Mr. Bolza said in Swiss German. This location, ladies and gentlemen, represents true industrial heritage. This hall 550, used to be a production site of Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon, a Swiss engineering company, which was later taken over by BBC, the Brown, Boveri & Company, in 1967. Take a look at the ceiling and the wall. Take a look at the infrastructure. This is true history. This represents heavy industry. Locomotives, generators for power plants and similar solid products were manufactured here. In 1988, BBC merged with the Swedish ASEA, which made up the ABB company as we know it today. Of course, in the meantime, the product portfolio has changed quite a bit. You'll hear more about this in a moment. I would also like to warmly welcome everyone following our meeting via the Internet.
Likewise, I am pleased to welcome my colleagues from the board of directors who are attending the meeting as well. Furthermore, I would like to welcome the representatives of Investor AB and Cevian Capital AB at our meeting, both important shareholders of ABB. A warm welcome to you as well. Finally, I would like to welcome our entire executive committee to the right-hand side from your perspective, and I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues from the executive committee for their commitment and would like to congratulate them on the success they have achieved for ABB in 2022. Before I present the ladies and gentlemen on the panel, I will talk about safety for a moment. In the event of an alarm, please follow precisely the instructions of the personnel identified with either yellow or orange vests.
The emergency exits are indicated and located on the right side of the hall and in the entrance area behind you. Shareholders and guests, I shall open our annual general meeting with some formal statements. In accordance with Article 14 of our articles of incorporation, I, as Chairman of the Board of Directors, shall take the chair at the annual general meeting. Sitting with me on the podium are Björn Rosengren, our Chief Executive Officer. Next to him, we have Timo Ihamuotila. I'm still struggling with the name, but I'm getting used to it. Our Chief Financial Officer. To the right, we have Andrea Antonelli, ABB's General Counsel and Secretary to the Board. The minutes of today's meeting will be kept by Mr. Antonelli. I would also like to welcome Mr. Christoph Stauffacher, notary from the Zurich Oerlikon Notary's Office.
He will draw up a public deed relating to the resolutions on the various amendments to our articles of incorporation, as well as the introduction of the capital band as proposed at today's meeting. Furthermore, I would like to welcome the law firm Zehnder Bolliger & Partner as the independent proxy, represented at this meeting through Dr. Hans Zehnder. May I ask all shareholders wishing to speak during the meeting to now come forward and report to the registration desk at the front to your right. Please give your surname, your first name, and place of residence, and have yourself entered into the list of speakers on a particular agenda item. I would like to ask you to speak only about the agenda item you have chosen to speak about. Please keep your speeches short.
Shareholders, we shall conduct all the ballots and elections at today's annual general meeting electronically. This is in accordance with Article 17 of our articles of incorporation. The voting procedures will be supervised by Mrs. Olivia Feusi, member of the group legal department of ABB Limited, whom I hereby appoint as a vote counter. KPMG, our auditors, are represented by Hans-Dieter Krauss, to the left from your perspective, Mohammad Nafeie and Achim Wolper. Hans-Dieter Krauss is handing over his mandate as auditor-in-charge after five years, as requested by the rules of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC. I would like to thank him for the successful cooperation over the past five years, and I am confident, of course, that we will reach an equally pleasant cooperation. Also with his successor, Achim Wolper, whom I cordially welcome hereby.
The invitation to the annual general meeting was published on the 24th of February, 2023, in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, and also in abbreviated form in various daily newspapers, complying with the statutory notice period of 20 days. Shareholders entered in the share register were additionally notified of the annual general meeting by traditional mail in a letter dated 24th of February, 2023. I declare that no shareholders requests in accordance with Article 13 of our Articles of Incorporation are on the table for items to be included on the agenda, nor have any deviating motions been submitted relating to the items on the agenda.
The Integrated Report 2022 with a management report, financial statements, consolidated financial statements, the proposal by the board of directors relating to the appropriation of available earnings and related reports of the auditors was available for inspection by shareholders during the statutory time period at the company's head office and was mailed upon request. The complete ABB annual reporting suite can be accessed via our website. Attendance recording will be carried out electronically by means of a barcode on the admission card. If you choose to leave the hall during the meeting, may we ask you to take your voting card and your voting keypad with you. The attendance announcement and information about the voting modalities will be made at a later point in time. I now declare that this annual general meeting has been convened and constituted in accordance with the statutory and legal requirements as to form.
Today's meeting is being webcast live on the Internet in both German and English via ABB's website. After the meeting, the recording, as well as the minutes, will be available on our website. This brings me to the financial year 2022 and the reporting on the financial year. I shall make a few remarks from the Board of Directors point of view. After my comments, Björn Rosengren, our CEO, will report on the business developments of the ABB Group. Dear shareholders, after two years in a state of emergency during the pandemic, in 2022, we faced another year of tremendous uncertainty. It seems as if the world will not calm down.
The developments of the past few days and weeks here in the financial center of Switzerland and on the markets around the world have made this clear yet again. Since February of last year, the Russian regime's invasion of Ukraine has turned the international order on its head and has brought unspeakable suffering to the Ukrainian people. Ukrainians are fighting for their families, for their freedom, and for peace. They are defending their country and the values that unite us. Their resistance deserves our appreciation. Their courage deserves our highest respect. There is no excuse for this criminal war of aggression. I have been deeply moved by the fate of our European neighbors, and I am not alone, ladies and gentlemen. Many of our employees have gone to great lengths to help those who have been directly affected by the war. Their commitment makes me proud.
Björn will go into more detail later about the initiatives our people at ABB have set up. Of course, in response to the war and in response to the associated international sanctions, it was only natural for ABB to exit the Russian market. With the war came the energy crisis and food shortages. They hit the world's poorest countries particularly hard. The war has also resulted in rising inflation. Businesses and private households are facing dramatic price increases. In many places, economic growth is declining after a year in which strained supply chains have already brought production to a halt in virtually every country, every industry. On the political front, the increasingly tense relationship between China and the USA have been yet another recent cause for concern.
In short, we are operating in a market environment that leaves no room for error and requires nothing short of a top performance. If you want to position your business in today's market well, you have to be focused, you have to occupy growth segments, and you have to prove yourself as a technology leader. These global challenges demand a great deal from us all. It is a tremendous success, ladies and gentlemen, that ABB, your ABB, in 2022 was able to build on its leading position in our industry and to defy the crisis. Just as we learn to live with the new reality of COVID-19, we will confront other challenges with determination and resolve, not only for the benefit of our customers, but also for all our other stakeholders, which includes you, ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders. Take the energy crisis, for example.
It shows that our energy system and our supply chains need to become more sustainable and secure. With its leading Electrification and Automation technologies, ABB is ideally positioned to help customers improve their energy efficiency and enable the transition to a sustainable, resource-efficient future, which, of course, is all in line with our company purpose. In the context of the global fight against climate change, our products and solutions are more important than ever for customers and society overall. That is why we are determined to contribute to the extensive infrastructure support programs that are driving new momentum towards a more sustainable society on both sides of the Atlantic. As a matter of fact, ABB is ideally positioned to benefit from the major societal issues of our time, particularly when it comes to rethinking the concept of sustainability.
Our numbers underscore that we are on the right track with our focused positioning. In spite of the war, and in spite, or shall we say perhaps because, of ongoing supply chain challenges, we achieved double-digit growth in orders and revenues on a comparable basis in 2022. Our operational EBITDA margin increased to 15.3%, which means that we reached our long-term margin target of at least 15% one year earlier than expected. We want you, as ABB shareholders, to participate in these successful developments. In line with our policy of paying a rising sustainable dividend over time, we would like to propose a dividend increase to CHF 0.84 per share. Björn will present further details of our performance at a later stage in his presentation.
Shareholders, this year, for the first time, you can find the most important information about your company in a fresh format, in a new format, which is our integrated annual report. The report explains how the various parts of our global corporation fit together, so that we not only steadily improve our financial results, but also create value for all our stakeholders and contribute to a more sustainable society. The report describes the environment in which we operate and shows how we aim to achieve our goals in the short term, the medium term, and the long term. Naturally, the report also covers our performance over the past year, and in doing so, supports more transparency. Furthermore, it underscores that for us, financial success always goes hand in hand with sustainable, responsible business activities. Back in 2020, ABB developed a clear strategy for promoting a more sustainable society.
Our Sustainability Strategy 2030 focuses on four key objectives. Number one, enabling a low carbon society. Number two, preserving resources. Number three, promoting social progress. Number four, creating a culture of integrity and transparency along the entire value chain. Our code of conduct for ethical and appropriate behavior is binding for all employees and is the foundation for all our projects and collaborations with our business partners. We have ambitious goals, ladies and gentlemen, and these ambitious goals include achieving carbon neutrality in our operations by 2030. It's only seven years to go. They include helping our customers and Tier 1 suppliers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We also intend to reduce waste by applying our circularity approach to 80% of our products and solutions again by 2030. Circular economy being the buzzword here.
This shows once again the role that ABB can play wants to play and will play as the undisputed pioneer in the transformation of industries. I think our employees have every reason to be proud of what we have accomplished. The progress has been remarkable indeed. In 2022, we achieved another significant reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions. How did we do it? Well, we sourced more power from renewable sources. We improved energy efficiency at our sites, and we increased the proportion of electric vehicles in our fleet. On top of this, we are continuing to support our customers and suppliers to reduce their emissions as well. It is clear that the most pressing challenge is and remains climate change. However, we are increasingly confronted with other environmental challenges, such as waste disposal or resource shortages.
We can only overcome these challenges if we continue to develop the circular economy. For that, we urgently need more technological advances and innovation. It was with these challenges in mind that we developed our company purpose, our operating model, which we call the ABB Way, and our strategy. We've been clear about the direction in which we are going. We enable a more sustainable and resource-efficient future with our technology leadership in Electrification and Automation. This purpose is central to everything we do. To foster a culture of performance and to strengthen our position in key markets and segments, operational decisions are taken in the divisions and with that close to our customers. Over the past few years, you will no doubt have followed our internal reorganization, you will have seen how it was also accompanied by a thorough review of our portfolio.
In 2022, we acquired strong companies that will improve our technology and market leadership in charging systems for electric vehicles and low-voltage motors and expand our presence in the rail segment. To further underpin our leadership position in electric vehicle charging systems, our E-mobility division has raised over half a billion CHF in liquidity through a private placement. We intend to list part of this fast-growing business on the Swiss Stock Exchange when market conditions have become more favorable. In line with our portfolio management strategy of divesting businesses that no longer fit with our strategic focus, we have spun off our successful turbocharging division, and in doing so, established a new listed company called Accelleron. With the agreement to sell our Power Conversion division, all the divestments we announced in late 2020 have now been signed. In other words, ABB has done its homework.
Listing Accelleron on the Swiss Stock Exchange enabled our shareholders to realize the full value creation potential of that particular business. ABB can now concentrate fully on its core business, which is Electrification and Automation. Accelleron, which is based in my birthplace of Baden, is a true gem of Swiss industry and will be able to play even better to its strengths as an independent company. I'm sure that like me, as new shareholders of Accelleron, you will be following the positive developments of the Swiss industrial icon in the future, I'm sure my colleagues on the executive board will do exactly the same. Earlier than expected, we sold to Hitachi, ABB's remaining 19.9% stake in the Hitachi Energy Joint Venture, which emerged from ABB's Power Grids business in 2020.
Our company's success, your company's success, has always relied on talented people and technological excellence. I am convinced that ABB will achieve its goals and continue to celebrate many successes to come with its agile, high-performing divisions, its clear focus on diversity and inclusion, and its exceptionally dedicated teams. ABB, ladies and gentlemen, is a strong company with strong perspectives. This is not something to be taken for granted in today's market environment. On behalf of the Board of Directors, therefore, I would like to thank you, dear shareholders, for your trust, and also our CEO, Björn Rosengren, the entire Executive Committee, and all the employees of ABB worldwide, who, in spite of all the tremendous challenges, have delivered yet another successful year. Thank you very much for this strong performance.
Thank you very much for your kind attention. With that, I would now like to pass on to my CEO, Björn Rosengren.
Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, a warm welcome from me as well. We have a difficult year behind us. 2022 was a crisis year by any reckoning. We were still dealing with the pandemic and the ongoing supply chain difficulties when, as Peter mentioned, the war in Ukraine took us by surprise. Most shocking, of course, was the scale of devastation and human suffering in Ukraine itself. The resulting energy crisis and rising inflation affected everyone, including ABB, and I will come back to that. I'm extremely proud of the way our people responded to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. We only had a few employees based there, and for those and their families, ABB arranged safe way out of the country. Some of our employees also traveled to the Ukraine's borders to transport people fleeing the country to safer places.
Other donated essentials like food, clothing to refugees through the ABB-driven initiatives. To date, we have raised more than CHF 2.3 million through the Red Cross, and we have also donated ABB products. The war has had little direct impact on our business. Last summer, we have decided to exit the Russian market, which accounted for 1%-2% of our revenues. There are no winners in this. It was a tough decision for us, especially for our colleagues and friends there who have been working hard in building up our presence in Russia for a long time. Let me now turn to how we are running ABB today. In 2020, we implemented a new operating model, The ABB Way. We did this to decentralize the company and move the operational decision-making closer to our customers.
The ABB Way drives performance through accountability, transparency, and speed, and it's also the glue that keeps the group together. Is this the right operating model for ABB? I think our performance speaks for itself. Overall, 2022 was a record year for ABB. In 2022, we delivered our operational EBITDA margin target of at least 15% one year earlier. This is only the beginning of an exciting journey. We overcame significant supply chain and logistic difficulties to fulfill our commitments to our customers. Total orders were up 16%. Revenues rose by 12% on comparable basis. We finished the year with a record-high order backlog of nearly $20 billion. It shows that The ABB Way is delivering, and that we have the right team in place, and their hard work is paying off.
We managed to achieve this despite the severe supply chain and inflation challenges that we were facing. Let me now turn to the performance of our business area. Our largest business area, Electrification, grew comparable orders by 17% and revenues by 40%. The business, which is a leader in products, solutions, and services for medium and low-voltage application, also increased its operational EBITDA margin by 0.4 percentage points to 16.5%. Our Motion business area is a world leader in electric motors and drives, it also makes sure that trains are efficiently run by converting electricity into movement. In 2022, comparable orders grew 20%, revenues were up as much as 14%. Motion orders also increased its operational EBITDA margin slightly to 17.3%.
Our Process Automation business area increased comparable orders by 11% and revenues by 7%. This business is a leading supplier of automation, electrification, and digital technologies to customers in process, hybrid, but also in the maritime industry. It has delivered a strong margin increase of 1.2 percentage points to 14% actually for the full year. Finally, our Robotics & Discrete Automation business area's orders grew strongly last year, despite lockdowns in the world's largest robotic market, China. Comparable orders were up 15% for the full year, and the revenues 4% higher. The business, which is one of the broadest portfolios of Robotics & Discrete Automation solutions in the industry, had a challenging start of the year.
When the supply chain challenges eased during the second half of the year, they managed to improve their operation margin to an EBITDA of 10.7%. I want to thank the teams in our business areas and divisions for delivering this very strong result. Today, majority of our divisions are delivering financial performance in line or better than our peers. As they are stable and profitable, they are now facing on growth. In 2022, we stepped up our portfolio management activities to further strengthen our market and technology leadership in both Electrification and Automation. We acquired a controlling stake in two electric vehicle charging companies, InCharge Energy in the United States, and Numocity in India. These will strengthen our E-mobility business in those markets. Before I talk more about the acquisitions, let me say a few words about our E-mobility business.
Our strategy to list a minority part of the E-mobility business remains, but due to non-constructive markets, we have decided to postpone the listing. Instead, we decided to do a pre-IPO private placement, and we managed to attract CHF 525 million from six strategic investors. This will be used for growth of the business. As of this year, E-mobility is being treated as a stand-alone business for managing and reporting purposes. E-mobility fits very well with our portfolio and supports our purpose, but it's growing so fast that it needs to be governed differently. We have appointed a separate board of directors for this business, and finally plan to list it on the SIX Swiss Exchange once the market conditions become more constructive. In our Motion business, we announced two important acquisitions.
Our NEMA motors division agreed to acquire Siemens' low-voltage NEMA motors business. This will strengthen our presence in the North American even further. In the fourth quarter, our Traction division acquired PowerTech Converter. It is a leading supplier of power converters for light rail vehicles and metros, with operations in Germany and United States. In our Electrification business, our Smart Power division acquired ASKI Energy, a leading energy and automation and control system with customers in Germany and Austria, but also here in Switzerland. Part of our portfolio management strategy is to exit businesses that no longer fits with our purpose and strategic focus. Peter mentioned Accelleron, also Hitachi Energy. I am very happy for Switzerland that Accelleron remains part of the Swiss industrial landscape as an independent market leader. Accelleron is a very successful and innovative company.
In January this year, we also announced an agreement to sell our Power Conversion division for $505 million in cash. This is the final divestment of our division portfolio measures that we announced at the end of 2020. Looking ahead, we have identified many new M&A opportunities. In line with our decentralized business model, our divisions will continue to drive growth, both organically as well as through acquisitions. Alongside our strong financial performance in 2022, we made a good progress towards our 2030 sustainability targets. Among our many achievements in 2022, we reduced greenhouse gas emissions from our own operations by 43%. Our biggest contribution to a low-carbon society comes from ABB technologies that reduce and avoid energy consumption and emission in our customers' operations.
We also took an important step to improve sustainability in our supply chain with a new target for our main Tier 1 suppliers to reduce their greenhouse gas emission by 50% by 2030, and that is comparable with our 2019 levels. We are making good progress in building a safer and more inclusive working environment, which our people can succeed and develop. Our lost time injury rate remains low, even though our deliveries are increasing. We increased the number of women in senior management positions to 17.8%, and that's up from 16.3% a year ago. This is very much in line with our goal of having 25% of senior management roles filled by women 2030. In addition to that, every year we do an employee engagement survey.
It's really good to see that for the third year in a row, we have clear improvements in our scores. The overall engagement score rose to 76 out of 100. That's above the benchmark for comparable companies and our highest score since we started measuring in 2019. Let me talk about a topic which is of high priority in ABB: integrity. In December last year, we announced that we have settled with South African, Swiss, and American authorities on the legacy Kusile project from 2016 in South Africa. This case is about improper payments and other compliance issues. We self-reported to all relevant authorities and have fully cooperated with their investigations. We have done extensive remediation and enhancements across our operations and integrity program, including launching a revised code of conduct, educating employees, and implementing better control system.
Our message is clear: We only accept business that is done with integrity and transparency. Our work does not stop here. Integrity is not a static concept. We will continue to develop and improve our integrity program. This means having controls, processes, and a culture to effectively prevent bribery, corruption, and other improper behavior. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks to our operating model, our great technologies, and most of all, our talented and motivated people, ABB's operation performance is improving at an excellent pace. With The ABB Way, we have laid the foundation for our strategy. Since 2022, our focus in increasingly on future-proofing ABB. What does that mean? Very simple. We want to make sure that ABB will continue to deliver value to all stakeholders, also in the future.
Looking into 2023, we do not anticipate a major setback in demand, although inflation adds uncertainties. We have a huge backlog, which will keep revenues coming in. We have a strong market leadership position and the technology to take advantage of growth opportunities. With that, we help our customers deal with challenges like energy, sustainability, and security. For example, as a result of the energy crisis, our customers are looking for more energy-efficient solution. Most of our products and solutions reduce energy consumption and prolong the lifetime of our equipment. They also improve efficiency and productivity in the energy sector itself. Most importantly, we have the right people in the right position to drive our business forward. Over the past three years, our teams have improved ABB's performance despite huge challenges.
That is truly an achievement, one that makes me confident that ABB has what it takes to create value for stakeholders and support the transition to a sustainable society. Together, we have made ABB a more resilient and better company.
Last but not least, I'd like to thank you on behalf of the executive committee. I'd like to thank you for your loyalty and your trust. We are on a joint journey, and I am convinced that all of us, as shareholders, customers, employees, and as society at large, will reap the rewards. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Björn.
Your German is improving.
Constantly. That's brilliant. Ladies and gentlemen, we now have the attendance announcement ready. At today's annual general meeting, we have 603 shareholders present. Together with the represented shareholders, we have therefore the following attendance. Represented are a total of 1,206,410,981 shares with a nominal value of CHF 0.12 and a total value of CHF 144,769,317. That corresponds to 61.4% of the shares with a right to vote, the share capital with a right to vote.
Shareholders wanting to have themselves represented at today's annual general meeting were able before the meeting to appoint another shareholder with the right to vote or the independent proxy, Zehnder Bolliger & Partner, as their proxy. Dr. Zehnder is representing for them 1,204,839,302 nominal shares with a total nominal value of CHF 144,580,716. In accordance with Article 689c, Paragraph 5 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, the independent proxy informed ABB on Monday, March 20, 2023, about the yes, no, and abstain votes per agenda items handed in by the shareholders represented by them.
This has been done in an aggregated format only in order to not allow any conclusions about the voting behavior of the individual shareholders. In light of the above, I declare that this annual general meeting is quorum with regards to all items included on the agenda. The annual general meeting generally decides on the motions before us today in accordance with the law and our articles of incorporation with an absolute majority of the represented share votes with the following exceptions. For agenda item 5.2, changes to the articles of incorporation as regards to restrictions on registration and item six, the introduction of a capital band, a special quorum is required.
In accordance with Article 704 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, this requires a 2/3 majority of the voting rights represented at the annual general meeting, as well as a majority of the nominal share capital represented. All resolutions on amendments to the articles of incorporation, as well as on the introduction of a capital band, must be publicly recorded by the notary as well, by Mr. Stauffacher. The results of all ballots and elections will be recorded in writing by the secretary. I would like to ask you to retain your voting cards for the duration of the meeting. This is in case the electronic voting system breaks down and a card ballot or election needs to be held.
I would also like to point out that for all of today's ballots and elections, anyone who would like to have their no votes or abstention recorded can provide their last names, first names, place of residence, and the number of no votes or abstentions to the vote counter. From your point of view, that is to the left, at the front to the left, for all of this to be available for the minutes. Ladies and gentlemen, we now come to item one on the agenda: approval of the management report, the consolidated financial statement, and the annual financial statements for 2022. The consolidated annual financial statements of the ABB Group, meaning the group accounts as well as the annual financial statements of ABB Ltd, can be found in the annual report. KPMG has audited both financial statements. Their auditor's reports are also part of the annual report.
The auditors represented by Mr. Hans-Dieter Kraus informed me before the annual general meeting that they have no further comments on either the consolidated financial statements or the annual financial statements for 2022. I'd like to point out that ABB's compensation report will be dealt with under the next item on the agenda, item two. If you have questions regarding this topic, you can do that under agenda item two. I hereby open the discussion regarding this first item. Namely the consolidated financial statements, the management report, and the annual financial statements for 2022. I'd like to ask speakers to come forward, come up to the microphone, and to give their last names, first names, and place of residence. I'll also repeat my request at the beginning that you please limit yourself to comments that affect only the item under discussion.
Who'd like to take the floor regarding item one? We have more light now. I can see everyone in the hall. Excellent. Apparently, no one would like to speak. Considering that no one would like to take the floor, I think we can move on with the first vote, the vote on this item one. Ladies and gentlemen, when you cast your vote, please press the following on your keypad. Either the green button for yes to approve the item, the yellow button to abstain, or the red button for no to reject the resolution. If you inadvertently press the wrong button, you can rectify this by pressing the button you intended to press. Shareholders, are there any questions about the voting procedure? As this does not seem to be the case, let us proceed with the ballot.
Should you have any questions, please contact our help desk in the back of the hall at any time. The board of directors proposes to approve the management report, the consolidated financial statements, and the annual financial statements for 2022. I call upon you to show your approval, abstention, or rejection regarding the motion of the board of directors by pressing the appropriate button on your keypad. Ladies and gentlemen, please cast your vote now. Ladies and gentlemen, I will soon close the vote. I hereby close the vote. We will now wait for the result. Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have approved the management report, the consolidated financial statements, and the annual financial statements for 2022 with 98.75% of yes votes. Thank you very much for your trust.
The Executive Committee and the Board of Directors will continue their work for 2022 in the same manner. We now move on to item two, consultative vote on the Compensation Report 2022. As in previous Annual General Meetings, we hold a separate consultative vote on the company's Compensation Report. The Compensation Report contains the principles governing the compensation paid to the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. It also informs you about the components of such compensation and the amounts which were paid to the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee for 2022. Compensation of the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee was determined by the Board of Directors, taking into account the recommendations of the Compensation Committee. In this context, I wish to highlight that our remuneration programs are closely linked to our Sustainability Strategy.
There is a sustainability KPI for all Executive Committee members, which is assessed with 20% for their long-term incentive plan. Likewise, for all members of the Executive Committee, at least two sustainability targets are defined as part of their individual component of their annual incentive plan. If you'd like further explanation about any points covered in the compensation report, I will now take your questions and hereby open the discussion on the compensation report. Please remember that we will take comments and questions on the maximum aggregate compensation of the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, respectively, under agenda item 7.1 and 7.2. I would like to ask speakers to come up to the microphone and again name their last names, first names, and place of residence. Would someone like to take the floor regarding this agenda item?
This does not seem to be the case. If no one wishes to speak, we can now move on with the vote, non-binding consultative vote on the compensation report 2022. Ladies and gentlemen, please cast your vote now. Same procedure as before. Ladies and gentlemen, I will be closing the ballot in a few seconds. I hereby close the ballot. We will now wait for the results to become available. Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have accepted the compensation report 2022 with 91.6% of yes votes. We thank you for accepting the compensation report and for the confidence that you have hereby expressed. I'd also like to thank our Compensation Committee for their work in the year 2022.
We now can move on to item three on the agenda, discharge of the Board of Directors and the persons entrusted with management. The Board of Directors proposes that its members, as well as officers entrusted with management of the business, be discharged from their responsibilities for the financial year 2022. For the sake of completeness, I'd like to mention that the discharge resolution shall also cover persons entrusted with management who left or were appointed during 2022. Again, the question: Would someone like to take the floor regarding this item? This does not seem to be the case, so we can move on to the vote. I must point out that the members of the Board of Directors and anyone who has participated in any way in managing the business are excluded from voting, either with their own shares or with shares represented by them.
The votes of the persons concerned will not be taken into account during this ballot. The number of represented votes is correspondingly reduced. Ladies and gentlemen, same procedure. Please cast your vote now. I will soon be closing the ballot. I hereby now close the ballot and will wait for the results to become available. Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have granted discharge for the financial year 2022 to the Board of Directors and the officers entrusted with the management of the business with 71.8%. I'd like to add something. Björn has mentioned the incidents and what we've done and measures we've taken regarding Kusile.
We are taking this topic very seriously. The slightly lower percentage of discharge we see here of the Board of Directors and the people entrusted with management, well, I think that lies with Kusile, the reason for this. You all know that we all are convinced that something like this shouldn't happen at ABB a nd we will do everything in our power to avoid anything like this happening again in the future. I'd like to thank all of you who still discharged us from our responsibilities.
We now move on to item four on the agenda, appropriation of available earnings. Earnings are available to the annual general meeting 2022 in the amount of CHF 7,852,197,874. The Board of Directors proposes to pay a dividend of CHF 0.84, that's CHF 0.84, out of the available earnings for the financial year 2022. This is equivalent to an increase of CHF 0.02, CHF 0.02, compared to the previous year. This proposal is in line with the company's dividend policy to pay a rising sustainable dividend over time. The distribution is expected to take place in March 2023, and it will be subject to Swiss withholding tax in the amount of 35%.
The board of directors finally proposes to carry forward the remainder of the available earnings 2022 to the new account. For the sake of completeness, let me mention, ladies and gentlemen, that ABB Ltd will not pay dividends on own shares held by the company and its subsidiaries, and on shares that participate in the Dividend Access Facility as per Article 8 of the Articles of Incorporation. Shareholders who are resident in Sweden and who participate in the Dividend Access Facility will receive an amount in Swedish krona that corresponds to the resolved dividend. The amount, however, is subject to taxation according to Swedish law. The auditors confirm in their report that this proposal by the board relating to the appropriation of the available earnings is in accordance with the law and our articles of incorporation.
Does anyone wish to comment on this proposal relating to the appropriation of earnings available? We have Mr. Ronald Wild from Solothurn. Please, Mr. Wild, come forward and take the floor.
My name is Ronald Wild. I am from Solothurn. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished shareholders, the board of directors is proposing a dividend of CHF 0.84 per share, which gives us a return of about 2.8% on the current share price. Total distribution will therefore amount to CHF 1,650,385,863, which is equivalent to 21% of the balance sheet profit available to the AGM. In other words, 79% are carried forward to the new account.
It is correct, of course, and valid to have a certain reserve with an amount carried forward in case there is a poor business year and we would still be able to receive a dividend. I don't really understand that 80% of the available earnings are kept from shareholders. The profit belongs to the shareholders, doesn't it? I don't really understand why you're keeping 80% back. I think we should be able to determine what will happen with the remaining 80% as well. Over the past years, interest rates were either at zero or negative. We were looking at difficult times and then return of 2.5% was more than welcome. Now we can see interest rates are rising. We even get interest rate paid on our savings accounts.
I think the return with cash bonds should also be higher. The return of cash bonds is currently at 1.5%-2% and rising. I think it would make perfect sense to have a higher return more than 2.8%. I think what ABB is paying here is really modest because we always have to bear the risk, the share price risk as shareholders, which is different from the risk we have with a bank account or a cash bond, which after the end of maturity will be paid back to 100%, and we have guaranteed interest there as well. I think this dividend is really tiny, is minimal, and I therefore move that a higher dividend is paid out.
This would also be in the interest of the institutional investors as well, that they can benefit from a higher return for their pension funds and other institutions as well. As I said, we should have a resolution in the interest of everyone because we all bear the risk, we should be compensated with a higher return for this. We just saw in the case of Credit Suisse, we have almost complete default, this could perhaps also hit other companies. I'm sure ABB is very well set up, there may always be a slump in the share price. In such a situation, we should be awarded, or should be rewarded with a high return on our shares. I therefore move that the dividend will be doubled.
I move that a dividend of CHF 1.50 will be paid out per share. This would still leave substantial profit to be carried forward, more than 60% after distribution of the dividend. This is my motion.
Thank you very much, Mr. Wild. Let me perhaps share my reflections and give you some explanations as to why the board of directors has chosen this dividend. The official procedure later will be as follows: We will first vote on the board's motion first, and if a majority rejects the board's motion, we can then vote on your motion. This is in line with our statutory requirements. Now let me explain. The board of directors has discussed this issue in detail. Let me explain our policy to you.
We want to have a dividend which rises over time, which will also provide a reserve to the company, a cushion in the long term to our company. Now, you may recall what we discussed a few years back. We sold the Power Grids division at the time. We repurchased shares with the proceeds from the sale, the cash payout that we received from divesting the Power Grids division. We sold a substantial part of our business, we also said at the time that we will not change the dividend per share. Which means, in other words, that with a smaller business, we're actually paying out more. We have to generate more profit in order to keep the level of the dividend. That's one aspect to bear in mind. We've become smaller, we still pay out the same amount of dividend. Here's the second aspect.
In 2022, we also took Accelleron public. You can look at it in different ways. You could have sold Accelleron, and the liquidity comes back to the company. The company can then use the cash for different things. We took the company public, which means we gave every single one of our shareholders one Accelleron or several Accelleron shares for one ABB share. This is something else you need to bear in mind. Look at what we actually distributed in 2022. For the 2022 business year, we have the dividend, which we are proposing here, plus the Accelleron shares that you received as well on top of the dividend.
The board, therefore, decided, in line with the executive board, with Björn and Timo, to look at those two forms of payout together while keeping our policy of a constantly rising dividend in mind and adjusting it in small steps, because we are talking about substantial payout. In 2022, also, we repurchased shares, which again benefits the shareholders in an indirect fashion because the number of shares goes down and the share that you have per share increases as a result of that. These were the ideas, this was the reasoning behind determining the CHF 0.84, because as a principle, we assume the two form an excellent payout for 2022. Perhaps one more point, if I may. You need to always bear in mind when you determine a dividend, you need to look ahead.
2023, as Björn explained in his presentation, will be a difficult year. We don't expect, of course, the economy to collapse altogether, but it's going to be a difficult year. There will be a lot of work that needs to be done. We've got to manage our business in a world order which has become quite a bit more complicated than it used to be. Looking ahead, the prospects for 2023 and perhaps even 2024 is rather mixed. We will be successful as we were in 2022, no doubt about that, but these are the thoughts behind our decision.
I very much appreciate what you're saying, but still, we've got the risk with the shares that we have.
Whenever it is possible, whenever we have substantial profit, I think there should be a higher payout ratio so that the risk will be rewarded, the risk that we take as shareholders. CHF 0.84. Excuse me, I think this is ridiculously low, also bearing the profit of last year in mind. The profit is more than double that double of what you're actually paying out.
Well, you don't need to repeat your motion. We've already taken note of your motion. I was just trying to explain why we chose CHF 0.84. Yes, I'm explaining to you why I am making this motion. Fine. No problem. It's good to have a discussion. No problem about that.
Like, I recommend, ladies and gentlemen, to support my motion. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Good. Good. Okay, here's the procedure.
First, we're going to vote on the board's proposal. If this motion is not approved, we will vote on Mr. Wild's motion to increase the dividend to CHF 1.50. This is the motion he tabled. Are there any other comments on this item? Yes, please. Please come forward and take the floor. Give us your surname, first name, and place of residence.
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished shareholders, my previous speaker was a bit of a nuisance, I think, which is why I've decided to step up and speak to you. The trust we can have in our management is extremely important. We can feel that management is far-sighted in their dividend distribution policy with the divestment of Accelleron, and the dividend is also going to increase from CHF 0.82 to CHF 0.84.
I don't understand how you can be so greedy as to criticize the ABB in that way. I still remember when the share was at CHF 1.40. We don't think ahead. We're going to see exactly the same development as we just saw with Credit Suisse. This is not going to happen with our company. Let me tell you, CHF 0.82, if you can take so much money home, you can be proud. You can be happy. Sorry, CHF 0.84. Don't become too greedy. Greed is going to make you blind. Far-sightedness is absolutely vital. This is what has taken Switzerland forward and not greed and avarice, paying out money and gutting the company until it is destroyed. We have to say we have no reserves left. I move that we all.
Vote in support of the Board's proposal, CHF 0.84 . We turn down the other motion. Thank you.
Thank you very much for your statement. Please report to the speaker's desk, then you will get the floor. Long-term planning is definitely a core message the Board of Directors wants to send out. We want to have a long-term vision, not only with regard to the business that we have, but also with regard to our finances. Please. Please give us your name and your place of residence.
Markus Hug from St. Gallen. Good morning, everyone. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I have a question on the procedure I didn't quite understand. I don't really want to comment what the previous speakers have said. Why are we only going to come back to the gentleman's motion if the Board's proposal is turned down?
Why is that? You can be in favor of the CHF 0.84 but be happy with CHF 1.50 at the same time.
Well, I understand why you're saying this, but as far as the procedure is concerned, the board has already tabled a motion in the agenda, and we deal with that motion first. If there is a majority in favor of the board's proposal, it will be CHF 0.84, and we won't have a second vote on a motion to disapprove of what we just approved of and then approve of the second motion. This is the sort of sequence we need to follow the order. This is what the law requires us to do. There's no alternative to this. Now we have Mr. Wild taking the floor again. Please, Mr. Wild.
I can't remember the gentleman's name, the gentleman who spoke after me in support of the CHF 0.84 . I agree that we need to apply a long-term view, which is why I think 60% of retained earnings carried forward to new accounts is sufficient in terms of a reserve for future years in case the situation becomes more difficult. As I said before, I think we need to be rewarded as shareholders for the risks that we are taking, with a good dividend, a solid dividend. This should also be in the interest of pension funds who hold large quantities of money. Basically, you're also accountable to your clients as well, to do their business properly. Thank you very much.
Timo. Do you want to add anything? Timo, would you like to add anything to this?
Well, perhaps I do this in English, if you don't mind. From management perspective, what we want to have is a company with a strong balance sheet, and that we have at the moment. Our net debt is about $2.8 billion, which is actually very solid for a company of this size. We want to be in a position to invest behind organic growth for long-term, profitable organic growth. That's our number one capital allocation principle. Second, as Peter Voser has said, we want to pay a rising dividend every year. Of course, for that, our profitability needs to improve every year. Third, we want to have investment capacity to value-adding acquisitions, as Björn Rosengren has discussed today. Fourth, only if there is money left, we would buy back shares.
That's how we think about the long-term capital allocation principles for ABB, and we think this is a solid recipe for a long-term value creation.
Thank you.
Thanks, Timo. Thank you, Timo. I was just informed the second speaker failed to give name and place of residence so that we can feature your name and residence, in the minutes. Please can you give your name and your place of residence? I should have reminded you before.
Please accept my apology for not giving my name. My name is Max Enderli from Hagenwil, close to Amriswil. That's a tiny village in the Canton of Thurgovia. We're very modest. We have a farm operation. Which is why I'm calling upon everyone to be modest in their approach. Thank you very much.
Any other comments? I really like this discussion, let me say this, because it shows that this company is doing great business, applies a long-term view.
Now this discussion about how much to pay out, what the reasons are for management and the board of directors, and the way we link this to our vision is a very beneficial discussion, which I think we should have at such annual general meetings. Let me express my gratitude to everyone who's made a contribution. I have no further names on the list here, We therefore proceed to the ballot. We will first vote on the motion from the board of directors, and we'll see what shareholders find, how they vote on our proposal, and we will then either not vote on the second motion, or we will vote on the second motion. With that, I'd like to ask you to pick your voting device. Please cast your vote now. Three more seconds, and I'll close the ballot.
We will now wait until the result is available. Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have approved the proposal of the Board of Directors relating to the appropriation of the 2022 total available earnings with 98.78% yes votes. This is an overwhelming majority, ladies and gentlemen, I will therefore have no vote on the second motion because we have such a clear result on the first motion. The motion of the Board has thus been approved. Let me still use the opportunity to say that such discussions are very valuable for the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee because it gives us valuable input, and we will continue to have similar discussions in the future as well.
We now move on to item 5, amendments to the articles of incorporation. Ladies and gentlemen, as you could see from the invitation, the board of directors proposes that the articles of incorporation be amended pursuant to the proposed amendments published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on February 24, 2023. The proposed amendments to the articles of incorporation are grouped by topic and submitted to the annual general meeting for approval under five different agenda items, agenda items 5.1 to 5.5. To the background on this item, it is due to a revised Swiss corporate law, which Swiss Parliament adopted in summer 2022. Swiss corporations with their headquarters in Switzerland are required to comply with the new law by the end of 2024 at the latest.
We are proposing to amend our articles this year already, thereby pursuing three goals. For one, implementing changes required under the new law. Second, grant the company certain flexibility provided under the new law. Third, to update the articles of incorporation in line with the prevailing market standards in Switzerland. The proposed amendments to the articles of incorporation were explained to you in Annex 1 to the invitation. The detailed wording of the proposed amendments was published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on February 24th, 2023, whereby all shareholders have been notified. In addition, the wording was made available to shareholders on ABB's website. I therefore assume that the proposed amendments are known to the annual general meeting and will not present them on slides or read them out again.
Would anyone like to take the floor regarding the items 5.1 to 5.5, so the amendments to the articles of incorporation as proposed? That does not seem to be the case. I think we can move on to the ballot. Ladies and gentlemen, we will conduct a vote on the amendments to the articles of incorporation individually per agenda item, but in one go. Saves a little time. For that purpose, you will see all agenda items on your screen, on the screen of your device. Namely, agenda item 5.1, shares and capital structure. Agenda item 5.2, restrictions on registration. Agenda item 5.3, general meeting of shareholders. Agenda 5.4, virtual general meeting of shareholders. Agenda 5.5, board of directors and compensation.
Since it's only possible to show or display three agenda items per screen page only, you will have the possibility to scroll forward to the next page and backwards to the preceding page, the previous page, by using the arrows at the bottom of your screen. These arrows will be blinking and indicating the following or previous page respectively until all votings have been completed on the respective pages. Again, you can rectify any input until the voting time has expired. Ladies and gentlemen, this is slightly complicated. This is why I will be giving you more time, because it will take more time. Now we open the ballot. I would say you have four, five seconds. I think I see on my screen that everyone has cast their vote, but just to make sure.
I see no one raising their hands, no one having any issues. I hereby close the ballot. Now we'll wait for the result to be displayed. Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have approved all proposed amendments to the articles of incorporation with a predominant majority. I also declare that a two-thirds majority of the represented voting rights and also the majority of the nominal share capital represented has been achieved. As it is required for the amendments to the provisions related to restrictions and registration as proposed under agenda item 5.2. Just a quick comment on 5.4, which has a slightly lower approval rate. This is about the virtual annual general meeting. We've seen a lot of discussion surrounding this topic. We've read a lot about it. Yes, we have adopted the legal text, the text that's in the law.
For shareholders, even if it's a virtual annual general meeting, well, shareholders can still make use of their rights in the very same way as they can when they are present in physical form or when they participate in a hybrid form where we have online streaming via the Internet and a event physically. The board of directors and the executive committee, according to the law, will not be restricting the shareholders' rights in any way, even in a virtual form, just to make it very clear. We can now move on to item six on the agenda, the capital band. Ladies and gentlemen, as you were able to see in the invitation, the board of directors proposes the introduction of a capital band.
Functionally speaking, the capital band corresponds to, amongst other things, the previous authorized capital that was abolished with the revisions of the Swiss corporate law, and for ABB, would expire anyway in a few days. In order to replace the authorized capital, the board of directors proposes to introduce a capital band for a maximum of five years in the articles of incorporation. The upper and lower limits of the capital band shall be 110% and 90% of the share capital currently entered in the commercial registry. Within these limits, those 90% and 110%, the board of directors shall be authorized to increase or reduce the share capital.
As under the previously authorized capital, the board of directors shall have the right to restrict or withdraw shareholders' preemptive rights in the event of an issue of shares within the capital band. The reasons for the restriction or withdrawal of preemptive rights remain the same as under the previously authorized capital. I'd like to just make sure there are no misunderstandings. With the introduction of the capital bands, that doesn't equal a capital increase or a capital reduction at all. Not per se. A capital change will only take place when and if the board of directors makes use of its authorization during the period up to March 23, 2028, and based on the articles of incorporation, resolves to increase or reduce the share capital.
As you were able to see from the invitation, the board of directors intends to use the capital band for the cancellation of shares repurchased under the share buyback program 2021, 2022, and 2022, 2023. Following this shareholders meeting to cancel approximately 80 million shares corresponding to roughly 4% of the current share capital. As I've mentioned before, your stake in the company, esteemed shareholders, will thereby grow. The board of directors therefore proposes, A, the introduction of a capital band ranging from CHF 212,192,469. That's the lower limit.
To CHF 259,346,349 , which is the upper limit, within which the board of directors shall be authorized to increase or reduce the share capital once or several times and in any amount, or to acquire or dispose of shares directly or indirectly until March 23, 2028, or until an earlier expiry of the capital band. In previous changes of the articles of incorporations, by revising Article 4 ter and introducing Article 4 quarter with the wording as published in the invitation and as projected on the screen in the background. This item is rather complicated. Are there questions or comments? That does not seem to be the case. We can move on to the ballot. Ladies and gentlemen, please cast your vote now. Three more seconds. I hereby close the ballot.
We will now wait for the result. Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have approved the proposal of the Board of Directors regarding the introduction of a capital band with 96.72%. I also declare that the majority of two-thirds of the represented voting rights and also the majority of the nominal share capital represented has been achieved as it is required for the introduction of a capital band. Thank you very much for this vote. Moving on to item seven on the agenda. Binding votes on the compensation of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.
Ladies and gentlemen, pursuant to Article 698, paragraph 3 of the Swiss Code of Obligations and Article 34 of the Articles of Incorporation, the annual general shareholders meeting shall approve the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the board of directors for the next term of office and of the executive committee for the following financial year. The principles of compensation are specified in Article 33 of the Articles of Incorporation. The details on the proposed compensation are described in Annex 2 of the invitation, as well as in the compensation report 2022. Let's start with 7.1, binding vote on the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the board of directors for the next term of office, meaning from the annual general meeting 2023, so today, to the annual general meeting 2024.
This is a binding vote on the maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the board of directors for the next term of office. I'd like to ask you to cast your vote now. The board of directors is proposing the same thing you've already seen and read in the annex. I will close the ballot in a few seconds. Thank you very much for casting your votes. I'm closing the ballot, and we'll be waiting for the results now. Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have approved the proposed total compensation for the board of directors covering the period from the annual general meeting 2023 to the annual general meeting 2024 in the amount of CHF 4.4 million with 97.93% yes votes. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your trust.
Now we can move on to item 7.2, binding vote on the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Executive Committee for the following financial year, meaning financial year 2024. Ladies and gentlemen, the Board of Directors proposes that shareholders approve the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Executive Committee for the financial year 2024 in the amount of CHF 43.9 million. Hence, the proposed amount is CHF 2 million lower than the amount approved for 2023. Would anyone like to take the floor regarding this item? That does not seem to be the case, we can move on to the ballot. Ladies and gentlemen, please cast your votes now. Another three or four seconds, then I'll be closing the ballot. I hereby close the vote. We now wait for the result.
Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have approved the proposed maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the Executive Committee for the financial year 2024 in the amount of CHF 43.9 million with 93.72% yes votes. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, I would like to thank you for your trust. Moving on to item eight on the agenda, elections to the Board of Directors and the election of the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Ladies and gentlemen, the date of today's Annual General Meeting coincides with the end of term of office of all members of the Board of Directors. If we go to the slides here. The Board of Directors proposes the election of Denise Johnson. Ms. Johnson holds the position of group president at Caterpillar.
She's responsible for the area resources industries. She has a strong background in advanced automation and technology for heavy industries and is therefore the ideal candidate to advise ABB on supporting the energy transition. Electing her to the board of directors would also strengthen its gender diversity. I therefore can only recommend the election of Denise Johnson in addition to those of our current standing members that are up for re-election. At the same time, I'd like to thank Satish Pai, who has decided to not stand for re-election. I'd like to thank him for his outstanding performance and work in all those years for ABB.
We will be.
Satish-
at the stream, so thank you very much again. Danke.
The following candidates stand for election to the board of directors.
David Constable, Frederico Fleury Curado, Lars Förberg, Denise Johnson, Jennifer Xin-Zhe Li, Geraldine Matchett, David Meline, Jacob Wallenberg, sowie ich selber, Peter Voser.
The election shall be effective for a term of office until the conclusion of the annual general meeting of 2024. Considering the number of election matters, may I ask you to bring up your comments on the individual candidates now before we move on to the vote? If you have any comments, questions regarding any of the members of the board of directors, then this would be the time. Would someone like to take the floor? This does not seem to be the case. I'd like to open the ballot. Ladies and gentlemen, we will conduct the elections of all members as well as the chairman of the board of directors individually, but in one go. For that purpose, you will see all candidates individually on your screen.
Again, only three candidates can be displayed per page on your screen, which is why you again now have the possibility to scroll forward and backwards by using the arrows at the bottom of your screen.
Here as well, you can rectify any input until the voting time has expired. The election results for agenda item eight will be announced jointly. Ladies and gentlemen, the board of directors proposes the election of
Frederico Fleury Curado, Lars Förberg, Denise Johnson, Jennifer Xin-Zhe Li, Geraldine Matchett, David Meline, Jacob Wallenberg, sowie mich selber, Peter Voser, als Mitglied des Verwaltungsrats.
As members of the board of directors, as well as myself, Peter Voser, as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Ladies and gentlemen, please cast your votes now. I will give you a little more time here as well because it is a little more complicated. The ballot has been opened.
Ich werde in 5 bis 10 Sekunden schließen.
Five to 10 seconds, and I'll close the ballot.
Ich schließe hiermit die Abstimmung und wir warten auf das Ergebnis.
I hereby close the ballot. We now wait for the results. Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have elected. We have two slides with the names because not everyone fits on one page.
David Constable, Fred Fleury Curado, Lars Föhrberg, Denise Johnson, Jennifer Xin-Zhe Li, Geraldine Matchett, David Meline, Jacob Wallenberg und mich selber.
Myself, Peter Voser. In each case, with predominant majority as members of the board of directors.
Sehr geehrte Aktionärinnen und Aktionäre.
Esteemed shareholders, I'd like to thank you on behalf of all my colleagues on the board of directors for your trust. I'd like to congratulate Denise Johnson, especially on her election to the board of directors.
Danke vielmals.
Thank you very much. Item nine, elections to the Compensation Committee. Ladies and gentlemen, the board of directors proposes to elect the following board members to the Compensation Committee.
David Constable, Frederico Fleury Curado und Jennifer Xin-Zhe Li. Das heißt, das ist keine Änderung zu dem, was wir schon haben.
No change to what we had so far. The election shall be effective for a term of office until conclusion of the annual general meeting 2024. We will again conduct the elections of all members of the Compensation Committee individually, but in one run, and we will present the election results jointly. If you wish to make any comment on the present agenda item, I now invite you to come forward to the lectern. Are there any questions or comments? This doesn't seem to be the case. Ladies and gentlemen, the board of directors proposes to elect David Constable, Freddy Fleury Curado, and Jennifer Xin-Zhe Li as members to the Compensation Committee. Please cast your votes now. I intend to close the ballot in a few seconds. I hereby close the ballot, and we will now wait until the results are available.
Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have elected David Constable, Freddy Curado, and Jennifer Xin-Zhe Li as members of the Compensation Committee with an overwhelming majority in every case. Thank you very much and congratulations to the three on their re-election, and we look forward to working with you for everything to do with compensation policy of ABB going forward. This brings us to item 10 on our agenda, election of the independent proxy. Ladies and gentlemen, the board of directors proposes to elect Zehnder Bolliger & Partner, attorneys at law and notary office in Baden, as the independent proxy.
They are represented here at our meeting by Dr. Hans Zehnder, and have confirmed their willingness to again accept the mandate. Thank you for this. The election shall be effective for a term of office until conclusion of the annual general meeting 2024. The board of directors confirms in this context that the proposed candidate is independent of ABB. If you wish to make any comments on the present agenda item, I now invite you to come forward to the lectern. Who would like the floor? If no one wishes to speak, no one asking for the floor, we come to the election. Ladies and gentlemen, please cast your vote now. A few more seconds. I hereby close the ballot, and we will now wait until the result is available.
Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have elected Zehnder Bolliger & Partner with 97.85% yes votes as independent proxy. Thank you very much. We look forward to cooperation with you, Mr. Zehnder. Next up is item 11, election of the auditors. Shareholders, the board of directors proposes to elect KPMG AG as auditors for the financial year 2023. KPMG AG has declared itself willing to perform its duties as auditors also for the 2023 financial year. Would anyone like to voice their opinion on the proposal of the board of directors? No one seems to wish to speak, so let's proceed with the election. Please cast your vote now. A few more seconds before I close the ballot. I hereby close the ballot, and we now wait for the results to be available.
Ladies and gentlemen, I declare that you have elected KPMG AG with 98.64% as auditors for the 2023 financial year. Thank you. I look forward to a cooperation with you. Ladies and gentlemen, we now come to the end of the meeting. At this point, on behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank the group executive committee, headed by Björn, and all employees of the entire ABB Group most warmly for their extraordinary commitment, as well as you, dear shareholders, for the confidence you have expressed in us. The next annual general meeting will take place on the 21st of March, 2024. I would be pleased to welcome you here again in person in such large numbers. Please leave all your electronic devices on your chairs, the voting devices and your headsets.
They will be collected by us. Your personal data has been deleted and can no longer be accessed or viewed by anyone. I hereby conclude today's annual general meeting. We wish you all a very pleasant and safe journey home. I look forward to the new financial year. I look forward to seeing you again in 2024. We have a lot around the corner. We hope that a year from now, we can report on an interesting, a successful 2023. Thank you very much. Have a great day and a great week. Thank you very much and goodbye.