Ladies and gentlemen, and also dear shareholders, a warm welcome to Swisscom. My name is Marcel Curia and I would like to welcome you here this year. Do you remember the black fixed line phone that used to hang on the wall? Do you also remember the first mobile phones with the first text messages that we frantically typed on our first mobile phones? For example, that suddenly we had 500 TV channels to choose from? Or the Blue TV that even spoke to one pictures landline? I am sure that many of you today experience a long history of innovation that you connect with Swisscom. At this annual general meeting, we would like to take you on a journey and show you how the story continues, which innovations can make our lives easier today and also in the future if you haven't already had a chance.
We invite you to experience some of our innovations first hand at the stands in the drinks area after the formal part of the event. For example, you can use our photo booth to create AI generated images of yourself and have them sent directly to you by email. It is now possible to sign official documents thanks to Swisscom Sign, such as a power of attorney or a rental agreement that you have received by email, directly online. Our colleagues at the Sign stand will be more than happy to show you how it works. Did you know that you can now easily take out insurances with Swisscom? Have you ever seen how virtual reality is used in practice?
These two examples can also be found in the exhibition area and I am going to show you as well how we will use drones in the future, for example, to rescue people in disaster areas and also help them and help catastrophe institutions. As an expert in media literacy, I see every day that innovation is only valuable if the people can use it and understand it. This is why we have provided information and learning content on digitization topics in the Swisscom campus. Visit our stand, we will be more than happy to answer all your questions you have and we show you how you can access this important information. I hope you have a very exciting annual general meeting and I look forward to meeting you in person afterwards. Thank you very much and enjoy.
Whether networked every day or online sometimes, we at Swisscom make sure that everyone has access to the digital world that they need. This is why we have our best network, flexible service, and also a plethora of safe and innovative products and also a great commitment for sustainability. We look back to a very exciting year, 2024. In 2024 we provided new products to our Swiss customers, the best entertainment program on Blue TV together with combination offers, and the best in sports has become even better. We open up new network solutions and applications and services in the cloud and IT services to new companies and offer them new opportunities. With the Swiss AI Platform, we help our business customers.
With the help.
Of AI to develop new ideas while having the data safe and secure in Switzerland. In Italy, we set the rails for our Italian customers thanks to the purchase of Vodafone Italia. By doing so, we will be able to offer them mobile and landline products just from one source. We are strong today and tomorrow we are even stronger. Welcome to the AGM 2025. Esteemed shareholders, dear guests and friends of Swisscom, a warm welcome to the Hallenstadion. Innovations is the fuel for the future of our company. As you have heard it, this year we will once again be showing you some innovative new products at Experience Islands and I invite you to visit them. In order to utilize innovations successfully, you have to be able to trust in them. This is exactly what characterizes us.
At our core, we are the innovators of trust and as trustworthy partners in Switzerland and Italy, we enable and shape the digital future. More on that in the course of the AGM. I am more than happy to welcome you here on behalf of the members of the Board of Directors, the Group Executive Board and all employees to welcome you to the 27th Annual General Meeting. I would also like to welcome the independent proxy Ribe Richt Zanwelt, represented today by Mrs. Kwendt and Mr. Haye, as well as the representatives of the auditors, Mr. Schwick and Mr. Aslani. I would now like to introduce the representatives of Swisscom on the podium. They are Eugen Stermetz, our CFO, Christoph Aeschlimann, our CEO, Martin Vögeli, Head of Group Security and Corporate Affairs and member of the Group Executive Board.
In this function he also holds the office of Secretary of the Board of Directors. The other members of the Board of Directors and Group Executive Board are also present and they have taken their seats in the room. The General Assembly will be held in German with simultaneous translation into French and English. Anyone wishing to wear headphones for the translation and interpretation or to better understand the German language can obtain a headset at the very back of the hall. Dear shareholders, esteemed shareholders, today, strong, stronger tomorrow. This message is just perfect for Swisscom because for years we've been innovative and reliable. We have depicted the most important ones in things. We have the lowest fluctuation in Switzerland. We are one of the strongest brands worldwide. We are highly innovative and we push forward the network expansion and with Fastweb in Italy, we are very successful.
Together we have been achieving our goals and delivering solid financial results for years despite saturated markets and aggressive competitors. That is strong and I am proud of our employees who deliver top performance every day. We want to become even stronger. We want to grow and continue to inspire our customers with innovations. We have taken an important step in this direction in recent weeks with the acquisition of Vodafone Italia. The Italian mobile provider has been part of the Swisscom group since the beginning of the year. Fastweb and Vodafone Italia is now the second largest telecom provider in Italy. This gives us the opportunity to offer our Italian customers even better services based on a highly state of the art fixed and mobile network. We are convinced that the strengthening of our Italian business is an important step for the successful future of Swisscom as a group.
A glance at the past financial year shows that Swisscom has delivered a solid financial performance. We have made important innovations in artificial intelligence and launched an AI platform for our Swiss and Italian business customers. You can see one of these fascinating AI servers in our exhibition later on. We have launched new forward-looking and future-oriented products in the insurance and energy sectors. At the same time, we've reached an important milestone in the expansion of our fiber optic network in Switzerland. Today we cover more than half of households and businesses with FTTB F iber to the Building. From 2035 the entire population should have access to Internet with bandwidth in the gigabit range. Therefore we are making strong progress and we will become even stronger thanks to our initiatives. Please refer to the annual report for details of our business performances.
We can look back on a successful year even though it was also characterized by geopolitical tensions, global economic challenges, and technological and ecological change. In this demanding period, we were able to set the course for a strong future for Swisscom. We've also succeeded in doing so thanks to our employees who work for our customers every day with a great deal of passion and expertise, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to them. I would also like to thank the Board of Directors, the management teams in Switzerland and Italy, and in particular our CEO Christoph Aeschlimann, for their many years of loyalty and tireless commitment. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to you, the shareholders, for your trust, loyalty, and support. Together we are moving Swisscom forward. I will now move on to the formal part of the annual general meeting.
Esteemed shareholders, it is fascinating how we already use artificial intelligence in our daily lives. This year, to bridge the waiting time while votes are being counted, we will once again show a short video. After each vote, we will show you tips on how artificial intelligence can make your lives easier. Some of the digital helpers shown will probably already be familiar to you, others perhaps not yet. To get you in the mood for this journey of discovery, here is a first video. You know what I am looking forward to is next week. Oh, I am just producing a travel plan on ChatGPT. ChatGPT? I have never used it for travel planning. Which prompt did you use? You know what a prompt is? I am not a person from yesterday.
I entered, I want to have some trips to the trip to the water and it's supposed to tell me something and give suggestions. Oh, that's nice. Muy bien, right? Yeah, that was Spanish and in Italian we would say Italian, but that was nice. ChatGPT is a chat program that gives you answers to that in that there is a very strong artificial intelligence where a lot of data was put in. ChatGPT can be asked and gives very great answers. The questions asked to the AI are called prompts. The more detailed a prompt is, the more detailed the answer for AI is. The cool thing about it is that you can actually ask new questions to those answers and it feels as if you just talk to a normal person. Be aware if ChatGPT doesn't know an answer, it starts hallucinating.
Therefore you have to check your sources. Wait, let me just make a security insurance. That is working well. Yes, on Swisscom. Sure. Dear shareholders, I would like to open the annual general meeting with a few formal statements. In accordance with the articles of association, I take the chair. The annual general meeting has been duly convened and has a quorum. The invitation was published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on 18 February 2025 together with the 2024 Annual Report. In the financial statements of Swisscom, shareholders entered in the share register were invited in writing and on request electronically. No requests to add items to the agenda were received. The annual report has been available on the Swisscom website since 13 February 2025. The auditors who audited the annual and consolidated financial statements and the remuneration report are represented at the annual general meeting.
Today I appoint Martin Vögeli as Secretary. I would like to point out that the annual general meeting, including the speakers, will be broadcast live on the Internet. The meeting is also recorded and posted on the Internet. After this annual general meeting, votes will be conducted electronically. Today, during the annual general meeting, two scrutineers are present here in the hall and two more are in the accounting office. Among other things, the scrutineers ensure that the electronic system is used correctly. The people who have been appointed as scrutineers are projected onto the screen. I would like to thank Mrs. Langenecker and Mrs. Sudarevic as well as Mr. Turing and Mr. Buhler for making themselves available for this task. As always, we keep a list of speakers to ensure that the annual general meeting runs smoothly.
If you would like to speak, please take your admission ticket to the staff at the speaker's desk. It is located here at the front to the left of the stage, as seen from you. You can sign the list of speakers immediately and for as long as the discussion on the relevant agenda item continues. I will call the registered persons under the respective agenda item. Please be brief. In view of the numerous items on the agenda, I will limit the speaking time to five minutes. If a speaker does not wish their name or vote to be published on the Internet, they must expressly declare this to the staff at the request to speak stand or at the latest at the lectern. At the beginning of the vote, the annual general meeting is quorate regardless of the number of shareholders present and shares represented.
Resolutions are passed today by a majority of the votes represented. As already mentioned, the votes will be conducted electronically. During the first vote, Mr. Fugely will explain how to use the televoter. If you have any questions about the device, please contact the televoter help desk on the left hand side of the hall. Our guests are not entitled to vote and have not received a voting device. I note that the independent proxy is present today. The agenda items for today's annual general meeting are projected onto the screen. You will also find them in the written invitation. In the meantime, the number of represented shareholders are here. Mr. Fugely will announce them. The entrance check said give the following: we have 1,003 125 shareholders and one independent proxy. Every share entered in the register gives you the permission to have one vote.
The shareholders represent 26,469,232 votes. The independent proxy therefore represents 11,932,279 votes. Votes in total, 38,401,511 name shares or share votes with a face value of CHF 38,401,511 are represented today. This represents 74.13% of the shares eligible to vote. No own shares are represented. The presence will always be continued and updated at the entrance of the hall. If you leave before the end, please leave your snippet and the televoter. On behalf of the independent proxy, I will declare that in response to our inquiry yesterday Tuesday morning, the independent proxy informed us of the general interim status of shareholders' voting behavior with regard to the items on the agenda of today's annual general meeting.
The table as at 25 March 2025 shows the number of votes cast for the individual agenda items, the number of votes in favor or against and abstentions, as well as the corresponding % figures. The data was provided in anonymized form and does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the voting behavior of individual shareholders. Ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to agenda item number one. The financial year of Swisscom year. For the 2024 financial year, the comprehensive report of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board can be found in the 2024 annual report. The report and annual financial statements of Swisscom are published on Swisscom website. The auditor's reports are printed in the annual report. For the next item on the agenda, Christoph Aeschlimann and I are going over to Claudia Lesser. You know Claudia from our last annual general meeting.
She is CEO of the Blue Entertainment Company together with Walter Renna, our CEO of Fastweb and Vodafone. We will take a closer look to the year 2024 and show you what we want to achieve with Swisscom. In 2024, the net income of Swisscom was reduced by 0.3% and is CHF 11 million. The turnover of the core business was reduced to CHF 8 billion. With Fastweb it was increased by 6.7% to CHF 2.8 billion. The result 2024 because of the integration in transaction costs because of the acquisition of Vodafone Italia is below the previous year. The operative operational profit EBITDA of CHF 4.4 billion is 5.8% below the previous year. Without dimension costs and other special effects and currencies, we have a reduction of 1.05%.
The net profit was also reduced by the transaction costs which is CHF 1.5 billion, which is a minus of 0.9%. In 2024 Swisscom invested in building out the net infrastructure and invested CHF 2.3 billion, CHF 1.7 billion in Switzerland. Only in 2024 Swisscom won all relevant tests. The share price of the Swisscom share has a stable development and was CHF 204. With the dividend of CHF 22 per share, the shareholders of Swisscom will receive a quite great yield of 4.4%. A warm welcome to all the visitors at the AGM in Zurich and also a warm welcome to all those that watch us live online. I am very happy that I can be the host together with you. This year again we decided to avoid long speeches. I will, together with my guests, want to elicit you exciting insights into the world of Swisscom.
Of course the big issues are on the focus, such as the acquisition of Vodafone Italia. The numerous innovations in the past year are at the forefront. I would like to discuss with a quite exciting round. Please give a big hand to our Chairman of the Board of Directors, Michael Rechtsteiner. A warm welcome to you. On the stage as well, I would like to welcome CEO of Swisscom Group, Christoph Aeschlimann. Warm welcome to you as well. For the first time on the stage, great to have you here, Walter Renna. Thank you. CEO of our subsidiary Fastweb and Vodafone. Glad to have you here today. Christoph, 2024 was an important year for Swisscom. In particular also because of the takeover of Vodafone Italia. What do you take with you from this year?
Exciting meetings with people, a lot of emotions, but a lot of work as well. It was a very exhausting year. I heard that you really speak Italian quite well. Okay, so you do not talk to Walter Italian regularly? No, no, no, no, no. I can order in Italian, but when it comes to business meetings, we do that in English. I think it is still better at this point in time. Yeah, probably Walter thinks so as well. No, we stay with the German because I would not understand an Italian answer. What does the acquisition of Vodafone Italia mean for Swisscom on a strategic basis? We now have a stronger position in Italy. We are perfect in the market. We can provide better products for the customers. We invest more into the digitization of the country.
By doing so, the acquisition actually strengthens Swisscom as a whole. Michael, from the perspective of the Board of Directors, what motivated Swisscom to take such a big step in Italy and what are your expectations for this acquisition? Since 2007, Swisscom has been active in Italy and our Fastweb has continuously grown in the last years, year by year. Vodafone Italia is just a perfect fit for Fastweb for the business that we already have there. The Board of Directors is absolutely convinced that this acquisition is long term added value for Swisscom. Not only for Swisscom, but also for our shareholders and also for Italy and Switzerland. For Swisscom it is a benefit because we continue to grow and we generate an additional cash flow. For the shareholders we have a higher dividend that they may receive from next year.
In Italy we have now the second strongest infrastructure provider in the telecommunication and IT industry. For our Italian customers this is a win situation. In particular for Switzerland, we have huge plans, investment plans for us. Therefore it is even more important that Swisscom has an additional cash flow so that investments can be done well. Responsible for Italy business is Walter. Walter, you were CEO of Fastweb and now you are in charge of Fastweb and Vodafone. What does this mean for you personally to have this responsibility?
Yeah, first of all, buongiorno tutti. It's really an honor to lead this new venture, but also a big responsibility because there is a big opportunity to create value for the shareholders first, but then also for our customers in Italy. 20 million customers, our 7,000 employees, but also the country. We are really committed and focused to drive this successful integration in Italy.
I actually asked myself, how does the Italian market differentiate itself from the Swiss market? When it comes to competitors, but also customer needs. Can you tell us how you perceive these differences?
Yeah, I mean, the Italian market is different from the Swiss one. We have four major players, infrastructure player, but we have also several new entrants coming from adjacent markets. Just to give you a couple of names, Sky is the pay TV market leader in Italy and is selling broadband. Enel, which is the incumbent on energy market, is selling broadband as well. It is a fragmented market. There is competition, especially on price, but there are also opportunities. The fiber penetration is still low as well as the 5G, so there is room of improvement. Our new company, Fastweb Vodafone, has all delivers to really take advantage of it.
Thank you very much, Walter. Christopher, you also have a very good view on it. How do you perceive the differences? Is there anything that you want to add from the perspective of the Swiss side? Walter said some things and a few things and the market are quite different and the customer expectations are totally different. I think in Switzerland the expectations are rather towards the coverage of the network. I think the expectations are higher in this respect than in Italy. When it comes to the technology side, they are similar. We use the same technologies, the same providers, and you can cooperate very, very greatly and exchange thoughts and ideas. The offers need to be adjusted to the needs of the respective countries. We do have two different brands in the context.
Walter, of course we are interested on how the integration of Vodafone Italia looks like. What are the chances but also what are the challenges that you have?
Yeah, we are lucky because this integration is based on a merger of complementary companies. This is really helping into integration. The first step and the first priority for us is to integrate people, organization, and culture. This is fundamental to set the foundation of a strong company in Italy. We have already a single exco executive committee running the company since the 1st of January. Now we are building a single organization. The second step is putting together the two networks. Vodafone is very strong on mobile. Fastweb is very strong on fixed. We are connecting the two networks in order to offer the best connectivity to our customers. There is also the joint go to market. We need to have soon a unique proposition to all our customers because we are active in the consumer side, on the B2B, but also on wholesale side.
Last but not least, we need to also work on the integration of the overlapping functions, staff and so on and so forth. It is a long journey, but we have everything under control. We are in progress and we are very happy so far about the results.
Yeah, you can be glad about that. Walter, how does the market position change with the acquisition or how do you actually look onto this company in a few years time when it comes to position?
Yeah, we have a clear vision. We want to become the choice number one for our consumer and business customer in Italy. How to do it? First of all, we work on the network. We want to provide the best connectivity fixed and mobile. We are very well positioned today. We have won several awards in Italy, which is confirming the quality of our network. The second pillar is to provide innovation to our customers. This is very important, especially to ensure growth in the future. Third, customer experience is fundamental if you want to differentiate on the market to provide not only speed but also quality of service which is different from the others. Putting together all this will give us the opportunity to be in a better position and to differentiate from our competitors also in the future.
Thank you so much, Walter. Michael, you're not only President of the Board of Directors, you've been a leader, a top leader for many, many years. What is your advice to Walter for this clear vision? Not only from the point of view as President of the Board of Directors, but also as leaders. I think two points are very important. Walter knows those two points. We will have problems, but every problem has a solution. Every solution creates additional opportunities. It's just a question of behavior, of mindset. Fastweb in the past had this mindset. They didn't only live it, they celebrated it. In this new situation, Fastweb and Vodafone together, it's important to maintain this mindset. The second point, it's all about people. The difference between a mediocre average and a very successful company is the people.
It is the task of a CEO, so of Walter, to implement a successful company culture where all the employees can totally exploit and use their potentials. Oh, that sounds amazing. I think we all can use that. How does that sound to you, Walter?
Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, the foundation of a successful company is with people. We need really to bring the two team together, work together, have a single culture that is a winning culture. Then we can really work together with all the issues that we face in the future and the competition that is very tough in Italy. I am sure that together we can really win this challenge.
Christoph, how do you actually consider this positive mindset? It is a mindset that you also live, right? This is the basis of success, right? We want to have ambitious goals and we want to believe in achieving them. Of course it is not a straight line, a straight path. There will always be obstacles to overcome. Of course it is a question of mindset, how you deal with them, how to get back up, etc. Sometimes it is not important to fall down, right? If you fall down, just get up, get rid of the dirt and then you also achieve the goal. In Italy it is right and important, but it is also possible in Switzerland, because in Switzerland, not everything is perfect and which is going on rails straight ahead. You have to make adjustments and have to make changes.
I think Swisscom does a good job in both countries. Christoph, let's talk about the network expansion in Switzerland and Italy. Michael said something about that as well. We have the best network. What is the status quo when it comes to the network expansion? Talking about fiber, talking, but also 5G. Walter said it before. Our strategy is based on the best network in Italy, but this is also true for Switzerland because it's the basis of everything we do. We connect people so that they can use and seize their opportunities in the digital world and therefore the best network is a basic requirement. What I was happy about last year is we covered half of Switzerland, so 52% with fiber optic, 52% have fiber optic access. There are also other fiber optic networks not from Swisscom, which is 8%.
In Switzerland, 60% of the households have a fiber optic connection. We are in the second half now of the expansion. We continue on this road. CHF 500 million is what we invest every year into the expansion. Therefore, in order to achieve by 2030, 85%, a lot is happening there. It is also very important for the country because it is the digital basis for everything we do. When we talk about mobile, the people do not only sit in front of their tellies or the computers at home, they are out and about, out and about, in the bus, in the train. Therefore, we also have to expand and extend the mobile networks and the mobile coverage. We are quite well on the good path when it comes to 5G. We have reached 85% of coverage.
Of course there are some obstacles also when it comes to the construction and building processes. There were some court of justice or some court decisions and, for example, a defect antenna. In order to replace them, we need to have a permission of the local authorities. Basically what we build there or replace there is not a building, huge building, just antenna. We need to find our way there in order to be able to repair this infrastructure, not only expand it, but also repair it. We need to find a very easy way to do that. We have to discuss it with politics and political representatives. Michael, you said it in your speech at the beginning, Swisscom made a huge promise, which was by 2035 everyone is supposed to have a bandwidth in the gigabit range.
This is a huge promise, first of all, and a huge investment. Is it worth it? Indeed it's a huge promise. It's very important that Switzerland will keep its leading role when it comes to the digital infrastructure. Not only maintain it, but expand it. This is very important and this is a claim that we have for us, ourselves, for Switzerland. It's worth it. Indeed it's worth it, because we do know that the digital infrastructure is one of the core drivers of economic wealth in our country. It's also very important for the societal being together. We want to prevent that societal gaps come up and 2035, this is our goal, to have a gigabit range provided for everyone.
By then we also want to have fiber optics 100% because then the copper networks can be switched off, which saves us 30% of our energy costs and the energy consumption. It is worthwhile indeed. Okay, Walter, if we have a look at Italy, in Italy there are massive investments. What about the network expansion and extension in Italy?
Yeah, we are a little bit behind Swisscom in terms of coverage on fiber. Today we cover 55% of the population with fiber. We have an ambitious plan to reach 90% by 2030. On 5G, we cover 70% of the population with 5G and the ambition also here is 2030 to reach 90%. 5G and fiber are fundamental to provide high quality infrastructure which will drive the digitalization of Italy. This is the reason why we are not only covering the most dense areas, but also the rural areas in order to really trigger economic development also in the rural areas.
From the network expansion, coming to the topic of innovation, a huge and important topic. Swisscom established itself as an innovation leader. A lot of innovation projects are in the pipeline when it comes to the areas of services and products. Christoph, which can you mention innovation is surviving critical for Swisscom? A lot of development is happening in IT and also in the telecommunication area. We have to develop new products in every time because the customer needs change every year. The customers, they always want to have new technologies, new offers and what is up to date today is just out of date tomorrow. We work in many areas and on the network side we rather work with business customers in the area of AI primarily.
All the Swiss AI platform was generated so that all the customers, business customers can use this platform. Because we want to help customers to have an easy, well, go in an easy way to digitize themselves. Sakai is a very good example because what we want to do is we want to digitize workplaces at SMEs and in 2025 we also want to improve all those services in the private customer service, in the end customer service, and we want to have a much more safe connectivity. Not only being connected, but also being secured and safe when it comes to ransomware, cybersecurity attacks, etc., etc., in the next months we will provide new products that I'm really looking forward to. Michael, you said it or you heard it.
Innovation is, well, crucial to survive, but I think it's also crucial for competitiveness, and competitiveness and competition is a driver for innovation, right? Yeah, it's a quite easy equation. Without innovation there is no growth. If you don't grow, you have a standstill. If you are on standstill, if you're standing still, you're getting overtaken by others. For years we have been innovation leader, not only in Switzerland, but worldwide. We are amongst the best innovation companies in the world today. 80% of our turnover is done by products, services that did not exist 10 years ago. What is very important though is, and Christoph talked about it, innovation have to make sense. The customers have to accept them. It needs to be an added value not only for end customers, but also for business customers. Yeah, those are my thoughts about innovation. What about Italy?
Do we have similar services in Italy that you want to push forward or which services and technologies do exist there in Italy that you want to push forward?
Yeah, artificial intelligence, we have similar strategy between Switzerland and Italy. We are using now artificial intelligence in our internal processes because every time we use AI, the productivity of our people rise to 20-30% higher than before. This is a big advantage. We are using to support our customer care to provide better answers to our customers. We are using in the network to predict also faults in the network and be fast in fixing the issues. It is extremely helpful in increasing productivity. We are also preparing for the second wave of innovation related to artificial intelligence. We are investing into a supercomputer that will help us to have the infrastructure to provide this technology also to our customers in the B2B market.
This will be the next move for us, bringing AI to our B2B customers, which is a market that is exploding in Italy and we want to be the leader in this field. We have also launched one year ago the Energy Service for Consumer in Italy, which is an energy business, but mostly relying on the digital experience, which is unique in the market. Also here we are having a lot of success and good feedback from our customers. A lot to do, very proud of what we've done, but still long journey ahead of us.
Okay, but you have a specific plan. Thank you very much for that. Now finally we will have a quick round. What are your wishes for 2025? I think you have a lot for yourself, but what are your wishes for 2025? We want to achieve our goals that we set ourselves. Of course, at the end, the most important thing is that we have satisfied customers, because if we have satisfied customers, we will be successful tomorrow as well. This is my biggest wish, that we are able to look back saying it was a great year for all of us. When is it a good year for you personally? If we reach and achieve the financial goals and enjoying it, that we can laugh together. Then it's a good year. Great. Michael, what about you? What do you wish for 2025?
When it comes to operational area, I hope that the performance is achieved and when it comes to Italy, that we have a successful integration. When it comes to the strategy, we want to have a new focus on new growing areas for the Swisscom Group. Walter, do you want to share your wishes with us for 2025? Not only for the company, but also you privately.
For sure, for the company, it's important that we proceed with a successful integration. This year is crucial to bring the two companies together to build a real single team. This is fundamental to have successful 2025, but also successful future years. Personally, I would really like to enjoy this time, which is extremely intense from one side, but from the other side is really giving me an opportunity to also face this new challenge with this merger with Fastweb and Vodafone.
Great. So joy and achieving goals. This is something great. Thank you very much for the very exciting insights from your points of view and perspectives. Thanks to you, ladies and gentlemen. I think we can say strong today, stronger tomorrow. I think we felt that really. Now we can have a look towards the south. Walter, you actually brought the first TV spot of Fastweb and Vodafone with you. It's the current spot that is used to enthuse the customers in Siemensiamo futuro, which means we are the future together. It's a great motto. Just lean back and enjoy.
We gotta take in a breath. We gotta know what it takes and the music that we play will always show us the way. Yes, me, me and you will make a dream come true.
You know together we're strong so we can go where we want. Come on together now we'll build time to place time to space to get what you want. And I'm coming around and around to get to you. Thank you very much. I would like to state that the auditors PwC, Swisscom have issued an unqualified opinion on the consolidated financial statements and annual financial statements of Swisscom and recommend their approval. I would like to thank the auditors for their good and trusting cooperation. This brings us to the discussion. I would like to ask Mrs. Muller to come to the microphone and at the same time, Mrs. Santos. Mr. Santos following her. Get ready to speak. Mrs. Muller, please. Mr. Aeschlimann, Mr. Rechtsteiner, Mrs. Rice. Ladies and gentlemen of the Board of Directors, ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, as a Swisscom shareholder.
My husband, Mark Muller was part of this AGM and was allowed to have a short speech. He did not know that the end last year would be his last because only a few months later he passed because of an acute heart attack. As I do not have a later picture, Mrs. Ghaziadi gave me the recording of the speech of the last AGM that I was not able to see on the Internet at the 2024 AGM. To see my past husband is actually the most valuable present as a memory. I would like to thank Mr. Aeschlimann and Mrs. Ridi. As an electronic firm with own company, he actually always was at the heart, at the heartbeat of latest technology. Every year he visited different experts conferences abroad and also inside of Switzerland.
Only three weeks before his death, he was enthused by the visitors of the EFAL in Berlin. For many, many years, my husband, he also made himself strong for the connection of our premises with fiber optic cables in Swisscom. When we were connected to the fiber optic beginning of 2025, it was a great time. Unfortunately, he did not experience it anymore. I would like to thank Mr. Aeschlimann for his answers to the question of two journalists that had the title more than 200 million attacks. I really like the answers in this gazette or in this article. That the Swisscom has the best customer service is basically undoubted. My husband, he also thought the same. Thank you very much for your kind attention. Dear Mrs. Muller, our condolences and we are so sorry to hear about the.
The passing of your husband, of your late husband. Our condolences on the one hand, and thank you so much for your kind, kind words. I would like to ask Mrs. dos Santos to approach the microphone and Mr. Villagep to get ready. Mrs. dos Santos, thank you very much. Esteemed shareholders, today I speak as the central secretary of Syndicom, the biggest union for Swisscom. We represent most employees and as my role as an employee representative, I actually have to note that Swisscom is very good on an economic side and they are expanding as well. Nevertheless, we experience that more and more pressure is put on the employees. There is an increasing share of outsourcing and dismissals, so new jobs are created for some, but others are coming under pressure.
What is quite intriguing is that many people, many employees that are about to be retiring are getting more and more concerns. Many employees that work with Swisscom identify themselves very strongly with the organization and deliver highest performance every day. They provide great customer service, innovative technologies and also great networks. Not everything is ok. We get reports that the employees are under high pressure. They say that it feels as if many projects go to Riga or other countries and positions in Switzerland are reduced. Members of customer support, etc. tell us more and more that the high workload is distributed to fewer number of employees, which increases the stress and health risks. Many members tell us that they are insecure with the huge changes around AI. Many do not know whether they are ready to face those challenges.
They are afraid whether Swisscom will prepare them properly and whether those people will have jobs at Swisscom in the future. We understand that economic efficiency is very important. True stability only comes with motivated and well trained employees. It does not come with stress. In security, Swisscom is supposed to be a role model. Security, safety, and good working conditions should be the top priority. If Swisscom outsources more and more positions and does not take the employees with them, they lose the biggest strength, which is the highly qualified employees in Switzerland. Therefore, we, together with our members, launched a petition that has been signed by many of our members. The employees ask Swisscom to make sure that all employees will have a job in 10 years time.
Therefore, dear shareholders, I would like to, on behalf of the 15,000 employees in Switzerland, request you to take responsibility and support the problems and the requests of the employees. A company is only strong when it invests in its employees. Together we can be able to create a safe future for the employees at Swisscom. Thank you. Sergio de Fraudo Santos. Esteemed Mrs. dos Santos. I can assure you on behalf of the Board of Directors and the management that we are extremely aware of the fact how important our employees are in Switzerland. You heard it before. The people are the ones that make the difference. Therefore I can guarantee you that we appreciate our employees very much. We have employee surveys regularly and I can tell you that the further recommendation rate of our employees for Swisscom is very high.
We are in the top 3% within Switzerland, so that means the biggest share. The majority of our employees like to work with us at Swisscom and they also tell others about this. Nonetheless, there are for sure areas where we can improve. The social partnership is very important to us. I hope you can confirm that. The petition that you together with employees signed will be discussed with you together at the right time. Thank you very much. I would like to ask Mr. Chop to the podium, please, to the microphone. Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Echsteiner. One and a half hours ago you welcomed me here in the Hallenstadion. I told you. I really appreciate that. I also told you that obviously I will not say anything, but I have to tell you in.
These three quarter of an hour before the meeting, there were two topics that I talked about that I thought about. I'm used to be welcomed by a nice bouquet when speaking at the microphone and now I only see nothing. I do not understand this because I think this amount of money for the flowers was definitely in the budget of this AGM. I just recommend to you or I recommend the Kramp paper. I recommend you Kramp paper holding group. Yeah, just use them as an idol as an example. This is point number one. Topic number two, I think it's great to have those experience islands at the entrance. What do I hear at one stand from a trainer coming from the Ticino. Those physical courses were dismissed, obviously.
That made me interested and I would like to ask you what are the reasons for dismissing or stopping those courses? Thank you very much, Mr. Job. We do have a bit of green if you just look into the front. We do have some plants here on the stage. Of course I agree, we have definitely room for improvement. I will have a look at the budget with the person responsible. You also said that your wife or daughter is florist. Therefore I really take your questions very seriously. Coming to your second point. We have dismissed the courses not for cost reasons, but it was purely the demand coming from the customers that were not existent anymore.
We do have online courses and we do have video tips for your everyday life that can be found on the Swisscom website at the campus stand. I think where you were obviously there you can have a look at where you can find it on the Swisscom website. I'm sorry, I forgot something. Mr. Guina mentioned it, the media expert. I really appreciate him. You sell, if I understood him correctly, insurances. Currently I'm evaluating to change my motorbike insurance, which was increased a lot and to replace it with another insurance. I'm quite excited what you can offer to me when it comes to insurances. Thank you very much. Mr. Chop, do you want to say something about insuring motorbikes?
We do not do that at this moment, but I think we can have a look at your demands and yeah, probably have a pilot project with Mr. Chop. Thank you ever so much. Does anyone else like to take the floor? I cannot see anyone. I note that no one has signed up to speak on this agenda item. Therefore, that concludes the discussion on Agenda Item 1.1. Before we proceed to the vote, I would like to ask Mr. Fugely to explain how to use the voting machine. Ladies and gentlemen, you were given a voting device when you entered the room. You can activate the device yourself by touching the screen or pressing the red button on the side of the device.
Under the language icon you can change the language and under the My vote icon you can see how you voted on the individual agenda items from the first vote onwards. Under the info icon you can call up the shareholder information stored about you and see how many votes you represent today. A few seconds before a vote, the screen is automatically switched on and the relevant agenda item is displayed. Three colored squares also appear. You can cast your vote by touching the squares. Green stands for yes, red for Nay, and yellow for Abstain. When you've made a choice, the televoter vibrates and the selected square is marked. If you accidentally press the wrong button, you can correct your vote during the voting time by touching the correct square. The televoter allows several votes to be conducted in one go.
We will use this procedure for the elections to the Board of Directors and the Remuneration Committee as well as for the remuneration of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board. If you have any questions about the voting machine, the staff at the televoter help desk on the left hand side of the room will be more than happy to help you. Finally, I would like to point out that voting behavior is recorded electronically. Ladies and gentlemen, as promised, the voyage of discovery to Ticino and the world of every day AI applications continues after each vote. Have fun with the next tip. We now come to the vote. The Board of Directors proposes that the management report, the consolidated financial statements and the annual financial statements of Swisscom for 2024 financial year be approved. I ask you to cast your vote.
Oh, come on, let's ask which great leather business are there? Oh, I have ChatGPT as an interpreter, as a translator. Can you translate that to me? Hello, we are looking for the clothes. The clothes business. Yes, sure. Just around the corner there's Zara's store. Very nice, very small, but very good quality. Oh great. Thank you very much. ChatGPT has a voice mode that you can use as an interpreter. You have to explain to the AI which situation you're in and which role it has. AI can be used in Japan, in Kenya, or the U.S., but it's just a program. Has quite good translation, but not for free. Of course, if you really want to have nuances, it's better to learn a language.
I don't know whether it's good for a club or for something else, but yeah, for that it's okay. I know that. The annual general meeting approves the motion with 99.86%. Thank you very much. We now come to the consultative vote on the remuneration report. Even though the result of the vote on the remuneration report is not legally binding, the result of the vote is an indicator for us as to whether you agree with the remuneration for the 2024 financial year and the remuneration system. The remuneration of the CEO was determined by the Board of Directors taking into account the recommendations of the Remuneration Committee headed by Monique Burquin. The remuneration of the other members of the Group Executive Board was determined by the Remuneration Committee. In a video recording.
We inform you about the remuneration of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board in 2025. The compensation of our company's management and directors should be fair for all parties, for you as a shareholder, but also for the members of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board. With a compensation system for members of the Board of Directors, we want to ensure that Swisscom can count on experienced and competent people. The compensation paid to our board members consists of a base fee and allowances for the performance of individual functions, such as chairing or deputy chairing a committee or acting as a committee chair. In addition, Swisscom pays the employer Social Security and pension contributions for individual members where required by law, as well as any additional benefits.
The members of the Board of Directors are obliged to take a portion of their fee in shares. This means that they participate directly in the financial performance of Swisscom shares. In 2024, we paid a total of CHF 2.414 million to the members of the Board of Directors. The total amount is divided among the individual members of the Board of Directors as follows. The total compensation for 2024 is therefore below the total amount of CHF 2.5 million that you approved for 2024. For Swisscom to be successful, it is important that we are able to approve and retain highly qualified and motivated specialists and managers in our Group Executive Board and that they sustainably increase the value of our company. We are guided by a level of compensation that is in line with the market.
When calculating the variable compensation, not only is the achievement of financial targets measured, but performance in terms of sustainable cooperative development is also evaluated. To this end, future oriented factors such as customer loyalty, network availability, and the achievement of growth and sustainability targets are assessed in order to further promote the long term development of the company's values and its focus on shareholders' interests. Part of the variable compensation of the Group Executive Board is also paid out in shares. In addition, the Group Executive Board is obliged to hold a minimum share portfolio equal to one year's base salary after four years. For the CEO, this is two years' base salary. In 2024, the financial target achievement for the CEO and the remaining members of the Group Executive Board was 102%.
The Board of Directors assessed fulfillment of the targets for sustainable cooperative development known as business transformation topics at 50 percentage points. This brings the overall target achievement for all members of the Group Executive Board to 170%. The members of the Group Executive Board were paid a total of CHF 10.133 million. In addition, obligations after leaving the Group Executive Board of CHF 331,000 were paid. Of the total compensation of the Group Executive Board, CHF 1.972 million went to CEO Christoph Aeschlimann. The total compensation of the Group Executive Board increased by CHF 1.424 million compared to the previous year. The increase in total compensation is mainly due to the expansion of the Group Executive Board from six to nine members as of 1 April 2023. The expansion will have an impact on the full reporting year for the first time in 2024.
The total compensation for 2024 is therefore below the total amount of CHF 10.9 million that you approve for 2024. The auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, have audited the compensation report for the past financial year and confirmed that it complies with statutory provisions. I open up the discussions on the remuneration report. Mr. Rechtsteiner, I, well, cannot hold myself back. This presentation was great. Actually, I never experienced it in an AGM in such a detailed way. Otherwise I would have to dive deep into the annual report. This, well, open communication is, well, what really impressed me. Thank you very much. Are there any further speakers? I would like to thank you for your comment, Mr. Job. The discussion on this agenda item is closed. Which brings us to the vote. The Board of Directors proposes that the 2024 remuneration report be approved in a consultative vote.
I ask you to cast your vote. Oh, look at that. The scarf is beautiful. Oh yes, beautiful it is. Oh, the price is also okay. Oh, let's ask ChatGPT. Hi dear. ChatGPT. I have a question with regards to the price. AI can help you compare price and give you input. There are a lot of comparison opportunities. The more and the more specific the information that are input, the clearer the answer. Be aware the one thing that AI relates to well may not always be right. You always have to have common sense. ChatGPT or AI can give you output, but you have to think yourself if you want to know more. Swisscom has prepared different tutorials and videos how you can prompt like a pro. Oh, you took it. Yeah. The price performance ratio has been great.
What can we put it in the backpack? I note that you have accepted the proposal of the Board of Directors with 95.82% votes in favor. Thank you for your favorable acknowledgement of the remuneration agenda. Item 1.3. Report of it. It is time of the report and the annual general meeting for approval in accordance with Article 964 of the Swiss Code of Obligations. It provides an account of environmental matters and in particular the CO2 targets, social matters, employee matters, respect for human rights, and the fight against corruption. I open the discussion on the report on non-financial matters. I note that no speakers have entered their names on the list of speakers. That brings me to the vote. The Board of Directors proposes that the report on non-financial matters 2024 be approved. I ask you to cast your vote now. W.
Oh, the castle is very impressive. When was it built? A tour guide would be amazing. Yeah, unfortunately everything is booked out. Sold out? Yeah, a background story would be nice to know. Let's check what Google Lens says on that. Google Lens? Yes, it's called Castello Visconteo. Can you ask ChatGPT if they can give us a historical tour? Yeah, sure. Good idea. Give us a 15 minute historic tour of the Castello Visconteo in Locarno. Google Lens can identify buildings, places, animals and plants or objects and it compares existing information for its purpose with an appropriately worded prompt. You will receive exciting information like Salome. You can also use ChatGPT and get historical tool apps can be combined to get the best result. By the way, ChatGPT is from the American company OpenAI.
There are also other providers such as Gemini from Google, Llama of Meta, or the Chinese DeepSeek. More information can be found on the Swisscom Compass. There is a fountain in the center of the building. It would have been better. Oh no. If it was a living guide. I could just, you know, press cancel. I couldn't press cancel. I note that you have adopted the report on non-financial matters with 96.8% in voter favors. This brings us to the appropriation of related earnings and the determination of the dividend. The retained earnings of CHF 8.829 billion are made up of the CHF 5.826 billion brought forward from the previous year and the net profit for 2024 of CHF 3.003 billion.
1,114,000,000 of the distributable profit will be paid out as a dividend and 7,689,000,000 will be carried forward to the new account. On treasury shares held by Swisscom, no dividend will be paid. The Board of Directors is therefore proposing, just as in the previous year, to have a dividend of CHF 22 per share or CHF 14.30 after deduction of withholding tax. We now come to discussion. I note that no speakers have entered their name on a list of speakers. The discussion is closed and we now come to the vote. The proposal of the Board of Directors on the appropriation of retained earnings and the determination of the dividend is projected. I ask you to cast your vote now. Oh, it's so nice here. Oh, but I get hungry. Oh yeah, it's very comfortable here.
I think I order something on eat.ch . Eat.ch? What is that? You need an app and then just enter what you like to eat and you can also see the reviews of those that ordered it previously. Yeah, you can get it delivered. If you do not want to cook yourself, you could try it. Pizza Hawaii. Okay. It is getting easier and easier to order food, whether it is to your home and Airbnb or just as here to specific address. In the eat.ch app you can make pre selection using filter settings. You can see extensive selection options, pictures, how other commented customers rated and how long it takes for the food to reach you. Be aware, the charges sometimes should not be underestimated. Oh, that is nice. Oh yeah. Authentic. Authentic Italian food.
I note that you have accepted the proposal of the Board of Directors with 99.92% votes in favor. The dividend will be paid out on the 1st of April. The last trading day entitling shareholders to receive the dividend is the 27th of March. The shares will be traded ex dividend from the 28th of March. Agenda. Item three, discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the Group Management for the activities in the 2024 financial year. The discharge applies only to disclosed facts. I open the discussion right away. I note that no members have registered to vote on this agenda item. That brings us to the vote.
I would like to point out that the members of the Board of Directors and all persons who participated in the management of the company in 2022 financial year are not entitled to vote or on the discharge of their own shares or the shares they represent. I ask these persons not to cast a vote. This also applies to any representatives of these persons. Let's get to the application. The Board of Directors proposes that this charge be granted to the members of the Board of Directors and the group executive boards for their activities in the 2022 financial year. I ask you to cast your vote now. The food. Oh, yes. Suck it. Oh my God. Oh yes. So good. Oh, that's great. Yeah, I also signed it. Yeah, but how do you want to do that? I can do it in a digital way.
Done well, thanks to Swisscom. Sign the electronic signature. It is possible to sign things online. You don't need printing paper or a pen. If you want to know how it works, come and join us and visit us at the stand. Yeah, but well. But well, the things. Sometimes you also sign in person, right? No, probably it was an avatar. I note that you have discharged the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board with 99.23% votes in favor. Thank you for the trust you have placed on us. Agenda item 4 Elections to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is proposing that the board be temporarily expanded from nine to 10 members against the background of the acquisition of Vodafone Italia SpA.
The Board of Directors wishes to strengthen itself with specific expertise in the Italian market in order to take account of the importance of the business and the market in Italy. The Board of Directors is therefore proposing Laura Cioli as new member of the Board of Directors. The other members are standing for re election. The Federal Representative is not elected by the general meeting, but is delegated by the Federal Council. The Federal Council has announced that it has appointed Fritz Zürbrugg as Federal Representative for further term of office of one year. Fritz Zürbrugg has been a Federal representative on the Board of Directors and a member of the Audit Committee since 2023. As a long standing member of the governing board and Vice Chairman of the National Bank, Fritz Zürbrugg contributes his broad experience in the area of finances. Let's get to the elections.
To the votes. I will be very brief in introducing my colleagues who are standing for re-election. You will find detailed information on these individuals in the annual report. You will then be able to take part in a discussion before casting your vote for each candidate individually in a multiple vote. I would like to hand over to Vice President Frank Esser. I am pleased to propose Michael Rechtsteiner for re-election. Michael Rechtsteiner has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2019 and Chairman since 2021. He is member of the Audit and ESG Reporting, Strategy and Investment and Remuneration Committees. He also chairs the Nomination Committee which was formed on an ad hoc basis. Michael Rechtsteiner brings a wealth of experience to the Board of Directors from his many years of management experience in the global energy market.
He is standing for re-election as a member and as Chairman. Thank you, Frank. We now come to the other members of the Board of Directors. Roland Abt is a financial expert and has been a member since 2016. He heads the Audit Committee and is a member of the Remuneration Committee. Monique Bourquin has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2023 and chairs the Remuneration Committee. She has broad experience in the consumer goods sector with a particular focus on brand management, sales, and finance. Laura Cioli is unfortunately unable to attend today's annual general meeting. We would like to introduce you to Laura Cioli and her career in a short animation. Laura Cioli is an Italian citizen. She has a degree in electrical engineering and a master's degree in business administration.
In 1991, Laura Cioli began her career at the consulting firm Bain & Company where she advised large industry companies and service providers. In 1999, she joined Vodafone Italia where she initially worked as Business Development Director and later as an Executive Director in various functions or roles. In 2006, Laura Cioli worked for Enel as Senior Vice President and was responsible for business development, strategy, marketing, communications, and customer service. In 2008, she took over operational management at Sky Italia, the largest pay TV provider in Italy. Subsequently, Laura Cioli worked for different companies, various companies in Italy. She managed Cartessi, now Nexi, the Italian market leader in digital payment solutions, RSC Media Group, a listed media company and sports organizer, and Gedi Gruppo Editoriale, a media company that is known as the publisher of the daily newspapers La Stampa and La Repubblica.
Most recently, from 2022 to January 2025 she was CEO of the CERTI Group, the leading Italian company for the planning, construction, management and maintenance of telecommunication networks. Laura Cioli currently holds two further Board of Directors mandates in listed companies, the Belgian investment company Sofina and the Italian banking group Mediobanca. With her extensive expertise on the Italian market, Laura Cioli is ideally qualified for the role and has expertise in Italian markets. She fulfills the independence criteria of the Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance issued by Economiesuisse. I look forward to the cooperation with help.
Hugh Steckers has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2021 and contributes his extensive expertise in IT and technology, in particular to the Board of Directors in Strategy and Investment, is Vice President, Chairman of the Strategy and Investment Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee since 2014. He has been contributing his broad experience from the European telecommunication market in particular. Sandra Lathion-Zwahlen is a lawyer specializing in financial and capital market law. She has been a staff representative on the Board of Directors and a member of the Audit Committee since 2019. Anna Mossberg has enriched the Board of Directors in Strategy and Investment Committee since 2018 with her experience in digitization, among other things, and telecommunication. Daniel Munger has been a member and staff representative on the Board of Directors for one year now.
With his many years of experience as a manager in a staff association, he is ideally qualified for this role. Let's get to the discussion. I know that Mr. Chop is approaching the microphone. Mr. Erner, ladies and gentlemen, you know that I'm a quite skeptic person and when introducing this Mrs. Cioli, some things came to my mind. These many, many mandates that she holds, has held. There is no content. She jumps from company to company. I don't like that. I don't like that. Actually, I'm quite disappointed that you didn't, that she is not here in person when it comes to such an important vote. Thank you very much for your vote, Mr. Chop. I can ensure you if she was a person that jumps from job to job, the Swisscom Board of Directors would not have proposed her.
Today she actually is only in three board of directors, member of three Board of Directors and no operational tasks. The CEO roles she has had in the last couple of years were rather project based. She was employed by companies to carry out an M& A project. So actually experience that we were looking for. I have to excuse her. Today there is a Board of Directors meeting of another company that she works for. In this short period of time she was not able to change it or the company that she works for was not able to find another date, so I have to excuse us. I note that there are no more requests to speak. We get to the vote. The Board of Directors proposes the election of Michael Rechtsteiner as member and chairman. Roland Abt, Monique Bourquin, Laura Cioli, Guus Dekkers, Frank Esser.
Sandra Lathion-Zwahlen. Anna Mossberg. Daniel Munger. For a period up to the conclusion of the next annual general meeting, as we are conducting a multiple vote. You have instead of 1,025 seconds to cast your vote. Please cast your votes now. Actually, the waterfall supposed to be here. I thought you know that area. Probably not so much. I usually orient myself with Google Maps. Yeah, actually I do it as well, but. Oh, there it is. Google Maps can help you to orientate yourself safely in the countryside or in a city. It uses GPS data that is accurate to within 5-10 meters. You even have the option of downloading the map material before your journey. Be careful. Do not forget to keep an eye on your surroundings. Oh, 20 minutes only. We should not only check out our phones every time.
In the meantime, all results are casted. I'm announcing them in the order in which they were voted. I know that all persons proposed for election have been elected as proposed. Me myself with 99.5% of yes votes in favor. Roland Abt with 99.7% votes in favor. Monique Burquin with 99.33% of votes in favor. Laura Cioli with 99.77% votes in favor. Fritz Züger with 99.39% votes in favor. Frank Esser with 99.3% votes in favor. Sandra Lathion-Zwahlen with 98.1% votes in favor. Anna Mossberg with 99.39% votes in favor. And Daniel Munger with 99.84% votes in favor. On behalf and also on behalf of my colleagues, I would like to thank you for the trust you have placed in us.
Let's get to the re-election to the Remuneration Committee. If elected, the Board of Directors will reappoint Monique Bourquin as chair of the Remuneration Board. We now come to the discussion on the proposals of the Board of Directors. Under Agenda Item 5, we will then vote on all proposals in a multiple vote. I note that no one has signed the list of speakers. The discussion on this point is closed. Let's get to the cast. The Board of Directors notes that. Be re-elected to the Remuneration Committee for the period until the end of the next election. Annual General Meeting. You have 15 seconds to cast your vote. Please cast your votes now. Wow. Mega.
Tun. Oh.
Wow. It's so beautiful. It's so, so beautiful. Come, let's have a selfie for the family. Yeah. And I put it on Insta. Insta. Yeah, yeah. Let's not start it. Let's not go that, down that road. Oh, let's just stay there. Let's just stand there. Probably it has a better effect a bit. Another step. Yeah, just another step. A step. Step. Oh, watch out. Today's smartphones take incredibly good pictures and photos. It's just human nature to want to capture beautiful moments. Despite that, you need to keep an eye on your surroundings. Hundreds of people have accidents every year because they pay more attention to their mobile phones than their surroundings. Yes, sometimes you just have to enjoy the moment without an AI or mobile phone.
In the meantime, all the results of the elections the Remuneration Committee have been determined and I am announcing them in the order in which they were voted on. I note that all persons proposed for election have been re-elected as proposed. Roland Abt with 99.43% votes in favor. Monique Bourquin with 99.22% votes in favor. Frank Esser with 98.95% votes in favor. I myself with 99.2% votes in favor. Fritz Zurbrugg with 97.0% votes in favor. I would like to thank you also on behalf of my colleague and colleagues for the trust you have placed in us. That brings us to the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors of 2025 and 2026.
Under Agenda Item 6.1, the Board of Directors proposes that the maximum total amount of remuneration members of the Board of Directors in the 2025 financial year be increased from CHF 2.5 million to CHF 2.7 million. This increase is necessary as the Board of Directors will be expanded from nine to 10 members. As of today, the expansion will only affect the entire year in 2026, which is why the remuneration for 2026 must be increased by a further CHF 100,000. The increase also ensures that any statutory and regulatory employer contributions to the occupational pension scheme are paid for all members. The expected composition of the requested amounts is shown here. The remuneration paid to the Board of Directors totaled in 2023 and 2024. CHF 2.4 million for 2025 and increased to CHF 2.7 million as proposed.
For 2026, the proposed amount is CHF 2.8 million. I open the discussion. Mr. Chop, the stage is yours. Mr. President. Ladies and gentlemen, I am against this increase of the number of Board of Directors from nine to ten. Of course, I understand with this Vodafone point, you need to have someone from Italy and take them into the panel in the board. I hope, Mr. Rechtsteiner, that if there is a vacancy next time you do not fill it. Thank you very much, Mr. Chop. We have announced and explained the reasons for this tenth member. It is important that we will be successful in this market. We will invest a lot in this country and we do our utmost that the return of investment will be maintained quickly.
Of course, it is also on us and we can ensure you that if there is a vacancy next time, we will definitely be reducing it. This is also part of the statutory regulations. I personally could use those CHF 200,000 myself. Okay, I know that there are no more speakers. Therefore I close the discussion on this agenda item and we get to the vote. The request is that the Board of Directors proposes that the maximum total amount of remuneration for members of the Board of Directors in the 2025 financial year be increased from CHF 2.5 million to CHF 2.7 million.
The motion on agenda item two is the Board of Directors proposes that the maximum total amount of Swiss total amount for the year 2026 financial year be increased to CHF 2.8 million and it be approved for the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors. Please cast your vote now. Actually, it's quite strange that the first one was just taken with him. Yeah, the pizza delivery guy, actually he could, you know, pick us up. Just check out whether you find a Uber. An Uber? Oh, this one wants to pick us up. AI actually helped to make everything more secure. In the Uber app, you have your location, you see which drivers are there, and then you get picked up right away. Be careful so the price increases if two people order an Uber at the same time.
I would like to stand in a traffic jam with that one. I note that the Annual General Meeting approved the increase in the maximum total amount of remuneration for the Board of Directors in 2025 with 97.95%. I also note that the maximum total amount for the remuneration of the Board of Directors in 2026 was approved with 97.91% in favor. We now get to the remuneration for the members of the Group Executive Board in 2025 and 2026. The Board of Directors proposes that the maximum total amount of remuneration of members of the Group Executive Board in the 2025 financial year be reduced from CHF 10.99 million to CHF 7.2 million. The maximum total amount of CHF 10.9 million, approved by the 2024 Annual General Meeting, is geared towards the remuneration of nine members of the Group Executive Board.
Because of the acquisition of Vodafone Italia, the company structure is adjusted and is reduced to four members. The maximum number of remuneration for 2025 will therefore be reduced to CHF 7.2 million. CHF 2.9 million base fee, CHF 2.9 million for variable performance related remuneration, and CHF 1.4 million for pension and supplementary benefits as well as employer and contributions to social insurance. A maximum total amount of CHF 5.9 million is proposed for 2026. It is aimed at the remuneration of four members of the Exception Executive Board. The amount is expected to be made up as 2.4% a year for basis payments and CHF 1.1 million for pension schemes and also Social Security contributions. The maximum variable payment is imprisoned in that, so that means you actually vote on the money that they will receive if they surpass all of their goals.
The remuneration paid out 2023 and 2024 is below the respective maximum total amount. The Board of Directors expects the same for 2025 and 2026. The goal achievement will be set out. This can be a maximum of 130%. If 100% of the targets are achieved in 2025, the total remuneration is expected to amount to CHF 6.3 million, and in 2026 it is CHF 5.2 million. The targets have never been exceeded to such an extent that the maximum variable component has been reached. As the chart shows, the remuneration paid out in 2023 and 2024 is below the respective maximum total amount and the Board of Directors expects the same for 2025 and 2026. I herewith open. I note that no one has signed for the list of speakers. The discussion onto this agenda point is closed and we get to the vote.
The vote is the Board of Directors proposes that the maximum total amount of remuneration for members of the Group Executive Board in the 2025 financial year be reduced from CHF 10.9 million to CHF 7.2 million. The Board of Directors proposes for 6.4 that the maximum total amount for 2026 shall be approved of CHF 5.9 million. Please cast your vote now. Do you know that song? Oh, in the past with Hans in the car on the back seat. Oh, Rosie, I don't want to hear that. Yeah, but Hansi, you know, he is. Ah. What is it called again? Yeah, I can show you "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King. AI Tool can do a lot so you don't have to ask the DJ or you don't have to research or guess.
It matches millions of stored patterns and finds the song you're looking for in most cases. It sings the song to a platform, adds links to a platform such as Spotify, Apple Music, or you can integrate it directly to your playlist. I'm sorry. It's called Moltobene is the name. I note that the annual general meeting approved the reduction in the maximum total amount of the remuneration for the Group Executive Board in 2025 in 99.23% favor. I also note that the annual general meeting approved this maximum total amount of remuneration for the Group Executive Board in 2026 with 98.41% votes in favor. We now come to the re-election of the independent proxy. The Board of Directors proposes the election of Reber Rechtsanwälte Zurich. Reber Rechtsanwälte fulfills the legal requirements and is available for re-election.
I hereby open the discussion on this agenda item. I note that no voters have come forward. The discussion on this agenda item is closed. Let's get to the vote. The Board of Directors proposes that the law firm Rieber Rectsan Welte Zurich be re-elected as independent proxy for the period until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting. I ask you to cast your vote now. Isn't that this person here? I think he's fake. Oh yeah. Look, look. That's a good sign. Yeah. Apps like Midjourney, Dall E, or ChatGPT can create pictures and videos. You can take really great pictures like these. As with any technology, there are also dangers here. Unfortunately, AI is also used to spread misinformation. Be vigilant.
On Swisscom campus we have created a guide to AI images where you'll find important information on how some image generations work and how you can distinguish AI images from real ones. Are they real? Are they fake? No. Are they avatars? No, life is still live, but you should be careful in pictures and videos. I note that the motion was approved with 99.94% votes in favor. I congratulate Rieberich Zan Welter on the election and thank them for accepting the mandate. This brings us to the last item on the agenda for this annual general meeting. The election of the auditors. The audit firm PwC is registered as a state regulated audit firm with the Swiss Federal Audit Oversight Authority and it fulfills the legal requirements for independence. PwC stands for re-election. I open the discussion on this agenda item.
I note that no voters have come forward. The discussion is closed. Let's get to the vote. The Board of Directors proposes that PricewaterhouseCoopers Zurich be elected as auditors for the 2025 financial year. I ask you to cast your vote. Yes, sure. Oh, no. Oh, look, there's another one. I didn't see that, but let's just get back to doing it again. I don't have a time for that. Yeah, wait, I can just, you know, delete it. He's young. No, not that young, but just look at it. You have to be that. Just circle it and delete it. Looks nice, right? On many phones, you can just basically select objects or people in photos and remove them. With the virtual eraser, the software calculates what the approximate position should be and replaces the removed object.
What used to take a whole lot of time with Photoshop now works in a matter of seconds. Oh, it was wonderful, Salome. He. Yeah, it was. Let's do it again. I hereby declare that PricewaterhouseCoopers AG has been elected as statutory auditors for the 2025 financial year with 99.82% votes in favor. I congratulate PwC on their election and thank them for accepting the mandate. I have received the declaration of acceptance. Dear shareholders, esteemed shareholders, this brings us to the end of the 2025 Annual General Meeting. I would like to thank you for your loyalty to the company and for the confidence you have shown in the Board of Directors by approving the proposals. This year as well, Swisscom will once again use the shareholders gift as a donation to jointly make a larger gift to a charitable organization and achieve more.
This year, we are supporting the Swiss organization, Bring Kids Back to School, and finance the construction of a school in Senegal. Finally, I would like to thank Martin Vögeli and all the employees who have made the smooth running of the Annual General Meeting here in the Hallenstadion possible. Through their great commitment, the 2026 Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday, 25th of March 2026. I would now like to invite you to an aperitif. The members of the Board of Directors and Executive Board will be available for personal discussions. At the beginning, there will not only be an aperitif waiting for you in the hall, but also Marcel Curia and other specialists who will be happy to answer your questions. Take the opportunity. We also invite you to stop by our Experience Islands.
Exciting artificial intelligence applications await you there, which you can also use in your everyday life. I now wish you a cozy end of the day, many pleasant encounters, and a safe journey back home. Please leave your voting devices at your seat or hand them back to the staff. The 2025 annual general meeting is closed. Thank you very much.