Many will please come to order. I am Garrett Pierce, chairman of the board of the directors, and I'd like to welcome you to our 57th stockholders meeting as a public company before proceeding with business of the meeting, I'll need to make a few administrative announcements. I would like to point out that the audio portion portion of this meeting is being broadcast live over the Internet on our website, www.kns.com. So to help our listeners that 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, the audio recording will be you may have.
The audio recording will be available at our website for a limited time following this meeting. I also want to point out that in addition to the historical statements, remarks and comments, today may include forward looking statements which are covered by 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, for a more complete discussion of the risks associated with the operations of K And S, Please refer to the company's SEC filings, especially the 10 K for the year ending September 29, 2018. I would now like to introduce the other members of the Board of Directors of the company, who are all present. Mr.
Brian R. Bachman, Doctor. Fusai Yi Chen, Mr. Peter T. Cog, Mr.
Chin Hu Lim. Mr. Greg F Milszhek Ms. Muy Sung Yo. I now call Ms.
Waters, the Secretary of the Company, for the required formal announcements.
Chairman, I present a copy of the notice 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 18, 2019 of the notice of internet availability to each person who was a stockholder of record on November 30, 2018, the record date for the meeting. The notice of meeting called this meeting for 4:30 pm on February 27, 2019, at W Hong Kong, 1 Austin Road West Kowloon Station, Kowloon Hong Kong, for the purposes of electing directors, ratifying the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, as independent registered public accountants for the 2019 fiscal year, a 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.
The affidavit of mailing and the attachments there will be filed with the minutes of the meeting. As Chairman of the meeting, I appoint Peter Daskovich as the judge of Election, If you are acting as already, you know, not already done so. If you desire to speak at the meeting, when I recognize you, please raise and give your name and state whether you are a stockholder or a holder of a proxy. If you're a holder of a proxy, please give the name of your principal. The judge of Elections has informed me that there is a quorum presence.
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 year's meeting be read, I will move on, to the 3 matters submitted for a vote by the shareholders as outlined by Ms. Waters, and we'll be, and we'll defer voting until all matters are properly before the meeting and ready for voting. The Board of Directors have nominated Fusan E Chen and Gregory F Milszhek for reelection at the annual meeting to serve until 2023 annual meeting. And until their successors have been duly elected and qualified, The second order of business is the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accountants. The Audit Committee of the Board appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accountants for fiscal 2019.
As you know, PricewaterhouseCoopers has served as the company's independent registered Public Accounting firm for the last year. I'd like to introduce Hans Kooplans of PricewaterhouseCoopers. If any shareholder has any questions for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, they can be raised during the question and answer period. The third order of business is the advisory to approve on a non binding basis the overall compensation of the company's named executive officers. If there is no discussion we can now proceed to the voting on the matters before the meeting, as has been customary, we will now vote on all matters by ballot.
Holder who has not voted online via telephone or has not mailed in or 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 give you a ballot. While we are waiting for the report from the judge of Elections, I would like to ask Doctor. Fusan Yi Chen, our President and CEO to make a few remarks
Thank you, Garrett. KNS generated another set of solid records in fiscal 2018, and deliver record gross profit and the record share for the reasons. While we are all proud of this success and the benefit to customers, supplier, employees and investors, we are well prepared to further enhance our value creation and deliver into the long term. The organizational refinements and the strategic direction established in fiscal 2017, combined with identification for shoe and execution of new initiative during fiscal 2018. Create a stimulating working environment for employees and also provide new long term growth prospects for the company.
All aggressive shares repurchased at and the inaugural dividend declared in June 2018, highlight our continuing commitment to deliver value to our shareholders. Technically, We continue to execute on several near term opportunities and also target several longer term opportunities as we look ahead. Our organizational refinements have further empower our individual business unit to achieve strategic and the result driven goal which are closed even with all of our stakeholders' interests. Our early ever finding our business structures and the development process have reduced capital market, increased new projects' accessory rate, and expand our served market, therefore, increasing our potential for substantial financial outperformance. This improved organizational structures provides a solid foundation to pursue several broad aggressive and diversify strategic initiative including market share gains in both our largest and the most efficient market as well as entries into multiple high potential growth areas.
As an example of this success, we began targeting new LED growth opportunity in early 2017. Largely view as too cost sensitive for our premium offering. Ultra in LED was significantly below our shares in traditional semiconductor applications. Developing and the distribution market leading LED tool. Over the course of 20172018, we shipped more LED tool than we had in prior 6 years combined.
In parallel, we continue to expand our submarket in the growing advanced packaging space. We have repeatedly developed several new tool that provide disruptive and innovative solutions for high performance memory and high performance larger applications to critical market, which was historically down, is unserved with our core offering. To the end of fiscal 2018, we released Catalyst, a high accuracy free chip tool and also received a major OSAT qualification win for our Apartment thermal compression solution. We anticipate gradual market adoption of this highly competitive solution, In parallel, we are continually identifying and participating in new high potential and strategic opportunity in adjacent market. Our latest new market initiative during fiscal 2018 was the launch of the Pixel Lux platform which provide SS and a very competitive solution, supporting the emerging and high potential mini and the micro LED display market.
The entire organization is extremely focused on the success of this new growth prospect, which will further enhance our operational leverage. This increased operating leverage, better enable us to further deliver meaningful value to shareholders. In June of 2018, we initiated a quarterly fixed dividend payment of per shares. And subsequently, we achieved authorization from our Board of Directors to extend our repurchase program by additional 200,000,000. Bring our cumulative total authorization to 400,000,000.
Through our recent December quarters, we cumulatively repurchased $13,800,000 outstanding shares valued at over $228,000,000 in open market transactions. This was reduced. This has reduced our share outstanding by approximately 18% directly adding value on a per share basis. On the long term, we are committed to extending our leadership in the markets we serve, increasing our presence in new market and ultimately increasing our value on a per share basis. We thank you for the support and I look forward to updating you again on our success throughout 2019.
Thank you, Fusan. 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. There are no questions. I'm advised that the judge of Election has completed the count of the votes and delivered the report to the Secretary.
The Secretary will now announce the results as reflected in the Judges's report.
The Judges's report shows 61,810,815 shares of common stock present 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 for CASK for the election of Doctor. Fusen E Chen and Mr. Gregory F Milchick for the ratification of the appointment of Pricewaterhouse Tuber's 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 Jack the judge of Elections. I hereby declare that Doctor. Fusan Yi Chen and Mr. Gregory F Milsec have been elected directors for the term for which they were nominated. That the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the independent registered public accountants for the 2019 fiscal year has been ratified and that the shareholders have approved a non binding on a non binding basis.
The overall compensation of the company's named executive officers. I ordered that the report of the Judge of Election be filed with the minutes of the meeting. The meeting is now adjourned, and on behalf of the directors, officers, and employees, I thank you for attending the meeting. There are light refreshment outside the meeting room which I invite you all to share with us.