I'm glad to welcome you to this year's annual general meeting in Coloplast. As always, we will have our general meeting in Danish, and it will be translated into English directly on the company website, so that our shareholders all over the world can follow the proceedings. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to those of you following the general meeting in that manner. First of all, let me present the board and the executive leadership team. I have our Deputy Chairman, Niels Peter Louis-Hansen, and our CEO, Kristian Villumsen. The remaining AGM-elected members of the board are Annette Brüls, Carsten Hellmann, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, and Marianne Wiinholt. This year, we've had an election of the employee-elected board members in Coloplast. The employee-elected members are elected for a period of four years.
The election resulted in re-election of the existing three members, who are Thomas Barfod, Roland Vendelbo Pedersen, and Nikolaj Kyhe Gundersen. They have thus been elected for another four-year term. Congratulations. The other members of our executive leadership team are Anders Lonning-Skovgaard, Allan Rasmussen, Nicolai Buhl Andersen, Poul Mølholm, and Dorthe Rønnow. According to the articles of associations, we will appoint a chairman of the AGM. Just like last year, it will be Niels Kornerup from the law firm Bech-Bruun. I will now pass the floor to Niels Kornerup. Welcome, once again.
Thank you very much for appointing me chairman of this AGM of Coloplast. I look forward to a good discussion and a good development of the meeting. If you have brought along a mobile phone, please silence it so that we can have a good and calm meeting. I would point out that the press is welcome and that there is access to make audio recordings or sound recordings, but only for reporting purposes. I have the job of making sure that this meeting has been duly and lawfully convened and is quorate in relation to the business on the agenda. Before the meeting, I found that the meeting notice was sent out in due time and also meet all the legal requirements contained in the articles of association and in Danish company law. On the agenda, we have two proposals concerning amendments to the articles of association.
This is 71 and 72. In order to be adopted, they require minimum half of the share capital to be represented at the AGM. That appears from Article 11 of the company's articles of association. Before the meeting began, I found that this requirement has been met. I find that this ordinary general meeting is duly and lawfully convened and is quorate in relation to the business to be transacted. I take it that we can all agree. There appears to be no objections. I will enter that into the protocol. The access control has found that. Now I get the figures, fresh off the press. 114 people are present in the room. 78 are shareholders, and 36 are guests, journalists, advisors, and so on.
Also, before we started, when counting proxies, postal votes, et cetera, 88% of the votes are represented, and that is after deducting treasury shares, and that 78% of the share capital is represented at the meeting. That, again, after deduction of treasury shares. The board has received proxies and postal votes corresponding to 99.6% of the represented votes and 99.3% of the represented share capital, and all this... Well, the final figures will be appearing in the protocol from the meeting. According to Danish company law, at Section 101, five, there must be a complete explanation of the voting in relation to every resolution put to the vote at the AGM, explaining how many votes are in favor, how many are against.
Also, even if the outcome of the vote is fairly obvious, this may be departed from, provided that the shareholders at the meeting agree. We have agreed to depart from this principle on previous occasions, and I can see that we will do the same thing this year. Thank you very much. Because of the requirement concerning being quorate, I must ask those who decide to leave the meeting in the course of proceedings to de-register outside at the hospitality desk. This doesn't apply, of course, if you stay for the whole meeting and leave after the meeting has been adjourned.
If you wish to take the floor, I would like you to approach me, and we have seats reserved up here in the first row, so that you can come up here, well in time before you take the floor in order to have a smooth takeover from one speaker to the next. With these words of introduction, I'd like to embark on the meeting proper. This is the agenda. You see it on the screen behind me, and it has been sent out to shareholders. Item one is preparation of annual report, corporate releases, and documents for internal use at the AGM in English. Two, report on the business of the company in the past fiscal year. Three, presentation and approval of audited annual report. Four, decision concerning the appropriation of profit according to the approved annual report.
Five, presentation and approval of the remuneration report. Six, approval of the company's remuneration for the present fiscal year. Seven, as I said before, we have two proposals from the Board concerning amendments to the articles of association, an update of authorities, and to the introduction of English as the group's working language. Item eight, election of members to the Board of Directors. Nine, election of auditor, and 10, authority to the chairman of the meeting to make effect registration of what has been adopted at the meeting. 11, any other business. The first item is new, because this is a proposal from the Board to the effect that the annual report, corporate releases, and documents for the AGM's internal use will be prepared in English.
It will appear from the convening notice that these documents will be in English, but for the time being, the board will make sure that a number of documents, including the annual report, the convening notice, proxies, et cetera, will still be available in Danish. There are technical reasons why this is the first item on the agenda, because if we approve this before we approve the annual report, we make it possible for the company's auditor formally to sign the English language version of the annual report already this year. I would refer you to Article 101 A in Danish company law concerning this type of proposal. Are there anyone wishing to speak on this? That does not seem to be the case. I take it then, that the AGM has approved the proposal. Thank you very much.
Which brings us to the next items on the agenda, which are now items two to five, which we will, as per tradition, deal with in one go. Report from the Board, presentation approval of annual report, decision concerning appropriation of profit, and then presentation and approval of the remuneration report. I will now hand over to the Chairman of the Board, who will deal with the presentation of the documents contained in the next, or first now, four items. You have the floor, sir.
Thank you for choosing to participate in this year's AGM. I've been looking forward to telling you about the past year. Our mission is to make life easier for people with intimate healthcare needs. That's why I'm proud that our company has helped more than two million people worldwide this year. We've done so by setting the standard for innovation within our categories and delivering products that make a clinical difference all over the world. Finally, we've continued to support our users directly. We have welcomed 250,000 new users to the Coloplast Care program. This way of running the company, working closely with both healthcare professionals and users, benefits the individual user in their homes. It also helps the healthcare systems by keeping people out of hospitals.
This is important in a world where the number of elderly people is rising steadily, and it is also good business. Consequently, I'm very pleased with the result this year. In 2021-2022, Coloplast delivered 6% organic growth and EBIT margin before special items of 31%, and a return on invested capital after tax and before special items of 27%. That's a solid performance, particularly as 2022 will be remembered as one of the most challenging years the world has seen for decades. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation, disrupted supply chains, and rising interest rates have had a visible impact on the global economy. All companies have had to adapt to that new reality, and Coloplast is no exception.
On behalf of the board and myself, I would like to start by expressing my sincere thanks to the management and all employees of Coloplast for having made another extraordinary effort this year. In a challenging year, Coloplast once again took market share across business areas, and we made good progress with our strategy. Leads me to the board of directors and our collaboration with the executive leadership team. This year, we welcomed Annette Brüls as a new member of the board of director. She has extensive managerial experience from the global med tech industry and profound insight into the U.S. market. With Annette, I'm pleased to note that we still have an equal representation of men and women among the shareholder elected members. One of my focus areas as chairman, is to involve the board of directors in key strategic decisions.
During the year, the board has worked closely with the executive leadership team to find out how to tackle COVID-19 in China, the war in Ukraine, and rising inflation. Furthermore, the board has been involved in important discussions on innovation, digitalization, sustainability, culture, acquisitions, and the company's global commercial activities, not least in the US and China. Open discussions between the board and executive leadership team are important. It's essential that the decisions we make today support the long-term value creation for our stakeholders, users, healthcare professionals, employees, societies, and shareholders. The annual evaluation of the board, conducted with external assistance this year, concluded that there's a strong collaboration between the executive leadership team and the board. It was emphasized that we have a high degree of satisfaction with the current range of competencies.
In the long term, we want to strengthen our competencies within innovation, and I look forward to continuing the good relationship in the coming year. Now, I will focus on the company's Strive25 strategy. In 2020, Coloplast launched a new five-year strategy, Strive25, focusing on innovation and growth. This strategy is supported by annual investments of up to 2% of revenue in innovation and commercial initiatives. That is on top of the existing R&D, sales, and marketing budgets. These investments are aimed at boosting growth across all of our business areas. A part of the strategy is also to actively look for acquisition targets to further strengthen our growth opportunities. Let me start my review of this year's Strive25 results by presenting our most recent acquisition, Atos Medical.
The acquisition of Atos was officially approved and completing on the 31st of January this year, and on the 11th of May, funding was in place with a bond issue worth DKK 16 billion. Atos Medical is Coloplast's largest acquisition ever. Therefore, I am pleased to say that just 10 months after the acquisition, I can confirm the strategic rationale and growth expectations. Atos Medical delivers high single-digit organic growth and solid EBITDA margins in the mid-thirties. Growth opportunities in the market remain high, as many patients do not have access to treatment or products, and the integration of the company is progressing according to plan. Coloplast and Atos Medical are kindred companies that can learn a lot from each other. Both companies help people with chronic conditions.
Both are undisputed market leaders, and both believe in a business model based on innovation, long-term partnerships with healthcare professionals, and direct support for users. Both companies are also fighting for better access to improved products and treatment. Before I continue, I would like to present Morten's story. Cancer of the voice box meant that Morten had to undergo a total laryngectomy in 2021. Today, he uses products from Atos Medical.
The doctor told me I got cancer. The first thing that come to my head was a kind of shock, and the second thought I got was, "Yeah, if I got it, I shall survive it, and I will live with it, and I will fight it." Before the surgery, I was very active. I was doing triathlon. I was rowing, swimming, driving bicycle, mountain bike, and on the road, and I was running. The difference in my lifestyle today is I'm thinking a little bit more about what I'm using my time for. I have another priority in my family and well, and myself, and my health is a top priority. I was training before because it was fun. I like training actually now because it's good for my health. It's good for my lungs.
Being a coach in the rowing club means a lot to me. I've been an instructor for many years. I was often at the water with the rowers and sitting in the boat beside them. I don't do that anymore. Now I'm the coach in the gym, and it's my responsibility that the youngsters are fit when they are going out in the spring season. Many women every morning stand up, taking their makeup on. I stand up every morning, put my Adhesit and my Hands-Free or whatever, and that is a new me. Then actually, I don't think about the time before. It's now. I don't get anything from looking back now. It's forward. I'm happy. I'm a happy man. I've got a good family, and I know I got a good health now.
Now, let's talk about innovation. That is one of the key areas of the Strive25 strategy. Morten's story is a good example of the difference that the right treatment and great products can make in a person's life. Atos Medical's Provox Life is a new generation of products comprising so-called HMEs and plasters and tubes that improve the patient's ability to speak and breathe. Provox Life was developed in close collaboration with users and healthcare professionals worldwide. These products set the standard for innovation in the market. Provox Life is just one of many examples. Our ambition is to set the standard for innovation within all of our business areas. This includes the chronic care business and Coloplast's Clinical Performance Program.
This program is important because clinical evidence and data play an increasingly important role in our dialogue with healthcare systems. We need to be able to document the value we create to users, to healthcare professionals, and not least, to payers. This past year has brought significant progress. We pilot-launched the world's first digital ostomy product, Heylo, to hundreds of users in Germany and the U.K. This product has been developed to prevent leakage, which is a major concern for people living with stomas. Heylo has been well received by the users. The clinical studies are progressing according to plan, and we expect to launch in 2023. We also made good progress with our new catheter platform, Luja, with Micro-hole Zone Technology. Luja aims to provide better and safer emptying of the bladder, thereby reducing the risk of urinary tract infection.
This product will be launched in the second half of 22 to 23. This past year has, however, also brought challenges. After careful consideration, we have decided to move our focus from the development of the next ostomy platform to other promising R&D projects. We will reallocate resources and focus on other ostomy care technologies and projects. This decision is a result of new MDR rules, that is, EU legislation regarding approval of medical devices. The new rules categorize the substance in the device as a medicinal product, which makes the device a Class III device in the EU. Class III classification would involve further investments and delay the launch considerably. Furthermore, Class III classification is not in line with Coloplast's overall regulatory strategy for ostomy care. Within the continence care, we launched the SpeediCath Flex Set this year, thereby expanding our portfolio of flexible catheters.
The set solution offers a bag system that meets the needs and preferences of certain users. Within wound care, we have a special focus on the two fastest-growing segments, silicone and fiber, and we now have the strongest product portfolio in the company's history. In interventional urology, we are continuously seeking attractive opportunities within new segments. We now enter the laser segment with the launch of the company's first fiber laser device, Thulium Fiber Laser Drive. Among other things, this device ensures faster and more targeted treatment of kidney stones. We also initiated clinical studies of the Intibia device. Intibia is an implantable device for treatment of overactive bladder, and is a result of the acquisition of the MedTech company, Nine Continents, in 2020. Overall, we are making solid progress within innovation.
We have high expectations of these products, which are set to drive the company's value generation. That leads me to another key area, that is growth, because Strive25 is a growth strategy with ambitious targets. Once again, we outperformed the market and gained market share across business areas. This was achieved as COVID-19 gradually loosens its grip on the world, with China as an exception. In China, shutdowns impacted growth this year. All the same, we maintained a strong position within ostomy care across all channels. The long-term potential of the Chinese market is intact. In the U.S., the ostomy care business delivered double-digit growth. This was due to an expansion of the sales force, as well as contracts with the two largest GPOs in the U.S., Vizient and Premier. These contracts give us access to 75% of U.S. hospitals.
We also made investments within interventional urology, as well as our new business area, Atos Medical, also known as Voice and Respiratory Care. Investments in commercial activities boost growth. When the company grows, we are helping even more people with intimate health care needs. More and more people can avoid hospitalization and live the lives they want. This benefits not only individuals, but also healthcare systems and the societies that we're all a part of. That leads me to another topic that is important for our strategy, as well as the societies we operate in: sustainability. Sustainability remains at the top of the board's agenda, and for good reason. Sustainability has become a prerequisite for operating in the market as a responsible company. It has become a competitive advantage, and hence, it's essential that Coloplast delivers on its ambitions. Sustainability is an enterprise theme in Strive25.
We have allocated DKK 250 million to support a sustainable development. Let me highlight some of this year's achievements, starting with the focus area of CO2 emissions. We reduced our Scope one and two emissions by 8% since 2018-2019. 72% of the energy we consume now comes from renewable sources. We have installed electric heat pumps at our sites in Hungary and phased out the use of natural gas at our site in China. Recently, we signed our first major power purchase agreement, securing renewable electricity for our sites in Denmark. This year, our reduction targets were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. This validation confirms that our efforts will contribute to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, as outlined in the Paris Agreement. Another focus area is products and packaging.
Here, we're working to find more sustainable solutions without compromising on product safety and clinical performance. Plastic waste is a key issue here. Plastic waste is a worldwide challenge, and we're committed to finding scalable solutions. Our priority is to bring more renewable materials into our products and packaging, and to increase recyclability. At the same time, we want to reduce production waste. We will continue to increase our recycling rate, which is currently at 71%. We're also working with leading manufacturers, partners, and research institutions to map potentials for plastic recycling. I believe that such partnerships are essential to reaching our targets. Now I will turn to a key theme in our strategy and our history of value creation, unparalleled efficiency. Like any other global company, Coloplast has experienced increased pressure on input costs over the last year.
This includes higher prices for raw materials, freight, and energy, inflation in general. At the same time, disrupted supply chains and high wage inflation in Hungary have led to extraordinary challenges. We have launched a number of initiatives to meet these challenges. We have increased our focus on raw materials and are in close dialogue with our suppliers. We have built up larger stocks to further strengthen our reliability of delivery. We have a strong focus on energy procurement, we are continuously working to find alternative sources of energy, primarily wind and solar. Furthermore, an extensive automation program will reduce the impact of wage inflation in Hungary. We're making good progress with the implementation, which will make our production more effective and create higher output without increasing the number of operators.
We expect to have fully implemented the program by the end of 2022-2023. By then, we will have avoided hiring 1,000 new operators. We opened our second factory in Costa Rica earlier this year. The establishment of the two factories in Costa Rica aims to support Coloplast's high growth. At the same time, we would like a more global and diversified production network. We expect that 25% of our overall production will come from Costa Rica by the end of this strategy period. We will continue to deliver strong results and unparalleled efficiency with Strive25. Initiatives in our Global Operations Plan five will have a positive impact on the profitability level in the long term. At the same time, our business support center in Poland and the global IT organization are continuously making the company's processes more effective.
However, these initiatives have not been able to offset the rising input costs over the past year. The uncertainty in the global economy affect all companies, including Coloplast. Still, we are one of the most profitable companies in our industry, and we are committed to maintaining this position. Now, I'd like to address the part of the strategy at the heart of the company, leadership, culture, and organization.
Our success depends upon our ability to attract and retain competent employees, that's why we need to be as capable at retaining employees as we were before COVID-19. This should be viewed in the context of a challenging labor market, in which an increasing number of people are changing jobs frequently or have decided to leave the labor market entirely. I'm also pleased to note that employee satisfaction remains high in the company. Twice a year, we collect feedback from the organization via global employee service, the most recent figures from 2021, 2022 show a very high level of engagement. More than 90% of employees participated, we got a score of 8.2 out of 10, we are in the top 25% compared with other companies in healthcare. Coloplast is still working to improve the gender balance at managerial level.
We are committed to a 40-60 gender distribution at all management levels and on our board of directors by 2030. In 2021-2022, 45% of all Coloplast managers were female. At senior leadership level, the figure was 21%, but at the level just below director level, the split was 40-60, which indicates that we have strengthened our female senior leadership pipeline. That was my review of the company's strategy, Strive25. Before I report on the financial highlights of the year, I'd like to address the war in Ukraine. We currently have an office with 6 employees in Ukraine. We have an office in Russia with approximately 50 employees. Since the outbreak of the war, our priority has been the safety of our Ukrainian employees and their families.
We've offered Ukrainian employees assistance to leave the country if that was what they wished to do. Our organizations in Poland and Hungary have assisted employees and immigrated families with shelter, jobs, and visas. We've also made several large product donations to emergency aid organizations. We've also focused on securing access to our products in both Russia and Ukraine. Together, we service a total of more than 100,000 people with intimate healthcare needs in these two countries, often elderly people who are heavily dependent on our products, and that's why medical devices, like, for instance, medicines, are exempt from the sanctions. The war in Ukraine is sad and distressing, and I hope a peaceful solution will be found.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Coloplast who has been involved in the management of this crisis during the year, not least those employees who are experiencing the war at firsthand. With these words, I'll turn to the financial highlights of the year. Coloplast announced its full year results for 2021, 2022 on the 7th of November. On the very same day, the annual report, sustainability report, and remuneration report were published. Organic growth came to 6%, measured in DKK, it increased 16% to DKK 22.6 billion. We continue to grow across sales regions and business areas, despite the negative impact from COVID-19 in China. Operating profit before special items increased 9% to DKK 6.9 billion, resulting in an EBIT margin before special items of 31% against 33% last year.
We're still among the most profitable companies in the MedTech industry, but of course, we are affected by extraordinarily high input costs, like many other companies in the industry. ROIC after tax and before special items was 27% against 45% last year. The decrease is due to the acquisition of Atos Medical. Finally, the net profit for the year after special items came to DKK 4.7 billion, down from DKK 4.8 billion last year. The business areas. Sales of ostomy care products generated 7% in organic growth and 10% in reported growth. The SenSura Mio portfolio and the Brava range of supporting products continued to be the main drivers of revenue growth. This year, growth in new Ostomy Care patients returned to pre-COVID-19 levels in most of the world, except for China. Europe delivered most of the growth, driven by the U.K.
The U.S. also showed strong performance, and emerging markets, except for China, also made a sound contribution to growth. Once again, the figures for Latin America were particularly good. In China, COVID-19 restrictions had a negative impact on growth due to a decrease in surgeries and sales activity at the hospitals. The average value per patient remains lower than before COVID-19 because of the economic certainty, which has led Chinese consumers to tighten their purse strings. Ostomy Care revenue amounted to DKK 8.6 billion, corresponding to 38% of total revenue, and we maintain our global leadership position in the Ostomy Care market with a market share of between 35% and 40%. Sales of Continence Care products generated 6% in organic growth and 9% in reported growth.
Within Continence Care, growth in new patients also returned to pre-COVID-19 levels in most of the world. SpeediCath intermittent catheters and Peristeen continued to be the main drivers of revenue growth. Growth came from Europe, notably the UK, as well as the US and Latin America. We also saw double-digit growth in markets where in recent years we have succeeded in raising the standard of care by improving the reimbursement of hydrophilic catheters. This is relevant in Poland, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. In the US, growth in the first half of the year was affected by lower growth in new patients because of COVID-19. Growth in new patients normalized in the second half of the year. In the rest of the world, growth in new patients has normalized at pre-COVID-19 levels. Revenue amounted to DKK 7.6 billion, or 34% of total revenue.
Coloplast remains the global market leader within Continence Care, with a market share of between 40% and 45%. Sales of Interventional Urology products increased 9% in terms of organic growth and 16% in terms of reported growth. Growth was broad-based, driven by both men's and women's health in the US and endourology in Europe. Revenue amounted to DKK 2.4 billion, or 11% of total revenue. The company's share of the total global market for Interventional Urology products is around 15%-20%. We made a further provision of DKK 300 million this year in cover of potential settlements and costs related to litigations in the US concerning product liability in connection with transvaginal surgical mesh products. We've now concluded settlements in more than 99% of all known cases.
Sales of Wound and Skin Care products generated 4% in organic growth and 8% in reported growth. By the Biatain Silicone portfolio continued to drive growth, the Biatain Fiber portfolio also made a positive contribution. Especially European markets delivered strong results for the year, emerging markets, except for China, also performed well. Revenue from Wound and Skin Care products amounted to DKK 2.7 billion, or 12% of total revenue. Our share of the total market for wound care products is 5%-10%. Voice and Respiratory Care delivered high single-digit underlying growth in line with expectations. Our new Chronic Care business area contributed 6 percentage points to reported growth, reflecting 8 months revenue. Growth was driven by solid double-digit growth within laryngectomy, which accounts for two-thirds of total revenue.
Growth was contributed by new patients as well as higher patient value, thanks to the introduction of Atos Medical's new Provox Life product portfolio. Tracheostomy also contributed to growth with underlying mid-single digit growth as expected. The global market for laryngectomy products is between DKK 1 billion-DKK 1.5 billion, and the market is growing by 8%-10% per year. Coloplast's share of the total global market is around 85%. Now the financial highlights geographically. In the European markets, organic growth came to 5%, revenue to DKK 12.9 billion, or 57% of total revenue. In other developed markets, organic growth came to 6%, revenue to DKK 5.8 billion, or 26% of total revenue. In emerging markets, organic growth came to 10%, revenue increased to DKK 3.9 billion, or 17% of total revenue.
Now, the profit for the year. The profit for the year reflects improved efficiencies and tighter management of OpEx, but also higher activity and investment levels after the phasing out of the COVID-19 restrictions. The profit for the year was also affected by increased input costs and depreciation related to the acquisition of Atos Medical. Gross profit increased by 17% to DKK 15.5 billion from DKK 13.3 billion last year, or a gross margin of 69%, which is on par with last year. Operating profit for the year was DKK 6.9 billion before special items, or an increase of 9% compared to last year. The EBIT margin before special items was 31%, against 33% last year. Now the balance sheet and cash flows.
Balance sheets, sheet assets total DKK 35 billion, an increase of DKK 19 billion since the beginning of the financial year because of intangible assets resulting from the acquisition of Atos Medical. Equity increased by DKK 124 million since the beginning of the financial year to DKK 8.3 billion. The free cash flow for the year was negative by DKK 6.7 billion, the decrease being mainly attributable to larger stocks and prepaid expenses, including expenses in connection with the acquisition of Atos Medical. Adjusted for acquisitions, the free cash flow for the year is DKK 4 billion, an increase of DKK 597 million Danish kroner on the previous year.
At the close of the year, net interest-bearing debt amounted to DKK 18.1 billion, compared with DKK 2.1 billion last year, the increase being primarily due to the acquisition of Atos Medical. At today's AGM, the board of directors proposes the distribution of an additional dividend of DKK 15 per share, which means it comes on top of the half-year dividend of DKK 5 per share. This brings the total dividend paid for the year to DKK 20 per share, against DKK 19 last year. This means a total payout for 2021, 2022 of DKK 4.2 billion, corresponding to a payout ratio of 84% before special items. On the last trading day of the previous financial year, the Coloplast share was traded at a price of 1,007 at Nasdaq Copenhagen.
On the last day of the financial year, which I'm reporting on today, the closing price was 776 DKK. In the period from October 1, 2021, to September 13, 2022, the return on the Coloplast share was negative by 24.4%, including dividends paid out during this period. This should be viewed against the backdrop of a generally declining stock market because of negative developments in the global economy, including increasing interest rates. In the same period, the OMX C25 index that we are part of, fell by 22%. The day before the AGM, the closing price was 834 DKK, sorry. Now to the financial outlook and guidance for next year.
Next year, we expect organic growth in the range of 7%-8% at constant exchange rates and 11%-12% in DKK, including growth contribution from the acquisition of Atos Medical of around 3 percentage points, and a positive impact from exchange rates of around 1 percentage point. The expected organic revenue growth reflects a limited impact from COVID-19 across business areas, except for China. This means sustained momentum in Europe for the chronic care business, where growth in new patients has normalized at the pre-pandemic level. This also applies to our ostomy care business in the US. Continence care in the US is expected to grow because of a normalization of growth in new patients. In emerging markets, we expect broad-based double-digit growth. China is not included, because the country is still expected to be impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions.
Urology and wound and skincare are expected to deliver growth above market level, which is in line with the Strive25 target. Wound care in China is expected to be impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. Voice and Respiratory Care is expected to grow by 8%-10%. We expect a reported EBIT margin of 28%-30% in DKK. The expected EBIT margin reflects increased pressure on input costs, especially from raw materials and from higher electricity prices and wage inflation in Hungary. These costs have, to some extent, been offset by efficiency gains and tighter management of operating expenses. CapEx is expected to come to DKK 1.4 billion, reflecting, among other things, investments in automation at the sites in Hungary and China. CapEx also reflects investments in new machinery for existing and new products, as well as IT and sustainability.
CapEx for Atos Medical is included in the figure. The effective tax rate is expected at around 21%. That was my report for fiscal 2021, 2022. This ends another chapter in Coloplast's 65-year history. A new chapter begins. Once again, I'd like to say special thanks to Coloplast's management and employees for delivering a very solid result for this year. I would also like to say thank you to all our users for trusting our products and services. Last but not least, thank you to all shareholders for your faith in the company. We've now started on a new year. In many respects, the world is now not what it was just 12 months ago. The list of global challenges is long. Coloplast is not immune to their impacts. Nevertheless, I see a bright future for the company.
We focus on long-term growth, we are competitive, and we take market share. We have the highest profitability levels in our industry, and across business areas and regions, the growth potential remains significant. There's still millions of people who do not have access to the treatment and the products that they deserve. This year, again, we will work hard to address that situation, and I'm convinced that Coloplast has the model required to make a difference. What's equally important, we have the values and the culture needed to succeed. With these concluding remarks, I'd like to show you a film that talks to our culture and the values on which we are built. Here it is. Thank you for your attention.
Did you just yawn? Odds are you did. You can thank your mirror neurons for that. They give us the ability to put ourselves in the place of others, to understand what others might be feeling. We're all born with them. They're the basis of all human connection. We were born from a nurse's wish to help her sister, and the skills of an engineer. Their way of thinking not only helped a sister back then, but millions of people today. It has shaped not only what we do, but why we do it. It was personal to them, and it still is for us. That's why we don't see people with intimate healthcare needs. We see Kirsten, we see Peter, and Victor. We see ordinary lives and extraordinary achievements. That's why we're not only a medical company, but a human company.
Why we believe that all innovation starts with empathy.
Thank you very much for the report on the company's activities for the past year, the presentation of the annual report, and the presentation of the remuneration report, as well as the presentation of the distribution of profit. Before opening up the debate, I should inform you that the annual report has been signed by the board and the executive leadership team, and that it has received an unqualified auditor's report, as you can see in the annual report on page 123. Before we start the debate, I remind you that, as the chairman also said, the board proposes a dividend for the financial year, 2021-2022, of DKK 15 per share of DKK 1.
This is in addition to the extraordinary dividend paid out in connection with publishing the half-year accounts, where the company paid out a dividend of DKK 5 per share. That takes the total dividend to 90% of the year's group profits, corresponding to DKK 4,247 million. With those words, I would like to open up for the debate, and we start with ATP, represented by Mr. Claus Berner Møller . If anybody else wants to take the floor, please let me know. For now, I pass the floor to Mr. Claus Berner Møller .
Thank you very much. My name is Claus Berner Møller , and I represent ATP. I would like to thank you for the report and the presentation of the annual report.
2022 was a difficult year for many companies due to geopolitical challenges, supply chain challenges, and high inflation. For companies like Coloplast, which is subject to price regulation, inflation is a particular problem because the inflation cannot be outweighed. With targeted price increases where possible and a strong focus on costs, Coloplast has limited the loss on the EBIT margin to about 2 percentage points. The effect from new amortizations and acquisitions is the reason for half of this decline. That is a good result that we, as shareholders, appreciate. On the other hand, we also have to look at the risks that are entailed by this very strict risk management. We can see that top line growth will decrease in coming years because you haven't made the necessary investments in order to secure future growth.
CEO Kristian Villumsen points out in the annual report that the necessary investments in R&D and growth initiatives have been carried out. I was really glad to read that note from him. The most positive news last year was the acquisition of Atos Medical. We have been told that integration is going along as planned and that Atos is contributing to the overall business. That leads me to the following question: What should we expect of synergies from the acquisition of Atos Medical, and what have these two organizations been able to learn from each other? Throughout the past year, Coloplast has increased its focus on ESG. I'm very satisfied to see that. One of the most important challenges is CO2 emissions. Under Scope two and three, you've...
You have achieved a reduction of 8%. You have a goal of 100% by 2030. When it comes to your Scope three emissions, we have seen a small step back this year. I understand that you are in a close dialogue with the most important suppliers. My question is therefore: What are the greatest barriers in order to reach your ambitious goal of a 50% reduction of your Scope three emissions per product by 2030? What are the most important steps that you're going to take? Within ESG, you also focus on gender diversity. One of your goals for 2030 is that women should constitute 40% at the senior leadership level. However, the share of women have fallen last year from 24% last year to 21% this year.
Of course, I understand that in an individual year can, you can see a setback, but when that happens, of course, it is relevant to ask what steps you are planning to take to reach your goal in 2030. Other than that, I would just like to wish you the best of luck in the years to come.
Thank you very much to Claus Berner Møller from ATP. I pass the floor to the Chairman of the Board.
Thank you very much. Thank you for your positive comments. To your question about what synergies to expect from the acquisition of Atos Medical and what the two organizations can learn from each other, I can tell you that Coloplast and Atos Medical are two companies that match very well. We have a chronic business model.
Our ostomy and continence care business are for people who need constant care and chronic care after their illnesses or operations, and the same can be said about Atos Medical. We have a strong cultural fit here. Atos Medical, as we see it, can benefit from our strong commercial presence across geographies, because Coloplast are very strongly present in emerging markets, whereas Atos Medical doesn't have a large organization in China, for instance, where about 1/5 of all laryngectomy procedures are carried out globally. Of all procedures in the world, about 1/5 take place in China, and here Atos Medical don't have their pre- products today. Of course, that will mean that once the products are registered, they can get out there. On the other hand, we can learn from Atos on several issues. Atos is successfully selling directly to consumers.
They have a strong clinical program, and they just launched a very strong new program as well, just to mention a few examples. To your question about CO2 reductions, it's true that Scope three is difficult, and you can't do this on your own. We want to promote our sustainability within all of our key areas without compromising on product safety or our clinical performance. On top of that, we also produce plastic products, which is also a problem, or plastic waste is a general problem in the world. We have a responsibility to address that problem and try to make improvements, and we do that in collaboration with our stakeholders across the supply chain. Looking at raw materials, they constituted 68% of our Scope three emissions in 2021-2022.
Now we have a collaboration with about 50 suppliers, and we are bringing on board more and more suppliers to our supplier sustainability program. We work with our suppliers to bring down our emissions for existing and future products. Another area that's important is goods transport, which constituted 15% of our emissions last year. Here we want to replace air transportation with sea freight, not because we want to fly our products around the world, but sometimes it's important and we have to do it. We need to be transparent and make sure that we have our products where they need to be. We also work with bringing down the amount of business travel.
During COVID, we found out that we can sometimes meet virtually, we want to bring down our emissions from business travel, and thereby, using more digital opportunities for meeting online. Our ambition for Scope three emissions was approved by the Science Based Targets initiative this past year, we think that is a very important milestone because that means that somebody is looking over our shoulders and making sure that we are well on track to reaching our goals and that we are not doing any greenwashing. Finally, there was a question about diversity. In 2021-2022, we saw that 45% of all managers in Coloplast were women, for executive management it was only 21%. Just below top management, we have about a 40, 60 distribution, and that's about equal, and that's where we are now.
To promote this area even further, we have launched a number of initiatives. We have established a global Equality and Diversity Committee, and they are going to present concrete plans to increase diversity. This will include training and education. We also work actively with diversity in our talent development program. We are looking at the working conditions for selected groups of employees. It could be maternity and paternity leave and so on. We do have a number of initiatives covering these areas.
Thank you very much. This was the chairman's reply to the ATP Pension Fund. The next speaker comes from the Association of Danish Shareholders, represented here by Bjarne Kongsted. You have the floor, sir.
Good afternoon. My name is Bjarne Kongsted, and I attend the meeting today in my capacity of representative of the Danish Association of Shareholders. I've asked for the floor in order to explain about the interests of our association as the speaking on behalf of our shareholders. Sorry about my voice. It's not because I saw a dreary football match from Qatar yesterday. I don't know where it came from. Well, we have an objective of attending about 50 AGMs per year all over the country, and we're pleased to attend Coloplast AGM every year. We've been here for a number of years now.
When we attend an AGM, we do it not only to strengthen shareholder democracy, but also to explain to management in corporate businesses that we have a catalog of focus areas, that we speak on behalf of our members, sorry, when we focus on a number of specific areas. We are working with the current areas this year: transparency, decency, and competency, of course, COVID, which is always relevant. Transparency has to do with something as mundane as whether it's possible to read the accounts, to see what actually, what type of information is contained. Is it enough? Is there sufficient diversity on board and management? Decency is about being decent in the way you do business.
If you have shown a lack of judgment in the course of the year, if there have been cases that are very unfortunate, bonuses, are they too high? What about social responsibility? Last but not least, competency. Does the annual results and the budgets reflect a competent effort made by board and management? Does the share price reflect the true value of the company? Look, this was a bit about our focus points in this fiscal year, I would now like to comment on the accounts themselves and a couple of financial highlights. We are told that the profit ratio is back at 33%, more or less, on a par with last year. This is in the fine end of the spectrum. I think it's difficult to find that there's room for improvement here.
In the notes, the company states that they expect a profit ratio below 30% in the current fiscal year. In the current fiscal year, the company has acquired market shares across regions and across business areas, and at the same time, the company delivers the highest earnings level in the industry. As a result, it is recommended by the board that the annual dividend be increased by 1 DKK to 20 DKK for fiscal 2021-2022. 5 DKK of this amount has already been paid out. At one point, the share price was below 740 DKK in the fiscal year, and that gives, or that means that the dividend of 20 DKK is at a very high level, in particular, if another dividend is paid out next spring. I know that it does not appear in the accounts.
An increase in operating profit from 9% to DKK 6.9 billion is fine. There is an analyst that says that the expectations for 2022, 2023 are a bit on the weak side. This has caused Coloplast to announce that they intend to look at savings and optimization initiatives. Organic growth at closing ended at 5%, where the market had expected an increase of 6.2%. This was immediately reflected in the price of the company's share. It has come back a bit since then. When I was here last year, I expressed my satisfaction at the increase in dividend of DKK 1 per year. It must have caused some people in the corridors of power to get together. They have decided once again to increase dividend by DKK 1.
We have certain, we do have very high expectations of next year's accounts. Other industries are fighting with different challenges after the COVID-19 pandemic. In this connection, I'd like to hear if Coloplast has challenges in relation to insufficient deliveries, both in Denmark and abroad, and to what extent the many COVID-19 shutdowns in China will affect coming year's accounts. There's a certain instability in China these days. I am sure that will also cause some foreheads to frown on the faces of country managers. Last point on my list is to say congratulations with the fine results. Let's hope it's reflected in the share price. A good working year to everyone, board, management, and all employees. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much to the Association of Danish Shareholders. There were a number of specific questions. Let's hear from the chairman of the board.
Thank you for the comments, Mr. Kongsted. I'm pleased you didn't propose an increase in dividend of DKK 3. We just managed to give you the DKK 1 you were referring to.
Yes, I'd like to comment on the issue of dividend.
The thing is, we have a policy with regard to excess capital. We pay it out, and we mainly pay it out in the form of dividends, and we also have a small share buyback program. We buy back shares in the course of the year in order to have sufficient shares for the shares we need in relation to share option programs. As we continue, I hope to make more money. We will be able to increase our dividend payouts, but we are not to be considered a bank where we have the money invested in our own balance, so to speak. We do intend to use it for some purpose, also to pay it out to shareholders. Then you have a comment about China, and I agree with you. It does give cause to worry. We have invested a lot in China.
We have a large commercial organization there. We also have a large plant there, a large organization. Fortunately, we've been able to keep it running. There have been some raw materials that we couldn't get hold of, so the figures from the past year were affected by problems with deliveries. The large majority of activities there have been kept alive. In the guidance that we have, the expectations that we have expressed with regard to the new financial year, we emphasize that plastics is, or supplies, is something that's very important to us in our production, and we depend on deliveries. You can clearly see that China doesn't deliver the growth that we've been used to. We've been in China for many, many years, and I simply cannot recall a year with so low growth expectations as in this year and the year before.
There are some signs of a change, but it doesn't look very encouraging. I also cross fingers. I hope things will be working in the right direction, but. Well, I would say we mainly agree with the worries that you expressed in your presentation.
Thank you very much to the chairman. That was a reply to the Danish Shareholders Association, Mr. Kongsted. The next speaker is Lars Henrik Nielsen. You have the floor, sir.
[Foreign language] Værsgo. Tak. Yeah, jeg hedder...
My name is Lars H. Nielsen, and a special greeting to Lars Rasmussen. We also talked at the AGM of Lundbeck in June. You may have noticed my post, which was quite critical in the Facebook group, Coloplast Shareholders. You're going to see three slides from me and hear quite a critical speech. I'm trying to reach the ambitious business manager with my speech. Coloplast CEO gets more in his remuneration, much more than the ordinary Dane. The CEO, Kristian Villumsen, has got a pay increase of DKK 1.8 million, bringing his annual salary to DKK 21.7 million. That is not appropriate. Later on, you're going to vote on the remuneration for the coming year. I propose that you reject this proposal.
For salaries over DKK 7 million, there are new tax rules underway. They should not have a tax deduction in the company's tax-deductible income from 2023. That proposal from the authorities is put forward in order to combat inequalities and distortions of the market. You can read more in the article about... That says, "No tax deductions for extremely high wages from next year." In my Facebook post, you can find a link to that article. It was on the 11th of November, 2022. The board of Coloplast should adapt to the norm of the Danish Parliament for top management wages, you should stay at the proposed level of DKK 7 million.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, we started the era called Europe of Hope, but now it's turned into the Europe of Tears because the globalization did not translate into good, inclusive societies, because the rich only got even richer. An Indian professor told the Danish daily Politiken recently that neoliberalism is no longer supported by the general population in advanced societies where inequality has risen over the past 40 years. Now we're back at the level of the 1920s. The AGM of Coloplast is a cathedral for inequality of wages, and this meeting is documentation for this undermining development. A wage increase of DKK 1.8 million for the CEO, while many Danish people are in a desperate situation.
I've had a top salary of DKK 35,000 a year, and if I had had that wage for my entire life, I wouldn't even reach one annual salary of the CEO. I mean, what can you spend that much money each year on? Should it be translated into consumption? Can you spend more than DKK 20 million on goods year after year? This afternoon, I would like to compare top executives in the Danish top 25 companies with the top 25 top-rated chess players. They are fighting for a rating so that they can climb a list of chess players, they do not steal from less privileged people. They only steal ratings from each other, from their competitors. How do you measure the strength of the best of the C 25 company index?
You range them by the salaries of the executive managers. These are competitive people who enjoy competing for an attractive target. Couldn't you find something more ambitious than just measuring your success in euros or dollars? Could you create a new doctrine, just like the top chess players who take from each other instead of taking from lower-ranging players? This wage gap in the system creates gaps and cracks in the system many other places in society. As the old song goes, "Few have too much, and too many have too little," and this is undermining our societal structure. We have to do away with this market development in top executive pay. There's not much self-criticism in the top of the executive world, and therefore, I propose that we all reject the remuneration for next year.
Thank you very much to Lars H. Nielsen, and I pass the floor to the Chairman of the Board for his comments.
Thank you for those comments, Lars Nielsen. I don't imagine that we will agree completely at this AGM, but I would still like to explain my point of view. This is a global listed company that we're running. It's not about the wage or the salary of Kristian Villumsen or any other executive leadership member. They have to be remunerated according to market terms and conditions, and we have to compare to what they are paid at our competitors or at our neighboring company. It's a minority of companies that have Danish top managers.
Of course, we have to compare to the cost of executive leadership elsewhere in Europe at least, because that is the competition we are part of and that we are facing. We do not operate in a vacuum. We cannot just make it into a chess competition and hope that the best qualified executives want to play along. Of course, you can think that this is the wrong way to construct a society, and that is what I hear you saying. I completely understand that if you look at a lifelong salary of DKK 20 million compared to an annual salary of DKK 20 million, of course, you can have your view on that. Those are very large figures indeed. To us, it's also about what we can compare with.
We don't want to pay too much or compensate too much. We shouldn't pay too little either. It's just to give you some perspective on how we make that assessment when we talk about remuneration. We won't get anywhere with a discussion on this because, of course, this is also about your view on life and your political standpoint. I don't know whether it's neoliberal, but in commercial companies, of course, commercial companies have a liberal agenda, basically. Thank you.
Thank you very much. That was a reply to the question from Lars H. Nielsen. I have no other speakers. Oh, well, Bjørn Hansen. You are one of our permanent stock of shareholders at the AGMs.
Good afternoon.
I think it's fine that the CEO got a pay raise, in particular, when it's something that is deserved. I think that the management here deserves pay rise, raises, and also the owners. It's good that we have these family-owned businesses in Denmark, because that helps generate growth, but more than growth, also a fine reputation for us. Okay, they may make a couple of DKK million extra, but where lies the problem?
Congratulations. I've said on previous occasions, if there's a deficit, then there are not the same number of options, and then the pay rises must, of course, be limited. They have a hard job, and they have to deliver results every single month, and let's hope that this will continue.
I have handed in some questions. I have received a phone call from Coloplast concerning having a meeting in future. I do have a question I'd like to hear from you about now. It's question number four. Things are happening in Hungary. Things are happening in Costa Rica. It's important for growth in Coloplast, also what happens in the UK. They have left the EU. I don't know whether they're going to rejoin. I know that Scotland would dearly like to go back, probably also parts of Northern Ireland. These are very important markets for Coloplast. I'd like to hear about your plans for the future here. Will you start up more production if required?
Would it be an advantage to do that instead of in Norway, which is a very expensive country to be present in with a plant? An old case. In the Supreme Court, the judgment was in your favor. It had to do with tax credits for losses sustained in connection with the issue of employee shares at a favorable price. The tax authorities always wish to prevent people from getting benefits. Thank you to Mr. Rasmussen. He said that the new corporate tax rate is likely to be in the range of 21%. Between that and up to 22.6%, that may have a difference of half a billion kroner. We have been given a lot, us shareholders, just give the money to us. That's where it belongs.
Merry Christmas to all of you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Hansen. You are not old. Of course, you're not. I don't know if the Chairman of the Board would like to comment?
Well, thank you for your comments. It was just a comment in relation to what you said about the U.K. It's true, it is a very important market for us, and it's not a problem to deliver to them, although they are now outside the EU. We do not have plans of setting up a production plant. We are not shut out of the market entirely just because the U.K. is no longer an EU member. It's true what you say, that our tax rate fluctuates between 21% and 23%, but it depends on things that happen in the course of the fiscal year.
We take the view that we pay the tax rate that we are asked to pay. You can also see publicly what we pay in tax in the EU. We pay our tax with satisfaction. Thank you for your comments.
Thank you very much. I have one more speaker on my list. Mr. Als, you have the floor, sir.
It's not as if I'm going to take up a lot of time. I don't know whether you've seen this article from today's newspapers. It made me think of countries such as Hungary. EUR 56 billion, that's what Hungary is likely to miss out on because of its behavior. The EU will not continue payments to that country. We've got four production plants there. We've had those plants for more than 20 years.
I'm not saying that you should divest them or close them down, but any comments in this connection from you? Thank you, Mr. Als, and the Chairman.
Thank you. It's a very relevant question, and we have asked the same question on a number of occasions, because when you make a decision to relocate production to a different country, there's a good reason why you should. We made the decision many years ago, almost 25 years ago, to relocate. The reason was that prices of the kind of products that we produce do not go up a lot, but other prices go up, the prices of transportation, of, well, the pay bill, et cetera. You need to find out how to achieve economies of scale, produce at a cheaper cost or a lower cost, or have administration at a lower cost level.
In those days, we had a very high level of inflation in Denmark, and it was a question of finding out where to relocate production. At the time, it was possible in some areas of Denmark to receive a certain business funding arrangement with local authorities, so it was possible to relocate to Northern Jutland. Many industries knew about the same thing, and we were all looking for where to go. We didn't want to go too far away from Denmark, of course, so we looked at Poland and the Czech Republic and the Baltics and Hungary, and we then decided to go to Hungary. What we wanted to focus on, because the countries were more or less similar in what they had to offer, was cooperation with the local authorities, and we have been happy ever since.
We have been worried from time to time with regard to the interaction between the EU and Hungary. We take the view that there may be many things that we disagree about, but they prefer remaining inside the EU than being outside. That doesn't mean that they are not allowed to challenge the way things work in the EU, so they take it all the way to the limit, but not further. That's why we have maintained our production activities in Hungary. We're very pleased with our activities there, but of course, one should be alert. Thank you.
Thank you to the chairman for answering the questions of Flemming Als. I have no further speakers. Yes, there is one more. Frederik Demant. Mr. Frederik, Jens Frederik Demant, the floor is yours.
What brings me here is that Lars Henrik Nielsen, the previous speaker, talked about the envy and limits to remuneration and so on. I would just like to say then, that when management is doing well and the company is doing well, it makes no sense to establish some sort of ceiling of DKK 7 million. They have to be remunerated according to what they deserve.
Thank you to Jens Frederik Demant. I have no further speakers on the speakers' list. Does anyone wish to take the floor? That does not seem to be the case. That means the debate is now closed.
I take it that the report has been taken note of, that you have approved the annual report, that you have approved the distribution of profit as proposed by the board, and that you have approved the remuneration report for 2021-2022. There are no objections from the room. I hear there's a comment here on the remuneration report, and I can tell you that we are putting the remuneration report for a guiding vote, and that is what we've done. With the vote cast, there are 374 million votes, and we now have 324.6 million votes represented, and 309 of them have voted in favor of the remuneration report. Therefore, we have duly noted your comments in the minutes, and of course, that will be taken on board.
Legally speaking, I can confidently say that the remuneration report has been approved. I hope you agree. That was items one to five of the agenda. That leads me to item six of the agenda today, which is the approval of the Board of Directors' remuneration for the current financial year. Here, the Board of Directors proposes that the general meeting approves the following remuneration to the Board of Directors for the financial year 2022 to 2023. The members of the Board of Directors will receive a base fee of DKK 450,000. The Deputy Chairman of the Board will receive DKK 787,500, which is a multiple of the base fee. The Chairman of the Board will receive DKK 1,350,000, which is the base fee multiplied by three.
The Board also proposes that each member of the Audit Committee receive DKK 240,000, and that the chairman of the Audit Committee receives DKK 430,000. The Board also proposes a fee to each member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee of DKK 150,000, and a fee to the chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee of DKK 250,000. The fees for additional duties associated with the committee work is unchanged. I can also tell you that the members of the Board of Directors are entitled to be reimbursed for certain expenses, as described in the remuneration policy. We just need a simple majority to adopt this proposal. Does anyone wish to speak under this item on the agenda?
That does not seem to be the case. I take it that the AGM has adopted this proposal. Thank you very much. Our next item on the agenda is item seven, which is also a permanent item on the agenda, which is proposals from the Board of Directors and the shareholders. Today, we have two proposals from the Board of Directors. 7.1, which is an update of the authorization in Article 5A and 5B, and 7.2, concerning the corporate language. Let's start with item 7.1, which is the proposal from the Board for an update of the authorization in Article 5A and 5B.
The Board of Directors proposes to extend the current authorizations to the Board of Directors to increase the share capital with and without preemptive rights for the shareholders, respectively, in Articles 5A and 5B of the Articles of Association, as these authorizations expire on 4th of December, 2023, thus expectedly before next year's Annual General Meeting. The current wording is valid until the 1st of December, 2023. I can tell you that this is a proposal to amend the Articles of Association, that requires that more than half of the share capital is represented, which we saw to the begin with, that we need two-thirds majority. Let me ask if any shareholders want to take the floor under this item on the agenda. That does not seem to be the case. I take it that the AGM has adopted the proposal.
That seems to be the case, and I will take that to the minutes. Thank you very much for adopting this proposal. Our next item on the agenda is item 7.2. Here, the board of directors proposes that the company's corporate language is changed to English to reflect the way the company works today. I refer to Article 126 in the Danish Companies Act. The requirement for adoption is the same, which is a majority in accordance with the articles of association and pursuant to Article 126(3) in the Danish Companies Act.
There are no comments here. There is one comment. That is Mr. Bjørn Hansen. Vær så god. Tak. The floor is yours.
Well, I think it's all well and fine that at board meetings you can speak English or American, let's just call it English, I'm already seeing in the accounts that there are many American words, and I think things are really being mixed together in many companies. We recently attended an AGM, where a French woman who lives in England and speaks English very well, although with an accent, spoke, there was nobody who gave an applause during the entire show. I call it a show because it really was a show, it's not just any company here in Denmark. Many people like Coloplast, we like that you speak Danish at your AGM, that you have the annual report. It's out here available in Danish, that's excellent. It's a very good company.
Please keep up the good work. It's very good that you speak English. It's very welcome. Please make sure, and I don't know how, because you must have many German investors as well. Can you get anything in German as well? Thank you for the floor. Tak til.
Thank you very much, Mr. Bjørn Hansen, for those comments. Does anyone else want to take the floor under this item? That does not seem to be the case. I can inform you, as stated in the convening notice, that if this proposal is adopted, there will be a new Article 21, Section 1 in the articles of association. Again, we need a two-thirds majority.
Further comments, I take it that the annual general meeting has adopted the proposal. Thank you very much.
Are we. Which brings us to item eight on the agenda, election of members to the Board. The proposal is that all members elected by the AGM be re-elected. They are: Lars Rasmussen, Niels Peter Louis-Hansen, Annette Brüls, Carsten Hellmann, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, and Marianne Wiinholt. The other management positions of these candidates are available in the annual report, and also appear in the convening notice. Are there any other candidates for Board membership? That is not the case. This means that they have all been re-elected. Congratulations, you now sit for another one-year term. We wish you every success. Next item is item nine, which is election of auditor. The Board proposes the re-election of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The proposal is in accordance with the recommendations from the board committee that has not been affected by third parties or have not entered any agreements with a third party that will affect the outcome of this. Any other candidates? That is not the case. I find that PricewaterhouseCoopers has been re-elected auditor of Coloplast. I would also refer you to the convening notice, where it says that next year, a new auditor will have to be found, and the board expects to propose that EY be elected or appointed auditor next year. Until then, they will appear as a shadow auditor in order to ensure a smooth handover.
We have exhausted our business under item nine, and now item 10: authorization to the chairman of the meeting, with a right of substitution, to announce what has happened at the meeting that require changes in registrations, et cetera. To make linguistic, editorial corrections in the material coming out of the meeting. Any comments to this? That is not the case. I take this to mean that the proposal has been adopted. This brings us to the last item 11: any other business. Anyone with comments? Praise, criticism? That's not the case. We have now exhausted the agenda. Thank you for a good and orderly conduct to everyone. This leaves me with one job of handing over now to the chairman of the board for a last comment. My job is now done.
Yeah, man, we are going to take.
Well, I would like to thank the Chairman of the Board for helping us navigate safely through this AGM. Thank you for being here, and thank you for your comments and remarks. The AGM is adjourned. Have a merry Christmas, everyone.