Care Actionaire. Dear shareholders. As Chairman of the Board of Directors, I would like to warmly welcome you to the ordinary annual general meeting for AP Miller Maersk AS. Our AGM is taking place in an extraordinary health crisis, which affects us all. The reason why we've decided to have the AGM in spite of the crisis is that we want to signal that it is important that we keep the wheels turning and find new ways of working together during these difficult times.
Trading goods creates growth wealth and improved living conditions all over the world. And the total transport and logistics sector makes up the that make everything work. About 80% of world trade is transported in containers. So as the largest container transport company in the world, we play a significant role in ensuring that there's food on the shelves in the supermarkets and medicines in the pharmacies. During this crisis where many things are closing down, it is even more important that the global network of ports, roads and other critical infrastructure remains opened and well functioning.
Our ships sail 24 hours a day, 3 60 days a year. The terminals across the world work 20 fourseven, and here at our head office, we also work hard, even though most of the work is done by our staff from their homes. We do everything we can to keep world trade as stable as possible. As we keep the wheels turning, we also work in a focused way to protect the safety and health of our staff. It means that our crews have to stay a bit longer on the ships than they used to and thousands of staff members across the world work from home to reduce the risk of contagion.
I would like to start by thanking all of our members of staff for their patience, adaptability and efforts in order to continue to service our customers and thus keep world trade going under these extraordinary conditions. And to you, our dear shareholders, Your flexibility and acceptance of the changed conditions for the AGM is something we very much appreciate. It is good and right for the company to have today's AGM. We need to adopt our annual accounts for 2019 and pay out dividends for our shareholders. Even though we have planned a completely different annual general meeting at the Opera House, we are happy that we are able to the AGM through this live streaming and thus we can have an AGM in a safe way for both our shareholders and our staff and within the guidelines of the authorities.
To direct today's AGM the board has appointed lawyer Nils Kornov, and I give the floor to the Chairman of the AGM Nils Kornov. Yes, Targa, for that subject. Thank you very much for appointing me to be the chairman of the AGM here at APMM. I hope we will have a good AGM under the current conditions. We know that shareholders the entire setup has been constructed to give you a good experience.
First, I need to check that the AGM has been convened correctly and has a quorum. It has been convened on the 28th of February on the website of the company. It's also been sent out to shareholders who asked to get this via email or post. Miscellaneous information has also been available to the shareholders since 28th February. So everything is in accordance with the and the Danish Companies Act.
Originally, the location was the Danish Pro housing Copenhagen, but now it's moved to Is Planel. This has been everyone has been notified about this change. However, if any shareholders were to turn up at the Opera House, we have made measures to ensure that they can take card in the AGM after all. There are currently six people in this room and one of these persons is a shareholder. The order of the company is electronically present, and I refer to the company's act section 103 subsection 4 for this.
Originally, 1000 shareholders have signed up to take part in the AGM. So that shows that our shareholders have guidelines from the government to stay away. So thank you very much for that. So we can have an AGM with in the bounds of only having groups of 10 people together. So that means that we have a legal AGM also in accordance with the rules because of the COVID-nineteen virus.
So this special annual general meeting is legal and has a quorum in accordance with the agenda because it's in accordance with the rules that apply for this and in accordance with the articles of association. 80 5.78 percent of the Asia capital is represented here today the board has received postal votes and proxies for almost all votes. So 100 with at a few, 99.99% is through postal votes and proxies. We have a special quorum requirement in the articles of association, which is relevant for of items 92g2 and G4 in the agenda. That requirement means that we need at least 2 thirds of the A share capital represented And we do comply with that rule.
So that means we have a quorum for all the decisions that need to be made here today at the GM. In the Danish Companies Act section 101 Subsection 5, there's a provision that means that we need a detailed result from all votes for each decision at the AGM even though the result is quite clear. Again, this year, we will diverge from this detailed account and we'll follow the practice from previous AGMs in the company. So I will state if a proposal has been adopted or not. And if there's any doubt, we'll have a vote.
In light of the COVID-nineteen situation, some things will be changed compared to previous AGMs. So nothing is like it normally is. Of the company hopes that we next year will be able to have the AGM under normal circumstances. But one of the changes today is that the entire AGM is webcast on the website of the company and will stay on the website after the AGM. And only bought are not present, but they follow the AGM wire webcast.
The agenda has been sent out and it's the following item may report on the activities of the company during the past financial year. B submission of the audited annual report for adoption see resolution of grant to grant discharge to directors, the resolution on appropriation of profit, including the amount of dividends, are covering of loss and will be adopted annual report. E, any requisite election of members to the Board of Directors, F, election of auditors, And then the final item G, deliberation of any proposals submitted by the Board of Directors or by shareholders, there are 4 proposals The 4 is authorizing the Board of Directors to declare extraordinary dividends. 2, decrease the share capital, 3 updated remuneration policy and 4 updating the articles of association. We are now ready to start the actual agenda.
As usual, the first items on the agenda are taken under 1. So again, items a, b, c, and d will be taken as 1. That's report on the activities of the company B submission of audited annual report C granting discharge to the directors and the resolution on appropriation of profit, including the amount of dividends. And with that, I give the floor back to the chairman of the board, Jim Heim and snape who will present the annual report and motivate the reasons for appropriation of profit. Thank you
very much. And once again, a warm welcome all of you who are following the annual general meeting from home. We're digitizing the company and now also the general meeting. When you transport 1 in 5 containers worldwide, it carries a certain responsibility, a responsibility to war our customers, our employees, our shareholders and the world at large. Given our size and influence we are very relevant for the world economy and the current situation with the coronavirus is proving this to be the case more clearly than ever.
We play a big role in terms of World Trade GDP Growth, Global Exports And Imports and in safeguarding our customer supply chains, even in difficult times. We shoulder our responsibilities and we take them seriously. In recent decades, we have made global container transport inexpensive. We have contributed to increased global trade and growth inexpensive and efficient container shipping enables everyone to trade with anyone globally. Since the invention of the container, and since 2011 transporting a container from port to port by sea has become about 35% cheaper.
Our next challenge is to simplify container transport for our customers and to make it sustainable for the planet. One of the main advantages of our current strategy is that we're in complete control of the container's entire journey from factory or farm and all the way to the final destination. And because we own all critical parts of the physical infrastructure in the forms of our ships, terminals and warehouses and because we are now leading the digital aspects of the journey We can better than anyone ensure that transport is inexpensive, simple and sustainable. We have been relevant for more than a century and the strategic journey we're on means that we will also be relevant for the next 100 years. With our new strategy launched at the end of 2016, We went from being a conglomerate with many independent companies to becoming a focused and integrated logistics and transport company.
It's been an exciting journey for the last 3 years, but also a demanding one, especially for management and are more than 80,000 employees. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank management and all of our employees around the world for their dedicated efforts in implementing these wide ranging changes. As I described at the general meeting last year, you can compare our strategic transformation to the process of building a new house. The 1st phase in 2017 2018 was all about establishing solid foundations. We succeeded in separating the energy part of the business better than expected and we integrated the acquisition of Hamburg Sud with more synergies than planned.
These were big strategic transactions. The biggest in our history and resulted in huge changes for our company. If we continue with the house building analogy, 2019 was the year in which we finished building the floors of the house and we can now raise We combined our commercial sales forces for oceans and logistics. We significantly strengthened our in house IT competence and we streamlined operations at our head office. In doing so, we laid the final building blocks for the future shape of APMM and we are now ready to accelerate the transformation through as well as by further developing so that we can create a higher return and reduce fluctuations from shipping.
That we are now beginning to see that the new strategy is working. Since 2017, we have generated growth again and we have gone from costs and create synergies but also because we have taken the lead in standardizing and digitizing our industry. A concrete example of being at the head of the game in terms of standardization and digitization is our digital product mask spot. Mask spots is in the process of setting new standards for a more disciplined approach to buying sea freight on short contracts. It is a solution based on one simple principle.
AP Miller Maersk guarantees space and a price for the customer and this is nonnegotiable. On the other hand, the customer undertakes to deliver the number of containers booked. If either party does not deliver, they have to pay financial compensation to the other. And everything happens online of course. We have seen exponential growth in the demand for the spot product and we expect that as much as 80% of our short contracts will be handled via mask spot by the end of this year.
Trade Lens is another good example. With the trade lens, we have digitized the very manual paperwork in this industry which has resulted in increased forms for the transport industry with more than 20 shipping companies, 100 terminals and 10 authorities already signed up as users. It is clear that product services and information. This is because they also want freight transport to be inexpensive, simple and sustainable. We see this among other things in the increase in our net promoter score which shows where the customers are happy to recommend us.
This customer satisfaction is largely due to the fact that we are now stronger operationally than we have been for a long time. We have improved our reliability while increasing efficiency and reducing fuel consumption. Financially, we're also in a stronger position now than we have been for several years. Our free cash flows are significantly higher than they have been for many years and our debt is now lower than it has been for 10 years. We have achieved these improvements despite the fact that we have not had much tailwind in the market.
From factors beyond our control. Demand has been low. Freight rates have been under pressure and we have seen that global trade has been challenged especially with the trade war between the US and China and now also a coronavirus. Despite this, we increased our guidance during 2019 and delivered a solid result at the upper end of our updated guidance. This is very satisfactory.
In addition to delivering value the DKK10 1,000,000,000 share buyback program resulting from the sale of our shares in total SA started in June 2019 and is proceeding as planned. In April 2019, we completed the merger of Maersk drilling. We demerged MASK Drilling in such a way that we created value for APMM. We received $2,000,000,000 in cash. And at the same time, we created value for our shareholders who received 2 Maersk Drilling Shares for each AP to our shareholders.
Comprising 1,000,000,000 in ordinary dividends 1,000,000,000 from the distribution of the sale of the shares in Danske Bank. 1,000,000,000 in share buyback programs and now also 1,000,000,000 for Maersk drilling. It's necessary to remember this when assessing the share price and our total market value. On the agenda today, we ask that the proposed dividend is approved as well as permission to continue making distributions to In addition to creating value for our we are committed to facilitating global trade and to multiplying the benefits of trade for society so that more individuals businesses and communities can become part of a global open and inclusive trading system. We are largely doing this by reducing the complexity of transport through digitization so that everyone can be involved including small businesses AB Miller Maersk is also taking the lead in our industry with our ambitious carbon goal.
As the first player, we have set a goal of being net carbon neutral by 2050 and we are already making great strides. Compared to 2008, we have reduced our carbon emissions per container by 42%. In order to achieve this goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 completely new fuel types need to be developed. This needs to happen over the next decade so we are very involved in driving research. Our goal is to have the first solutions in operation as early as 2030.
Our customers are already seeking more climate friendly solutions as they are also looking to reduce their carbon footprint. Our position is that in addition to benefiting society with the green transition, It is a competitive advantage to be taking the lead and it will therefore also benefit customers and shareholders A third focus area is reducing food loss. It is a regrettable fact that 1 third of all the world's food is lost before it reaches the consumer's fridge. And of this 1 third is lost in transport. Using our refrigerated containers, we can reduce this loss to less than 1%.
Today we account for almost 30% of the world's refrigerated containers which means that we can have a significant impact on food loss. It is our ambition to cut the loss of food in the supply chain by half. The 4th objective on the social side is our work to improve conditions in connection with recycling ships. Again in 2019, we drove significant improvements especially in a land in India. We're working in close cooperation with the EU and our ambition is to radically change the global ship recycling industry.
So it is dominated by responsible standards for the benefit of workers and the environment as well as for responsible ship recyclers and ship owners. Since 2016 we have intensified our efforts to raise standards in Alang and the shipyards we've been working with have been able to make investments and now have a standard which is higher than the Hong Kong convention and which matches our own. I will now use my report to analyze the financial year 2019 in a little more detail. In 2019, our priorities were to complete the 2nd phase of the transformation of our business while at the same time increasing our earnings and cash or as we have previously compared it to changing tires on a car while it's driving. And that is definitely not an easy task.
In a company the size of AP Miller Maersk. At the start of the year, our expectations regarding demand were low and unfortunately it went as we expected. Because we had adapted our business to lower growth, we were able to deliver a better profit than expected and as mentioned to adjust our guidance upwards during the year. After seeing high growth in 2018, it was more important for us to increase earnings than to increase revenue in 2019. Revenue, therefore, decreased slightly by 0.9 percent to $38,900,000,000 And since 2016, revenue increased by 41% and we're back at the same level as before selling our energy related activities.
At the same time, we were able to mark increase our earnings and our cash flows increased significantly. Total profit before depreciation interest and tax, EBITDA rose by almost 14.3 percent or US714 $1,000,000. In other words and slightly more simply, In 2018, we had a company which was losing money on the bottom line while at the end of 2019 the company had a profit of half a1000000000 dollars. The increase in earnings comes primarily from the ocean segment which improved its profit by 15.2 percent or US574 million dollars followed by terminals and Towich which improved its profit by 10.9% or $109,000,000. In Ocean, revenue was 0.2 1% lower, which enabled us to raise earnings significantly, primarily driven by factors which were under our control namely the way in which we use capacity as well as our ability to reduce fuel consumption and thus also our carbon emissions.
In our terminal business, revenue increased by 4.1%, while we managed to reduce costs by 2.1%. This is because our operational efficiency increased significantly during the year. In addition, we increased volume by 3.9% which meant that our utilization rate at the terminals increased from 73% in 2018 to 80% in 2019. We are very proud It was a year in which we restructured the sales force and built up a pipeline with new contracts. We will see the effect of this in the coming years.
The year 2019 shows that we are able to increase profitability significantly within logistics and services. This is important so that we can simultaneously increase our overall profitability and reduce our dependence on rates at sea. One example of a new logistics contract is a large customer in the clothing industry who had problems shipping goods from Ethiopia. The customer had been struggling with delayed raw materials for its factories and a shortage of containers and trucks to collect the finished goods. The cargo was simply not reaching the port in time.
The customer asked AP Miller Maersk for help and in doing so switched from 7 different logistics companies to just one. The processes were optimized and the delays disappeared. In addition, savings could be made by using the same containers that supplied the raw materials for transporting the finished goods to the ships. In other words, the strategy is working We're increasing value for the customer. We're increasing our profitability and at the same time, we're diversifying the business.
So that the business becomes With a return of 3.1%, we have become much better than we used to be but we're still not quite there. Due to our size in the ocean segment, it takes time to grow the rest of our business to achieve the desired diversification and profitability. However, we have now completed the first two phases of the transformation as planned and we are continuing the transformation exactly as we promised in 2017 consistently and focused. In 2019, depreciation and amortization and impairment losses totaled US4.3 billion dollars against US4.8 billion dollars in 2018. This is mainly due to write downs in 2018 in excess of $400,000,000 in mass container industry.
Gains on the sale of fixed assets totaled $71,000,000 against 1,000,000 the year before. The total profit before tax for APMM was US967 million dollars compared to a loss of US357 $1,000,000 in 2018. Total tax increased to 1,000,000 compared to 1,000,000 in 2018. The total taxes which we paid in 2019 for continuing operations were $501,000,000 against 1,000,000 in 2018. The increased tax payment is due to payments following the final settlement of a number tax cases as well as higher tax payments in about 60 other countries based on results in local currencies In 2019, APMM paid $156,000,000 in tax in Denmark against a positive entry in 20.18 of $79,000,000 which is primarily related to pre-twenty 19 tax cases.
Cash flows from operating activities amounted to US5.9 billion dollars against $4,400,000,000 the year before. The increase in cash flows reflects the increase in earnings before amortization, depreciation and impairment losses and is positively influenced by lower working capital due to lower fuel prices as well as sustained efforts in 2019 by our employees to reduce working capital. In 2019, we significantly increased our capital discipline In 2019, we invested US2.0 billion dollars compared to US3.2 billion dollars in 2018. Our outlook for CapEx for both 20202021 is US3 billion dollars to US4 billion dollars in total over 2 years and that reflects a continued high level of capital discipline with the higher cash flows from operations and the lower cash flows invested in fixed assets we increased our free cash This is important so that we can make the necessary acquisitions in order to accelerate the transformation while also enabling us to At the end of 2019, the total equity ratio in APMM was 52% compared to 53% the year before. While our net interest bearing debt fell from $15,000,000,000 to $11,700,000,000.
At the end of 2019, our liquidity reserve amounted to $10,300,000,000 the previous year. We have thus strengthened our balance sheet and our financial preparedness. In times like these, it's important that we have a strong liquidity and that we have reduced our debt significantly. The overall result was a profit of US509 million dollars against a loss of US755 1,000,000 last year.
In addition to the financial results, we want to be able to measure the extent which we are succeeding with executing our strategy. We therefore introduced 4 circle transformation metrics which give us and our shareholders an indication of how well the long term transformation is progressing. The first transformation metric relates to growth in non ocean revenue and it shows how good we are at mass drink the entire value chain and at growing it on land. The second metric measure is the growth in gross profit in our logistics business, which shows how well we are succeeding at reducing our dependence on sea rates by earning money elsewhere. The 3rd metric is our total synergies from Hamburg Sud and from merging our transport and logistics organizations.
This shows how much more effective we become when we work together across the board. And the 4th metric is the cash return on invested capital, a key figure that shows how good we are generating money based on our investments. The development in the 4 transformation metrics confirms that we are progressing well with the transformation. However, we failed to increase the non Notion growth compared to 2018. This is primarily due to the fact revenue decreased by more than $200,000,000.
On the other hand, the growth at our terminals was very strong in 2019. The development in the profitability of the logistics business, which increased 8.7% compared to 2018, is satisfactory The positive development mainly comes from intermodal transport and from new warehouses and distribution centers. The result was also positively influenced by the American company Vandegrift, a customs brokerage which tations. As by the end of the year, we had realized synergies totaling $1,200,000,000. Finally, we also satisfied that we delivered a cash return on invested capital of for 2019.
We managed to increase earnings while at the same time maintaining a low level of investment. The 4 important transformation metrics shows a progress being made towards achieving our overall ambition of return on our invested capital of at least 7.5%. Let me summarize the progress we made in 2019. We increased our ability to earn money on our traditional activities within Ocean by integrating and streamlining our business. We demonstrated our ability to make money outside We have started to see the initial results of standardization and digitalization will increase customer satisfaction and improved efficiencies.
And we reduced our debt and created cash flow so that we can make acquisitions and investments to accelerate the transformation. In 2019, we achieved a return on our invested capital of 3.1 percent against 0.2% in the 2nd phase of the transformation. But of course, it's not enough in the long term In order to achieve our ambition of a return on invested capital of at least 7.5%, we must increase the share of profits generated at side the Ocean segment and continue the process of standardizing and digitalizing APMM and the industry as a whole. Has proposed a dividend for 2019 of DKK 150 per share. Which is unchanged from ordinary dividend related to the sale of to DKK3.1 1,000,000,000.
With this proposal, the Board of Directors wishes to reflect the fact we have improved our earnings in 2019 and that we have completed the 2nd phase of the transformation of the company. But it also reflects that we still In 2020, we will therefore accelerate the next phase of our transformation. By this, I mean that we need to develop in logistics and services in terms of activity levels, revenue and earnings. And we need to continue our work in terminals. We need to achieve growth through organic growth and through acquisition of companies and technologies in selected areas.
A good example is session of Performance Team, which is a leading warehouse and distribution company in the United States. Although we are very ambitious about accelerating our strategy in 2020, we are forced to accept that developments will be hampered by We are facing significant challenges in the world's supply change because of corona. We are doing our utmost to help our customers receiving their goods on time. And while the situation is very dynamic and unpredictable, I'm proud of the way in which both management and employees at APMM are handling the situation with Constant Care and how we are really making a difference for our customers and such critical situation. On Friday, we communicated that our outlook for 2020 looks better than many analysts have expected, but we have suspended our guidance for 2020.
Because at the moment, it's impossible to see how developments will be regarding the coronavirus and how it will influence our sector. In order to stay on top on whether we are getting better with our transformation, we have also defined transformation metrics for 2020 which are broadly similar to we will drop our synergy targets because we already achieved those in 2019. We will continue to have cash return on invested capital as a transformation metric will focus on free cash flow, which will continue to be a top priority in order complete the necessary acquisitions. In addition, we will introduce 2 new metrics, which are a variation on the 2019 metrics. One is the growth in revenue in our terminals and logistics businesses, but without the freight forward apart, And the second is the EBITDA in our logistics operations, a figure which shows our ability to make money in this very strategic part of the business.
Both metrics reflect our ability to succeed with the 3rd phase of the transformation to create a more balanced on short term quarterly results and long term transformation metrics must ensure that we deliver and transform. As you know, this year we have implemented the environmental requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur up sites from the International Maritime Organization also called IMO 2020. This is definitely the right course of action to make transport more sustainable. From 1st January bunker fuel must not contain more than 0.5% sulfur oxides previously it was 3.5%. It has taken considerable effort both technologically and commercially, but the shift has gone very well.
On a limited number of ships, we are still using the old view but the ships have been equipped with so called scrubbers, which clean the exhaust gases before they leave the stack. However, most of our vessels are using and maintain flexibility so that we always comply with the new requirements in the cheapest and best possible way. Let me also comment on the developments which have taken place within the executive board in 2019. We have had a cuting on it, there will also be changes to the executive management. I would like to take the opportunity to thank so on Toft, who during his 25 years within the company has played a key role most recently in the integration of Hamburg Sud.
I would also like to thank Carolina Dubeck Happe for her not insignificant contribution in 2019. Even though it was unfortunate, she was unfortunately with us for a short time. Nevertheless, she created a strong finance function, which is ready to continue focusing on capital discipline, cash flow and efficiency. At the same time, we look forward to welcoming our new CFO, Patrick Yani, who will be taking up his position on 1st May. Patrick brings William solid skills within finance and has a strong background in cost management acquisitions and divestments as well as transformation.
I'm also proud that Henrietta Helbert Cheusen has become part of the executive board, as head of our fleet and the strategic brands, VITSA, MCI, etcetera. Henreeda has been at APMM for 26 years and has delivered convincing results most recently as CEO of Spitza. We are convinced that Henrietta with her management skills can make a significant contribution to the executive board. Last but not least, with the new management structure in which we have brought together gets brought together Ocean And Logistics under Vincent Cleck, We have created a better foundation for growing our logistics business in a way that makes the most of our market lead in the ocean segment. Vincent has driven much of our transformation and with this new role, he will play crucial role in ensuring that the next phase of Martin Engestuff has done an excellent job in our terminal business and we are very happy that we will in you this work consistently and working closely together with the rest of the executive board.
With these changes, We now have a strong for their huge efforts in transforming the company while at the same time delivering improved results in a very difficult market. In addition to the usual topics at the annual general meeting This year, our remuneration policy is also being voted on. And in connection with the annual report, we have also published a remuneration report. The remuneration report is not due to be approved this year, but we propose to amend the articles of association so that from 2021 approval of the remuneration report becomes a permanent item on the agenda at the AGM. Consequently, for the first time in our history, we have chosen to be very transparent about our remuneration.
And let me also point out that we have chosen to be more transparent than the law requires. I hope that you, our dear shareholders appreciate this. We have appointed a remuneration committee to ensure that we a relevant remuneration policy, which is From a Danish perspective, we pay relatively high salaries and fees to the members of our executive board and the board of directors. But we are a global company which competes with other global giants. We saw this when our new CFO moved general electric in the United States as Global CFO and our COO became a global CEO for MSC in Switzerland.
We compete globally, but in our view, it is not responsible to be the highest paying company globally as our managers should choose to be part of APMM because it's a great company undergoing an exciting transformation and not just for the pay based on our updated remuneration policy as well as our bench mark, we believe that our executive remuneration is responsible and provides the right incentive with a high degree of correlation between performance pay as well as a solid alignment between shareholders' interests and executive remuneration in the long run. The wage structure is of course not static. As we succeed with the strategy, and see less volatility as a result, we will seek to increase the variable part of the executive board's remuneration. The adjustments to our remuneration policy, which we are asking shareholders to approve today, are going to make this possible. I would also like to comment on the fees which are paid to the Board of Directors.
APMM is a large and complex company and 1 which is undergoing considerable change. What we require of our board members is based on this and the fees which are paid to our board members reflect what we believe to be the right level for a board member of our global company. Let me mention some facts. Firstly, I'd like to make it clear that remuneration paid to the Board of Direct has not changed significantly over the last 13 years. In fact, total board pay has decreased since 2017.
As there are now fewer board members. At the same time, requirements being made of the board are growing. And that means that the board directors spent more time working now. I we are now spending at least 50% more time in the boardroom. In addition, we have created a Technology And Innovation Committee our remuneration committee and the nomination committee, which also require increased efforts from the board members.
There's also the audit committee, which requires a lot of effort. As Chairman, I have decided to be a member of all of these committees We have also changed from being a so called conglomerate board, IEA board, which oversees investments and yields different companies to being a board of directors in an operational company. This means that the board is much more closely involved in our business as well as in our strategy and our transformation
As
Chairman, I would like to have an international global and active Board of Directors, which follows developments closely and supports the executive board in all the difficult decisions. We have such a Board of Directors and I think it's in the interests of the shareholders. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board of Directors for all their hard work for the company. We have good framework conditions in Denmark for having a strong APMM. We have a responsibility in Denmark as Danes and as a company in Blue Denmark.
We are a small open country, which makes its living from trading with the rest of the world. This creates value for Danish society and globally. Also, when we take the lead in the transition to green energy to ensure that our growth and business model are sustainable in future. Denmark is at the forefront of climate legislation and it is an issue which most stains feel strongly about. I think we can be proud of this and it is important to sustain it.
While we have good framework conditions in Denmark conditions fluctuate globally. There are trade restrictions between the superpowers, There's unrest in parts of the world and now a global pandemic. Our response is to remain and to adapt our activities to the conditions we face without deviating from our strategic direction and ambition. We have come a long way In 2019, we completed the 2nd phase of the transformation and we can celebrate the topping out ceremony exactly as we have had planned it. We now need to we have now started the 3rd phase of the transformation to develop a more balanced business which creates increased value for customers, employees, shareholders and society as a whole.
We are very consistent in our strategic direction and ambition to make international container freight not only inexpensive, but also simple and sustainable. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I would like to thank you for your trust. There's a special greeting from Enu Uchla, our Deputy Chairman and main shareholder. I know she and the entire board would have liked to be here today to meet our shareholders. And with these words, I conclude my report and hand back to the chairman of the AGM.
I would like to thank the Chairman for his report on 2019, the presentation of the annual report for 2019 and his presentation of the proposal for distribution of dividends. As it was reported in a company announcement of the 20th March 2020, the company has suspended its guidance for earnings in the financial year 2020 due to the COVID-nineteen situation. I refer to the company announcement in question and I have to state that the suspension obviously deviates from certain information about the guidance in the annual report of 2019. The minutes will contain references to the relevant parts of the annual report affected by this suspension. In relation to the annual report, I must inform you that the annual report is signed by the Board of Directors and the Executive Board and that the auditors report contain no reservations or remarks.
I referred Page 139 to 142 in the company's annual report for 2019. As mentioned, the board proposes that the company pay out a dividend of DKK 150 per share of nominally DKK1000 that is DKK3.1 1,000,000,000. Here, I would normally ask if anyone wants to take the floor, but as mentioned several times, the shareholders have been urged not to participate physically in line with the current ban on public assembly. And thus not to ask questions in person at the AGM. Instead, the company has taken a number of initiatives to enable any shareholder to have their questions answered.
Digital transmission of the entire AGM in real time so that questions to the company can be easily put to the management. There is a Q and A function that the shareholders could use up until today with written answers displayed on the company's website. For those questions that might come in through that function today, management will answer these in writing no later than 2 weeks from today. These options have been described in detail in the notice convening the AGM on page 3 and they have been available to all shareholders. Apart from, one individual, all shareholders have accepted these restrictions And therefore, we do not expect any question from the room today.
The institutional investors are not present and they have not wanted to ask any questions and the executive board and board of directors is only represented by the Chairman. In line with these precautions, our main shareholders have chosen to vote by postal votes. In that context, I need to ask whether the one shareholder present do does want to speak anyway. I can see a request from Mr. Kelbayer.
You have already given 4 questions in written in writing that we can answer shortly by our Q and A functions. Could you be satisfied with the written answer, Mr. Kelbier, I can see that that is not the case. You insist on taking the floor. Before I give you the floor, I must remind you that only comments and concrete questions concerning AP Miller masks are called for And in particular, political statements are not welcome that would not be respectful.
In practical terms, our government is recommending appropriate distance between people and we also have a rule that we need to use hand sanitizer if we have been in closer context. Therefore, I ask that you speak from your seat not as usual from the Rostrum and I will make sure you have a microphone. The floor is yours, Mr. Kilbayer. Thank you.
I would like to thank you Mr. Hayman's neighbor for a very good report on the past year in a difficult time We have been given more information than usual, and I must say that you are running this business, with a firm hand, just like Trump does in America, and I think that's good for Denmark, for the U. S. And for AP Miller mask. I had a discussion with the chairman of the AGM and before I entered the room whether I would be allowed to speak or not.
I think it is only our democratic rights that we as shareholders are allowed to speak at the AGM and as we are no more than ten people, assembled here today, we adhere to the rules of such assemblies. Now that we can't be many people present here today, I wonder whether you would later on have shareholder information meeting once things are back to normal. I know that you can follow a webcast, but not everyone is able to do that. This has to do with a technology that not everyone is capable of using And therefore, I'm sure that many shareholders are not able to follow the proceedings here today. This limitation where you try to lure people into not speaking, I was told that I could just put something out on YouTube.
I don't know how to do that. But I can say that I have actually put something out on YouTube, a song called Take Care of the Planet, which deals with some of the problems we have in Denmark today. Perhaps also the coronavirus might be applicable here. Well, thank you. I remind you, says the chairman of the APM, that this should be related to AP Miller Maersk?
Yes, says Mr. Kelbayer. Well, it was just a reply to your comments about using YouTube? Well, the other thing is that in the notice convening the AGM, You state all of these changes to the articles of associations that we need to adopt. That's all well and fine.
You also describe the candidate for the board and their qualifications and then there's an item called the annual report and it's a sort of This has not really been given to the shareholders in an appropriate way I tried using the link from last year to enter the website, but it was no longer active. So I really had to search for too long to find the right information. That it's just not appropriate for a company like APMM that it should be that difficult to find information on your website. Then once I found my way to the website, I could read in very, very small letters. I'm almost seventy years old and I find it really difficult to read the font that you're using and I have made you aware of this several times the first time already back in 2014 where I asked you if you could at least in your notice convening the AGM where you promote the board members and so on and so forth, perhaps you could just give a summary of the annual report that we are to adopt as shareholders.
First and foremost, we need to have the income statement, that is one page, then the balance sheet, which is also one page, and then the the equity, declaration. And that's very, very important to have that information because you can't really deviate from that. Of course, you have to follow applicable law, but it's very very important that you get that equity statement. I also have asked for a 5 year summary because that includes information to shareholders that makes it easy to get an overview as a regular person to figure out what's going on in the company. 1st and foremost, I need to know what the value of the share is And here we have the book value as an important tool it's a mathematical calculation, but the size of the shares and the share capital is also relevant here and you need to calculate for foreign currencies And that means that the book value is has become quite complicated to calculate for ordinary shareholders.
And I don't understand why AP Mueller Maersk, when we have been asking for this so many times, why don't you include that in your annual report? And I don't understand why our government hasn't drawn up some legislation about this because they should be on the shareholders side here. I would like to see the fluctuations in the in the equity of the company and for that to be included in the 5 year summary, but then you buy back own shares and that actually affects the value of the company. And you buy shares for employees so that you can distribute shares among the employees. And I would like to know what is the value at the time when these options best.
We have seen awful examples of CEOs, getting 1000000 to 1000000 during these kinds of schemes. And that kind of game is given to these people without deserving it because it was not therefore that that the market went up. So that should be some kind of ceiling as to how much you can get out of these schemes. I will try has perhaps been been unlucky here. There was a ship that was recycled in Mexico with something called fentanyl.
And that that was one of the questions I asked telephonically, did AP Mueller mask know that they were transporting something so poisonous that they could destroy the entire population of the world if you had a leak of this stuff. Were you aware of that? Because it's a disaster that AP Mueller can transport something from China to Mexico that so poisonous and who was received on the receiving end? Was it deep state? Do you know what that even is?
But it could be the same people that are behind the coronavirus. I think Mr. Bayer, that you need to ask a concrete question, yes, I know it's inconvenient for you this subject, but yes, that's might very well be Mr. Beyer, but we need an actual question. There was something about a ship.
Do you have any other questions, Mr. Beyer? Well, the question is, did ABMoola know that they were transporting this stuff on their ship? Do you take any responsibility for it? But finally, finally, congratulations to the company and to Mr.
Snabe, who's running a tight ship just like Trump is doing in America, I am full of confidence that we are going to get through this and that you are going to get through this as a company, but it's a tough situation. Thank you for the floor. Thank you, Mr. Payer. I must, deny that we have tried to lure you into not speaking, but we would never, never say that you couldn't speak at the AGM.
That said, we have duly noted your comments and with those words, I give back the floor to the Chairman to answer those questions.
Tak for the year.
Thank you very much. Mr. Kilt Baier, and thank you for the praise. Of my report. You had a number of questions here.
First of all, whether we were going to have an information meeting for the shareholders. We have no plans in that regard. Right now, we're just, trying to get through this AGM under the current circumstances, we have more than 1500 shareholders following the webcast that is actually more than usually attend the physical AGM. So they have found their way to the streaming channel and I'm very happy about that. Of course, we will make sure that the video of these proceedings will be available also after the AGM.
So if you didn't get to attending the live stream, you can see it afterwards. And if you have trouble with the technology, we are happy to help. There were some questions to the accounts and our publication of the annual reports. As we said, the annual report is available on the website and it is also sent out to the shareholders who, have requested it, there's also a printed annual report that you have sent out to you upon request. You asked about the 5 years summary.
There's a 5 year summary on page 14 of the annual report. We will try to include some of the reflections here Whether any, KPIs are not included, I can't say, well, We're trying to make transport more simple via digitization and of course I duly note that we should make it simple to find information on our site. Then you had, a question about the value of shares used as, a part of the wage for the employees. We have had, quite a big share of variable pay because of the fluctuating character of our ocean business, And therefore, we have had extensive share programs, but that has only been appropriate to our business. And finally, you had a question about a ship in Mexico, and I must admit that I do not know of the situation in question, but I can tell you that we adhere to all rules when it comes to transporting substances, also poisonous substances is that if that were to be the case.
And I will promise you that we will try to track bound the shipping question after the AGM to give you an answer. And if we can get that documented, I would be happy, I cannot give you an answer right here, but we will give you an answer via our Q and A. Auction. Thank you very much to the Chairman. That was the answer for Mr.
Payer. That concludes the speaking time of Mr. Kilt Bayer, and I can just state that we have duly noted the report We have approved the annual report for 2019 and we have granted discharge for the Board of Directors and the Executive Board and we have approved the distribution of profits. That concludes items A to D. The next item is item E on the election of members for the board.
Pursuant to article 3 in the articles of associations, Board members are elected for a 2 year period. That means that Jim Hayman's neighbor, Ayn Maersk McKinney Uchla, Hobott Maersk Uchla, Yacup Anderson Sterling and Thomas Lindegall Messen will stand down from the board this year. Furthermore, Nynsbjorn, Chris Jensen, will stand down from the board as reported in the notice can ringing the AGM. The board of directors proposes reelection of Jim Hayman's neighbor, Annie Maskeini Ugla, Hobart Maersk Ugla, Jacob Aniston Stelling, and Thomas Lindekall Messon. Furthermore, the board of directors proposes election of Life Masters as reported in a company announcement of the 19th March 2020.
And with those words, I give the floor to the chairman of the board. Thank you very much. After 6 years in the board, Nils Bjorn, Kristjansen, will stand down today. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Niels for his great efforts and dedication in the board. Last year, I mentioned our challenges back then when it came to getting female candidates into the nomination process.
And therefore, it's a great pleasure to tell you that the nomination committee based on the evaluation of the board and the overall competencies of the board have been able to nominate Bryte Masters. The board unanimously proposed that should be elected for the board. And Brythemasters does have the capacity to be part of our board of directors. As it appears from our recommendation, Blythemasters is a partner with motive partners in New York, a specialized capital and venture fund with a focus on Fintech. Life Masters will an R board contribute with international perspectives and experience from financial institutions as well as extensive knowledge within startups and blockchain.
Bryte Masters is considered independent. With blythe masters on board and with the proposed reelections, we believe that the board is very well equipped to continue the transformation of AP Munozq and the digitization of our industry. Thank you very much. Information about the executive functions of the candidates appear from the candidate list sent out with the notice convening the AGM and containing a description of the qualities and qualifications and executive functions of the candidates. As regards Blyth Masters, I refer to the company announcement of 19th March in which Brythe Masters other executive functions appear.
According to Article 3 in the articles of associations, it's a requirement that board members own A shares in APMulamask. I have been informed that all candidates There are no other candidates. And therefore, I can note that Jim Hayman, Snap, Ayn Maersk McKinney Upla, Hobad Maersk Gupta, Jacob Anderson Stelling and Thomas Linickormerson have been reelected as members of the board while blythemasters have been elected for the board. Congratulations and good luck. From now on, the Board of Directors consists of Jim Hayman's neighbor, Anna Musk, McKinney Upla, Dorothy Blessing, Arnie Carlson, Robert Mass, Uchleur, Jacob Anderson Sterling, Thomas Lindigold Maassen, Bennett ElBot, Mark Ingle, and Life Masters.
The next item on the agenda is item F, the election of auditors, pursuant to Article 7 in the articles of associations, the company's auditor is elected for 1 year until the next AGM. The board proposes reelection of PricewaterhouseCoopers auditing company. In line with the regulation, I shall inform you that the proposal is in line with by any third party and has not been bound by any third party agreement restricting the AGM's choice of auditor. There are no other candidates for the company auditors and therefore I can simply note that PricewaterhouseCoopers have been reelected as auditor.
Key idea. This brings us to item g on the agenda, which is a regular part of our agenda at AGMs. Which deals will proposals from the Board of Directors and the shareholders? We have item G1 which is authorizing extraordinary dividends to share capital to be decreased our updated remuneration policy and G4 changing Article13 in the articles of association. G1, the Board of Directors proposes that the company board be authorized until the next annual general meeting to declare extraordinary dividend to the company's shareholders.
This is a very useful tool asset ensures a great as possible flexibility for the Board of Directors when planning the company's capital conditions. We just need a simple majority where the board proposes that the company share capital be decreased through buyback programs. We have had the 1st and second leg of our latest buyback program And in accordance with the buyback program, the Board proposes that the share capital bill reduced by annulling part of the company's own A and B shares, I refer to the convening notice and Ken mentioned that the proposal is to decrease 784,915,000 shares divided on 156977 A shares and 627,938 B shares. Of a nominal value of DKK1000. This will happen at the rate of rmb 761 and DKK 809,000,000,000 of A and B shares, respectively.
So this is at a higher price than the market price. And this is all part of the buyback program. After that we will have a nominal value of 20,301,940 7000. We need 2 thirds majority for this proposal. And I can see that we have that majority and the proposal is adopted.
For with a deadline of 4 weeks, and then the proposal will be final. And we will have a company statement when this decrease has been implemented. This brings us to item G3 Kelvaya would like the floor to the site, I believe. We get a microphone to kill by her now. You have values of krona nominal value, but there's also 1 at a krona value And I don't understand that.
So sometimes it's difficult to understand the share capital. So why is there still this kr500 share? Deer, historically. This is for historical reasons, I believe, But to give you a complete answer, we need to put this in the Q and A session so you can get a complete answer to that question. So we have dated remuneration policy in the light of a number of new requirements in the companies act.
I refer to the report from the Chairman to the convening notice and the updated remuneration policy, which has been available prior to the AGM. And we can approve this with a normal majority. I can declare that the AGM has adopted the updated remuneration policy. A change in article 13 of the articles of association. As mentioned on the previous point, in 2019, a number of new requirements have been part become part of the company's act.
One of them is that as of the AGM in 2020, the AGM has to look at the remuneration policy. So the Board of Directors proposes that a new item for the agenda of the AGM is in accordance with these requirements. That means that we need to change section 13 of the articles of a social and the wording appears in the convening note us. Like under G2, we need a qualified majority for this to be adopted and I can declare that the proposal has been adopted with the necessary majority. This brings us to the end of the agenda and all I have to do is retire from the job as chairman of the AGM.
I thank you for good order at this very special AGM and thank you to the shareholders who have shown their good cooperation here. This has been a very different AGM than normal but we are happy that it was possible to have the AGM nevertheless. And I now give the floor back to the chairman of the board. Thank you very much. I just want to mention that the krona shares that were that there was a question about, they're old shares that still exist.
It has definitely been expected just 3 years ago, but it's important that we keep the company and society going. Showing due diligence so that we all can get safely challenging situation with the coronavirus. Thank you to the chairman of the AGM for leading the AGM under these different circumstances. And thank you to all of you who took part out by your screens. Hopefully, we can have a more normal AGM in 2021 where you are dear shareholders once again can gain insight into the progress of our transformation in a slightly closer dialogue than what has been possible this year.
And renewed strength. Thank you all for today and we'll see each other again