling, was only hired for two months in 2023, whereas he was here for the entire year of 2024. The remuneration of the board of management is described in more detail on our website, and it consists of a fee determined by the general meeting. We will come back to that under item 5. After a break of a few years, we propose to increase the directors' fees for 2025. It is becoming increasingly demanding to sit on the board of directors. There are more meetings, more to read, and more to deal with as ALK grows, and we need to provide a fee structure that allows us to continue to attract the right expertise to the board. The activity level of the board of directors was extraordinarily high, also in 2024.
The Board of Directors held 13 meetings, plus 13 meetings in the committees established by the Board. In addition, there were regular meetings between the Chair and Vice Chair and the Board of Management, as well as the ongoing dialogue that takes place during the course of the year. The new strategy, which I will come back to in a moment, naturally occupied a big part of the Board's time. In March of last year, we held a two-day strategy workshop with the Board of Management, and we also completed a number of follow-up meetings after that. Last year, in line with previous years, we have also completed a self-evaluation with the help of an external facilitator. We describe the results in the statutory corporate governance statement on our website, but let me highlight a few points just the same. The Board of Directors is strongly engaged in ALK.
We agree on the strategic goals and the approach, and our discussions are open and fact-based, and the cooperation between the board of directors and the board of management is very good, always respecting the proper separation of roles as it must be. The self-evaluation also showed that IT, cybersecurity, and ESG, and other topics, are important to the board of directors, and this year, as well as last year, the board will focus in particular on the business in the U.S., as well as on our pipeline when it comes to research and development, so that we can address the areas that are to support ALK's growth in the long term. Last year, we launched our new updated strategy. The new strategy is called Allergy Plus. It was launched in June after a longer time of preparation work between the board of management and the board of directors.
It was important for us not to spread ourselves too thin, so we have deprioritized a number of opportunities, and instead, we are going all in on the strategic opportunities that will create the most value for ALK. We now have a robust plan with four focus areas that run through to 2028. We are already executing on this plan, and we are starting to see the result of what we decided last year. In 2024, we implemented several optimizations, savings, and reprioritizations, partly through adjustments to the organizations. These initiatives are expected to free up more than DKK 300 million in 2025. Some of this will be used to strengthen earnings, while some has been earmarked for strategic initiatives. So we are already working on realizing the priorities in the Allergy Plus strategy. But why do we call it Allergy Plus?
We do this because ALK needs to expand from respiratory allergies to other related allergic disease areas. The plus sign symbolizes the new areas which will help to drive ALK's growth. The ALK of the future must stand on more than one leg, and we need to help many more allergy sufferers than we do today. For each disease area, we aim to build a portfolio of solutions that is broad enough and strong enough to make us a global market leader. We already have such a portfolio in respiratory allergies, where we are world leader with our tablets and injection and drop-based products, and we are close to having a portfolio in place in anaphylaxis, that is, the treatment of severe allergic shocks. In food allergies, which is new therapy areas, we're in the process of creating the product portfolios of the future.
The most advanced projects are in phase II development, and new products will be added continually, either through in-house development or through the acquisition and in-licensing of development projects or finished products, depending on the opportunities that will arise. I will now give you an update on how far we have come in each of these areas. I will start with our core business, respiratory allergies, where there's still an enormous potential. In recent years, we have invested a lot of resources in making our tablets available to children. Among other things, we have funded the largest clinical trials to date with children suffering from allergy on both sides of the Atlantic, and now we are seeing the results of that effort. In December, health authorities in 21 new countries approved the use of ACARIZAX tablet for house dust mite allergy in children aged 5 to 11 years.
We are already launching in five countries, including Germany and Denmark. We will enter more markets as soon as prices and reimbursement rules are settled. Recently, the corresponding approval came from the FDA in the U.S. and the authorities in Canada. We also expect to obtain pediatric approval in several European countries outside the EU. Similar regulatory processes are well advanced for our tablet against tree pollen allergy. We still expect this tablet to be approved for the treatment of children and adolescents in Europe and Canada. When that happens, we will have four tablets on the market in Europe and Canada, all of them approved for children, adolescents, and adults. In the U.S., we will have three tablets approved for all age groups.
We believe that the broad tablet portfolio will open the doors to more doctors because it will be possible for the doctors to switch to ALK's tablets, and we believe that this opportunity is better when these cover all common respiratory allergies. The initial feedback from the ACARIZAX pediatric launch in Europe gives us grounds for optimism. A wide range of doctors are writing prescriptions, including pediatricians, allergists, lung specialists, dermatologists, and ear, nose, and throat doctors. Around 10 million children suffer from uncontrolled respiratory allergies. Through our digital channels, we make a point of telling parents that there is now an evidence-based treatment that is tailored to children without needles and without frequent visits to the doctor. The pediatric launches are an important catalyst for the company's future growth. Along with the pediatric launches, we are working to increase the uptake of tablets in other markets.
This is a broad-spectrum effort where we are mobilizing eligible patients and relevant doctors, and at the same time, we aim to strengthen support for evidence-based tablets among authorities, private and public payers, etc. I would now like to drill down into some of these markets in order to shed light on this effort. In Europe, the patient base is growing. The foundations are particularly strong in Northern, Central, and Western Europe, which is why we are putting more effort into these high-growth markets, while scaling down in certain low-growth markets in Southern Europe. The U.K. is hopefully on its way to joining the group of major European tablet markets. Until now, the tablets have had a very modest take-up in the U.K., and they have not been eligible for general reimbursement. However, we are now at a turning point.
A scientific committee has cleared the way for ACARIZAX to receive general reimbursement from the NHS. The committee is also evaluating our ITULAZAX tree pollen tablet. These are important steps for ALK. In North America, we are seeing continued good growth in tablet sales in Canada. In the U.S., we are working on building new sales channels for the tablets, especially among pediatricians. The approval of ODACTRA will strengthen our offering to pediatricians, but it takes time to build new channels, and it requires more training and education of doctors than in Europe. We are cautiously optimistic, but also realize that we need to explore new opportunities to grow the business in the U.S. In Japan, our partner, Torii, is completing the construction of a new factory that will manufacture active ingredients for the tablet against Japanese cedar pollen allergy.
This will give Torii extra capacity in the second half of the year to meet the strong demand. Sales of ALK's tablet for house dust mite allergy are continuing to grow in Japan, where Torii is also working to get our grass allergy tablet approved. In India, our partner, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, has received approval for ALK's tablet for house dust mite allergy and will be launching it soon. In China, we have designed a new clinical study to support the approval of ALK's house dust mite tablet after the authorities unexpectedly indicated that they wanted more data from Chinese patients. That was the biggest bump in the road for ALK in 2024. The launch of the tablet has been delayed to 2028. So therefore, we have adjusted our Chinese organization, which was calibrated for a launch in 2025. In other markets, the tablets are advancing well.
In general, we are seeing good progress for respiratory tablets around the world, except for China and apart from the challenges in the US. Anaphylaxis. Now to anaphylaxis. Treatment of severe acute allergic shock. Last year, we spent DKK 1 billion plus future royalty payments to acquire the rights to the product Neffy in Europe, Canada, most of Asia, the Middle East, and several other countries. This is the largest licensing agreement in ALK's history. Neffy is the world's first and only approved nasal spray for the acute treatment of anaphylaxis. An innovative product with the potential to transform treatment and significantly expand the markets. Neffy is a handy product, easy to carry in your bag or your pocket, whether you're skiing or on the beach, and easy and very intuitive to use in a critical situation.
Neffy is approved in the EU for adults and older children, and we are negotiating price and reimbursement in several countries so we can bring the product to market this year. We have also applied for approval for small children in the EU, and we have submitted registration applications in two major anaphylaxis markets, namely the U.K. and Canada. It will probably take time to break the ingrained practice of treating anaphylaxis intramuscularly with needle-based adrenaline pens. But over a 10-year period, we see an annual sales potential for Neffy of up to DKK 3 billion, the same amount we are selling tablets for today. This potential relates only to anaphylaxis, but other indications may be added via the license agreement.
ALK is the only company in the world that both has a needle-free solution in Neffy and needle-based solutions such as the Jext and the upcoming Genesis auto-injector, which we expect to launch within a few years. This broad portfolio is a very strong foundation for our ambitions in anaphylaxis. The front runner in food allergies is the tablet for peanut allergies. After a successful phase I trial, the tablet is now in phase II, where we are testing efficacy and dosage. After this, hopefully, the large phase III trials await. If everything goes according to plan, the peanut tablet could be on the market by the late 2020s. We have other projects in the food allergy space in preclinical development, but I'll talk more about that as things develop. We're also working systematically on new disease areas.
Right now, we prefer to keep our cards close to our chests, but I can name the area acute urticaria. This is an annoying, intensely itchy rash that causes swelling of the skin and can lead to severe discomfort in patients. We have obtained the rights to this indication through the license agreement for Neffy. The project is in the clinical phase II-b, and we are excited about the outcome of this and then other possible indications from the Neffy agreement. Sustainability is also part of the Allergy+ strategy. In 2024, for the first time, we have fully integrated the sustainability report in the annual report. This is in accordance with the CSRD directive and the ESRS standards, and we've reported on 565 qualitative and quantitative data points, and a big effort has gone into collecting, checking, and verifying the vast amount of data.
In 2024, we have good results in the five focus areas. I would particularly highlight the way in which we have managed to decouple our growth from CO2 emissions. Although revenue increased by 15%, CO2 emissions from our own activities decreased by 2%. We must continue along this path so we can further reduce our climate footprint and optimize resource consumption. And we have plans for that. These were the most important impacts of the Allergy+ implementation. I will now talk briefly about our financial ambitions. The goals from June 2024 still apply. Yes, the tablet launch in China has been delayed, but we have further advanced in anaphylaxis. And momentum in European tablet sales has also been stronger than expected. Our ambition is that the Allergy Plus strategy will deliver annual average revenue growth of at least 10% from 2023 to 2028.
In terms of earnings, the ambition is to raise the EBIT margin to around 25% in 2025. We will then reinvest earnings improvements beyond the 25% in initiatives that can strengthen ALK's long-term growth and earnings. This means that all things being equal, operating profit after 2025 will increase at the same rate as revenue. Finally, we want a capital structure where net interest-bearing debts is a maximum of twice the EBITDA. Increasing cash flow will provide ample room to invest in both organic growth, research, development, production capacity, business development, and licensing agreements, while also potentially returning money to shareholders through dividends or share buybacks. For 2024, the board has proposed to maintain the dividend freeze introduced in 2018. It still makes the most sense to invest the profits in further growth and progress, as we did with the acquisition of Neffy.
But the financial objectives also allow us to reward shareholders directly if we cannot invest money better ourselves. However, the priorities are above all to invest in organic growth and developing the business. In the board, we are convinced that this will best support long-term value creation for our shareholders. That said, we continuously monitor our capital allocation plans, and we have no intention of acting as a bank. So if we cannot invest the capital wisely, it should, of course, be returned to the shareholders. Until we pay dividends again, the share price has to generate returns for shareholders. The ALK share rose by 57% last year, and the share performed better than the major Danish C25 shares and the global healthcare shares we compare ourselves to. A much-needed comeback after the sluggish price performance in 2023.
There are things we must succeed at this year, our so-called must-win battles. First and foremost, we must continue to improve ALK's results and maintain momentum so we can help more people with allergy and anaphylaxis. A specific mission is to succeed with the approvals of the tablets for children and the subsequent launches in Europe and North America. We must also continue our market expansion for tablets, and we need to expand capacity so we can produce up to 800 million tablets a year by the end of the decade. In anaphylaxis, the number one priority is to ensure that Neffy is successfully launched in Europe and approved in Canada and the U.K. We must also continue development of the new auto injector, Genesis. In the broader allergy sphere, we must succeed with the phase II trials of the peanut tablet and bring new pipeline concepts forward.
Finally, we have several sustainability tasks, particularly efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, and we've written about that in the annual report. There are many tasks, many priorities, but we have a strategy, we have plans, we know what to do and in what order, and with the execution power we've had in past years, we are sure we can also manage that in future years. With that, I will get close to finishing my report, but let me just first thank managers and employees for their great commitment and adaptability, especially when it comes to executing the strategy while we also had to eliminate a number of positions. 2024 was a year with many changes internally. As I said, we had to eliminate a number of positions and we set a new strategic direction.
But we are very happy to see that our annual employee survey shows that engagement remains high in the top 5% in the international healthcare industry. This is clear testimony to the employees' determination to help millions of allergy sufferers to have a better life. And we live up to our purpose to help these patients. That's what binds us together and what will continue to drive us forward in 2025 and beyond. I would like to end my report where I began by talking about revenue and earnings growth. For 2025, we continue progress to continue. We expect to grow 9% to 13% in local currencies, and that will give growth in all regions and product lines. And we expect an EBIT margin to increase by 5 percentage points to around 25% in 2025.
We promised this a number of years ago, and it seems that this is where we are now heading. So it's quite in line with our targets, and our strategy lives up to that. The tablets are again expected to lead the way and be in the yellow jersey for our growth. We expect double-digit growth in tablet sales in all regions. Last year, growth in Europe was driven 50/50 by better prices and higher volumes. This year, growth will be driven primarily by higher volumes from more patients, including more children and adolescents. ALK's other product lines are also expected to contribute to growth this year. We expect only a slight improvement in the gross margin this year. This is due to the number of costs involved in getting Neffy up and running.
Research and development expenses are expected to increase, but these expenses will still represent around 10% of revenue due to growth in the top line. The costs of both sales and marketing are expected to decrease because savings and optimizations outweigh the costs of growth investments. All in all, a broad-based growth. We expect 2025 to be the seventh consecutive year of increasing revenue and improved earnings. We are on the right track, and we are well on our way to helping more allergy sufferers to have a better life and thereby create an even bigger and stronger ALK. And with that, I ask you to approve the annual report and allocate profits and to discharge the board of directors and board of management. Thank you.
[Foreign language] Thank you to the chairman for his report for 2024, for presenting us with the annual report and the remuneration report, and the proposal for distribution of profits for 2024. Before I open debate, I can tell you that the annual report has been signed by the board of directors and board of management and has been given an unqualified report by the company auditor, which can be seen on pages 159 to 161 in the annual report, and that the company auditor has also given their statement on limited security when it comes to sustainability reporting, which can also be seen in the annual report. And the chairman mentioned that there is not a proposal to pay out any dividends for the financial year 2024. Now to the debate, our first speaker is Claus Berner Møller. If anyone else wants to take the floor, please indicate that to me.
[Foreign language] Thank you for the floor. As mentioned, my name is Claus Berner Møller, and I represent the Pension Fund ATP. Thank you for the report and for presenting the annual report. After a tumultuous 2023, 2024 was a much calmer and stronger year for ALK. Among the strong results, I would like to mention a top-line growth of 15% in local currencies, a growth in tablet sales of 24%, also in local currencies, an improvement of the EBIT of no less than 65% so that the EBIT margin ended at 20%, and a cash flow from operations of DKK 1.2 billion. As a shareholder, we have seen a very good yield in 2024, but we can also be happy to see that the expectations for 2025 are good. We expect top-line growth of 9% to 13% and an EBIT margin of around 25%.
Furthermore, the company has stated an expectation that towards 2028, they will have revenue growth of a minimum of 10%. An EBIT margin of around 25% is continued to continue until 2028 so that the improvements in high top-line growth will be invested into initiatives such as commercial activities, capacity, business development, and research and development, and all of these things will ensure high top-line growth in many years to come. Many of these activities are activities that you have invested in in recent years as well. In 2024, I would like to highlight the following initiatives that will contribute to ensuring growth in the long term. One of them is the approval of tablets for the treatment of children with house dust mite allergy, in licensing of Neffy to the treatment of anaphylaxis, and the positive results from the peanut tablet.
All in all, I'm very happy with the financial results that you have achieved, in particular because you have achieved these goals all the while focusing on long-term value creation. I therefore support the announced strategy, and I look forward to the coming years. Within ESG, I would like to highlight one thing, namely that the company is focusing on gender equality. ALK is a company with 62% women, and therefore it's very important that women also constitute a large part of the top management layer. In ALK, women in top management constitute 45%. That is a very good result. Finally, let me just thank you for your efforts in 2024 and wish the management as well as the employees in ALK good luck in the coming year. Thank you very much.
[Foreign language] Thank you very much to ATP and Claus Berner Møller, and I give the floor to the chairman of the board.
[Foreign language] Well, there's not much more to say than thank you for those words of praise, and I hope that we will hear a similar speech from you next year. [Foreign language]
Does anyone else wish to take the floor under these items on the agenda? There is. Please approach the rostrum. You have to speak from up here, please. We have a webcast, so we have audience elsewhere, and therefore we must speak from the rostrum. Thank you. [Foreign language] And your name?
Hans Hjuler.
And you are a shareholder, right?
Yes, otherwise I would not be here. You're quite right.
I would like to ask. There's been a lot of debate about this whole environmental and energy reporting with all of these data points, and you went through them in your report, but I would like to ask, what's in it to you? Is it worth the effort, or is it all bureaucracy?
[Foreign language] Thank you very much to Hans Hjuler, and there was a specific question, and I give the floor to the chairman. [Foreign language] Well, there's no doubt that there is a lot of bureaucracy and more than there should be. But that said, we believe that there is something in it for us. It means that ALK will be able to reduce less CO2.
We also gain from this entire area of diversity, which just mentioned that we have many talents, and it is a task for us to ensure that we develop the right talents within ALK. So in a number of areas, it does make sense. The reporting itself is perhaps a bit excessive, and we hope that it will be adjusted along the lines, but where it makes sense, we do an extra effort. Of course, we do whatever we must do. I mentioned CO2 and diversity just to take two examples. These are areas where we really put in an effort, and that is close to our hearts because it really contributes to developing the company. Take an area such as biodiversity, which is also something that is relevant to ALK in the long term.
It's part of our business to make use of pollen for our tablets, so we have a responsibility here, and we must make sure that ALK makes a difference.
[Foreign language] Thank you to the chairman for answering Mr. Hans Hjuler's question, and there's another comment.
[Foreign language] My name is Thomas Weidekamp. I represent myself. My question is about allocation of profits. Once again, there are no dividends for the shareholders, but we understand that all targets were met by the board of management. So what does it take for us ever to get back on dividend payouts?
[Foreign language] Thomas Weidekamp. Thank you, Thomas Weidekamp, and the chairman of the board will answer that question.
The best way to illustrate why there are no dividends this year is that we bought Neffy.
Neffy costs DKK 1 billion, and we were able to buy that and finance that without having to raise money. Our priority was to ensure that we add to the core of the business. Otherwise, as I've stated, we want to continue to grow and continue to create value in the key figures I showed you earlier. That's really the reasoning. We would like to have dividends, but in the meantime, we want the share price to drive the value for the individual shareholder. We need to develop the business as we are doing.
[Foreign language] Thank you very much. Anybody else for these items on the agenda? That does not seem to be the case. I will close the debate on the first four items.
I conclude that the general meeting has noted the report on activities, approved the annual report, granted discharge to the board of directors and board of management, approved the resolution of the allocations of profits, and the remuneration report. I will add that to the minutes. With that, we move on to item five on the agenda, which is adoption of remuneration to the board of directors for the present years of 2025. The board of directors proposes that the fee to a member of the board of directors and also to the chairman of the nomination and remuneration committee are changed. That means that ordinary members, there will be a base fee of DKK 400,000 up from DKK 350,000.
The vice chair shall receive twice the amount, DKK 800,000, and the chair of the board of directors shall receive three times that amount, which is DKK 1.2 million. For the remuneration committee, it is proposed that they will get DKK 140,000, and as it also appears from the convening notice, the board proposes that the members of the remuneration and nomination committee and the scientific committee shall receive DKK 100,000 per committee seat, which is unchanged from 2024. The chairs of the remuneration and nomination and the scientific committees shall receive DKK 150,000 per chairship, which is unchanged from last year, so that is the proposal, and I want to ask if you have any comments for that. That is not the case, so I consider this proposal approved. Thank you for that, and I'll add that to the minutes.
That brings us to the election part of the agenda. The first election is the chair of the board of directors, and the board proposes re-election of Anders Hedegaard. And there's a description of his competencies and CV in the annex to the convening notice. Are there other candidates to be chair of the board? That is not the case, so Anders has been re-elected for a one-year period. Congratulations on that. That brings us to item seven, election of the vice chair of the board of directors, and the board proposes re-election of Lene Skole. Her competencies and CV can also be seen in the annex of the convening notice. Are there any other candidates? That does not seem to be the case, so Lene Skole has also been re-elected.
That brings us to the other members of the board of directors, and I give the floor to the chairman to motivate the proposed members of the board.
Thank you, and thank you for re-electing me. According to the Articles of Association, the members elected by the general meeting are for election every year. You have already re-elected me and the Vice Chair, Lene Skole, and we both appreciate the re-election. The board also proposes that all other members are re-elected: Gitte Aabo, Lars Holmqvist, Jesper Høiland, Bertil Lindmark and Alan Main. The candidates are presented in the convening notice and in the annual report, where you can see their positions, areas of expertise, other directorships, etc. We believe the candidates still have the skills needed for the board of directors to represent the interests of the company and our shareholders. All candidates have international management experience from various industries.
They have insights into management and globalization of research-driven companies, and it's all very relevant to ALK. We have seven members elected by the AGM. Five members are independent, two non-independent from a corporate governance perspective, and that's because they're linked to the main shareholder, Lundbeckfonden. Two of the seven members are women, and three have a nationality other than Danish. This means we have an appropriate diversity. We know that diversity has come under sudden pressure in some parts of the world, but at ALK, we continue to work tirelessly on this issue. We believe that diversity at all levels leads to better results. Diversity and inclusion are therefore integrated into a number of processes, such as our succession planning, talent development, and mentoring schemes across ALK.
For the record, I should also mention that new rules have come into force regarding gender distribution among general meeting elected and employee elected board members. The new Gender Balance Act is tightening the rules, and we will get back to that next year because at next year's AGM, we'll deal with what that then means for the board of directors. Off the agenda, I would like to point out that the board also includes four employee elected members. They are Project Director, Katja Barnkob, Senior QA Manager, Nanna Rassov Carlson, Project Director, Lise Lund Mærkedahl, and Maintenance Supporter, Johan Smedsrud. The employee representatives make an important contribution in all meetings and are a deeply integral part of all decisions and discussions, and I would like to commend the employee elected representatives for their contribution, and I think that was that.
[Foreign language] Thank you to the chairman of the board of directors for presenting the candidates. I must ask whether there are any other candidates for the board of directors. That does not seem to be the case. That means that the five candidates have all been elected for a one-year period. Congratulations and good luck. And you can give them a round of applause. [Foreign language] That leads us to the last election item on the agenda, which is the election of auditor. The board of directors proposes re-election of PwC as company auditor, and this concerns both the appointment as auditor in respect of statutory financial reporting and sustainability reporting.
The proposal is based on a recommendation from the audit committee, which is not influenced by third parties and has not been subject to any agreement with a third party that could restrict the choice of the general meeting to certain auditors. Are there any other candidates to be the company auditor? That does not seem to be the case. That means that PwC, Statsautoriseret Revisionspartnerselskab , has been re-elected. That was the end of the ordinary agenda for today, and that leaves us only with the item any other business. Here, everyone is free to take the floor. Does anyone wish to speak? That does not seem to be the case. Now is your last chance.
If no one wants to take the floor, I can simply conclude that we have exhausted the items on the agenda, and I can only thank you for good order and resign as chair of the Annual General Meeting. And with that, I pass the floor back to the Chairman to round off.
[Foreign language] On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank our Chairman of the AGM for navigating us safely through today's meeting, and thank you to the shareholders for your attendance and your interest in ALK. Thank you for your questions and comments. We will now serve some light refreshments in the foyer, where you can also meet the Board of Directors and management. We also look forward to seeing you again next year, and we hope to be able to present just as good results next year.
Thank you.