Okay. I think we can commence. Okay. We are ready on our side. Just give it 5 seconds or so.
The meeting will please come to order. I am Garrett Pierce, Chairman of the Board of Directors that I'd like to welcome you to the 58th Shareholders Meeting as a public company. Before proceeding with the business of the meeting, I need to make a few administrative announcements. I'd like to point out their audio portion of this meeting is being broadcast live over the internet at our website, www.kns.com. To help our listeners, if anyone should have a question during the question and answer session later in the meeting, please use the microphone which will be available in the audience.
In addition, our audio recording will be made of the entire meeting including any questions and comments that you may have. The audio recording will be available at our website for a limited time following this meeting. I want to point out that in addition to our historical statements, remarks and comments today may include forward looking statements, which are covered under the Safe Harbor provisions of the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Actual results may turn out to be significantly better or worse than indicated by any forward looking statements made this afternoon. For a complete discussion of the risks associated with the operations of KNS.
Please refer to the company's SEC filings, especially the 10 K for the year ended Mr. Brian R. Bachman, Doctor. Fusen E. Xin, who is also the President and Chief Executive Officer Mr.
Peter T Kong, Mr. Xin Hu Lim and Gregory of Mills Jeff in Ms. Mui Sung Yo. I now call and Ms. Waters, the Secretary of the Company, for the required formal announcements.
Mr. Chairman, I present a copy of the notice of Internet availability of the notice of meeting and proxy statement, the proxy card, and the annual report. I also present an affidavit as to the mailing on January 4, 2020 of the notice of internet availability to each person who was stockholder of record on November 22, 2019, the record date for the meeting. The notice of meeting called this meeting for 4:30 pm on February 18, 2020 at Culic and Soffa Industries, Inc. 23A, Cyren Goon North Avenue 5, Singapore for the purposes of electing directors ratifying the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent public accountants for the 2020 fiscal year and non binding vote on executive compensation and transacting such other business as may properly come before the meeting.
I have a complete list of stockholders entitled to vote at this meeting. The list is available for inspection by the stockholders during the meeting for the purposes of the meeting.
Attachions thereto will be filed with the minutes of the meeting. As Chairman of the meeting, I appoint Peter Gescovich as the Judge of Election, If you are acting as a proxy for a shareholder, please file your written proxy with the secretary if you have not already done so. If you desire to speak at the meeting, when I recognize you, please rise and give your name and state whether you are a stockholder or hold a proxy. If you hold a proxy, please give the name of your principal. The judge of Elections has informed me that there is a quorum present.
Our custom has been to dispense with the reading of the minutes of the last annual meeting unless there was a request that the minutes of the last meeting be read, I will now move on to the 3 matters submitted to Evoque of the shareholders as outlined by Ms. Waters. We will defer voting until all matters are properly before the meeting and ready for voting. The Board of Directors has nominated Muy Sung Yo for reelection at the annual meeting to serve until the 20 24 annual meeting and until her successor has been duly elected and qualified. The second order of our business is the appointment of Pricewaterhouse Cooper's LLP as the company's independent registered public accountants.
The Audit Committee of the Board appointed Pricewaterhouse LLP as the company's independent registered public accounts for fiscal year 2020. As you know, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has served as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the last fiscal year. I'd like to introduce Hans Koopman's of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. If any shareholders ask any questions for Pricewaterhouse, Cooper's LLP. They can be raised during the question and answer period.
The 3rd order of business is the advisory vote to approve on a non binding basis the overall compensation of the company's named executive officers. If there's no discussion, we can now proceed to the voting on matters before the meeting and has been customary. Will vote on all matters by ballot. I now ask any stockholder who has not voted online via telephone or has not mailed in or and delivered a proxy or wishes to change a previous proxy vote or wishes to vote in person to raise his or her hand so that the Secretary can provide you with the ballot. While we're waiting for the report of the Judge of Elections, would like to ask Doctor.
Fusan Yixin, our President and CEO to make a few comments and remarks.
While all industry cycles are unique, fiscal 2019 was distinct. Retensions, a scripting global supply chain and a general software the broader semiconductor industry create challenges. Despite a challenging environment, we expand our served market and again tracking on several new gross prospects. In operations, ongoing development of an aggressive shareholder return philosophy, that allow us to enter fiscal 2020 as a more adaptive and diversified organization with significantly enhanced growth potential. Over the past few years, organizational refinements, new partnership engagement, and an increased focus on market expansion have transformed our value creation process.
While this change may seem subtle, they have allowed us to better leverage our core market positions. Rapidly develop innovative and the competitive solution and to better identify new and promising growth initiatives. Over the past 2 years, we released 7 new capital equipment offerings, which are expected to contribute to operating leverage meaningfully, fundamentally enhancing our potential for shareholder value creation. Despite recent challenge emerging in Asia, it will be a very exciting time for the company. We believe the softer period of demand is largely behind us and the broader semiconductor space is entering a period of sustained market expansion.
While a core market recovery provide improved prospects for our unit driven business, We are also aggressively driving adoption of our new offerings. The growing installed base and the increased pace of customer engagement for our APAMA somewhere competition and the catalyst, high accuracy free chip offering demonstrate the market evolving needs and the longer term potential for this innovative systems. In addition to release new advanced IC packaging offering over the past years, Enter the growing mini and the micro LED applications with our disruptive pistol locks system, which have the potential to revolutionize the display market. Our ability to identify this new market and to rapidly develop this unique high solutions, the testament to our organizational effectiveness and the development capability. Over the coming years, we believe peace of luck has tremendous potential.
What significant, significant corporate label financial performance improvement? As we collectively execute this diversified market expansion strategy and further enhanced value creation, we continue to a lot value to shareholders. Over the preceding 5 fiscal years, we generate approximately 408,000,000 free cash flow and the reduced share outstanding by over 17%. Direct shareholder return during the period through shareholder repurchase and the dividend totaled $342,000,000, of which approximately 133,000,000 nearly 40% was deployed in fiscal 2019 alone. We believe the best path to long term value delivery is through fundamental valuation expansion, recipes through enhanced free cash flow generated by our new market opportunities.
We also believe our current business model generates increased profit to support this new gross prospect. While also providing the opportunity for directional shareholder returns through a meaningful dividend and through ongoing and opportunistic open market share repurchase. Over the long term, prudent market expansion That gives new product development and the direct shareholder returns provide a powerful combination of value creation and the delivery. We appreciate your support as we continue our path toward this fundamentally enhanced marketplace growth strategy. Thank you.
Thanks, Busan. And now as has been customary, we're happy to entertain any questions you may have. I ask that each person who has a question to please use the microphone and give his or her name and state whether he or she is a stockholder or a proxy holder. If there are no further questions, I'm advised that the judge of Election has completed the count of votes and delivered the report to the Secretary. The Secretary will now announce the results as reflected in the Judges's Report.
The judge's report shows 58,138,692 shares of common stock present in person and or present by proxy, which the judge has certified to be a quorum of the outstanding common stock on all matters presented to the meeting. The judge's report further shows that sufficient votes were cast for the election of Muisung Yao for the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and for approval on a non binding basis, the overall compensation of the company's named executive officers.
In accordance with the results certified by the Judge of Election, I hereby declare that Louis Song Yo has been elected Director for the term for which she was nominated. The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent registered public accountants for the 2020 fiscal year has been ratified and that the shareholders have approved on a non binding basis the overall compensation of the named executives. I ordered the report of the Judge of Elections to be filed with the minutes of the meeting. Meeting is now adjourned. On behalf of all the directors, officers and employees, I want to thank all of you for attending the meeting.
There are light refreshments refreshments in the back of the room, which I invite you to share with us