As chairman of the board, I would like to warmly welcome all shareholders to the AGM of A.P. Moller - Mærsk . This AGM is fully electronic. For a long time, experience has shown us that fewer shareholders participate in the physical AGMs. With an electronic AGM, it will be easy for many of our shareholders who don't reside in Denmark, they can now participate on equal terms. We also have many colleagues, and some of them are shareholders, and they now have the opportunity to participate in the AGM, whether they work in Singapore, Bangalore, or Cape Town. Before we start with the formal items on the agenda, I want to mention that through the month of September, we will, sometime in September, we will have a shareholder day in Copenhagen.
The purpose of the event is to create an informative day for our shareholders and give an insight into Mærsk business. It will also be possible to get up close and personal with our first container ship that sails on green methanol. Information about this event will be sent to the shareholder's email address. Do make sure that you register your correct address on the investor portal on our website. With this little ad for the shareholders day, I would like to once again welcome you and thank you for participating in A.P. Moller - Mærsk's annual general meeting. As Chairman of today's AGM, the board has appointed Attorney at Law, Mr. Niels Kornerup. I give him the floor.
Thank you for appointing me Chairman of the AGM of A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S. I hope we will have a good, fully virtual AGM today. Let me mention right away that the transmission to those of you who follow the proceedings on the webcast and on the investor portal will take place at a slight delay according to your internet connection. Therefore, I will slow down every now and again so that we synchronize what is going on here at A.P. Moller - Mærsk and what you are watching on your screens. Before we embark upon today's agenda, there are a couple of formalities that we have to go through. First of all, we need to conclude whether the AGM has been legally convened and is competent to transact the business on the agenda.
Before the AGM, I made sure that the convening notice was sent out in due time and complies with the legal requirements in the articles of association and the Danish Companies Act. Just before the AGM, we registered that 85% of the votes, and thereby, of the A share capital, is represented at the AGM. This figure is registered after the deduction of own shares and without the B share capital because B shares, as you know, carry no votes. Furthermore, we have a requirement regarding the quorum. That is, how many must be present for us to transact the business on the agenda.
This is found in Article 11 of the Articles of Association, it requires that at least 2/3 of the A share capital must be represented with voting right at the AGM for proposals for amending the articles of association to be transacted. That is the case for item J3 to J5 this year. As I just mentioned, I have made sure that this requirement has been complied with. I can therefore conclude that this annual general meeting is legally convened and competent to transact the business on the agenda. I hope that all of our shareholders can support that assumption. I will make sure that this is entered in the minutes, that concludes the formalities of this AGM. The board of directors has received postal votes and proxies corresponding to 98% of the votes after deduction of own shares.
I can already now inform you that there is wide support to all of the proposals from the board of directors with more than 90% of the votes cast. The final figures will appear from the minutes. As mentioned at the AGMs of previous years, we need to take you through the provision in Section 101, Subsection five of the Danish Companies Act. Here it states that there must be a complete account of the vote for every resolution passed at the AGM, even if the result of the vote is quite clear, which is the case here. I suggest that we follow the usual procedure at AGMs in this company and depart from this complete account. I take it that all of you following the proceedings agree. I don't see any objections, so thank you very much.
It is possible to follow the AGM at the company website and through the AGM portal. Shareholders who have registered for the AGM and want to participate in the debate must therefore log in to follow the AGM through the AGM portal. In other words, it is not possible to participate in the debate and ask questions if you follow the AGM via the webcast on the company website. Now, let's turn to the procedure for the debate and the electronic communication with shareholders. Everything will go through the AGM portal, as I just mentioned, and all registered shareholders have received a login for this portal. As you can see on this slide behind me, in the AGM portal, you have to choose the box called Q&A When you click on the Q&A icon, you will see a text box where you can write your question and press Send.
Your question or comment should be received by us here at the Esplanade, and we will review all of the questions and comments. It will be a lawyer from my office, Emil Dencker Steensberg, who will review all of the questions and comments and make sure that they are replied to correspondingly. As the debate this year is in writing, I will encourage everyone to make questions or comments as brief and precise as possible. That way, we will get a good flow of the written contributions to the benefit of all. That said, we of course understand that it takes time to phrase a question or a comment. If you have a question or comment, and it takes you a while to phrase it, we therefore urge you to send us a notice so that we know that there's a question or comment on its way.
You can do that in the same way as you would send the question itself. You can just write in the text box that a question is coming or something similar. That way, we know that we must wait for your question or comment before we move on to the next item on the agenda. If you already have a question or a comment, you can send it to us straight away. You do not have to wait for the relevant item on the agenda that the question pertains to. We will make sure that it is placed correctly vis-à-vis the agenda. Should you experience any technical difficulties, you can contact Computershare at the telephone number found on the AGM portal.
I ask you to make sure that all technical issues are dealt with via this phone number and not via the Questions and Comments section on the AGM portal. That brings us to the agenda, which has been sent out. It is as follows. Item A, conduct of the annual general meeting in English with simultaneous interpretation to and from Danish. B, report on the activities of the company during the past financial year. Item C is the submission of the audited annual report for adoption. D, the resolution to grant discharge to directors. E is the resolution on appropriation of profit and the amount of dividends in accordance with the adopted annual report. Item F is the remuneration report, which is presented for approval. G, resolution on authority to acquire own shares. H is any requisite election of members for the board of directors.
Item I is the election of auditors. Item J is the deliberation of any proposals submitted by the board of directors or by shareholders. This year we have nine proposals, five from the board of directors and four from shareholders. The first proposal is from the board, which is J 1, the authorization to declare extraordinary dividend, followed by J 2, an update of the remuneration policy. J 3 is a proposal for share capital reduction. J 4, amendment of Article four of the Articles of Association. Item J 5 is the language of the general meeting, documents for the general meeting's internal use and company announcements and corporate language. That item is followed by the proposals from the shareholders. Here we have J 6, communication on human rights and labor rights. J 7, efforts to include shipping companies to the OECD agreement on tax payments.
J 8, support of the introduction of solidarity contribution consisting of a one-time tax. The final proposal is J 9, efforts to revoke Section 10 of the Act on the Danish International Shipping Register. That was the agenda. With those words, we will embark upon the first item, which as mentioned, is a very particular item this year. As it appears from the convening notice, the board of directors proposes that the AGM this year is conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation to and from Danish. That requires for the general meeting, as the first item on the agenda adopts a proposal that the AGM be conducted in English. For that very reason, we have been speaking Danish at the AGM so far, but we will switch to English accordingly if the proposal is adopted. The reason for this proposal is basically that A.P.
Møller - Mærsk is a parent company in an international group with a broad range of shareholders, including many international shareholders. Conducting the AGM in English will enable the company to reach a broader range of the company shareholders and thus create a better foundation for the shareholder debate and the shareholder democracy as a whole. The proposal should also be seen in the context that English is the daily working language at A.P. Møller - Mærsk, also here at the Esplanade where we are today. The proposal can be adopted by a simple majority. Does anyone wish to take the floor? Are there any contributions? That does not seem to be the case. There are no contributions in this regard, and I can therefore close the debate under this item.
On the basis of the already received postal votes, proxies, and other indications, I will conclude that the proposal is adopted. I can inform you that 96% of the votes cast in advance are in favor of this proposal. Thank you very much. As I just mentioned, the adoption of this proposal means that we will conduct the remaining part of the general meeting in English. If needed, you may choose to enable simultaneous interpretation from English to Danish or from Danish to English. You do that in the top right-hand corner, choose the language, and you can see how to do that on this slide behind me. If you choose English, you will listen to the original here from the Esplanade. If you choose Danish, you will hear.
As just mentioned in Danish, we will now move on conducting the remaining part of the general meeting in English due to the adoption just now of the proposal of using English. If needed, you may choose to enable simultaneous interpretation from English to Danish or from Danish to English. Choosing simultaneous interpretation is done as illustrated at the slide currently visible at the screen. English is selected. The sound transmitted, too, corresponds to what is happening here in the studio. If you select Danish, a simultaneous interpretation into Danish will be the soundtrack from this general meeting. By this remark, item one on the agenda is completed, and we now turn to the remaining items on the agenda. As it is common practice, introductory item on the agenda are processed jointly and brought up for debate jointly.
We therefore deal with item B to F together, and those items will also be discussed jointly. These items are B, report on activities of the company's of the activities of the company during the past financial year. B, submission of the audited annual report for adoption. D, resolution to grant discharge directors. E, resolution of appropriation of profit and amount of dividend, IA, in accordance with the adopted annual report. Finally, the remuneration report is presented for approval. The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Robert Mærsk Uggla, will present the management report 2022 and the annual report for 2022 for approval, including the ground for proposal for appropriation of profit and distribution of dividends. I will now hand over the floor to the Chairman of the Board, Robert Mærsk Uggla. Please, Mr. Chairman, the floor is yours.
Thank you. We look back on 2022 with mixed feelings. 2022 was an exceptional year for container shipping and related logistics. It was a year with strong customer engagement, record profits fueled by strong macro tailwinds and good momentum on many fronts in our company. 2022 also represents a year when the world turned towards more conflicts and towards policies hampering trade and international collaboration. We are particularly saddened by the war in Ukraine, with many killed, millions displaced, and communities impoverished. The global trade and logistics industry exceeded $10 trillion in revenue in 2022. The container shipping industry reached an all-time high after a long period of low returns.
Container shipping industry profits in 2022 was approximately, and this is our estimate, $120 billion, compared to cumulative profit of merely $16 billion between 2010 and 2019. COVID-19, followed by the outbreak of war in Europe, put unprecedented strain on all nodes of the supply chain. Congestion and delays continued to plague customers during the first half of 2022. The depth and scope of supply chain challenges have been exceptional in many ways. 2022 also saw trade policies and geopolitical tension impact supply chain planning. This is an acceleration of a general trend seen over the last few years. The share of North American containers from China has dropped from around 50% prior to the financial crisis to 40%-42% in 2022.
In turn, what we refer to as the intra-Asia trade, in particular Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, has been gaining market share of global trade. With this said, China remains a huge and critical manufacturing hub for most of the world. The year also provided a stark reminder that shipping companies continue to operate in an extremely cyclical industry. The congestion and the exceptionally strong consumer demand triggered by the pandemic stimulus programs began to fade during the year. It gave way to an inventory overhang correction. As a result, global container volumes declined during the last quarter of the year, bringing the total number of containers transported back to 2017 levels. The situation was especially challenging here in Europe, in part because of the additional loss of Russian and Ukraine volumes.
As we entered 2023, the last few years' strong tailwind of the global container shipping markets had turned into headwinds with a challenging outlook ahead of us. What to expect longer term? Well, Mærsk's customers need to prepare for continued vulnerable supply chains, and hence they will have a pressing requirement for resilient sourcing and logistics solutions. While there are many different factors driving these supply chain vulnerabilities and risks, let me point out three of them. The first supply chain risk is geopolitics. The war in Ukraine and the growing conflict between the U.S. and China have had a big impact on trade policy. From a corporate point of view, the Russian invasion made it clear that geopolitics may turn into real military conflict, which in turn creates profound supply chain uncertainties.
As a result, the geopolitical debate about Taiwan has become a front and center concern for anyone engaged in global logistics. In this respect, many have started talking about the concept of so-called friendshoring. Unfortunately, if history is any indication, engaging in trade restrictions and trade wars may only increase the risk of military conflicts. Conflicts may also increase the risk of sophisticated cyberattacks, as Mærsk has experienced firsthand in the past. The second supply chain risk is linked to climate change. Temperature increases above one and a half degrees Celsius look increasingly likely. The physical impacts, be it heat stress, flooding, sea level rises, wildfires, cyclones, droughts, and so forth from rising temperatures are not insignificant. From a supply chain perspective, increased physical effects of climate change may impact significant agriculture systems and also significant manufacturing centers.
Moreover, the implications of climate change will have a huge bearing on industry regulations and policy, which will hold far-reaching implications for most industry, including our own, the transport system. The third supply chain risk is linked to labor markets. Changing and aging demographics, inflation, and other factors impacting local labor markets may have a disproportionate impact on the global transportation systems. As we also saw during the pandemic, disrupted truck and rail operations end up with far-reaching implications also for the world's merchant fleet. With above three supply chain risks in mind, as we head towards 2030, to build sufficient resilience in supply chains, the concepts of reshoring, dual sourcing, circularity, and regionalization will become increasingly important for many shippers. The choice of logistics partner also becomes a strategic and critical matter. We believe Mærsk's strategy is relevant and highly customer-centric.
Being an integrator of logistic services with a strong local presence, a relative high degree of control of critical infrastructure across a global network, and with a willingness to invest in not just technology, but also green transport solutions, enables Mærsk to support cargo owners facing supply chain challenges. Do we have all pieces of the strategy in place? We are on a journey. I will try to outline what we have done in the last year to strengthen our integrated model, touching on four areas: the development of logistics capabilities and products, the development of our technology platform, the development of green transport solutions, and very importantly, the development of our organization. The first area is the development of logistics capabilities and products.
Many of our customers have primarily seen us as a shipping company on the world's main shipping lanes, be it from the east to the west, from the south to the north. Since 2016, we have begun to pivot the company towards more of integrated logistics offerings and towards more of intra-regional activities. In 2022, we saw a 20% organic revenue growth in logistics, fueled by strong support from our top 200 ocean customers. The Net Promoter Score, which tells us about customers' engagement and satisfaction, increased through the year to record high, despite the many supply chain disruptions I earlier talked about. Our acquisition strategy has been focused on further developing our logistics capabilities and products for our targeted customers.
In 2022, the integrations of Visible and B2C Europe were completed, and we have acquired companies like HUB, Senator, Pilot, LF Logistics, and Martin Bencher. I think a good example for how this acquisition strengthen our capabilities and products is LF Logistics. LF Logistics is a key enabler of contract logistics, helping customers serve the rising Asian consumer with more than 200 fulfillment centers across 14 countries in Asia Pacific. This is a region expected to see its intra-regional trade grow by $1 trillion in the next 10 years. The second area I'd like to comment on is the development of our technology platform. Technology is, as we all know, a critical enabler for better transport and logistics solutions. Here there's a lot of potential.
The potential benefits, for example, of applying artificial intelligence to optimize asset utilization and reduce waste is enormous in a global logistics network. Today, the logistics industry is characterized by a high degree of fragmentation and lack of standards, and this also applies to our own company. In recent years, we have been working hard to try to modernize our long-standing legacy systems and standardize our many processes. We are making progress, but the task at hand is very significant given the breadth of our activities across many countries. On a very positive note, we are attracting some truly outstanding software and data talent. Almost 4,000 software engineers and data scientists are now working for us. We look very much forward to sharing more insights about their promising work in the coming years.
The third area I'd like to comment on is the development of green transport solutions. In 2022, we set the goal of being net zero across all our operations by 2040. This is not just important for our company shareholders and our company's colleagues, but we also recognize that our green efforts are supported by many of our customers. We have undertaken significant investments in green methanol-enabled ships, bringing the total number of vessels now in order to 19, and this equals almost $3 billion of capital expenditure. These ships hold the potential to reduce our emissions by up to 2.3 million tons of greenhouse gases per year. Ensuring the availability of green fuel required to power these significant vessels is a comprehensive and quite challenging task.
We have signed memorandums of understanding with nine green methanol producers around the world, even greater production of scale is needed. During the last year, we also took significant steps to electrify many of our terminals and logistics inland networks. As an example, we've ordered more than 400 heavy-duty electric vehicles in North America for inland transportation. Let me stress that decarbonizing global trade will not happen without regulation and government support. There is a real cost premium attached to green fuels, many customers are not yet in a position to pay. In this respect, we depend on governments to support the development of competitive green fuels and to provide the right regulatory frameworks, there is a strong economic incentive to not sail on conventional black fuels. Finally, let me comment on our organization's development.
From January of this year, based on a very comprehensive succession plan and diligent, Vincent Clerc took over as CEO of A.P. Moller - Mærsk, and Søren Skou stepped down after more than 20 years in different CEO roles within our group. On behalf of the board, I sincerely thank Søren for his leadership and many contributions. Following the appointment of Vincent, Mærsk announced a new executive leadership team and a new organizational structure very much in line with our strategy. I'm proud to say that our leadership team are men and women representing 10 different nationalities and with a highly diverse set of experiences. We have also worked to strengthen our board. We are on an annual basis conducting board evaluations to improve the effectiveness of the board. We also review the capabilities required in the boardroom.
In this respect, I'm delighted that Kasper Rørsted has accepted the board's nomination. Kasper holds an extensive and highly impressive international career as two-time CEO and director for various companies. Kasper started his career in the technology industry and has lately been the CEO of Adidas, representing an important customer segment for our integrated logistics offerings. This brings me to the financial review of 2022. Against the strong macro tailwinds for shipping and logistics, Mærsk delivered all-time high results in ocean, in logistics and services, as well as in terminals. Revenue ended up being more than $81 billion, with an EBIT of almost $31 billion. This is very much in line with the latest guidance we published in August of 2022. Consolidated net profit was approximately $29 billion. Cash flow from operations amounted to just above $34 billion.
Our gross CapEx was approximately $4 billion, driven by investments across all segments and very much in line with our two-year guidance. During the year, we also executed a share buyback program of almost $3 billion and paid dividends of close to $7 billion. At the end of 2022, the equity ratio was approximately 69% and our liquidity reserves stood at $33 billion. Based on these fine financial results, the board has proposed a dividend for 2022 of DKK 4,300 per share, and this is in line with our long-standing dividend policy of paying dividends in the range of 30% to 50%. The total of 30% to 50% of underlying earnings. The total expected dividend payout amounts to approximately DKK 75 billion.
I would like to stress that 2022 was a historic year in terms of profits. The dividend is a reflection of this success. However, dividends in the coming years will likely reflect a very different operating environment, with markedly lower freight rates and lower earnings, as also outlined in the guidance. While our 2022 results were very strong in a historic context, there are also areas where we failed to live up to our commitments. During the year, we lost three Mærsk employees and six third-party workers on our premises. I'm deeply saddened by these losses and we work hard to do better. To signal that safety is an integral part of our company culture, safety is now also part of our ESG targets for our leaders' long-term incentive program.
In this context, it is important to keep in mind that the purpose of our group goes beyond its financial endeavors. We are saddened to see the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which have also impacted many of our own colleagues and their families. We have worked relentlessly to support the many relief organizations operating in the area, including UNHCR and the World Food Programme. In the last month, our emergency response operations have also been active and provided quite critical support in Turkey and Syria to provide immediate aid to areas impacted by the devastating earthquakes. We believe that the very core of Mærsk's activities underpins an important purpose to support local communities in all corners of the world. This became very evident during the pandemic when Mærsk transported vital goods such as food and healthcare products despite lockdowns and border closures.
Let me conclude my speech by extending thanks to the directors of our board, to Vincent, to the broader executive leadership team, and to our more than 100,000 colleagues across the world. Thanks for your support, for your efforts, for your service to our customers, and for bringing our purpose to life.
At the end of the day, it's all about what gets you up in the morning. What makes your life and work meaningful. What we do impacts everybody. Every day. Everywhere. We do more than move the food, clothes, medicines, and goods we all rely on. We integrate the world. A world where an exchange of goods creates an exchange of culture, innovation, and trust. Where our customers and colleagues unlock opportunities. Overcome challenges together. We are connected by purpose. Guided by long-held values. Values forming the basic principle that we can be trusted, not just to enable global prosperity for all, but also to make it sustainable for future generations. That's what gets us up in the morning. Improving life for all by integrating the world.
Thank you to the chairman for the management report for 2022, and the presentation of the annual report for 2022 as well, including the presentation of your proposal for appropriation of profit and distribution of dividends. I note that the annual report is signed by the board of directors and the executive management, and that the auditors have issued an unqualified opinion of the annual report, which appears from page 137 and 140 of the company's annual report 2022. I also note that the remuneration report 2022 was annexed to the notice convening this general meeting, and have been available for the shareholders at the website from the date the notice was published.
As stated by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Board of Directors proposes a total dividend of DKK 4,300 for each share of DKK 1,000. This is technically composed of an ordinary dividend of DKK 2,000 per share, and that's also shared by DKK 1,000, and an extraordinary dividend of DKK 2,300 per share, also DKK 2,000 a share. These are based on the annual report for 2022 and an interim balance sheet as of 8th of February respectively. This is 8th of February 2023. For the sake of good order, I take the note that the extraordinary dividend will be distributed in accordance with Section 101a(2) and 101a(3) of the Danish Companies Act.
In this respect, I also refer to the mentioned interim balance sheet which have been made available for the company's shareholders on the website, and which will be appended to the minutes of this annual general meeting. I will now open the floor for comments and other remarks from shareholders. I will use this occasion to introduce Shareholders' Voice, which was also part of last year's annual meeting. The Shareholders' Voice will read out loud the questions and the comments received from shareholders. Questions and comments will be read out as they are phrased by the shareholders. It is Gita [Faust] who will act as the voice and face of the Shareholders' Voice. Please welcome the Shareholders' Voice.
Thank you.
We have, prior to the general meeting, received contributions from four shareholders, that being ATP, ITF, AkademikerPension and EOS at Federated Hermes, and Dansk Aktionærforening. By that, we start with the contribution from ATP. I'll now give the floor to the Shareholders' Voice, who will present the contribution from ATP. Please, ATP.
This statement is from Claus Wiinblad on behalf of ATP. Thank you for the opportunity to address the AGM of A.P. Møller - Mærsk. I would like to start by addressing the format of the AGM, which unfortunately is fully electronic with no physical presence. The company has thereby abandoned the long tradition of having a physical AGM, which I think is a pity. We at ATP think that a hybrid format is a better solution where it is possible to both attend physically and attend electronically for those who are unable to attend the physical meeting. Earnings in A.P. Møller - Mærsk were yet at a record-breaking level, beating the already very high level from 2021. Congratulations with a fantastic result for 2022.
This has created a very strong cash flow and enabled a dividend payment at this AGM of more than $11 billion and a high level of share buyback. I certainly strongly appreciate the high payout ratio, thank you for this, would have preferred a more gradual payout, for example, in quarterly dividends. Looking ahead, the outlook is much bleaker for the container market. The development in rates and volumes is, as for everybody else, outside of the control of A.P. Møller - Mærsk. What is within the control of the company is the execution of the strategy, the Global Integrator strategy. Given the market outlook, it is even more important that we see a positive development and execution of the strategy, and in the logistics and service business in particular. This leads me to the following overall question. How far has A.P.
Møller - Mærsk come in integrating the many acquisitions? What are the main challenges for the execution of the strategy? Lastly, what are the key KPIs that will show us that the strategy is working and not just the expected development in the volumes? I would also like to add a comment to Mærsk's work with green transition. CO2 emissions are one of the biggest challenges for Mærsk, we therefore appreciate Mærsk's ambitious goals within this area. Mærsk would like to be at the forefront of the industry, which we also saw an example of at the beginning of 2022, where Mærsk advanced their objective of being CO2 neutral to 2040 instead of from 2050.
The goal is also a 50% reduction by 2030, but the CO₂ intensity has increased by 7% since 2020. At the same time, we see Mærsk working focused and determined to realize its long-term goals, among others, by establishing more partnerships who can ensure the necessary access to green fuels. In addition, more ships have been ordered that can sail on green methanol. We therefore hope and expect that the effect of Mærsk's many initiatives will reflect in a declining CO₂ intensity over the coming years. Another climate-related topic which ATP focuses on is biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity will most likely be as big a challenge as the climate changes, but it is also a very complex area, especially in understanding and measuring how a company's activities affects the biodiversity.
It is therefore positive to see that Mærsk continues to address this important area, and we will look forward to seeing some more concrete targets regarding biodiversity. Further, I would like to mention that we are voting against the suggested remuneration policy. The reason is the increased size of the variable pay relatively to the fixed part of the salary. Lastly, I would like to say a big thank you to Søren Skou for a great and long-lasting effort in the company, and welcome to Vincent Clerc as new CEO of A.P. Moller-Mærsk. Thank you for giving me the floor.
Thank you to ATP. There were certain question or remarks made, and they would be addressed firstly by the CEO, Vincent Clerc, and followed by the chairman of the board. Please, Vincent.
Thank you. Regarding the questions, let me start by addressing the progress on our integrated strategy. I think that, as Robert has mentioned, we have actually coming on a long way in this integrated strategy by taking a logistics business, which at the inception of the strategy was a break-even business, into today having a business in 2022 that has generating close to a billion-dollar EBIT. This has been the combination of the organic growth that the Mærsk organization has been able to deliver and also of the integration of different companies, some of which Robert mentioned in his speech. The integration of all of these companies is progressing as planned. The potential that we see for the further growth of our logistics segment is still immense.
Robert talked about a $10 trillion industry that is certainly opening up a lot of possibilities for us for further growth. Therefore, the KPIs that we should continue to look at is the organic growth above 10%, which we committed at our Capital Markets Day in 2021, while continuing to generate a margin over 6% every year. These commitments made in 2021, we maintain them all the way through 2025, and they are certainly part of the guidance that we also published for 2023. The ability that we have had to grow over the last two years with strong tailwinds is something that we look forward to trying to confirming in 2023 by delivering also on these metrics, even if the headwinds are pretty strong.
The other parts of our strategy on the technology has been described through in the speech from Robert, so I don't need to come back on it. The last point on the integration of our business is the fact that we have decided to exit 2M in order to regain operational control and make sure that ocean becomes a strong and value-adding leg to our integrated strategy going forward. Regarding the CO₂ intensity, it is absolutely correct, and I refer here to our sustainability report, that our carbon intensity has increased by 7% over the last 2 years.
This increase in emission intensity is a function of the unique challenges we have been confronted with during the pandemic, with congestions, delays that have forced us to actually accelerate the sailing of the ships whenever they could or whenever they were not stuck in congestion. We absolutely recognize the significant contribution that we made to the greenhouse emissions. We are committed to getting back on track and realizing the goals that we have put forward. With the congestion being a thing of the past, we expect that 2023, with a more systematic use of slow steaming, will see a reduction in our carbon intensity. Finally, regarding biodiversity, it is a very complex subject where we do not necessarily have yet the maturity in the thinking that we have on decarbonization.
In 2022, we took steps to deepen our understanding of our impact on biodiversity. We are also considering the use of biogenic CO₂ for the green fuel that we are purchasing. We're also taking initiatives for preventing invasive species through the water ballast treatment that we have, and also taking actions towards protecting whales and ocean habitats. We have signed the UN High Seas Treaty and look forward to its implementation. Similar to the challenges of decarbonization, only when we see multilateral agreement made will we be able to make significant progress. For the rest of the questions, I will pass the word to Robert.
Thank you, Vincent. Regarding ATP's view on variable pay, we know there are many different views on what is the ideal pay mix for executives, and I also know that many of our shareholders have very different views on this. The board of A.P. Moller - Mærsk would like to see a closer link between pay and the company's performance. Therefore, we're moving towards a reduced component of base pay and an increased component of variable pay.
This means that if management does not deliver on the short and long-term targets, the overall pay will be less. Whereas if management is successful, with delivering on these targets, the pay will be more. We think that is very much aligned with the long-term interests of our shareholders. Let me also stress that we appreciate the dialogue we've had with ATP and Claus on this and other topics, and we look forward to a continued engagement with ATP.
Thank you for the contribution to the answers to the questions raised by ATP, and thank you to the chairman and to the CEO. The next contribution received prior to the general meeting is from ITF, International Transport Workers' Federation. Please, ITF.
The International Transport Workers' Federation welcomes the opportunity to speak to Mærsk executives and shareholders today. We represent nearly 20 million workers across the world, bringing together unions in the struggle to secure rights, equality, and justice. We are proud that in April 2016, Mærsk and the ITF formed an agreement to ensure any vessel Mærsk charters has an ITF or similar agreement covering it, which puts in place protections for crews on flag of convenience ships. Since then, our relationship has grown to further solve disputes and issues faced by workers throughout your company. We look forward to expanding our collaboration with Mærsk to ensure trade union rights are secured throughout the supply chain in maritime, trucking, warehouses, and beyond. We want to start off by remembering the nine colleagues we lost last year. Their deaths span the numerous subsidiaries and regions that comprise the global Mærsk conglomerate.
Let us also remember that these deaths may have been prevented if duty of care obligations had been followed and workers had been heard. Ian Webb from Liverpool fell to his death in 2019 because Svitzer failed to provide a safe system of work despite several internal complaints being raised since 2015. It goes without saying that one death is one too many. Mærsk needs to confront the unequal distribution of fatalities at work. Death is not considered a possibility as part of the job for executives, and it should be the same for workers across the supply chain. Around the world, our members are fighting for their lives and their livelihoods. When Svitzer entered the market in Argentina, it perpetuated a race to the bottom in the industry, charging services at 75% less than the normal rate.
As a result of Svitzer's dumping policies, other companies had to sell shares, reaching the point of being technically bankrupt. Svitzer subcontracted those same companies at 50% of what was previously charged. It was workers who paid the true price through a downward spiral in conditions and wages and job losses. As a leading global conglomerate that many companies in the industry valorize, Mærsk should not be engaging in such predatory practices at human cost. Svitzer Australia attempted a lockout of its workforce in 16 ports rather than coming to the table and bargaining in good faith after over 4 years of failed negotiations. While Mærsk expands into new industries, this cannot be the precedent for Mærsk's treatment of its own employees.
Indian contractors at APM Terminals are still waiting to receive the COVID bonus that direct employees received in 2021, despite the ITF network having raised the situation repeatedly. Mærsk subcontractors must be valued by Mærsk in the same way as direct employees are. In the Netherlands, Mærsk Line has refused negotiation with office workers despite 82% of employees wanting a collective agreement concluded with the unions. The company union even ceased its role as a result of management attitude, a clear case of union busting. Star Container Service will not entertain talks on a CBA. These practices are not in line with Mærsk's professed principles. Your company's latest annual report committed to respecting fundamental labor rights and constructive employee relations. We simply ask that Mærsk live up to its own commitments. ITF believes that the sustainability test for global companies is how well they satisfy ESG criteria.
That's why we support the proposal from shareholders, AkademikerPension, and LD Fonde, that the board of directors set out more clearly what your company has done to respect human rights and labor rights and how it will tackle flagged risks. Your company saw profits increase by more than 26 times in a two -year period, while the company's tax rate fell to just 3% in 2022. To put this in perspective, an average income worker in Denmark paid a 39.1% tax rate, 13 times higher than Mærsk paid in 2022. The Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research has found that if the Danish government had levied the company tax rates these years, it would have gained another $9.7 billion in tax.
Your company has made super profits during the pandemic and the corresponding supply chain crunch at a low tax rate, while at the same time, the company has been putting its workers and suppliers under increasing pressure around the globe. ITF and Mærsk share the hope that the company continues to prosper in the year ahead, but the fruits of prosperity must be shared with the workers who produce them. Our members are the backbone of this enterprise. They deserve recognition, representation, and respect. We would also invite any shareholders interested to visit the ITF global website to read in further detail about the cases mentioned here and the specific asks ITF makes of Mærsk. Thank you.
Thank you to ITF. The issue raised would be addressed by the CEO, Vincent Clerc. Please, Vincent.
Thank you. I would like to start by thanking the International Transport Workers' Federation, the ITF, for their statement and for sharing their concerns. We value the ITF as a critical stakeholder and conversation partners as representative of many trade unions in our industry around the globe. We are pleased to hear the ITF expressing their wish to further expand the collaboration with Mærsk. We intend to continue our engagement and collaboration with the ITF. I appreciate also the critical remarks made on various topics. We have different perspective on things, though, and ITF can rely on the fact that we are open for dialogue on all topics mentioned. If I start with the fatalities, as highlighted by Robert Mærsk Uggla, we are deeply saddened by the loss of lives of individual working in our service or working for or on behalf of our company.
Each employee, irrespective if our own employee or contracted worker, should work in a healthy and safe working environment and should be able to return to their family safely after work. We are constantly working together with all parties involved to learn and improve our ways of working and improve the safety of our operation consistently and continuously. The risk profile in our operation is changing with the transformation of our company, and we are actively addressing it by introducing new training programs, safety measures, and security campaigns, and involving our frontline colleagues in making our workplaces safer. Regarding the Svitzer entrance into Argentina, in 2016, the company generated a healthy competition and a fair adjustments of rates offered. Since then, other players have entered the market, causing further adjustments of rates.
Companies have remained profitable, there has not been any large scale layoff. Operational overflow agreements between the companies are common practice in the global towage industry to secure effective service delivery and have existed long before Svitzer entered the market. Regarding the lockout in Australia, the company has negotiated in good faith exhaustively over a period of nearly four years for a new enterprise agreement. A lockout was notified by Svitzer Australia in November 2022 as a legal employer response to more than 1,100 instances of protected industrial action being notified by maritime unions between October 2020 and November 2022. The situation was not sustainable for ongoing, safe, and reliable port and shipping operations in Australia.
Negotiations between Svitzer Australia and the maritime trade unions are still ongoing, currently under the supervision of the Australian Fair Work Commission. Regarding the COVID bonus in 2021, I can confirm that all Mærsk employees have received their bonus. We have not offered bonuses to contractors who are not employed by A.P. Møller - Mærsk. Regarding Mærsk in the Netherlands, I do not agree with the presented statement. Mærsk in the Netherlands has not refused negotiation and is prepared to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with any representative trade union if they are prepared to engage in real negotiation with mutual respect for the nature of the organization and the position of all party involved. Finally, we have noted the ITF support for the proposal from AkademikerPension and LD Fonde on communication in relation to human rights.
Our arguments for not supporting this proposal will be presented in connection with this item. With regard to our profit and tax payments during the last two years, I would like to underline that being a responsible taxpayer is important to Mærsk, and a great effort is put into ensuring full compliance in every jurisdiction across the world in which we operate. We offer transparency into our tax affairs in our annually published tax report. I hope that this answers your questions for today, and as also mentioned at the beginning, we always welcome a good and constructive and robust dialogue with ITF, also outside the AGM. Thank you.
Thank you, Vincent Clerc, for the remarks to the ITF. The next shareholder is AkademikerPension and EOS at Federated Hermes. Please, shareholder's voice, present it.
Dear board members, dear fellow shareholders. This statement is read out on behalf of AkademikerPension and EOS at Federated Hermes, who have been co-leading the dialogue with Mærsk under the investor-led initiative Climate Action 100+ since December 2017. Please allow us to say a few words for context. Climate Action 100+ aims to ensure the world's largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take necessary action on climate change. 700 investors responsible for over $68 trillion in assets under management are engaging companies on improving climate change governance, cutting emissions, and strengthening climate related financial disclosures. It is the largest ever global investor engagement initiative on climate change, with growing influence and impact. Investors working through the initiative are now engaged across 33 markets and represent over 50% of all global assets under management. Back to Mærsk's efforts and progress.
Last year, we welcomed the publication of an ambitious accelerated climate strategy for the company, which aims to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions across all scopes by 2040. Many complexities remain on the journey to reaching this goal, but we welcome various important actions the company is taking. Among these are key steps to decarbonize the oceans business, investing in vessels that run on green methanol and in partnerships that will deliver alternative green fuels at scale for the years to come. The company has engaged in constructive dialogue with the Climate Action 100+ investor group also in the past 12 months since the last AGM. We would like to take the opportunity to once again extend our sincere gratitude for this. As you know, there are a number of areas where we look to see further progress from the company.
The first is for the company to demonstrate how it is enabling a just transition, including specific actions to mitigate both the social and environmental risks and impacts resulting from the switch to sustainable transport fuels. The company has stated that it will take a human-centered approach that respects international human rights standards, which we welcome. We will look to see further detail on specific actions the company is taking to address any potential or realized risks arising from, for example, land use changes. The second area where we look to see further progress relates to physical climate risks. The company has already started to identify the physical risks it faces from climate change. The company must now articulate in more detail the actions it will take in the short and medium term to mitigate these risks and ensure resilience of its operations and assets.
We would like to see a comprehensive climate resilience and adaptation disclosure. The third area relates to the alignment of public policy activities. Mærsk is a very significant actor in its industry and representative of industry more broadly. It has the ability to influence the public policy environment and a responsibility to use this influence well. We have welcomed steps the company has taken to conduct an assessment of industry associations of which it is a member. The policy positions and associated activities these bodies take regarding climate change in order to ensure alignment with the company's own position. The company has provided some initial reporting on this work and the steps it has taken where misalignment has been found.
We would like to see this disclosure continue to develop to bring the company at least in line with the standard set by Indicator seven of the publicly available CA 100+ Net Zero Company Benchmark and ideally the Global Standard on Responsible Climate Lobbying. We look forward to our continued dialogue and stand ready to provide input and feedback on the company's work in these areas as usual. We wish you and all the 110,000+ employees of Mærsk a successful year on your journey to net zero. Thank you.
Thank you to AkademikerPension and EOS at Federated Hermes. The question rates would be answered by the CEO, Vincent Clerc, please.
Thank you, and thank you for bringing up these very important topics. If I take the first one on enabling a just transition, we are committed to ensuring that all our green fuel will be sourced sustainably, which means looking at both the potential social and environmental impact in the value chains of green fuels. The development of green fuels should not come at the expense of people or local communities. Already in 2022, we started incorporating social indicators in our due diligence procedures on development projects for new green fuel as part of our sustainability due diligence. As part of this, we are looking into how we can support the creation of jobs in the new green fuel supply chains, so local communities can also benefit from the transition.
On the climate risk, climate-related risk assessment is part of our standard operating risk assessment process, which can be found in more detail in our annual report. In 2021, we initiated an in-depth analysis to understand and manage the risk of the physical effects of climate change, particularly on our land-based assets. Some of these risks were selected for closer study. We will continue to further study on both short- and long-term potential impact in order to be aware and prepare for them appropriately. In 2023, we plan to further develop and expand climate resilience and adaptation disclosure based on the TCFD framework Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosure, covering both physical and transition, and transitional climate risks.
Finally, regarding our public policy activities, we are always guided by our core values, constant care, humbleness, uprightness, our employees, and our brand, our name. In all our public policy outreach and stakeholder engagement that we do, Mærsk is committed to ensuring that all lobbying activities are conducted in accordance with our commitment to responsible business practice and with the planet and its inhabitants in mind. All of our climate policy outreach is conducted in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, and we are also committed to expanding our disclosures in this area and are using the criteria of the Climate Action 100+ Net Zero Company Benchmark to inform our efforts. Thank you.
Thank you, Vincent Clerc. Clark, sorry, for the CEO for the comments to AkademikerPension and EOS at Federated Hermes. The next and last and final contributor, which have provided these prior to the general meeting, is Dansk Aktionærforening. The statement is phrased in Danish and will be read out in Danish, but answers will be given in English. Please, Dansk Aktionærforening.
This is on behalf of the Danish Shareholders' Association with the director Mikael Bak. 2022 was a very good year for both A.P. Møller - Mærsk and the shareholders in spite of difficult times around us. There's no doubt about that. Under normal circumstances, we, on behalf of private investors, would now commend the management for both a good report and a very strong performance in the past year. Unfortunately, we cannot do that this year because the company has decided to abolish the traditional and important physical AGM, so we cannot look each other in the eye for a debate and a deserved thank you for the past year. We understand from the arguments that you don't think it's worth the bother to have a physical AGM and that you want to follow the times and instead invite to a more informal shareholder stay.
However, we believe that this is a mistake for both the company, the shareholders, and society at large if you decide to abolish the physical AGM we're all used to without any further dialogue about it. The authorization to have a fully electronic AGM was given during the COVID crisis when times were very different. Even though we appreciate a shareholder's day, it cannot replace a committed AGM. We do recognize that an electronic AGM is a technological piece of progress that is here to stay and gives many opportunities. For all parties, it must be combined with the possibility to also appear physically. The direct communication where we meet face-to-face has a value in and of itself, especially when debating complicated issues. We therefore hope that A.P.
Moller - Mærsk will again give us the opportunity to meet both electronically and physically at the AGM in 2024. With a deserved direct thank you to the management and all the employees and with further questions to be asked about the business.
Thank you.
Thank you for reading out the message.
Thank you to Dansk Aktionærforening.
Good luck.
We give comments to that from the chairman, please, Robert.
Thanks, thanks for these comments, and thanks for the proposal. We're an international company. We have an international leadership team, a big international organization, and we also have a significant international shareholder base. For us, it's very important that all shareholders have access to the AGM, and we also appreciate if they have an equally good access to the AGM. We have discussed at length internally whether to do a hybrid AGM or a digital AGM. It's our experience that a digital AGM works better for those participating digitally. It's not as good experience for digital participants to attend a hybrid AGM. That's why we decided to do a digital AGM. I appreciate the proposal to have face-to-face discussions. While you cannot meet physically if you have a digital AGM, I'm sure technology will evolve over time.
At least I'd like to further investigate if we can increase the interaction somehow with our shareholders and have more direct interaction if we decide to do digital AGMs in the future. That's a matter we have to look into further and a matter we cannot commit to today.
Thank you to the chairman of the board for responding to the contribution from Dansk Aktionærforening. That was all the contributions received prior to the general meeting. We will now go to the contributions made during the course of this general meeting. We have a couple of them sent in, and some of them are phrased in Danish and the frame, the same pattern will be used. They will be read out in Danish, but they will be given answers in English. The first contribution made during the course of this meeting is from Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla. Please, Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla.
Variable pay based on achievement has a tendency to make people work more on fulfilling short-term targets than the company's long-term targets. It's of course for concern that you should choose.
Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla. The question will be addressed by the Chairman. Please, Mr. Chairman.
As outlined in the remuneration policy, we have a fixed salary, and then we have a salary which is based on short-term incentives, and then we also have a fairly significant component. We have a bonus which is linked to short-term incentive targets. And then we have what we call the long-term incentives. We have a variable pay which is based on the performance based on longer term targets. We believe we have the right balance between more of short-term targets and the long-term targets. Rest assured that we have a great interest that shareholders who, which are in it for the longer term, long-term shareholders, that their interests are very much aligned with the remuneration policy, and we believe it is.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for providing answers to Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla. The next contributor is Klaus Ove Ringberg. Please, Klaus Ove Ringberg.
Which challenges will the new silk route give Mærsk in the future?
The road, the Belt and Road Initiative, is really aimed at creating a better infrastructure to support trade between nations. It is supported by China, but it has created already infrastructure in many different countries. For us, we can only welcome the creation of better infrastructure to facilitate the flow of goods between different geographies. We do not see the Belt and Road Initiative as being a challenge for us. It just continues to enable us to actually serve our customers better, and we will continue also to invest on our own infrastructure wherever it helps and serves our customers.
Thank you to the CEO for providing an answer to the question raised by Klaus Ove Ringberg. The next questions is raised by Richard Mark Crease. I give the word to Richard Mark Crease.
Which, if any, human rights-related financial risks has the company identified, and how does the company seek to address these?
The specific question will be addressed by the CEO. Please, Vincent.
Human rights-related risk, including the financial risk, are under the oversight of our risk and compliance committee. ESG topics are addressed as part of our annual due diligence, which is described in detail in our annual report. In our 2022 risk assessments, which analyzes our key strategic, operational, and financial risk, we did not find that there were any significant human rights financial related risks.
Thank you so much, CEO, for the answer to that question. The next contribution is actually more statement in Danish saying,
It says, "I support Wiinblad's wish for an AGM with physical attendance." That was commented by Ane Birgitte Mærsk Mc-Kinney.
If we go to the next question, there's a question from Jan Saugmann Razniak.
When is the dividend paid out?
That question will be answered by the CEO, please.
The dividend will be paid on March 31st.
Thank you, Mr. CEO Vincent Clerc. There's another question from the same provider, Jan Saugmann Razniak. I give the word to Jan Saugmann Razniak again.
How much do you expect your air freight to add to the revenue?
That is again the CEO who would respond to that.
We do not provide guidance on specific products or segments of our business. That said, we are expanding our air freight based on the combination of customer demand, but also our strategy. We have acquired Senator in 2021, and we will continue to expand our activity. Therefore, we expect Mærsk Air Cargo to contribute to our overall ambition to grow our revenue in logistics by more than 10% every year. That which is actually well above market growth.
Thank you to the CEO, Vincent Clerc, and that was respond to Jan Saugmann Razniak. The next provider of a statement or a question, that is Steen Gøran Hartvig. Please, Steen Gøran Hartvig.
There are several possibilities to spend and invest the excess cash flow, sorry, and surplus. However, the decision of buying back shares, does that mean that the management find that the share price as of lately is cheap, and that the management cannot find better use of the capital and invest in new assets and the supply chain?
That question will also be addressed by the CEO, please.
Thank you. Our capital allocation strategy is designed to ensure that A.P. Moller - Mærsk has sufficient flexible financial flexibility in order to execute our strategic objectives while maximizing also the return to A.P. Moller - Mærsk shareholders. Based on the extraordinarily high level of profitability in 2022, we decided to raise the existing share buyback program and remain committed to returning excess returns to shareholders.
Thank you to the CEO, Vincent Clerc, for answering the question raised by Steen Gøran Hartvig. The next one is raised by Torben Hansen. Torben Hansen, please.
What does the company do to prevent sexual harassment on the company's vessels and in the other part of the business?
It will be the CEO, Vincent Clerc, who will respond to that.
Yeah. No matter who you are, as a Mærsk employee, you should always feel absolutely safe when you come to work. The sexual harassment cases that we have seen are totally unacceptable and go against everything that every Mærsk colleague believes for what we stand for as a company. Completely lost. Sorry.
I'm also happy to chip in while Vincent reflects on the question.
You're welcome.
I can say from the board's point of view, we take all cases related to sexual assault and sexual harassment extremely seriously. We do spend quite some time to make sure these matters are being fully investigated.
Yeah. We have actually rolled out a significant cultural change program in our fleet, aimed at really raising the awareness, making sure that our employees can feel safe, that they have channels to communicate, that these issues are dealt with proactively, that we also stamp out all of issues proactively rather than wait for things to happen. We have a very comprehensive program there that we are implementing right now very diligently, and as Robert mentioned, it is actually followed up very closely with the board.
Thank you so much, gentlemen, for the addressing the answers to the questions raised. Now we turn to another contributor, and that is Frank Aaen, and that have been submitted in Danish and will be read out in Danish and answered in English. I hand over the floor to the shareholder's voice, and that being Frank Aaen.
Let me begin with something as unusual as an editorial quote from the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. The editorial focuses on the large profit and low tax payment, the quote is: "Therefore, A.P. Møller-Mærsk, take the many billions you've earned in the past years and invest them in climate transition." End of quote. I know that Mærsk spends a lot of money in the green transition, you've also decided to pay out record high dividends to shareholders. DKK 100 billion is sent to the shareholders through dividends and share buyback programs on top of DKK 65 billion paid out in 2021. This is tenfold compared to the years 2019 to 2020.
We think that's indecent considering the low tax payments, that in a situation where the total CO₂ emissions, including the so-called Scope three emissions, has increased by 10% compared to 2020. I don't know how much of that is because of increased activity, it does show that in spite of strong increasing earnings, it goes the wrong way with emissions. We typically commend the company for being at the vanguard on the green transition, that's not the case today, because you've prioritized payouts to the shareholders over climate, that's on top of a proposal we made last year. We know the transition takes time, one thing can be done quickly, namely going from heavy fuel to light fuel. It's more expensive, light fuel has a lower level of pollutants and so-called black carbon.
The proposal was rejected by the company head because it would mean that the company could invest less in the transition to green fuel, so you wouldn't prioritize it. This question: Have you still chosen not to use light fuel and thus reducing the emissions of soot?
Thank you to Frank Aaen for the questions, and that would be answered by the CEO, Vincent Clerc. Please, Vincent.
Thank you for this question. The measurements of our Scope three emission is still something that where the methodologies are being fine-tuned and where we're learning every day. We have recently had to revise upward the calculations that we have of our Scope three emission, both because of methodology, and we've also revised it backwards for the years that were before, but also because the business has been growing significantly, as you can see it in the numbers of our logistics business.
We continue to work on the decarbonization and our commitment for 2040 were not only made for our oceangoing activities and our own assets, but also throughout our Scope three. We continue to work not only at gathering better and better data on how we spend our Scope three, but also on how we're going to decarbonize every part of the global supply chain. With respect to our fleet, the majority of our vessel actually uses already low sulfur fuel, and about 15%-20% of our ships is actually using scrubber, which is a device installed on the chimney or the smokestack of the ship that actually stops these particles before they go into the air.
The green methanol on which the ships of the future will run, does not emit or emit very low levels of sulfur and are compliant with the current legislation, so there the scrubber will not be a necessity. I think that it is important to say that our transitionOur green transition is not hampered by capital allocation. Actually, we are making all the investments that we can make at this stage to actually support the green transition. Linking the level of payouts of dividends to slowing down the green transition is not an accurate fact. We are investing in line with the renewal that we need of our fleet, and will continue to do so in the years to come.
May I just also-
Of course, Mr. Chairman.
I think, first of all, it's important to keep in mind that it's not just what we do for the company, but it's also what we do for the industry. When we start this journey, all our competitors were ordering ships with so-called LNG fuel engines. LNG may be a really good fuel if you want to reduce sulfur emissions, but it leads to significant methane slip. As per our lifecycle analysis, it's actually more damaging for the environment than some other conventional hydrocarbon fuels. I'm glad to see that now some competitors are actually following A.P. Moller - Mærsk in terms of ordering not LNG fuel ships, but methanol fuel ships and ships which can actually use green methanol.
It's very important here for people to understand that this change will not happen just because of private initiatives. Green methanol still comes at a significant premium to hydrocarbons, and many customers are not willing to pay for that fuel. It's critical that governments provide the right incentives and also provide support to the development of green fuels, so these fuels become competitive.
Thank you to the CEO and the chairman for responding to the contribution of Frank Aaen. Frank Aaen, have a second contribution, and please read that out.
A question about last year's AGM. We talked about the Danish International Shipping Register Act with Section 10, that limits the freedom of association and the right to freely negotiate collective agreements. Differences based on nationality or residence are a violation of international standards and norms. Last year, your CEO said that it was okay to differentiate according to the rules of ILO, but that is wrong, and you can see that in the video. Will you acknowledge today that the answer given last year was wrong before we get to item 9?
The critics, actually, have submitted a proposal under item J-nine regarding the DIS. I think I'll refer the question to the agenda item there, and the question will be answered as a part of the debate under item J-nine. There's an additional question also from Frank Aaen, and please present it.
How about light fuel that I just asked about?
That answer would be answered by Vincent Clerc.
For the light fuel, the light fuel that we use today, which is basically diesel, it works the same, it works the same way for the heavy fuel with respect to sulfur particles. Either, the ships that use those, either they have something to filter them at the source, or, it is part also of what the scrubber is stopping, when we on the ship where it is equipped.
Thank you so much, Vincent Clerc, for the contribution or the answer to the question raised by Frank Aaen. That was the last contribution I've noted we have received, but I've just been informed that no additional question is on its way. By that, we've finished the debate in this respect in regards to these items B to F. By that, I conclude that we can accept that the general meeting have adopted the board of directors report on the company's activities in the past financial year, adopted the annual report for 2022, resolved to discharge the board of directors and the executive management, and adopted the appropriation of profit and distribution of profit, and finally, adopted the annual remuneration report for 2022. Accordingly, item B to F are closed.
That bring us to the next item on the agenda, that being item G regarding authorization to acquire own shares. The board proposes that the general meeting authorize the board of directors to allow the company to acquire own shares, provided that the nominal value of the company's total holding of own shares at no time exceeds 15% of the company's share capital at the time of the authorization being granted. That must be today. The purchase price must not deviate for more than 10% from the price quoted on the Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange on the date of the acquisition, the acquisition will be in force, or the authorization will be in force until 30th April, 2025. The authorization is intended and required for the company's share buyback program.
I would like to hear if anybody want to take the floor in this respect. I have no indication as to such. I close the debate, and I can inform you that such a resolution can be passed with a simple majority. Based on the votes already received, I am happy to establish that the general meeting have adopted the proposal. That bring us to the next Item, which is Item H regarding election of the members of the Board of Directors. According to Article three of the Articles of Association, members of the Board of Directors are appointed for a term of two years at a time. Pursuant to the Articles of Association, Bernard L. Bot, Marc Engel, Arne Karlsson, and Amparo Moraleda do this year stand down from the Board of Directors.
The board of directors proposes re-election of the same, being Bernard L. Bot, Marc Engel, Arne Karlsson, and Amparo Moraleda. The board of directors proposes that Kasper Rørsted be elected as new member of the board of directors as mentioned by the chairman as part of the management report. For information on the candidate's qualifications, other managerial duties in commercial undertakings, demanding organizational assignment and independencies, are referred to the fact sheet on the candidate which was exhibited to the notice convening the annual meeting, being this meeting. By that, I firstly should ask if there's other candidate, and secondly, if there's any question in this respect. I've just been informed that there is a question from Simon Peter Gøgh. Please, Simon Peter Gøgh.
I suggest that shareholders should not vote for the election of Kasper Rørsted, as he concealed that he was a graduate of Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College and not of Copenhagen Business School. This is deceitful and not the behavior of a person who wants to be elected to the board of directors of Mærsk. See Kasper Rørsted's Wikipedia profile.
That remark would be addressed by the Chairman. Please, Mr. Chairman.
Well, I refer to the fact sheet regarding the board's board candidates. On that fact sheet, you can also see Kasper Rørsted's education. We believe the education listed there is correct. Let me also say that we do not find Kasper Rørsted in any way dishonorable, which I think is alluded to in this question or comment. We have done an extensive reference check. People who have worked with Kasper speak extremely highly of him. We have also, of course, followed his career. He's a two-time CEO, but he's also been on the board of several significant companies, so he brings a lot of experience and people speak very highly of him.
Finally, I've engaged with him myself and I believe he's a man of good values and integrity, hence the recommendation for the board's nomination.
Thank you to the chairman for the answering the questions, made by Simon Peter Gøgh. I have no indication of any others who wants to address this issue or issues in this respect, and I have no indication of the candidates. By that, I will conclude that the proposed candidates are reelected or elected respectively as member of the board for another two-year term. Congratulation to the election to all of you. Consequently, the board of directors are composed of Robert Mærsk Uggla, Marc Engel, Amparo Moraleda, Arne Karlsson, Bernard L. Bot, Julija Voitiekute, Kasper Rørsted, Marika Fredriksson, and Thomas Lindegaard Madsen. That concludes item H. We'll now reach item I regarding the election of the company's auditor. According to Article seven of the company's Articles of Association, the company's auditor is elected by the general meeting for one-year term.
The board of directors proposes the reelection of PricewaterhouseCoopers Statsautoriseret Revisionspartnerselskab. According to the EU Regulation on Statutory Audit, I can inform you that the proposal is in accordance with the recommendations provided by the audit committee, which is not affected by third party and which have not been subject to any agreement with a third party limiting the general meeting election of auditors. By that, I should ask if anybody would stand for that position or have comments or wants to make remarks. There's a comment under its way. This is a question raised by Simon Peter Gøgh. Please, Simon Peter Gøgh.
I suggest that shareholders should not vote for PricewaterhouseCoopers Statsautoriseret Revisionspartnerselskab, as according to Wikipedia, they were involved in a scandal. In January 2023, the firm was involved in a controversy when it approved Americanas balance sheets with accounting inconsistencies of around $4 billion. This caused volatility to company's price on the Brazilian stock exchange and losses to the company's shareholders. After verifying the impacts caused, the CVM, Brazilian body that regulates the stock exchanges, opened investigations against the company's auditors to determine responsibilities.
Why does Mærsk need PwC? That seems very suspicious.
There were some comments and questions made by Simon Peter Gøg, and, the chairman would provide comments to that. Please.
Thank you. Thanks for raising that concern. Let me first say that we take the task as a board extremely seriously in appointing an audit firm. We are of course mindful about the local team we engage with here in Copenhagen, but we're also very mindful about the global capabilities and also the global track record. Now, I would argue all the large audit firms, given the breadth of their activities, have been involved in various issues or, if you may, scandals. In our experience, PwC is a very good firm. We have a good experience from working with them. The board has a great deal of trust in their, in the lead auditors, representing them. We are quite happy with the relationship.
We continue of course to evaluate this, these relationships, but for now, we fully support the continued use of PwC in Denmark, but also elsewhere in the world.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for comments to the remarks made by Simon Peter Gøgh. There's no other candidates for that position. By that, I declare and I record that PricewaterhouseCoopers is elected as the company's auditor. This brings us now to item J, which concerns proposals from Board of Directors and by shareholders. This year totaling nine proposals. There are five separate proposals from the Board of Directors, which includes J1, regarding authorization to the Board of Directors to declare extraordinary dividend. J2, concerning an update of the remuneration policy. J3, which concerns a reduction of the share capital. J4, regarding an amendment of the articles of association on the size of the management board.
Finally, J5, regarding the change of the language applied for the general meeting, documents for internal general meetings, internal use, and company's announcement and corporate language. We reach additional four proposals, which are separately made from shareholders. There's J6, which is communication on human rights and labor rights matters. Item J7 on efforts to inclusion of shipping companies to OECD agreement on tax payments. J8 is concerning support of introduction of solidarity contribution consisting of a one-time tax. Finally, J9 on efforts to revoke Section 10 of the Danish International Shipping Register Act. By this, we move on to item J1, which is a standard item and familiar to many of you shareholders who have participated in previous years' general meeting.
The board of directors proposes that the general meeting authorize the company's board of directors for a period until the next annual general meeting to declare extraordinary dividend to the company's shareholders. By that introduction, I'd like to hear if anybody want to make comments in this respect. There's no such comments coming in. By that, I take it as a sign of acceptance and indication of approval. I, by that, establish that the general meeting has adopted the proposal. This lead us to J2, regarding an update of the remuneration policy. Especially the board of director proposes in respect of executive management to include introduction of a minimum personal shareholding requirement, reduced notice periods, and stricter non-compete terms, as well as a modification of a few key features of the long-term incentive program.
As to the board of directors, the update of the remuneration policy specifically provide for the annual fee for the chair of the board of directors to be set as a multiple of regular board fees plus additional fees for committee responsibility. I refer to the notice convening this general meeting and an updated version of the remuneration policy have been made available at the company's website. By that, I invite any comments or questions in this respect. The indication is that no question or remarks is on its way. By that, I conclude that debate is closed, and I also conclude that that is evidence that the general meeting have adapted the proposal. Thank you.
The next item is J3, concerning the reduction of the company's share capital. I generally refer to the notice convening the general meeting, but I should note that the Board of Directors proposes to reduce the company's share capital by cancellation of own shares of a total nominal value of DKK 1,137,446,000, divided into 227,398 shares of DKK 1,000, and 910,056 B-shares of also DKK 1,000 per share.
The capital reduction will take place at a premium at a price of DKK 1,655.552 and DKK 1,695.54 for A and B shares respectively to the average price at which the shares have been repurchased. Following the share capital reduction, the company's share capital will amount to DKK 17 billion 569 million and 715 million thousand. The proposal implies that Articles 21 of the Articles of Association will be amended to as set out in the notice to this meeting. By that, I should ask or would ask if anybody would like to contribute as to this item on the agenda.
I have no indication as to that, so I can just inform you that this proposal have to be accepted by two-thirds of the votes casted. Based on the postal votes and the proxies submitted prior to the general meeting, I'm able to establish that the general meeting has adopted that proposal, and I can inform you that 98% of the votes casted prior to the general meeting have been in favor of this proposal. The company's creditors will now request to file any claims within the 4-week deadline through the Danish Business Authorities IT system. The completion of the share capital reduction and the amendment of the Articles of Association will be registered with the Danish Business Authorities upon expiry of the deadline for the creditors' filing of claim.
A company announcement will be published once the share capital reduction is completed. That was the conclusion of item J3. This bring us to item J4 concerning an amendment of Article four of the Articles of Association. Specifically, the board of directors proposes that the company's management can consist of two to eight members, rather than three to eight members, as currently set out in the Articles of Association. The proposal implies that Article four of the Articles of Association will be amended as set out to the notice sent out in respect in regard to this general meeting. By that, I would ask for any question or comments. It appears that no questions or comments are being made, and I can inform the shareholders that also this proposal requires two-third majority.
Based on the proxies and postal votes submitted prior to the general meeting, I'm able to establish that the general meeting has adopted the proposal, and for the information, 97% of the votes casted were in favor of this proposal. That was the conclusion of item J4. This leads us to item J5, which concerns a number of changes relating to the use of English. As set out in the notice convening the Annual General Meeting, the board of director proposes that the company's general meeting can be conducted in English. The document for internal use by the general meeting may be prepared in English and that the company's announcements may be published in English. Furthermore, the board of directors proposes that the company's corporate language is English.
That is the language applied internally at the company and the Mærsk group and the language of internal producers and et cetera. The proposal implies that Article 17.2 of the Articles of Association will be amended to a new Article 18 as further set out in the notice convening the general meeting. I will now open the debate regarding this agenda point. We have, prior to the general meeting, received a contribution from AkademikerPension and LD Fonde relating to this item J5. I therefore give the floor to the shareholders' voice, who will raise her voice in respect of the contribution made on behalf of AkademikerPension and LD Fonde. Please.
Thank you. The statement is given on behalf of shareholders AkademikerPension and LD Fonde. We support the proposed amendment to the company's articles of association promoting English as the company's official corporate language and allowing the company's general meetings to be conducted in English. However, an issue that we feel must be addressed is the fully virtual setup of this year's annual general meeting. While hosting a fully virtual general meeting may have some financial and administrative advantages, it is diluting shareholder rights and the democratic purpose of the annual general meeting. The fact that this statement is being read aloud by a Mærsk representative instead of a shareholder underlines this issue. We strongly encourage Mærsk to revert to a hybrid setup with both in-person and online participation for next year's annual general meeting.
Alternatively, shareholders must be allowed to speak themselves, either by prerecorded video or live on screen, in order to ensure the preservation of shareholder rights going forward.
Thank you for the question and remarks made by AkademikerPension and LD Fonde. Thank you for the support of conducting the AGM in English. The matter of the virtual AGM have already been addressed by the chairman during the report earlier today, so we take it that the comments could be referred to that, so no other further comments would be necessary. We have another contributor in respect to item J5, and that is Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla. I hand over the floor to Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla.
I'm sorry that it wasn't possible for us to make known that we would like the AGM to still be held in Danish. I like it when Danish companies are proud of being Danish.
Thank you for the question and the remark by Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla. I give the floor to the Chairman of the Board of Directors for addressing that.
Thank you for that comment. First of all, of course, we're very proud of our Danish heritage, and we're also very mindful that we have many Danish shareholders. In fact, our biggest shareholders are Danish, and they are also very active in Denmark with their investments as well as through donations. A.P. Møller - Mærsk is an international company. We have a very international leadership team. We have 10 different nationalities in the team. And we also have to acknowledge that we have an international board. I was not born in Denmark. I was born in Sweden. We have a CEO who was not born in Denmark. We have a CFO who was not born in Denmark. We are a truly international company. Again, we're proud of our heritage here in Denmark.
We have a very big base in Denmark. We continue to hire international talent to Denmark to be part of this company. We are an international company. If you come to our headquarters, you will quickly notice that the most common language in this headquarter is English. Many of our shareholders also have a preference for English. That is the reason why we also believe it's fair to our shareholders, all our shareholders, that we conduct the AGM in English.
Thank you to the chairman for the response to Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla. I have not any indication as to any further contributions. But in the meantime, I can tell you that this proposal have to be adopted by two-thirds of the votes. The final conclusion is that there is nobody who wants to take the floor in this respect. And by that, I conclude that the general meeting has adopted the proposal. That is also supported by the proxies and postal votes submitted prior to the general meeting, as 98% of the votes casted were in favor of that proposal. So that was the item number J5, and by that, the last proposal brought by the board. The following proposal are proposal made by shareholders. The first of these are proposal J6, submitted by AkademikerPension and LD Fonde.
Specifically, AkademikerPension and LD Fonde have proposed that the board of directors shall communicate the company's efforts to respect human rights and labor rights in accordance with the human nation, sorry, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. If any, which human rights relates to the financial risk the company has identified and how it seeks to address these. I'll now give the floor to the shareholder's voice, who will present the proposal on behalf of AkademikerPension and LD Fonde.
The purpose of our shareholder proposal is to encourage Mærsk to take the next step in the company's sustainability journey, to strengthen the company's public disclosures regarding human rights impacts and risks, and to ensure the company's continued leadership position on sustainability reporting. At this point, we feel it important to comment that Mærsk has declined the filing shareholder's multiple requests to include the motivation for filing this proposal in the AGM materials. This is unfortunate, as it deprives shareholders of valuable information in order to assess the merits of the shareholder proposal in time for the de facto deadline for institutional investors submitting their votes. The fact is that institutional investors generally submit their votes well ahead of the AGM itself, and well ahead of this statement being read out today. Now back to the motivation.
The pressure on companies to demonstrate respect for human rights is increasing as the link between long-term value creation and a prudent approach to human rights risks is becoming more and more established. It is therefore increasingly important for companies and investors alike that companies demonstrate that they understand and navigate the business opportunities and risks related to the corporate duty to respect human rights and labor rights. Failure to do so may leave the company vulnerable to operational disruptions, litigation risk, and increased scrutiny by supervisory authorities, as well as reputational risk and loss of license to operate in the eyes of customers, employees, investors, and business partners. The corporate duty to respect human rights is derived from the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UNGPs, adopted in 2011.
The UNGPs have set out the international standard of practice for companies to respect international human rights, including labor rights, by identifying, preventing, mitigating, remedying, and accounting for human rights impacts associated with their business activities. This process is commonly known as human rights due diligence. Though a soft law requirement under international law, the corporate duty to respect human rights has been an expectation of companies since the UNGPs was adopted in 2011. This is particularly the case for companies that publicly subscribe to these international norms, companies like Mærsk. This expectation has in recent years been underlined by the European Union's introduction of a range of regulatory initiatives, which in different ways seek to address the impacts that businesses have on human rights and labor rights.
Two of the main developments in this area are the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which includes a mandatory due diligence obligation with respect to human rights, and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which concerns disclosures on a range of sustainability matters, including human rights from a double materiality perspective. The EU regulatory initiatives are largely based on the corporate duty to respect human rights as described in the UNGPs. Though the corporate duty to respect human rights has been long established, studies show that companies have not taken the necessary steps to demonstrate sufficient implementation of human rights due diligence processes in their operations. The Danish Institute for Human Rights has examined the public reporting of a number of large Danish companies and provided an analysis of the human rights policies and disclosed human rights due diligence practices of these companies in 2020 and again in 2022.
The analysis indicate that more progress needs to be made in this area. This is also the case for Mærsk. As indicated in the 2022 analysis, Mærsk ranks in the top 5 of the assessed companies and has made substantial progress in this area in recent years. Mærsk is therefore well-placed to demonstrate best practice and lead the way on human rights due diligence disclosure. Mærsk is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and has committed to respecting human rights in line with the UNGPs. By strengthening its ability to document its human rights due diligence and risk management processes even further, the company would stand to benefit, not by preempting the regulatory requirements in the EU legislation, but by staying ahead of the curve. We therefore encourage our fellow shareholders to consider their support for this proposal.
We also encourage the board to support the strengthening of Mærsk's human rights and labor rights disclosures ahead of next year's AGM, despite the board not finding it possible to support the proposal this year. We look forward to continue our dialogue also on this matter and to follow closely the progress in Mærsk's human rights disclosures in the coming years. Thank you.
Thank you to the shareholders' voice on behalf of AkademikerPension and LD Fonde. I'll now give the floor to the chairman of the board of directors, who will present the board of directors' position on the proposal, and that is that the board of directors do not support the proposal. By, with this initial remark, please, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. We very much support the good intentions, but we don't support this proposal. We also thanks, or I would like to thank AkademikerPension and LD Fonde for your comments and for highlighting our high ranking as well as the substantial progress we've made over the last few years. We are, as you know, very committed to human rights, and in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we continuously work on our due diligence processes, and we also work on action plans to address the shortcomings. This is also discussed in the boardroom. A very good example is the inclusion topic we discussed earlier around sexual harassment and sexual assault, which is and has been a very important topic in the boardroom.
Today we report on the progress on this human rights matters on our website, as well as in our sustainability report. In our opinion, and this is very much supported by management, it's not necessary with additional reporting from our end until we become more familiar with the new legislation and the guidelines addressing human rights. With that said, we very much appreciate the dialogue we're having with you, and we look forward to a continued dialogue.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That was a response to the contribution made by AkademikerPension and LD Fonde. In relation to J7, we have a contribution from a shareholder which is undisclosed to me. Please, Mr. Undisclosed, please present.
Mærsk Group now reports on the EU taxonomy and states that it complies with the minimum safeguards, including respect for labor rights. Why does the board not support helpful shareholder resolution J6? J6, communicating, one, the company's efforts to respect human rights and labor rights in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UNGPs.
Now I can disclose that the contributor was Richard Makris. Richard Makris. I think the answer to this question have already been submitted or given by the chair, so I think that would be the answer. I should ask if there's any other who wants to contribute under this item, and I understand that that is not the case. Therefore I close, or consequently I close the debate. Based on the proxies and votes totally submitted prior to the general meeting, I am able to establish that the proposal is not adopted, as 95% of votes are casted against the proposal. That was J7. Oh, sorry, that was J6. We now reach J7, which is submitted by the shareholder Kritiske Aktionærer.
Kritiske Aktionærer proposes that in accordance with the company's support of shipping companies globally being subject to a more fair taxation, the company shall work actively in favor of the inclusion of the shipping companies to the OECD agreement on payment of at least 15% tax for large multinational companies. I note that the board of directors do not support the proposal. I will now give the floor to the shareholders' voice, who will read out the Kritiske Aktionær's motivation of the proposal. The motivation is drafted or submitted in Danish, but comments will be provided in English. Please, Kritiske Aktionær.
Our proposal is really, is really on the basis of a statement from Søren Skou, who said in November 2022 that he could understand that there's a lot of focus on our taxation when we have such great profits. It's important for, to us to have framework conditions that are competitive. If we are to discuss taxation on the shipping sector, we need to discuss that at the OECD level, so that we have level playing field. We could also hear a statement from Søren Skou on the radio on the 19th of December last year. He said, "If you want to change taxation of shipping in OECD, please go ahead." End of quote.
Adopting this proposal would also make amends for the fact that the company, as they have admitted, secretly worked in favor of the shipping sector be exempt from the OECD agreement of at least 15% in taxes, an agreement valid for 135 countries. There's no doubt that such a statement about expanding the OECD agreement to.
Thank you to Kritiske Aktionærer.
include shipping
the shareholders' voice.
from a player like Mærsk would be heard.
I will now give the floor to the Chairman, who will present the board of directors' non-supportive position on the proposal.
Thank you. I believe the company has on several occasions explained our views. If anyone is in doubt, I encourage shareholders and others to read our annual report and not list our tax report. We have disclosed our view on how we approach taxes in Denmark and elsewhere in the world, and I think that's very clearly outlined in our 2022 tax report. From my point of view, let me highlight that it's absolutely critical that all international shipping companies compete under the same rules, what we call a level playing field. This is not just important for Mærsk. If we look at our peers here in Denmark, it's important for the entire maritime cluster in Denmark. It's absolutely essential that the maritime cluster is in no way at a disadvantage compared to other maritime clusters.
We have seen from other countries that unless you have these competitive international rules in a maritime cluster, it's impossible to retain your merchant fleet. Of course, it's also difficult to build up new shipping related activities if you don't have that merchant fleet. Now to become a bit technical, we have expressed a concern about including shipping in what's called OECD Pillar Two model. We know that many tax experts agree on our view on this, and the vast majority of countries in the OECD has agreed with that concern. It's also important to emphasize that a significant part of our investments, as outlined in my speech and earlier mentioned by Vincent, they go into other activities. They go into terminals, they go into fulfillment centers, they go into other inland logistics activities.
For these activities, we pay a traditional corporate tax in the countries where these activities are undertaken. A port in Holland, a port in Rotterdam, where we have a fairly big operation, would pay taxes in Holland. A port in Los Angeles, where we also have a very big operation, would pay taxes in the US. All these activities are subject to the proposed OECD minimum taxation rules. Again, let me stress that tonnage taxation is critical for the Danish maritime cluster, if we don't have it in Denmark, we believe that the cluster will very quickly diminish in size.
Thank you, Chairman, for the board of directors' remarks. We have a contribution in respect of this item on the agenda, and that is from a shareholder, Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen, and it is written in Danish. I hand over the word or the floor to the shareholder's voice, please.
We need 11 playing fields for all. That's what Mærsk always repeats whenever anyone questions their lucrative tax system, the so-called tonnage tax. Mærsk owes us an answer as to why you have actively worked against OECD's attempt at a global tax agreement. Far, we only got hot air out of the gray box on Esplanade, where you once again achieved a record high profit. Last year, Mærsk's, at the time, CEO Søren Skou claimed that Mærsk was open to paying more tax if it happened through a global tax agreement in OECD with fair competition rules. The Danish television in February showed that Mærsk actively worked against a global tax agreement with the government at the time in 2021.
That puts Mærsk in an unfortunate light because how can you say one thing and do something else, and now even maintain that this double standard is quite okay? The current leadership admits that you have worked against the common tax agreement because it was unclear how the rules would be implemented. OECD and the member countries didn't get that far before the Danish government, supported by Mærsk, got shipping exempt from global company tax of 15%. Of course, Mærsk is worried about international competitiveness, but it can only be solved with a global agreement. Therefore, we at the critical shareholders have made the proposal of Mærsk being part of the OECD agreement.
Mærsk owes us an answer to how you at one time can support the idea of a global tax agreement and at the same time actively work against the OECD attempt to have common rules or level playing field.
Thank you to the shareholder's voice on behalf of Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen. There were perhaps some questions in that. Comments will be made by the CEO, Vincent Clerc, please.
Thank you. I can only reiterate a lot of the points that Robert has already made in the fact that we compete globally and need to make sure that we have a global level playing field. With the inception of the idea of the 15% tax rate across the OECD, we have noted concern that this would not deliver as it was designed, a level playing field, for a lot of technical reasons in the text. As Robert mentioned, a lot of experts have actually agreed with our assessment. So much that actually the majority of the OECD countries have decided to extend an exemption for our shipping activities. Mærsk support that decision from the OECD, just like we support that on all our land-based activities, the minimum 15% tax rate will actually apply.
This is actually where, most of our investments are going, as Robert also just mentioned. Thank you.
Thank you to Vincent Clerc for contributing or responding to the contribution by Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen. We have a contribution from Frank Aaen, read out or written in Danish. Please, Frank Aaen.
Your speech that tax rules can be changed as long as it happens internationally and fair for all is just words when you actively worked against including shipping sectors in the OECD rules.
I have no indication as to any further contributors on this item on the agenda, J 7. That is not the case. I should say that based on the proxies and postal votes submitted prior to the general meeting, I'm able to establish that the proposal is not adopted. For the minutes, I can record that more than 97% of the votes cast prior to the meeting were against the proposal. This bring us to item J 8, which also been submitted by Kritiske Aktionærer. Under item J 8, Kritiske Aktionærer proposes that in continuation of the EU decision about solidarity contributions from companies that have a large profit during the inflation, the company declares its support to the introduction of such a solidarity contribution consisting of a one-time tax, covers all Danish companies which have a profit above the normal in 2022.
I note that the board of directors do not support the proposal. I will now give the floor to the shareholders' voice, who will read out the Kritiske Aktionærer's motion of the proposal. Also this one is drafted in Danish. Please, Kritiske Aktionærer.
The EU has decided that companies that during the inflation have had a profit above normal can be made to pay a solidarity contribution to the people affected by the inflation. On top of the tax on power companies in Denmark, there's also a so-solidarity contribution for oil and gas companies. The background is that it's obvious that power companies and energy companies have made money on inflation. The same applies to the shipping industry. They've had record high profits. The international studies have showed that the high freight rate contributed significantly to inflation in 2022. The shipping companies have contributed to the inflation that have been part of the background for the record high profits. Therefore, it would be fair to suggest to the Danish Parliament to introduce a solidarity contribution for all Danish companies who had an above average profit in 2022.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm told that we have to catch up with the translation, so we have to take the speed it down, so that's why we make some small breaks here. But it's important that everybody which follows our general meeting would be content with how it's actually perfected. The chairman of the board, Robert Mærsk Uggla, will present the board of directors' non-supportive position on the proposal. Please, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. On a general note, the company does not support retroactive legislation, and I know the far majority of our shareholders would also be very much against any kind of retroactive legislation. As to this particular proposal of an additional tax, if you may, we don't think it would be beneficial for Danish shipping companies with this kind of approach. I think again, it would risk undermining creating a competitive maritime cluster, and it would create a lot of uncertainty how the Danish regulator goes about companies' taxation. I would also like to highlight on a quite personal note that it's not that the dividend doesn't come to good use. It does come to good use for society in Denmark.
A significant part of our dividend goes into nonprofit foundations, and they either give it back to society in the form of donations or they invest it. Some of them invest quite significant in Denmark. A.P. Moller Holding has invested close to 38 billion DKK in the last few years in companies headquartered in Denmark. Let's just be mindful about that the dividend we pay out come to good use also elsewhere, and it comes to good use in Denmark.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the motivation in relation to the proposal by Kritiske Aktionær. I've been informed that there is no one which want to contribute in relation to this J9 item. By that, I conclude that the shareholders have established that the proposal is not adopted. For the record, I can inform you that 97% of the votes casted prior to the general meeting were against the proposal. That concludes item number J8, and that bring us to J9. The J9 is the final item on the agenda, which is an item which has also been submitted by Kritiske Aktionær.
Kritiske Aktionær proposes that the company will work in favor of a revocation of Section 10 of the Danish International Shipping Register Act, so that all seafarers on Danish vessels are covered by the right to freedom of association, and their right to freely negotiate collective agreements is safeguarded. I noted that the board does not support the proposal. I will now give the floor to the shareholders' voice, who will read out the Kritiske Aktionær motivation of the proposal, which is also in Danish. Please, Kritiske Aktionær.
At last year's AGM, during the debate about Section 10 of the Act on the Danish International Shipping Register, Søren Skou claimed that it was in accordance with ILO to give differentiated pay based on residence. That was wrong. The International Labour Organization, ILO, has never approved of Danish collective agreements on Danish ships could be valid only for seafarers with residence in Denmark. On the contrary, ILO has repeatedly criticized Section 10 of the Act on the Danish International Shipping Register.
We believe that it's shameful that Mærsk has seafarers on their ships that are given different pay even though they are doing the very same work just because they're from different countries. We also believe that it is a violation of the UN Global Compact. By committing to the Global Compact, the shipping company has committed to complying with ILO's core conventions. Therefore, we believe that the company should tell the government that you would like to see a proposal to the Danish parliament.
Thank you to Kritiske Aktionærer for the motivation of the proposal. I'll now give the floor to the CEO, Vincent Clerc, who will now give the position of the board of directors, which are that they are not supportive to the proposal. Please, Vincent Clerc.
Thank you. A.P. Moller - Mærsk is a signatory of the UN Global Compact and is committed to respecting these principle, the principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ILO Core Conventions on Labor Rights, as also ratified by the Danish government. A.P. Moller - Mærsk adheres to these principles and local laws which we implement via internal policies, including our code of conduct and relevant processes. Several Danish governments have reached the conclusion that Denmark complies with these conventions in the context of seafarers. We do not see any reason to assess these questions differently than Danish authorities. All seafarers on our vessels, including Danish-flagged vessels, are allowed to freely associate and organize themselves where they want and when they want to, and their right to freely negotiate collective agreement is safeguarded.
This right is exercised through the union in the country of which the seafarers is citizens or domiciled. Through the main Danish International Ship Registry Agreement, the Danish Union are entitled to sit in on all negotiations with foreign unions in order to ensure that collective agreements are made on an internationally acceptable level.
Thank you to the CEO for providing comments or motivation to the proposal made by Kritiske Aktionærer. According to my records, there are no further contribution, no comments, and by that I conclude that... I do not conclude that because I've just been informed that a remark may be under his way. As promised, initially, we are obligated and delighted to wait for this coming in, and that is Frank Aaen who would like to raise or give a question, and please, Frank Aaen.
I have to conclude that you don't follow the UN Global Compact and thus the ILO Conventions. We are disappointed that the company will not admit to that.
To Frank Aaen, I take it that that is not a question, but more a remark. By that, I should ask if there's further or other shareholders who want to make contribution as to this item J-9. That seems not to be the case. By that, I could report that more than 96% of the vote casted prior to the general meeting were against the proposal. By that, I will establish that the proposal is not adopted. This concludes the agenda of the annual general meeting. For me, it is only to resign as meeting chair of this general meeting. Thank you all for an orderly and successful annual general meeting of A.P. Moller - Mærsk S. Thank you to the shareholders' voice for very valuable efforts.
for closing remarks, I will now pass the floor for the last time to the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Please, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. Let me start by saying a big thanks to our chair of today's annual general meeting for your effort. You've been standing up for 2 and a half hours, and we're very grateful for how you've conducted today's meeting. Also a big thanks to everyone behind the scenes. There are quite a few people in this room, but I also know there are many people elsewhere in the Mærsk organization who've been heavily involved in this digital AGM. It takes quite an effort, and I'm very grateful for what you've done and what we call constant care in terms of our values. That certainly goes to the entire communications team of Mærsk. It goes to our public affairs team.
It goes, of course, to our IT team and the people involved in cybersecurity, it also goes to some of our partners who are here today. While we've conducted a digital annual general meeting, giving, as I said, equal access to all our shareholders in all parts of the world, we are mindful that many of you have a significant interest to see more of our activities. Global trade has been enabled by ships propelled by hydrocarbon fuels for more than 100 years. This will soon change. In September, our first container vessel designed to sail on green methanol will be delivered and sailed to Copenhagen. Quite an event.
As mentioned in my intro, we look forward to welcoming all our shareholders who can make it to the very quay outside our headquarters, literally only a few hundred meters from where we are standing in this studio, to learn more about our activities and to experience the ship in person. We are quite sure that will be a rewarding experience. With that said, we conclude today's annual general meeting. Thank you for your support and for your participation.