Distinguished shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to welcome you on behalf of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board. I'm Bernd Scheifele [Foreign language], and as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I will assume the chairmanship of the meeting, and hereby I open the 135th Ordinary AGM of Heidelberg Materials AG, to be held as a virtual AGM. I'm very happy about your great interest in our company. You are evidencing this through your participation in our virtual AGM, and we look forward to an exchange of views with you in this video communication. I'd like to welcome also the shareholder representatives, representatives of the media, a former and current employees of the company, and all other guests following our AGM. I'd like to welcome also those who are not shareholders and who are following this first time of the AGM via our publicly accessible live stream.
Thank you for your interest. The notarization of the minutes of the AGM will be provided by Notary Public Anna Erich from Heidelberg. Welcome. Now, the formal part, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to explain the regulatory matters necessary for this AGM. Today's virtual AGM consists of four sections. First, I'll talk about regulatory matters. Then I'll talk about today's items on the agenda. Then there will be a general debate on all items of the agenda. Finally, in the last section, we'll vote on items two - nine of the agenda. This AGM will be held as a virtual AGM for those duly registered shareholders and their proxies. The whole AGM will be transmitted in audio and video via our password-protected Investor Portal on the web page of the company.
The Management Board decided, after due deliberation, to hold this AGM in a virtual format, making use of the authorization provided in Section 16, Paragraph 5 of the Articles of Association, and thanks to the virtual format, it's not so difficult for shareholders to take part, and we have less environmental pollution because of less travel activities, and the virtual AGM will not lead to any higher costs for the company, and the first part of the AGM, until the end of the report, is Dr. von Achten, about the Financial Statement for the year. The strategic orientation of the company will be publicly available on the internet. Please don't make any video or audio recordings of the AGM, which is not allowed.
Shareholders and their representatives who are not following the virtual AGM via the Investor Portal, but in the context of the public transmission, are not automatically linked to the AGM. The electronic connection to the virtual AGM and the execution of shareholder rights in the AGM are only possible via the Investor Portal. Because of the larger number of our foreign shareholders, we're also offering simultaneous translation into English. Now, rights to speak and file motions and gain information, as in an ordinary in-person event, shareholders and their proxies have the right to gain information, to file motions, and to speak, and you have the possibility of a direct dialogue between the administration and shareholders. And as the chairman, I establish that the right to information can be carried out in the way of video communication as part of our contribution.
According to Section 131, Paragraph 4, Sentence 1 of the Stock Corporation Law, I stipulate that video communication will be used as part of your contribution, and this allows everybody to follow your contributions. All of the speeches and motions and rights to information will be carried out by the Investor Portal, and the access to the Investor Portal is available to shareholders and authorized persons, and we can only accept questions in German. Please turn to our hotline or send an email in the context shown here. These are the contact details of the Investor Portal. In addition, until the 10th of May 2024, shareholders and their proxies were able to hand in written statements and file motions, but this possibility was not used. The core points of the speech of Dr.
von Achten were already published on the 10th of May, in order to give you the possibility to comment on this in your contributions. Now, the right to vote, this was you were able to execute your right to vote via mail ballots and by authorizing proxies of the company, and this was possible until I closed the vote to the items. You can also provide powers of attorney to third parties via the Investor Portal, and I will inform you when this is possible. I will guide you through the process of the vote after the questions have been answered by the board, the Management Board, and by myself.
All members of the executive of the Management Board and the members of the [Supervisory Board], and I myself as the Chairman of the [Supervisory Board], are present, and all other members of the Supervisory Board are connected electronically via Section 16, Paragraph 6, and they can be called on. The calling of the AGM was published in the Federal Gazette on the 4th of April 2024. It was called in due time and form, and the printout of the Federal Gazette will be added to the minutes by the officiating Notary Public. The information to intermediaries, shareholder associations, and shareholders on the calling of the AGM was sent out with the agenda.
The documents on today's AGM, there is the Combined Statement for the year, Financial Statement for the year, Sustainability Report, the Management Report, the Consolidated Financial Statement, and Consolidated Management Report of Heidelberg Materials AG and of the group, and the report of the Supervisory Board on fiscal 2023, and the calling of this event, including the agenda, were made available on the internet, and these documents can be viewed according to Section 289A, Paragraph 1, and Section 315A of the Commercial Law. The AGM was called in due form and time, and within the existing deadline, there were no requests of shareholders to add anything to the agenda. On the 30th of April 2024, two counter-motions of the organization, Dr. Bernd Achetschen Aktionär and Aktionär Eva Körn, concerning items to improve the agenda.
The counter-motions were immediately published on the company's [website], and I will refer to this when I go through the agenda. Nominations subject to publication under Section 127 Stock Corporation Law have not been received. If you want to file a motion or nominate somebody in the course of the AGM, please do so via the virtual request to speak tab in the Investor Portal. Please do that now, because then I can decide whether I should prioritize you when it comes to giving somebody the floor. The list of participants will be run electronically, and in the list of participants, the proxies of the company will be included, and the authorized third parties and represented shareholders and shareholder representatives who are electronically connected to the Investor Portal.
And I'll tell you the figures of the current attendance, and this will be those participants will be updated regularly via the Investor Portal. As a shareholder or shareholder representative, you can launch an objection to the decisions of the AGM. This can only be done until this AGM ends and not afterwards, and this objection will be passed on to the Notary Public. And again, we want to summarize all of the questions and answers in one general debate, and if you want to make a contribution, please announce this at the request to speak table in the Investor Portal. Since 9:30 A.M., a virtual request to speak table has been available to those shareholders taking part in the AGM electronically or their proxies.
Please click on Wortmeldung, request to speak, on that button, and you need an internet connection and an updated internet browser and a camera and a microphone. Shortly before we make you go live, we will check the functionality of video and audio. Please make sure that you agree with the background, because there will be no blurring, and after the technical check is successful, I will call you up for your live contribution. Now, the agenda. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll start with the agenda now, and concerning the individual items on the agenda, I assume that you're familiar with the draft resolutions of the Management Board and Supervisory Board or of the Supervisory Board alone that were sent out to you with the calling to the meeting on the 4th of April 2024.
The draft resolutions can also be viewed on the Internet Page and in the Investor Portal. Item one, item one of the agenda, this is the presentation of the established financial statements, the approved Consolidated Financial Statement of the group, Combined Management Report of Heidelberg Materials AG and Heidelberg Materials Group, as well as the report of the Supervisory Board for the 2023 Financial Year. We have the financial statement of Heidelberg Materials AG as per the 31st of December 2023, the group financial statements, and the summarized Management Report of Heidelberg Materials and the group as per the 31st of December, the proposal of the Management Board Supervisory Board for the appropriation of balance sheet profit.
The Supervisory Board tested or checked the annual accounts and the group Management Report, Consolidated Management Report, and it has been approved in the meeting on the 20th of March 2024. The Annual Statement has been established and the report of the Supervisory Board.
Now, I would like to turn to the activities of the Supervisory Board in 2023 Financial Year. It was a record result, even though the global economic and geopolitical situation remained challenging and demand in the construction sector declined. Both sales revenue and earnings from ongoing business operations increased significantly. As the first company in the building materials industry, Heidelberg Materials applied uniform and stringent criteria for sustainable products globally, thus setting new standards for sustainability as a pioneer. With the introduction of the first Carbon Capture and Storage Cement, the company set new standards in carbon reduction and in the field of decarbonized building materials.
The company and the Managing Board were closely supported by the Supervisory Board in the past financial year. In the 2023 Financial Year, the Supervisory Board once again diligently performed all its duty in accordance with the law, the Articles of Association, the rules of procedure, and the German Corporate Governance Code, and in particular, continuously monitored and advised the Managing Board. The Managing Board and Supervisory Board have always worked together in mutual trust for the benefit of the company and maintained an open and intensive dialogue. The Supervisory Board, supported by its committees, intensely discussed all aspects relevant to the company with the Managing Board, in particular, the intended business policy, strategy and planning, the course of business and the financial situation, the risk situation and management compliance, as well as innovation and sustainability.
The Supervisory Board was directly involved in all decisions of fundamental importance to the company at an early stage. In particular, the Management Board requiring approval, that is, investment projects and financing matters were discussed in detail with the Supervisory Board prior to adoption. In the past financial year, there were a number of topics that we focused on. The Supervisory Board dealt with the audit and approval of the annual and Consolidated Financial Statements for 2022, including the non-financial statement and the dividend proposal to the Annual General Meeting. In the past financial year, the Supervisory Board and Audit Committees satisfied themselves that the Managing Board has installed an appropriate internal control and risk management system, as well as a functioning monitoring system. They also satisfied themselves of the effectiveness of the compliance management program, which ensures group-wide compliance with the law and internal guidelines.
Audit-related topics were discussed with PwC outside of meetings and without the involvement of the Managing Board, and we did that together with the Chairman of the Audit Committee, Mr. Mucic, and I was also in regular and direct contact with Dr. von Achten, outside Supervisory Board meetings. The Supervisory Board approved the operational plan for 2023, was closely involved in the preparations for the 2023 Annual General Meeting, and supported the renaming of HeidelbergCement AG to Heidelberg Materials AG. In the reporting year, the Supervisory Board also dealt intensively with corporate governance issues, such as the Annual Statement of Compliance with the German Corporate Governance Code and the regular self-assessment of the effectiveness of the Supervisory Board's own activities and those of its committees.
In accordance with the recommendations of the code and based on the self-assessment of the individual Supervisory Board members, a qualification matrix of the status of implementation of the skills profile for the Supervisory Board was developed. The Supervisory Board revised its rules of procedure at the beginning of 2024 to specify the responsibilities of the committees. As chairman of the Supervisory Board, I received suggestions from investors on Supervisory Board-specific topics and took them into account accordingly. In March this year, I held talks with various investors as part of the governance roadshow, in some cases together with the chairman of the Audit Committee, Mr. Luka Mucic.
In those physical and virtual meetings with international shareholders from London, Frankfurt, and the U.S., various topics, such as the work and composition of the Supervisory Board and its committees, the governance of the company, and the remuneration of the Managing Board, were discussed. Managing Board remuneration was another focus of the Supervisory Board's activities. In addition to determining the variable remuneration factors for the financial year and parameters for the Managing Board Remuneration in 2023 and the years 2026, the Supervisory Board prepared the Remuneration Report and dealt with the adjustment of the Remuneration System for the members of the Managing Board. The Supervisory Board has created a new, transparent, and ambitious Remuneration System that is intended to provide even better support for the company's strategic objectives. The adjusted system will reduce complexity and meet the requirements of the capital market and the standard market practices.
The long-term bonus now follows the standardized and standard market plan design. It will be 100% share-based and anchors ESG targets in order to support the achievement of ambitious long-term sustainability goals. An individual peer group consisting of the most important competitors from different regions is now used to determine the total shareholder return. The annual bonus plan now contains harmonized performance criteria, increasing the transparency and comparability of the Managing Board targets and ensuring an even closer link to the strategic objectives of Heidelberg Materials. Subject to approval by today's AGM under item number seven, the adjusted Managing Board Remuneration System 2024 plus will enter into force retroactively as of January 1st, 2024. The full Supervisory Board was actively supported by the Personnel Committee in the development of those Remuneration System components.
The Supervisory Board also discussed the continuation of the Share Buyback Program with a third tranche of up to EUR 300 million and the cancellation of treasury shares from tranches two and three. In total, the now completed Share Buyback Program amounted to around EUR 1 billion. As stated in the invitation to today's Annual General Meeting, the company does not hold any treasury shares. The report, in accordance with section 71(3) of the German Stock Corporation Act, is waived as no shares have been repurchased in the current financial year to date. The relevant disclosures are included on pages 241, 242, and 266 of Annual and Sustainability Report 2023. In February this year, the Supervisory Board approved the launch of a new Share Buyback Program with a total volume of up to EUR 1.2 billion and terminating at the end of 2026 at the latest.
The Share Buyback Program is in line with the company's financial policy and its progressive dividend policy and should be seen in the context of successful reduction in net debt, the good business performance in the past financial year, and the participation of shareholders in the company's success. It is again planned to carry out the share buyback in three tranches, and the first tranche is to start shortly after today's AGM. In addition, the Supervisory Board held several meetings with the Management Board in the past financial year to discuss significant investment disposals and portfolio optimizations that have an impact on the strategic goals of Heidelberg Materials, and they might lead to an improvement in the balance sheet structure.
In 2023, the Supervisory Board was again particularly keen to closely accompany and support the Management Board in transformation issues, especially in the further development and implementation of the sustainability and digitalization strategy. As part of the strategy discussion, the Supervisory Board and its Sustainability and Innovation Committee dealt intensively with the Sustainability Commitment 2023 and the topic of recycling, as well as the role of alternative fuel in decarbonization. The focus was on the company's plan to reduce specific net carbon emissions. The focus was on strengthening circularity and recycling, as well as technologies for the capture, use, and storage of carbon, CCUS for short. The Sustainability and Innovation Committee also discussed the technical background and potential areas of application, as well as the company's projects in the field of 3D printing.
Overall, the Supervisory Board focused even more strongly on the topic of sustainability in its monitoring and advisory activities. To refinance the bond maturities in financial 2024, the company successfully issued sustainability-related bonds with a total issue volume of EUR 1.5 billion, and that was the first time in 2023 with the support of the Supervisory Board and Audit Committee. With its existing debt instruments, strong cash flow, low debt levels, and investment-grade rating, Heidelberg Materials is ideally equipped to secure the financing of its business in the short, mid, and long term. In addition, the Supervisory Board dealt intensively with the company's Occupational Safety Program and IT security in the reporting year. The work of the Supervisory Board also focused on Management Board matters and future-oriented staffing of the Management Board.
In the reporting year, the Supervisory Board extended the appointments of members of the Management Board ahead of schedule by five years. Chris Ward until August 31st, until 2028, Hakan Gürdal and Jon Morrish, each until January 31st, 2029, René Aldach and Dennis Lentz, each until August 31st, 2029. Following the regular expiry of his appointment to the Management Board, Mr. Ernest Jelito stepped down from the Management Board at the end of the reporting year. He has retired, and the Supervisory Board appointed Mr. Roberto Callieri as the new member of the Management Board from 1st of January 2024 - 31st December 2026. Mr. Callieri has assumed responsibility for Asia. He succeeded Kevin Gluskie, whose contract ended on 1st of January 2024. The Supervisory Board has also appointed Mr. Axel Conrads as member of the Management Board from 1st February 2024 to 31st of January 2027. Mr.
Conrads is the new Chief Technical Officer. He is responsible for the three global technical competence centers for cement, Aggregates, Asphalt, and Ready-mixed Concrete. In March 2024, the Supervisory Board extended the contract of our CEO, Dr. Dominik von Achten, ahead of schedule by three years until January 31st, 2028. The changes in the Management Board are part of the long-term succession planning with the reorganization of responsibilities for group divisions and an even stronger focus on technical requirements. The Supervisory Board has strengthened bases for the continued successful development of Heidelberg Materials. With Dr. von Achten, we have an experienced manager at the helm of the company who has positioned Heidelberg Materials excellently worldwide and has set the course for the future with great commitment. The Supervisory Board is pleased to continue the work with Dr.
von Achten in the spirit of trust, and we are convinced that he will drive forward the transformation into a sustainable and digital future that has already begun with enthusiasm and momentum and will continue to lead the company successfully in the coming year. The Supervisory Board would like to thank Mr. Gluskie and Mr. Jelito for their many years of commitment and successful work. They have made a significant contribution to the positive business development and profitable growth of Heidelberg Materials. There were no changes within the Supervisory Board in the reporting year in the context of today's upcoming elections of shareholder representatives to the Supervisory Board under Agenda Item Eight. The Supervisory Board is focusing on continuity on the board in times of transformation as only proposing one change. Mrs. Marianne Weissenberger-Eibl is no longer available for reelection to the Supervisory Board.
She is to be succeeded by Gunnar Gröbler, chairman of the Management Board of Salzgitter AG. The employee representatives were already elected by the company's workforce on March 14th, 2024. Barbara Breuner, Dr. Ines Ploss, Mr. Peter Riedel, and Mr. Werner Schröder were reelected, and Katja Kacher and Markus Olejnik will replace Ms. Jochens and Mr. Schmitt as employee representatives on the Supervisory Board. I congratulate all employee representatives on the election and look forward to working closely with them. The Supervisory Board, and I would like to thank Professor Weissenberger-Eibl, Ms. Jochens, and Mr. Schmitt for their many years of dedicated work on the Supervisory Board.
As you will have seen from the Convocation of today's Annual General Meeting, the Supervisory Board has given intensive consideration to the future appointment of the chairman of the Supervisory Board, and after careful consideration, has come to the conclusion that should I be reelected, I will continue as chairman of the Supervisory Board but will not head any committees. Overall, the reporting year was another year of intensive activity by the Supervisory Board and its committees. The average attendance rate in the eight meetings was 96.88%. The average attendance rate at the committee meetings held in the reporting year was 99.06%. The activities of the Supervisory Board and its committees in the past financial years are described in detail in the written report of the Supervisory Board on pages 12 - 19 of the Annual and Sustainability Report 2023.
This is why I will not give you any further details here and refer you to the summarizing remarks. Appointment of new board members. Before we move on to the chairman's report, I would like to ask Mr. Callieri and Mr. Axel Conrads to briefly introduce themselves. Mr. Callieri, please.
Thank you very much, Dr. Scheifele. Good morning, dear ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders. My name is Roberto Callieri, and I joined the managing board in January 2024. And for me today, it's an honor and a pleasure being representing the managing board of Heidelberg Materials. I am Italian. I'm an engineer. I have two children, and I started working in 1990 in Italcementi. And my career has basically been all over the world as an expatriate almost full time.
I started in North America and Canada, Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, and the last assignment was in Italy as CEO of Italcementi after the acquisition of the Italcementi Group by Heidelberg Materials in 2016. I've worked intensively in the integration of the Italcementi Group within Heidelberg Materials, and it has been a very intense and passionate time for me in Italy, where at the end of my assignment, we finally rebranded our subsidiary to Heidelberg Materials Italia, and so completed the integration of it within the Heidelberg Materials Group. I'm very passionate about this new assignment. I think there is a lot to do, and I look forward to consolidating and possibly developing our footprint in the Asian countries and definitely contributing to the ambitious target of net zero by 2050 of Heidelberg Materials Group. Thank you.
Okay, Herr Callieri, vielen Dank. Und jetzt Herr Conrads [Foreign language].
Ja, guten Morgen auch von meiner Seite. Mein Name ist Axel Conrads. Ich freue mich sehr, heute hier auf dem Podium sitzen zu können. [Foreign language] . Conrads,
I'm very happy to join the panel here since mid-February. I'm a member of Heidelberg Materials. I have taken over the role of the Chief Technical Officer. I am married with two children. As a CEO, I'm responsible for three global technical competence centers: Cement, Aggregates, Asphalt, as well as Ready-mix. Our global competence centers bundle the existing knowledge for the group, and we are contacts for all operating units. We support our company in efficiency-increasing programs with digitalization and enlarged projects, especially in the context of decarbonization. As a mining engineer, I have a lot of technical competence, which will help in promoting the technical goals of our company, especially in the field of Net Zero.
Before I was appointed to the board, I was the president of our Midwest region in North America and ran the business in one of our core companies, and during this time, I had the chance to contribute to the establishment of a highly modern cement factory in Mitchell, Indiana, which so far was our biggest CapEx project in the group, and I have a lot of industry experience, and this year, I celebrate my 25th anniversary at Heidelberg Materials. During my career in Heidelberg, I held several management positions in Germany, the United States, Belgium, and Bulgaria. I look forward to co-design, to co-shape the transformation of Heidelberg Materials as a board member. Thank you for your trust. Thank you, Mr. Callieri, Mr. Conrads. I'd like to welcome you again to the board of Heidelberg Materials, and I look forward to its successful cooperation with the Supervisory Board.
Now, the report of the Management Report, before I ask Dr. von Achten to present the Financial Statements of 2023 and to give us an outlook for 2024, I would like to show you a short film about Heidelberg Materials.
There's hardly a day where we don't, where we're not confronted with changes. As far as I'm concerned, I have a feeling that the speed of change is on the increase. For example, AI. I don't think I'm one of those digital natives. But recently, when I discussed AI with my 22-year-old daughter and when I asked them about what she could tell me, she said that she herself does not really feel like she is a member of the AI natives because that would be the task of the next generation. And even though speed seems to be coming along ever faster, it's something natural.
Same goes for us as a company. Change is continuous. We always have to prove that coping with change and crisis is part and parcel of our DNA. In that film, we saw that in the past fiscal year, we were able to set new milestones, new projects. We are courageous when it comes to addressing projects. As today, it will be in the future. 2023, and our Supervisory Board Chairman said so already, was an extraordinary year in many respects. I'm proud of our teams all over the world who faced the challenges of the past year and focused on the goals and achieved excellent values. Even though there was less demand, we had a record result in 2023. We were able to increase sales by 4% to more than EUR 21 billion. The RCO, the result from current operations, was increased by 29% to EUR 3 billion.
The annual profit increase result per share was more than EUR 10.43, plus 23%. For the first time, more than 10 euros. The return on invested capital, RIC for short, increased in 2023 by more than 10%. For the first time, it was above this magic threshold. Cash flow was strong at EUR 2.2 billion. Capital efficiency. In spite of investing more, we improved the capital efficiency. What is important is that we did not just make progress with financial figures, but also in terms of sustainability, we made major progress. The specific net CO2 emission was reduced by another 3% in 2023. I visited the company in Devnya in Eastern Bulgaria. There was a highlight in this context because through a higher use of biomass, we were able to replace the use of fossil fuels, and the clinker ratio was reduced.
The specific CO2 emissions were reduced by 5% in 2023 there. Axel Conrads already mentioned that in the early summer 2023, we completed the modernization project in Mitchell. It's a highly modern plant with a capacity of 2.4 million tons, and our CO2 emissions have so far been reduced by 20%. This is only the beginning. Part of the good group-wide result, in addition to reduced clinker factor to 70% now, was also the increased share of non-fossil fuels to almost 30%. This progress goes to show that economy and ecology can be part and parcel of a successful business model, and that is the case at Heidelberg Materials. So we drive growth and green transformation in the same way, and the demand of our customers is evidence for this. Today, we make 1/3 of our sales with sustainable products. We want to achieve an increase to 50% by 2030.
Part of this are products which are characterized by their CO2 reduction and their circularity. Let me tell you further details about this. A key milestone in the past few months was the introduction of the two new product brands. EvoBuild is one of them. This stands for Globally Uniform and Stringent Criteria for Sustainable Products. And this creates new standards for decarbonized products. And such a step is unique in our industry. And because of this, let's take a brief look at the methodology of this brand. CO2 reduction and circularity are the framework for EvoBuild. EvoBuild classification takes its cue from our sustainability strategy, and it increases transparency for our customers. EvoBuild works with three criteria. CO2 is reduced in the case of cement and concrete. It's circular because there's a recycling share in the case of concrete or both.
Across products, we have set a 30% threshold. This means that CO2-reduced cement or concrete have at least 30% less CO2 compared to the reference value of 2020. These are circular, and circular products have at least 30% recycled aggregates, or their material need has been reduced by at least 30%, like in the case of our special mortar for 3D printing. In this way, we are setting new benchmarks for the industry, but we are going one step further with our sustainable products. Under the brand EvoZero, we offer the so far biggest innovation of the centuries-old material cement, a product with net-zero emissions. This is a global first. The order books for EvoZero, that's the first CCS-based net-zero cement all over the world, are filling up with the Nobel Center. We have already achieved or received a noteworthy prestige project.
This is a film that shows you the House for Science, Culture and Dialogue in Stockholm. This project is possible because of a historic milestone, which will allow the first delivery of the net-zero cement next year. In a few months from now, in Norwegian Brevik, the first CO2 separation plant in a cement factory will be set up on industrial scale. This is the 100-meter-high absorber, and we have kilometers' worth of pipes. To implement this in this tight space, this is very tight, these modules, which are as big as a handball pitch, are prefabricated and transported there soon. 400,000 tons of CO2 can be separated per year, and they can be stored there. This progress in know-how and experience is already drawing the attention of customers, industry, politicians, and many other stakeholders. Brevik is just the beginning.
I'm very proud of the fact that our specialized teams all over the world are already using the knowledge that we've gained, and they're already driving ahead this decarbonization. At Heidelberg Materials, we're entering a new era, and like no other Building Materials Group, we are pushing towards net zero. I'd like to give you some specific examples which are being implemented, built, and realized right now because we are all about action and results, of course.
Wir warten nicht. Wir handeln. Wir übernehmen Verantwortung und finden Lösungen. Wir gehen mit unseren Projekten weltweit neue Wege und gestalten die Zukunft nachhaltig.
As you can see, we're also active outside Norway, where we try and reduce carbon emissions, and we use different ways. One, carbon-reduced products, and we have this example from Ghana, where the calciner is about to be completed.
The complete Board of Management visited, and it was impressive to see how precise, how accurate everybody worked on the decarbonized products. Then, secondly, decarbonization of our production processes. For example, waste heat power or alternative heat generation in the Helwan plant in Egypt. We visited with the ambassador, and the ambassador said, "Amazing what contribution you can make for emerging countries. Thirdly, decarbonized products. It was recently that we announced the largest CCS project globally, Mitchell, U.S., and we get subsidies of up to $500 million. And we also drove ahead the carbon project in Lengerich, where we are turning the first sod. Then, material-reduced products. There was the 3D-printed building in Heidelberg, and in fact, the project owner wanted to start on the next one already as soon as we had started.
Rest assured, we will do whatever we can in order to reduce carbon emissions, which means that we'll try and reuse our valuable resources as best as we can. We'll try and keep them in the loop. After a couple of runs, we already had a first plant for the selective separation of concrete debris in Poland, demolition debris. We got the license on the 1st of April for reclaimed concrete, and we are now extremely confident that recycling will be a success. We call this the ReConcrete approach, where we recycle used concrete, and at the end, we'll have clean sand and gravel and cement stone. This low-carbon cement stone can then replace valuable natural resources. This is the principle of circularity. We are the driving force in circularity, and we will continue investing in this field.
We establish and increase our footprint in core market and will also increase our offering in circular materials. Greendrop Rock Products in Canada is one company we took over, and RMS Gravel in the United States. There was RWG Holding and SER in Germany who we took over. We also use Fly Ash, which is a byproduct from energy generation, and that helps to reduce carbon intensity in our products, such as in composite cements. With the SEFA Group, we acquired the largest US-American recycling company in ponded Fly Ash. With the Ace Group, we took over the largest supply of pulverized Fly Ash in Malaysia. With investments such as this, we prepare for the future and make sure that sustainability and economic viability go hand in hand. That means that we have enough room to sustainably design our success of the future.
That pays off both for the company, for you, our shareholders, and for our company. It's a pleasure that we can share our profitability with you this year and that we can continue our progressive dividend policy. This is why we propose to pay out a dividend of EUR 3 per share. That's an increase by 15% or EUR 0.40 compared to the dividend that we paid out in 2022. In the last financial year, we spent EUR 1 billion on dividends and share buybacks. The focus on shareholder return continues. In 2024, a couple of weeks ago, we announced that we'd launch an even bigger Share Buyback Program with a volume of up to EUR 1.2 billion and a term until the end of 2026. The first tranche will start this month. In March, we celebrated our 135th anniversary on the stock exchange.
Against this background, I'm exceedingly proud that our share reached a plus of more than 50% growth, and that made us one of the top DAX performers. While the performance continues, we had an increase by more than 90% since January 2023. Our share performance in the last 16 months is thus higher than the DAX. We outperformed the DAX, which only increased by 34% and only in brackets, mind you. Let us now turn to the current financial year, 2024. We have a robust performance under our belt. Despite reducing or falling revenues compared to a very strong last quarter last year, we increased our margin. A good start in North America and strict cost management helped.
Poor weather in major regions and few working days in the first quarter 2024 reduced volumes, but we could compensate for that by positive pricing in selected core markets. Sales revenue fell by 8% in the first quarter compared to a very strong quarter the year before. RCO fell by EUR 27 million. But because of strict cost management and thanks to reduced energy prices, the operating margin increased to 12.1%. But still, the environment is a challenge. We must and will give good answers. And this is why we keep checking our portfolio and will take dedicated action to optimize our cost structure. Our portfolio optimization continues, and since January 2023, we've done a number of takeovers and also disposed of a number of companies. And thanks to our growth acquisitions, our proceeds from sales were successful. And we have a better market position, more sustainable growth, and financial success.
And yet, lower volumes for cement because of low demand for construction work in Europe, plus a cement portfolio that is geared to low-carbon products, means that there is less cement that is produced. However, that also means that less clinker is produced, and that means that several plants will have to be changed. In the cement plant Hanover, clinker production will be closed down in the course of 2024. In Leimen, just around the corner, we already stopped clinker production, and both kiln lines were shut down. The two French plants in Beffes and Villiers-au-Bouin will be closed in October 2025. The European plants will continuously be reviewed with regard to their future viability. We'll continue optimizing our plants and will also overhaul plants. We'll, for instance, make sure that Mitchell is modernized. That way, we propose to improve our cost efficiency.
In 2024, we assume that the demand in the construction sector will stabilize, albeit at a low level. We expect cost development for energy and raw materials to remain volatile. And against this background, we confirmed our outlook for fiscal 2024. We expect an RCO result from current operations to be in the corridor of EUR 3-EUR 3.3 billion. The ROIC is expected to reach roughly 10%. In our industry, we plan to make a difference in terms of financial success, sustainability, and digitalization. Net zero until 2050, well, that is a tour de force, and that is an effort that we can only master as a team. My big thank you goes to all 51,000 colleagues around the globe because without their and your power, your passion, and your creativity, all the progress that I've reported on today on behalf of you wouldn't have been possible.
It is due to you, shareholders, that our transformation is really progressing fast. Thank you for trusting in our company. Thank you for trusting us on the way that we've decided to embark on. We are a strong international company, and we are perfectly positioned to really go for the milestones in 2024 and to master the challenges that we will have to face this year. I'm optimistic about the future, and I'm absolutely convinced that with the necessary courage, momentum, and passion that we have, we will have success in the next 150 years, so stay posted.