Ladies and gentlemen, let me welcome you to this Annual General Meeting of QIAGEN. My name is Larry Rosen, and I serve as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. I'm joined today by my colleagues from the Supervisory Board, Mr. Stephen Rusckowski, who is Chair of the Nomination and Governance Committee, and Dr. Toralf Haag, the Chair of the Audit Committee. Also joining us are Dr. Ross Levine, Dr. Elaine Mardis, Ms. Eva van Pelt, and Ms. Elizabeth Tallett. We're also joined by our two Managing Board Members. Just to my left, Mr. Thierry Bernard, our CEO, and to his left, Mr. Roland Sackers, our CFO. We are joined today by Mr. Tiemen Klein Bronsvoort, partner with De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, and by Mr. René Meester and Ms. Aleksandra Szafranska from our auditors, KPMG.
Before we begin with the agenda, let me take a moment to go over a few procedural details. First, this meeting is being webcast live on the internet, and the audience is in listen-only mode. Second, in accordance with past practice, all shareholders present or represented at the beginning of this meeting will be deemed to be there for the entire meeting. The official language shall be English. Mr. Klein Bronsvoort has been formally appointed as secretary. If we have questions in Dutch, he will translate them along with the translated answers. The record date for shareholders entitled to vote by proxy was May 29th, 2025. On that date, the total number of shares with voting rights amounted to 216,577,377. Mr. Klein Bronsvoort, will you please hand me the attendance list and count the votes present and represented at this meeting? Thank you.
According to the attendance list, I can inform you that the holders of 175,005,225 common shares in the capital of QIAGEN are present or represented at this meeting and may cast the same number of votes. This represents more than 50% of the issued share capital. Let us now move on to agenda item two. This involves the Managing Board report for 2024. The details of this report are available in our published annual report, which you can find on the QIAGEN website. I'd like to first invite Thierry to discuss our progress in 2024, and then for Roland to give us a financial update. Afterwards, we will have time for your questions on all agenda items on today's meeting. We find this approach best serves you in providing an opportunity to address a wide range of topics in one session.
Afterwards, I'll briefly introduce each agenda item and, where required, put them to a vote. So, Thierry, let me hand over to you.
The value of biology has never been stronger. Our customers are using it to address crucial issues affecting all of our lives. QIAGEN is supporting them in advancing science and improving healthcare for people around the world. We are helping customers millions of times a year to gain access to DNA and RNA. Because gaining access to these building blocks of life enables insights. Because tuberculosis kills more people every day than malaria and AIDS combined. Because rapid results matter for patients. Because new technologies lead to new breakthroughs. Because finding critical insights is what matters, and above all, because insights are what enable our customers to take action. Life science research and clinical testing have never been stronger, enabling our customers every day to make improvements in life possible. Advancing science and improving healthcare, QIAGEN has never been stronger.
Thank you, Larry, and good afternoon. Welcome. I would like to thank you all for your presence. Thanks, our shareholders, for their continuous support. I'd like to thank, obviously, our Board for their challenge and support as well. I would obviously like to thank our close to 6,000 QIAGENers all over the world for their work every day to try to make improvement in life possible. And last but not least, I'd like also to thank the QIAGENers who have helped preparing these shareholder meetings, and some of them are here in the room. I'm going to update you all on the most recent strategic or evolution development in our company, and I'd like to insist on five key highlights. First, that you are investing in a company that impacts and innovates. Second, that you are investing in a company that focuses to grow. Third, that this company grows profitably.
Third, it's also a company that cares. And last, it's a company that executes. First, impacting. Impacting because we are serving a market. We are serving the technology that is impacting everyone in the world. First, because biology over the last 10 years or more is probably one of the activities that impacts science the most. Think about it. You remember, obviously, COVID and what diagnostics did to tackle the challenge of COVID. But if you look at the last 10 years, progress is in liquid biopsy, for example, the ability to detect or follow the evolution of a cancer just in a blood drop. QIAGEN is one of the leaders of that, but it changes the way we consider cancers. Look also at microbiome. 10 years ago, nobody was really talking about microbiome. QIAGEN is also a leader in microbiome analysis. Second, because it's impacting everybody in the world.
I'm going to come back to that in this presentation. Think about tuberculosis, one of the number one killers in the world. QIAGEN is a leader in tuberculosis, and last but not least, because biology impacts your lives every day. For those most recent at QIAGEN , I would just highlight again that for the last 40 years, QIAGEN is developing solutions both for life science and research or clinical diagnostic, focusing on molecular techniques. Back to COVID, once again, you are all remembering the name PCR. QIAGEN focuses on molecular techniques, whether it's PCR technologies, digital PCR, or next generation technologies, and it's 40 years of innovations and development. And after 40 years, it is now a company which is remarkably balanced. We are talking about close to $2 billion revenue listed in Europe, listed in the US, member of the DAX index in Germany. It's close to 6,000 QIAGENers.
We call them QIAGENers all over the world, serving more than 500,000 customers. And something which is incredibly important is that we are clearly using what we call a razor blade business model, whereby 90% of our revenues are made of recurring consumable utilization and 10% the sales of instruments. This company, I said before, is remarkably balanced. What do I mean by this? Balance between two key activities: life science and research and clinical diagnostic. Balance between two main therapeutic applications. We do research and diagnostic mainly for oncology and also for infectious diseases. Balance geographically. We are present all over the world with significant activities in North America and Europe, but all over the world. And with a very well-balanced portfolio serving a quite significant market of more than $10 billion. Why is QIAGEN successful and differentiated compared to other companies in diagnostic or life science?
Because there is something fundamentally different and specific about our company, is that we are leveraging our leadership in the very first step of any biology workflow, what we call sample prep, to then take positions downstream in the lab, in other applications, in PCR, next generation sequencing, and diagnostic. And when I said balance between life science and research, you see that those are large and also well-balanced markets: $6 billion for life science, $6 billion for clinical diagnostics, with a very wide array of customers: research lab, academia labs, state agency, the NIH, or other research agencies, pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, but also clinical labs, hospitals. And some people know this a bit less. Every 20 seconds in the world, every 20 seconds in the world, there is a QIAGEN product solution used for forensic application, body recognition, sexual assaults, and others.
I said a company that impacts and a company also that focuses to grow. In 2024, in June, in New York, we had a new capital market day where we set clear and very easy-to-understand objectives for our investors. We said that we were targeting a 7% CAGR growth from 2024 to 2028, and this is based on our past growth over the last four years' performance, with a clear step up in profitability and a target of more than 31% EBIT margin, which means at least 250 basis points of increased operational efficiencies for the coming years. And I'm going to give you some more details. And the promise of $1 billion returns to our shareholders absent of significant M&A.
I'm sure that some of you remember that we already did a $300 million share buyback a year and a half ago, early 2024, and we did a new share buyback for $300 million this quarter this year. Five years ago, when I was asked to take that position, we came to the board with a strategy of focusing. I told you at the beginning that we serve 500,000 customers, $2 billion companies. We are a mid-cap. It is crucial for a mid-cap, if we want to be successful, to make sure that we are not spreading the company too thin and therefore that we invest where we can take between a number one and number three position on the market.
This is why we came with the concept of what we called pillar of growth, where we decided to invest into two activities where we are already number one. The objective here is to enhance our strategic leadership. I'm talking about sample tech and QuantiFERON, and three activities where we know that we have very differentiated technology in fast-growing markets. I'm talking here syndromic testing, digital PCR, and bioinformatics. I'm not going to go through all the details of every one of the coming slides, but just to highlight a couple of numbers and why we are so relevant. In sample technology, where QIAGEN is already a leader, we set the objective of reaching $ 750 million revenues by 2028. That would mean a 3% CAGR growth. It's a mature market where we are already leaders.
To make it very simple, understanding that we are basically preparing the sample, any kind of sample, a blood sample, a swab, and make it so good to prepare the rest of the biological run. In this field, we are going to launch three new instruments between now and the end of 2026. I'll be happy to answer your question if you have more questions. But for the sake of time, I'll move to the second investment priority, which is QuantiFERON and mainly the fight against tuberculosis. Many people do not know that tuberculosis is the number one killer in the world. Tuberculosis kills more than HIV and malaria together. A lot of people in the world know about active tuberculosis when it's known that you have the bacteria in your lung and you are contagious.
But who knows that in the world, a quarter of the population, a quarter of the population, two billion people, has what we call latent tuberculosis, where you have your bacteria in the lung, but you don't know it. You are not contagious, but you are at high risk, especially if you are immunosuppressed, immunodepressed, to become active and therefore contagious. And therefore here, it is key to provide solutions for healthcare facilities, and QIAGEN is the leader in the fight against latent tuberculosis. And we have set a quite ambitious target to go from $450 million that we achieve in this activity at the end of 2024 to $600 million revenues by 2028. And now moving to three other focuses. As I said before, very high-growth market where we have highly differentiated technology. The first one is what we call syndromic testing. Our solution is called QIAstat-Dx.
To make it simple, see it as the Apple of diagnostics. A small instrument with a small consumable that is going to allow you to screen more than 20 pathogens in just one sample. It can be a respiratory pathogen, gastropathogen, meningitis pathogen. All this, one sample, 20 pathogens screened, one hour time to result. Another investment priority is what we call Digital PCR. And our solution at QIAGEN , it's called QIAcuity. To make it simple, see it as a solution that will give you more information than a simple PCR test without the complexity of a next generation sequencing run. This solution has been probably that we launched three years ago now, four years ago, probably the quickest and the fastest development of an install base in the history of life science and diagnostic.
We have now more than, after barely four years of launch, more than 2,500 systems installed all over the world. We continue to develop applications every day: cell and gene therapy, quality control for pharmaceutical companies. And at the beginning of this year, we launched, after a first launch in life science, the diagnostic also solutions for digital PCR. Last focus, our solutions in what we call bioinformatics at QIAGEN. We call it QIAGEN Digital Insights, where we are clearly the number one in the world with already more than $100 million revenues. To make it simple, you have all heard over the last five to 10 years about the progresses of next generation sequencing in oncology, especially. Bioinformatics at QIAGEN helps clinicians make sense of a next generation sequencing test. That's the way simply to sell it.
Here we sell software, software that are interpreting and helping clinicians transform those data into actionable clinical decisions, so you see significant growth ambitions from 2024 to 2028, but not only are we growing, but QIAGEN is a company that grows profitably. We have always leveraged a very strong P&L, especially if you compare those to peers, but in addition to that, back in 2024, we launched a new initiative called QIAe fficiency, which was aiming at generating ideas across different departments to achieve at least 250 basis points of increased operational efficiency and reach at least 31% EBIT margin by 2028, and we have done it, and we do it across different actions. We have changed the organization of QIAGEN , and we constantly challenge the organization of QIAGEN to make it leaner and more agile.
I, for example, believe that a company like QIAGEN, once again, $2 billion revenue, 6,000 QIAGENers, there should be a maximum of six layers between an entry position and my position, for example. We constantly challenge our QIAGENers to make sure that every manager at QIAGEN should manage at least between five to six employees. It goes also through sites consolidation. At QIAGEN, we are not in the business of multiplying sites all over the world. So any time we can consolidate sites and it makes sense, this is what we should be doing. Last but not least, I'd like to leave you here with one message. This company has probably been investing much more than any other peers in what we call AI and digital activities for many years. But we absolutely want to become the life science and diagnostic AI-driven company.
We are taking some initiative from the creation of an AI university at QIAGEN to AI tools for research and development, for manufacturing, that this is also a key factor in our improved profitability. Not only do we grow profitably, but also, as I said at the beginning, we are a company that cares. What do I mean by this? We care about our environment. We believe at QIAGEN in what we call corporate social responsibility. We have an impact. As I said at the beginning, we need to basically live up to that expectation. For the environment, clear commitment towards net zero emission by 2050. It's also the development of our people. You have seen in many press releases that QIAGEN has been awarded the best place to work in many geographies. We have also clearly invested in diversity and inclusion.
When I took that position at QIAGEN, only 27% of our management were women. We are now 37% of our management on female leadership. It's also about working for global health. Healthcare can be a business. It's also a right. We are more than 50 partnerships for global health. And obviously, key notions like compliance and business integrity are very key for our companies. A few words, and Roland will come back in more details to that, about execution. We impact, we grow, we grow profitably, we care, but we execute as well. 2024 has been another example of key execution. We exceeded once again our targets and guidance for top line, close to $ 2 billion revenues, and for EPS as well.
But not only did we execute on sales objective and profitability, but across all our developments, also objectives in Digital PCR, launch of new menu in QIAstat-Dx, new menu approved, especially in the U.S., QDI, sample tech, and others. At your disposal, obviously, to answer questions if you have. And if you look at the first quarter of 2025, this obsession with execution continues. We are now at more than 22 quarters in a row at QIAGEN , achieving or exceeding guidance on sales and profitability. At 7% growth, we are at the top tier of the market growth if you compare us to our peers in life science or research. Execution as well on profitability for Q1, execution also on cash flow generation. And the way we see, together with Roland cash flow generation, obviously, it's guaranteeing and preserving our strategic freedom of maneuver for the future.
We are probably the only company in 2025 in our environment so far who not only, despite the volatile environment around tariff, around geographic and political uncertainties, which has confirmed its sales guidance, but increased its guidance on EPS. So I will leave you like this. There is no complacency in our comments. We are far from being a perfect company, but we are a solid company executing on our targets and trying every day to contribute to making improvement in life possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Thierry. I would now like to invite Roland to the podium to give us the financial update.
Thank you, Larry, and thank you as well to all of you who have come here today to be with us in person. It is a pleasure to see many of you again. Before I begin, I want to take a moment to recognize you, Larry, for your outstanding leadership of the supervisory board. Your guidance and experience have helped shape QIAGEN through some of our most transformative years, and in particular, personally important to me, given your insights as a former CFO. I want to sincerely thank you for your partnership, professionalism, and support. I would also like to warmly welcome Steve as a new Chair of the Supervisory Board. Steve, we are very much looking forward to working with you as we continue to execute our strategy and build on the strong foundations we established together. Before I start, let me point out our disclaimer.
We will be making statements and providing you with responses to questions that involve our intentions, beliefs, and views about the future. You can find further information on our website at qiagen.com. So let me now provide you a review of 2024 and our very healthy financial situation. This was a year in which we delivered on our commitments and exceeded the outlook we set for both net income and adjusted earnings per share. Let me highlight a few key figures. Sales for 2024 showed growth in a challenging environment led by a 5% CER growth in the second half of the year from our core business that excludes discontinued products. We also delivered significantly improved profitability as the adjusted operating income margin for 2024 rose to 28.7% of sales. Free cash flow rose 63% to $506 million. The confidence we have in our future is strong.
At this AGM, we are seeking approval to introduce an annual dividend payment and also for a new synthetic share repurchase program of up to $500 million. This confirms our commitment to return at least $1 billion to shareholders by the end of 2028 while continuing to invest organically in innovation and pursue value-creating acquisitions. To summarize, 2024 was a solid year that reinforced the value of our portfolio, the strength of our financial position, and the value of our strategy. Moving to the next slide, I would like to review the key financial figures under U.S. GAAP accounting standards. Our sales were $1.8 billion for 2024, rising 1% compared to 2023 in the last year with pandemic headwinds. There was no tangible impact from currency movements against U.S. dollars, our reporting currency.
For the full year, the adjusted operating income margin again was 28.7%, an increase of 1.8 percentage points from 26.9% in 2023. We invested some of the benefits from our efficiency programs into targeted growth opportunities. At the same time, we are also seeing the initial contributions from the decision to discontinue NeuMoDx. R&D investments were 9.8% of sales in 2024 compared to 10.1% in 2023, as we maintained a high level of investments into new product development, especially among our pillars. Sales and marketing expenses declined in 2024 in absolute dollars compared to 2023 and declined as a percentage of sales to 22.8% from 23.4% in 2023. We are investing into commercialization for our key products and in particular improving our digital customer engagement. The decline in 2023 reflects the impact of efficiency initiatives that included the discontinuation of NeuMoDx.
General and administrative expenses were also lower over the prior year in absolute dollars and were 5.7% of sales in 2024 compared to 6.1% in 2023. We generated these gains with investments into our IT infrastructure, in particular to launch the upgrade of our SAP system that began in recent years. Adjusted EPS for 2024 under U.S. GAAP accounting standard was $2.18. This was well above the outlook and also a 5% increase over 2023 results of $2.07. Moving to the next slide, let me review our sales among the four product groups. Let's start with sample technologies, a focus for QIAGEN and contributing about one-third of sales. These sales declined slightly in 2024 as we faced the last headwinds from the pandemic and cautious customer spending on instrumentation purchases. Diagnostic solution is our second product group and represents about 40% of sales in 2024.
QuantiFERON sales rose 11% at constant exchange rates driven by ongoing conversion gains for latent TB testing to our modern blood-based test from the 120-year-old skin test. For QIAstat-Dx, our system for syndromic testing sales rose 24% as we moved beyond the pandemic headwinds on double-digit gains in both consumables and instrument sales. We surpassed our 2024 goals and reached over 4,600 cumulative placements since launch. For NeuMoDx, the 2024 sales reflected the significant decline after COVID headwinds. Our teams have worked with customers on transition plans to other solutions as the system will be discontinued this year. Moving to the PCR nucleic acid amplification product group. These sales rose slightly over 2023 and led by double-digit sales growth in the QIAcuity digital PCR platform. We are seeing strong placement trends from research and pharma customers, and we also launched in 2024 a version designed for clinical customers.
At the same time, we saw lower sales in our OEM business, which faced some challenging trends due to customer ordering timing. The genomics NGS product group represents about 10% of sales and declined 1% from 2023. We faced weaker market demand trends for product used on third-party next-generation sequencers. At the same time, our QIAGEN digital bioinformatics business delivered good single-digit sales growth. On this slide, I would like to show you a reconciliation of the reported U.S. GAAP results with the adjusted results. These adjustments are in line with those of our peer companies. We provide this information so you have full transparency. The adjusted results are particularly important for institutional shareholders and analysts to compare QIAGEN with other companies. As you can see, the largest adjustment was related to business integration, acquisition, and restructuring-related items.
The adjustment to operating income was $401 million, and this reflected the charge related to the decision to discontinue NeuMoDx and implement some related efficiency measures. At the same time, about $300 million of this charge involved non-cash items, and we are seeing the very positive impact on our adjusted operating income margin from these decisions already now. As a Dutch company, we are required to report results under IFRS or International Financial Reporting Standards. On this slide, you can see an overview of the differences between net income under U.S. GAAP of $83.6 million for 2024 and the lower level of net income, $59.8 million under IFRS. The difference was $23.8 million. The most significant factor relates to the IFRS accounting for the fair value of the convertible instruments. The embedded conversion features of these instruments are recorded as a liability under IFRS.
Under U.S. GAAP, these are considered in equity. Accordingly, the reevaluation of the convertible instruments has an impact on the income statement under IFRS. Given the QIAGEN share price trends in 2024, the fair value of the liability increased in the year. This results in a non-cash charge of $44.5 million on the income statement under IFRS accounting, while no impact was recorded in our U.S. GAAP results. Another difference relates to restructuring costs. Under IFRS, certain personnel-related accruals are recorded later than under U.S. GAAP. In 2024, this results in a lower cost of $12 million under IFRS. Furthermore, development expenses are handled differently. Under IFRS, certain internal development costs are capitalized and amortized over a multi-year period through cost of sales. Under U.S. GAAP, they are expensed immediately. In 2024, this resulted in a lower cost of $2.6 million under IFRS.
The remaining $6.1 million was due to various smaller differences. Let me note that institutional investors look at the U.S. GAAP results to compare QIAGEN to other companies. This is why we use U.S. GAAP accounting as a primary way to present our results to the financial community. Turning to the next slide, we are using our cash flow and healthy balance sheet to support the business expansion while increasing returns to shareholders. In terms of cash flow for 2024, operating cash flow was $674 million, an increase of 47% over 2023, as we benefited from improved working capital. At the end of 2024, our leverage ratio was 0.3 x net debt to Adjusted EBITDA compared to 0.6 x at the end of 2023. These strong results were another confirmation of our healthy financial situation.
This enabled us to increase returns through the synthetic share repurchase of about $300 million in early 2024. We did the same in early 2025 with an additional $300 million return to shareholders through this approach that is often used by large publicly traded companies in the Netherlands, and you saw our proposal to introduce a dividend, creating a new way to increase returns to shareholders. On this slide, you see our financial structure as of December 31st, 2024. In terms of our balance sheet, our total consolidated net debt stood at $239 million at the end of 2024 compared to $452 million at the end of 2023. We had about $600 million of debt reaching maturity in 2024 and used cash reserves as well as proceeds from the issuance of $500 million of new convertible notes to make these payments.
QIAGEN only invests in cash into instruments with the highest credit quality, and a good portion is invested in U.S. Treasury bills. On this slide, you see a profit profile of the employees at QIAGEN by region and function. Our QIAGENers are crucial for our success. We continue to attract and retain talented employees by providing interesting and rewarding opportunities along with a pay-for-performance culture. At the end of 2024, the total numbers of employees declined to nearly 5,800 compared to slightly under 6,000 employees at the end of 2023. We have aligned resources across various functions as our business normalized after the pandemic, and the reduction in headcount in 2024 reflects some of the workforce adjustments in light of the NeuMoDx decision. On the next slide, I would like to update you on our investor relations activities.
We collectively attended more than 150 investor meetings during 2024, and that included over 20 bank conferences and more than 30 roadshows in the U.S., Europe, and other areas of the world. We currently have 24 analysts covering QIAGEN with a good balance between the U.S. and Europe. This is important to help us targeting investors in the leading financial centers of the world. A key success in 2024 was our Capital Markets Day in New York, where we reached about 350 market participants through the in-person and online event. Also of note is the very positive feedback to our new series of deep dive events on our pillars. The first two online broadcasts involved our QIAGEN Digital Insights bioinformatics business and the QuantiFERON franchise. You can watch this broadcast hosted by Dr. Domenica Martorana from our IR team on our website.
More of these broadcasts are planned and a great way to learn about our differentiated portfolio. In terms of share price performance from January 2024 to June of this year, here you see that QIAGEN performed well against peer groups. For 2024, our shares in New York in dollars were up 1.5%, while the results in euros were largely unchanged compared to the end of 2023. This compares to significant double-digit declines for our peer companies grouped as diversified, diagnostic, and life science companies. In terms of the performance in 2025, our shares in New York are up about 2% so far for the year, but down about 6% in euros due to the currency movements. This again outpaces the trends among our competitors. As I just mentioned, QIAGEN is faring well in this challenging macro environment.
This trend is reflected in this chart, which shows how QIAGEN has improved a key multiple known as enterprise value over EBITDA, a key measurement for profitability. QIAGEN has kept a steady enterprise over EBITDA multiple since the start of 2025. At the same time, the median multiple for our peer group companies has declined about 3.4 percentage points during the same period. This reflects growing investor confidence in our performance and growth perspectives, and we want to deliver on these expectations. Turning to my last slide, I would like to quickly summarize the key messages. First, 2024 was another year in which QIAGEN delivered growth and important achievements while navigating through macro headwinds. Our teams exceeded the outlook we had set for net sales and adjusted earnings while maintaining a high level of profitability and very good cash flow.
Second, we delivered an increase in our operating profitability as we target further improvements in 2025 and seek to generate over three percentage points of improvements during this two-year period. Third, we also had a strong level of free cash flow that helped to strengthen our balance sheet and provide resources for disciplined capital allocation. And as a last point, we see the benefits of our long-standing capital allocation strategy that focuses on strengthening the business while increasing returns through repurchase programs and now also through the introduction of an annual dividend. Against the backdrop of this macro environment, QIAGEN is committed to delivering solid, profitable growth as we move ahead with a renewed level of focus and agility. I want to end here by again thanking our employees for their engagement and commitment.
Our QIAGEN ers are essential for achieving the goals we have set for 2025 and our future success and above all, achieving our vision of making improvements in life possible. With that, thank you and back to Larry.
Thank you, Roland, and thank you for the kind comments about myself that you made at the beginning. We now have an opportunity for your questions on all of the agenda items. Is there anyone that would like to ask a question? Yeah, please identify yourself and if you're from an organization, also the organization that you represent.
Yeah, hello, dear ladies and gentlemen. My name is Andreas Masseck from the SdK Schutzgemeinschaft der Kapitalanleger, which is a German shareholder association with round about 8,000 members, and we are representing shareholder rights at round about 500 AGMs per year in Germany and the Benelux countries.
Today, I will vote in favor of all items of the agenda except item 13 and item 14. Item 13 concerns the authorization of the Supervisory Board to issue common shares up to 50% of the aggregate principal value of all shares issued. The SdK rejects reserve capital in the amount of more than 25% of the share capital due to the associated possible dilution risks for the share portfolio, and my question is, are there any plans to increase the share capital in the near future? Item 14 foresees the authorization of the management board to acquire treasury shares. The SdK prefers the payment of a special dividend to the share buyback as the effect of a buyback in terms of a shareholder return cannot be calculated exactly. For example, what concerns a possible increase of the share quotation or a potentially higher dividend?
Is there also my question? Is there any intention to repurchase own shares in the near future? Then I have some questions concerning item number seven, the resolution on the dividend for 2025. A dividend is to be paid or should be paid for the first time, and I think also planned in the following years, which should be at least $0.25. My questions, why does the board offer to us exactly $0.25 this time? On the basis of which figures was this dividend calculated? And what will be the dividend policy for the following years? By the way, the SdK is asking usually for a minimum of 40% of the EPS per share as dividend payment. And another question concerning item fifteen, it concerns the capital repayment by means of a synthetic share buyback.
The proposal provides for a procedure for capital repayment to shareholders as a ratio of 1 : 25 shares. In this way, 5% of the market capitalization is to be or should be paid back to the shareholders. This payment is tax-free under Dutch law. The withholding tax can be deducted from tax in Germany as well. The draft resolution has so far been in line with the interest of the majority of the internationally structured shareholder base for this type of shareholder return. So, is my understanding of this item what concerns the procedure right? And when does the board plan to repay and which amount of the capital to the shareholders? My last question, how many shareholders are via video attending the meeting actually? Yeah, please let me know your reaction on my comments now. I'm looking forward to your answers, and I thank you in advance.
So thank you for your questions. Are there any other shareholders who'd like to ask a question? Please.
Yeah, [Foreign language] M y name is Michael Ruf and I'm coming from Brussels. I'm a shareholder. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I will start with my questions in English. My first question concerned the net profit or what is said in English, the EAT of the company. How much was this net profit profits in the years 2022, 2023, and 2024? How much is the planned estimation for 2025? So this is the first question for figures. Now, second question, how much was the total remunerations for the Managing Board for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024? Is there a correlation between profits and remunerations, a positive or a negative one?
And tell me also what you estimate as remunerations for the management board for 2025 following the profit margins or the profits you have estimated in the provisions for the company. And now, a question concerning the result. Does it comply with the statement that was given by the Chairman on page two of the remuneration report? There we can read, "We continue to strongly support the clear pay-for-performance culture that is embodied in our policy and the key contributor for the culture of QIAGEN." I see no following of this pay-for-profit performance. Now, third point, the pay for the board members is mainly based on STI and LTI elements. I can understand this, but should not be a more basic salary element and lesser STI and LTI elements.
Point four, can you please inform us how much PSU were granted to the management board year 2022, 2023, 2024, and why the numbers are rising compared to the statement on page two that I have read? Neither the profit development. Both elements for shareholders' interests can explain this. Point five, checking the tables on page 14 and 15 in the remuneration report. Tell us the sale of the members' shares in 2024. Did they expect that 2024 results of QIAGEN and. Was the reason and they did not have no longer interest to keep the stocks on their own of the company? They have sold a lot of stocks in this year 2024. Can you tell us how much percent of their total stocks they have sold in 2024? Now, a remark to the share buybacks.
What do I have as shareholder who invests in QIAGEN from share buyback programs and share buybacks? And at the same time, losses in the company-owned capital. I have nothing as a shareholder. I lose money. Who benefits from share buyback? In my opinion, these are the board members who sell a lot of their shares and others who do not trust in the future rising of the stock prices. I like that you now told us to start finally to pay dividends because dividends serve all shareholders, payback programs do not. And if I got a dividend and I am convinced of the company, I will invest my dividend again in company shares. Thank you. That was it.
Thank you. Are there any other shareholders that would like to ask questions at this time? Okay, that seems not to be the case.
Then I think we can start with the answers to the first set of questions. Please , Roland and Thierry.
Yeah, thank you. And I'm trying to combine some of the questions because I do think that there were a couple of questions on share buyback, which I tried to answer in a more holistic view, but of course also the dividend payment. First of all, I appreciate the feedback on the dividend. I know that was a longtime discussion also here on the AGMs and given the strengths what we're seeing in our overall financial situation and also in the outlook on that, we felt it's the right time to introduce annual dividend payments. There was also a question in terms of the size of the dividend payment.
I do think there is, in all fairness. I don't think what we established so far a specific ratio on the dividend as a percentage on either operating income or others. The reason for that is QIAGEN is still very much a company which is growing significantly. Therefore, I do think there might be situations where while we believe that the dividend has to be quite steady. Again, we all know once you started to pay dividend, you paid for probably my successors, successors hopefully is doing that and that you increase it over time. A formula is not helpful after year one. As I said, we clearly introduced the dividend under the condition, I just said it out, that we believe it is a long-term instrument, it is a steady instrument, and it's clearly something what we increased.
But binding it to a formula, I think it's too early for a company. We're just starting with that. And therefore, I think also the amount we have set is something where we feel very comfortable that that is a good starting point and gives us enough flexibility again to keep and sometimes even to increase it over time. I do think it is also important to see that in combination with our synthetic share buybacks. We have to go back all the way actually to the year 2012 when QIAGEN started with a quite detailed out and laid out capital allocation policy. We have a strong commitment to all three components. First, investing into our own organic growth by investing into R&D. Second, and that was also a question, reviewing value-enhancing acquisitions.
We have proven in the past and just a couple of weeks ago that we are able to do value-enhancing deals. A few weeks ago, we acquired a company in the software field, which clearly helps us to develop QIAGEN further. We want to continue to do that as well, and third, which actually also returns to shareholders, there are different ways. Dividends, we discussed already. The other opportunity is clearly where we are share buybacks. We started in 2012 with what you recall was $100 million incrementals. Two years ago, we increased that number to $300 million. We did one in 2024. We did a $300 million synthetic share buyback. We did also a $300 million share buyback earlier this year, and as you know, today on the AGM, we are again, one more time asking to step that up to a $500 million synthetic share buyback.
What we all have to understand is that we are proposing here also what we did in the past, a synthetic share buyback. What is the difference between a synthetic share buyback and a general share buyback where you have an open market transaction? Very much the difference is that the cash we are paying out for the shares ends in the hands of our existing shareholders. So it's not like going to the broader stock market. It ends with our existing shareholder, which I do think is a win situation. And as one of you pointed out, absolutely correct it. Correct. In some areas, this payment, initial payment is even tax-free. So it has also, I would say, a nice advantage for a group of our shareholders. Again, I would think we have to see that topics all together.
We believe that now with a combination with a dividend, there's an opportunity again to get a better mix. As we learn about that over time, we will reevaluate probably the mix within all three different categories, as I said before. But I would say it gives hopefully our shareholders also an opportunity to see QIAGEN from different perspectives. There was one question about is there any current plan on increasing our capital in the near future. As I said, right now we are rather looking in a way of buying back shares. As we said before, we are viewing all these opportunities about growing the company organically and inorganically. We have to see how that develops. As you know, backwards, I think the last capital increase for QIAGEN is, I should know it is, but for sure 10 years plus away.
So it is clearly not a tool what we use quite likely. The next question was about also in terms of remuneration and paybacks. I think just one comment from my side is again, first of all, you all know that there's a very detailed remuneration report out with all the different numbers. But I clearly want to point out, and I speak here under the control of Thierry. I think Thierry hasn't sold any share in the last few years. I actually probably had a minimal part of my holding. Nevertheless, my holding is probably this year as high as it was never in the last 22 years I'm actually with QIAGEN . So we are very much committed into the company.
When we typically sell shares, it is to fulfill our duties as a taxpayer because also we have to pay our tax duties and time on a yearly basis. That is the driver for that.
Absolutely. I mean, the shares that are sold are only for the net settlement, as you said, Roland. I would also highlight, I was commenting to Larry, our Chairman, that out of the last five years, management, I mean, Executive Committee and Managing Board didn't have salary increase, base salary increase for three years of those five years, clearly. That anytime salary increase has been executed for the Executive Committee, it has been in line with local CPI in their countries of residence. Nothing more than this. But again, I insist, three years out of five, there was no salary increase for Executive Committee and Managing Board.
Last but not least, the amount of shares allocated or granted to the Managing Board for the last five years has not increased. It remains the same every year. But the numbers are public. I think you had also one question in terms of correlation between payments and compensation and company performance. I do think, first of all, as a general comment, I think it's fair to say that because of the significant share component, which is by far the majority of our overall compensation, we are as much aligned with our shareholders as we can. Therefore, I would say, again, the holding is probably the single biggest commitment you can get from us into the shares.
The one thing you have to factor in, nevertheless, because you were looking into individual years, because of our long-term holding periods, investing periods as well, there's always a time lag. So you will see that if you get grants into a certain year and it was a successful year, the vesting of that is still later. And therefore, again, you have a time lag. So the realization of the benefits is typically three to five years later. So that is something when you have to look at, you have to actually not compare it year by year. You actually have to look at more or less year, typically plus three years, just to make sure, I guess, to things a bit more understandable. John, Jim, if you can scroll down what other questions we had. I just don't want to miss one.
In terms of 2025 remuneration, I'm happy to say what we have accrued here as well so far. I would say, as you know, and probably also reflecting on 2024 before I go on 2025, have in mind that 2024, as you said correctly by yourself, was a very successful year for QIAGEN. We increased three times our profit goals and were able to meet them three times. So again, we came in above expectation, which was, I think, overall good. Nevertheless, and the same is actually true also for 2025. So far, we're able to increase our profitability guidance for the year. We will see how the rest of the year goes right now.
I do think it's important for you to understand that for management to achieve 100% of our payout, it is not good enough to just achieve what we publicly set as our guidance for the company. So for us to make 100% of our variable terms in both on cash components as well as on share components, we have to be above the targets communicated to the market. I hope that shows also a bit in terms of our compensation philosophy.
Last point on this.
Sir, on your pay for performance, I'm sorry, approach. I think it's worth highlighting that myself included and most of the executives and employees at QIAGEN , if you compare to benchmark on the market, and we have a clear benchmark of more than 16 companies representative both in the U.S. and Europe of our sector of activity, our employees on the base salary are below the median of the market. And that's a choice. They are below the median of the market where we try to compensate is on STI, short-term incentive, and LTI. I think this is a clear indication that we clearly want to pay for performance. It's not on the base, it's on the STI and on the LTI.
Yeah, I think I skipped one question not on purpose, but I want to go back on the. You had a question on the taxes in Germany and Dutch law. So it is important to understand on the withholding taxes. We applied in Germany for the certification of the German tax authorities that the banks should not withhold the tax. Unfortunately, they were not as quickly early as this year. We do believe that the certification will come during this year. So at the end of the year, it should be available. Once available, of course, we will make sure that it's available on our website also for download to every shareholder. That's very obvious. I'm not going to blame German tax authorities, but this time they were not as quick as the year before.
In terms of the question on net profits, how was it in 2022, 2023, and 2024? Again, the number for 2022 was $423 million. In 2023, it was $341 million. But bear in mind, clearly 2022 was full of COVID and therefore pandemic revenues. 2023, it came down a bit. As you know, it faded away in the year of 2023. And for 2024, it was clearly a bit lower. And then that was around $84 million. I mentioned in my speech that that has significantly influenced by the charges of our discontinuation of our NeuMoDx business. Outside of that, it was actually quite stable. And let me see if there's any other question. There was also a question on the Supervisory Board compensation. First of all, I think I would try to get the facts clear.
Our Board has only, as far as I know, I'm quite sure I know it quite well, two kinds of compensation parts. One is a base cash compensation, and the second one is a share-based compensation. They do not have a short-term cash compensation. They are very much tied to the share performance, as you said correctly, of the company on the share price performance, just to get that clear. Having also in mind that we all, Supervisory Board as well as Managing Board as well as other members, have minimum holdings in shares. So it is a significant part. Again, while they might vest, they still have to hold for a certain number of years. And as I said before, particularly for the management board, you barely see sales of shares. And typically, if they sell, it has to do with tax liabilities.
Just let me go back to you if I missed any questions.
So maybe I'll take the question on the number of attendees who are participating virtually. In total, we have 21 current participants who are connecting over the internet. And that includes the four board members that are not physically present here that I mentioned before. So in addition to those four, there are 17 other shareholders who are connecting virtually.
I think at the same time as you read the numbers before, Larry, I think it's worthwhile to mention and to remind that also this year we had a significant participation in terms of votes. I think north of 80%. We'll see an exact number at the end of the meeting. But again, with that, more than 80%, we are clearly in the top one-third of participation on any listed company in Europe.
So therefore, I would say the representation on shareholders is very active in our AGM.
Okay. I think that those were the answers to all of the questions that were asked. If there are any further questions, please pose them now.
Yes, thank you. Additionally to item 15, capital repayment by means of a synthetic share buyback, again, a question. I think the answer of Mr. Sackers was very general. And I heard a rumor that a first payment will take place in the beginning of 2026. Could you possibly confirm maybe parts of this rumor? Or can you give us a little bit more detailed information? What is planned with the synthetic share buyback exactly?
I'm happy to answer the question under the control of the Supervisory Board because at the end of the day, it is a Supervisory Board decision which triggers the synthetic share buyback.
We haven't set any date, and as you know, the proposal, what we asked today, therefore, what you're saying is a rumor. I'm not sure where you got it from, but there's anyway too many rumors in this world, but we're looking on different parameters, right? And one is clearly share price performance. The second is clearly within our capital allocation policy in general, which I laid out what we're seeing in opportunities on, again, from overall organic development, over M&A activities, and of course, the overall macro environment. And if we see a nice opportunity in executing on it and the benefit also by definition for our shareholders, we are more than happy to do so. I think the overall approval as of today is roundabout valid for one and a half years, so we have some time to execute on that.
I think probably where the rumor is coming from is the last two months, we did typically early on this year, but I would say you shouldn't take too well done early in the year. The third one has to be done early in the year. I'm not sure that that is a fair conclusion at this point in time.
Yeah, I think to be clear, the approval that we asked for today is for an authorization to have a synthetic share buyback up to $500 million. There's no decision today on either the amount or the timing of such a synthetic share buyback. You've seen that we have done one at the beginning of 2024 and again at the beginning of 2025 for $300 million each time.
But when and for how much we may do the next one is subject to a decision later in the year or early next year. Are there any additional questions that we can answer for you? If there's no further questions, then we can conclude this portion of the meeting, and we'll move on to agenda item three. This is a non-voting item and concerns the Supervisory Board report on the annual accounts for 2024. This report was prepared in accordance with the governance principles of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code, the New York Stock Exchange, corporate governance rules, and other applicable regulations. You can find the report in our annual report that is available on the QIAGEN website. Next, we move to agenda item four. This involves the adoption of QIAGEN's annual accounts for the year ended December 31st, 2024.
Mr. Meester from KPMG is here if anyone would have a question for our auditors. Would anyone like to ask a question of Mr. Meester from KPMG? That's not the case. So thank you for being here, Mr. Meester, and being available for any questions. We will now vote on this item. Is there anyone who's against this proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? Then I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. Now we move on to agenda item five. This involves an advisory vote on the remuneration report, which is based on the policies previously approved by our shareholders. Information on the specific remuneration elements are included in the remuneration report, which is also available on our website. Is there anybody who's against the proposal? Anyone who would like to abstain from voting? We have one abstention.
I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. We will now proceed to agenda item six. This is a non-voting item that covers the update of our policy to include the option for distribution of profits as dividends. This creates a new way for QIAGEN to create value for shareholders as part of our capital allocation policy that has served us well by allowing us to invest organically in the business by targeting value, creating acquisitions that strengthen and enhance our portfolio, and by increasing returns through share repurchase programs. The introduction of a dividend reflects our confidence in QIAGEN 's financial strength and the consistency of our business performance. This policy also preserves the flexibility we need to continue investing in innovation and long-term growth opportunities. Under the amended policy, QIAGEN would have the ability to submit an annual dividend proposal to shareholders.
This proposal will aim to balance shareholder returns with QIAGEN's commitment to sustainable growth and sound financial discipline. The Board will consider a range of factors when determining whether to propose a dividend and at what level. We see this development as a natural next step in QIAGEN's development as a leading global life sciences and diagnostics leader and a meaningful way to further align our success with shareholders. The next agenda point, item seven, involves voting on the proposal to adopt the dividend for 2025. The initial dividend proposal consists of a payment of $0.25 per ordinary share, representing a total payout of approximately $54 million. The record date is currently planned for July 2nd, 2025, with payment to be made on July 10th, 2025, and this is subject, of course, to shareholder approval. Is there anybody who is against this proposal?
Is there anyone who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. Now let's move to agenda item eight. This involves a proposal to discharge the members of the Managing Board from liability for the performance of their duties in 2024. Is there anybody against this proposal? Is there anyone who would like to abstain from voting? Then I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. The next item is agenda item nine. This involves a proposal to discharge the members of the Supervisory Board from liability for the performance of their duties during 2024. Is there anybody against this proposal? We have one voter against. Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. Let us now move on to agenda item 10.
This involves a set of proposals to reappoint members of the Supervisory Board for a new one-year term up to and including the date of the next annual general meeting. The joint meeting, meaning the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board together, unanimously adopted a resolution to make a binding nomination for the following people: Dr. Metin Colpan, Dr. Toralf Haag, Prof. Dr. Ross L. Levine, Dr. Eva Pisa, Mr. Stephen H. Rusckowski, Ms. Elizabeth E. Tallett, Mr. Bert van Meurs, and Ms. Eva van Pelt. Let me take this opportunity to share a few personal remarks. As you know, I've decided not to stand for reelection and will therefore be stepping down and off the board following this meeting. It has been an extraordinary privilege to serve QIAGEN since 2013 and to serve as Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2020.
With this meeting, I have reached 12 years of service on the Board. And in accordance with the Dutch Corporate Governance Code, I will therefore not stand for reelection. During my time on the Board, QIAGEN has undergone a period of significant transformation and growth. We have focused our strategy, strengthened governance, and welcomed five new members to the Supervisory Board since 2020, bringing in fresh perspectives and deep expertise to enhance our already strong leadership team. I also want to acknowledge Professor Dr. Elaine Mardis, who has also decided not to stand for reelection. Elaine has served on the Supervisory Board since 2014 and has been a valued member, especially in her roles on the Science and Technology Committee and on the Human Resources and Compensation Committees of the Board.
On behalf of the entire Board and our management team, I want to sincerely thank Elaine for her many contributions and commitment. Following this meeting, the Supervisory Board will return to eight members as part of a plan we first outlined in 2024 to streamline the size of the board back to a level consistent with historical levels. It is also intended that the Supervisory Board will elect Steve Rusckowski as the new Chairman following this meeting. Steve brings a wealth of international leadership experience, especially as the former Chairman and longtime Chairman and CEO of Quest Diagnostics, as well as the president of Philips Healthcare here in the Netherlands. He has contributed meaningfully since joining the Board in 2023, and I hand over this role to Steve with full conviction that he's a great choice and a great fit for QIAGEN in the future.
I want to thank my fellow board members, our Managing Board, and all QIAGENers for their dedication and collaboration and support, and I want to thank you, the shareholders, for the trust you have placed in me for so many years. I believe QIAGEN has never been in as good shape as we are today. It's with a small bit of regret that I leave the board now because I see the potential for so much more success in the future. I'll very much enjoy watching our progress as we do great things to help our customers advance science and improve healthcare for people around the world. It's been an honor to serve for and with you, and I leave with great confidence in the future of this company. Now let us move to the voting on the board members. First of all, with respect to Dr.
Metin Colpan, is there anyone against the proposal? Is there anyone that would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. With respect to Dr. Toralf Haag, is there anyone against this proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. With respect to Prof. Dr. Ross L. Levine, is there anybody against this proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. With respect to Dr. Eva Pisa, is there anyone against the proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. With respect to Mr. Stephen H. Rusckowski, is there anybody against this proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting?
I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. With respect to Ms. Elizabeth Tallett, is there anybody against the proposal? We have one voting against. Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. With respect to Mr. Bert van Meurs, is there anybody against this proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. With respect to Ms. Eva van Pelt, is there anybody against this proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. I would like to congratulate my colleagues who have been reappointed today. Your continued service reflects not only your dedication to QIAGEN, but also the trust that our shareholders have placed in each of you.
You bring a strong and diverse set of perspectives and expertise to the table, and I have every confidence that you will continue to support the Managing Board in guiding QIAGEN forward strategically, responsibly, and with a clear focus on sustainable long-term value creation. I wish all of you continued success in your respective roles, and Steve, congratulations in particular to you on your reappointment. Would you like to share some perspectives with our shareholders?
Well, thank you, Larry. Appreciate that. I'd like to take a moment on behalf of the entire Supervisory Board and everyone at QIAGEN to express our deep appreciation for your leadership, Larry. You have led this board through an era of meaningful transformation, including advances in QIAGEN 's strategic focus and organizational strength, and you've done so with calm, principled leadership during some of the most challenging periods we have seen, particularly through the pandemic.
Your integrity, steady guidance, and unwavering support for this company and its people have left a lasting mark. Personally, I have admired QIAGEN for many years, initially as a customer, now from within as a board member. What continues to impress me is the clear vision that drives this company: a commitment to making improvements in life possible. QIAGEN has built an outstanding portfolio of solutions that are trusted for their quality and scientific excellence. What I find most inspiring is the impact that those solutions have in the hands of our customers, researchers, clinicians, and innovators who are advancing science and improving healthcare for people around the world every day. As I take on the role of the chairman, I do so with the deepest respect for this organization, its culture, and its people.
I also recognize the responsibility of the Board to be a strong and engaged partner to our shareholders and to all of our stakeholders. I look forward to working alongside my colleagues on the Supervisory Board, the Managing Board, and our teams to support our commitment to innovation, collaboration, and long-term value creation. And Larry, once again, thank you for your outstanding service and stewardship.
Thank you, Steve, for those very kind words, and I wish you all the best in your new role. Thank you. Well, let's move on now to item 11 on the agenda. This involves the reappointment of our two Managing Directors, Mr. Thierry Bernard and Mr. Roland Sackers. This would be for a period beginning on the day following this meeting and including the day of the annual general meeting in 2026. With respect to Mr.
Thierry Bernard, is there anyone who would be against this proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that the proposal has been adopted. With respect to Mr. Roland Sackers, is there anybody against the proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that the proposal has been adopted. Let me congratulate both of you on your reappointment as members of the Managing Board. I would also like again to express my personal appreciation for your collaborative approach and your continuous excellent leadership of the QIAGEN organization. It's been a real pleasure working with you over all these years, all in the best interests of QIAGEN . Next item is agenda item 12. This is a voting item on the updated remuneration policy for the Managing Board, which is required under Dutch law every four years.
This revised policy reflects shareholder feedback and aligns with best practices across the Netherlands, the U.S., and Germany. The main changes include a sharper focus on company-wide performance, more flexible incentive weighting, and an adjustment of targets to ensure competitiveness. Full details are available on our website. This proposal requires at least a 75% majority of votes cast to be adopted. Is there anybody against this proposal? We have one shareholder voting against. Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that this proposal has been adopted. Let us move now to agenda item 13. The next two points on the agenda concern the proposals to renew the current designation of the Supervisory Board to issue shares and exclude preemptive rights. The limits are the same as approved by shareholders in 2024. The first is agenda item 13A.
This involves the authorization of the Supervisory Board until December 26th, 2026, to issue a number of ordinary shares and financing preference shares and grant rights to subscribe for such shares. Is there anybody against this proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? The second is agenda item 13B. This involves the authorization of the Supervisory Board until December 26th, 2026, to restrict or exclude the preemptive rights with respect to issuing ordinary shares or granting subscription rights. Is there anybody against this proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that the proposals 13A and 13B have been adopted. Let us now move on to agenda item 14. This item concerns a vote on the proposal to renew the Management Board's current authorization to acquire shares in the capital of the company. Is there anybody against this proposal?
We have one shareholder voting against. Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that the proposal has been adopted. Now we move on to agenda item 15. This item grants full discretionary rights to the Managing Board, subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board, to implement a capital repayment of up to $500 million to shareholders through a synthetic share repurchase. Is there anybody against this proposal? We have one shareholder voting against. Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting? I hereby record that agenda item 15 has been adopted. Next item is agenda item 16. This is also an agenda item from 2024 and involves a proposal to cancel fractional shares that are a result of the execution of the synthetic share repurchase. Is there anybody against this proposal? Is there anybody who would like to abstain from voting?
I hereby record that agenda item 16 has been adopted. Moving on to agenda item 17, we have now voted on all proposals on the agenda, and I believe all of your questions were answered earlier. Are there any additional questions?
There might be no question, Larry, but I'm going to add a very quick and simple new point to the agenda. A lot has been said today. Before I move to you, but your turn will come. I think perhaps you want to say a word, Toralf, as well as Chairman of our Audit Committee, because I think we should also thank KPMG for their service for many years with you. So I'll leave you the pleasure of commenting on, obviously, the collaboration that we had together for some years. Toralf, yourself?
Yeah, happy to do so.
As head of the audit committee, I really want to thank KPMG for many years of constructive cooperation and the professionalism you have brought to our discussions, and the work together has been, as I said, very cooperative and very professional, and on behalf of the audit committee, but also on behalf of QIAGEN, thank you very much for this work together.
Yeah, and maybe just one additional word for those that are not aware, there are guidelines for auditor rotation, so it is not the case that we don't want to work with KPMG anymore, but it's their last year because they meet their deadline for rotating away from the company. Nevertheless, I'd like to add my thanks for the great and professional cooperation over the years. Being an external auditor is not an easy job.
You want to have a very good relationship with the management and, in particular, the financial organization. But at the same time, you need to maintain an objective distance so that you can properly evaluate, in particular, the accounting and the disclosure for the company. And at the same time, understand deeply what's happening within the company. And I think KPMG has done a great job of that over the years. And thank you very much for that to you, but also all of the colleagues from KPMG that have participated in the relationship over the years. So thanks again.
Thank you. And second, I mean, on behalf of management and our 6,000 or close to 6,000 QIAGENers, really congratulations and welcoming Steve as new chairman of our board.
I can tell you that having spent some years with Steve in front of me as a customer, it's a bit easier to have him as a board member. And I believe really he's bringing a wealth of, as you said, Larry, not only expertise, product expertise, management expertise, and also financial expertise. And just as a token of what happened over the last two years when you had joined the board, anytime I had to cover a challenge or a question with you, you always come extremely prepared and always willing to bring solutions. So thanks a lot and congratulations for this new role and looking forward with all our QIAGEN ers to be working with you. And last but not least, Roland started to say it, but it's a sincere thank you, Larry.
Everybody has said, yes, it was volatile, but when you think about it, it was indeed volatile since you took over. We had to go through COVID. For you, it's probably belonging to the past, but do you know that a company like QIAGEN had to increase, for example, some of our production by more than 50 times, five-zero, in less than four months at the time of COVID under your leadership to try to cope with the demand? And then, after COVID, we went to post-COVID and management of this, obviously, reflux, I would say, of the market. Then we went to some troubles in Europe with the start of the war in Ukraine and all the disruption and also uncertainties in the Middle East and then hyperinflation and so on and so on.
But in that context, QIAGEN grew 30% of activities, as you see, while becoming even more profitable. We tend to forget that, plus 30% of activities in growth and significant increase of profitability and cash flow generation. And I think everybody has said that as well. You always provide us with calm and a cool head in those moments. It was always a pleasure to have our monthly call, Monday calls, I would say, weekly calls, and your input through those years. Thank you very much. It's a bit heavy. I'm still wondering how you are going to bring back to the U.S. I think we should probably ship that. We have basically two tokens of appreciation and recognition. This is a commemorative plaque, I would say, of the company on behalf of what you have said and what you have done with us. And John will bring you also.
I asked you some time ago if you would be available in a certain weekend in September because I think you have a passion with this golfing, and so you'll see what we have prepared for that, so I hope that you will enjoy that weekend, but thank you very much for your leadership. Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you, everyone, and thanks for the great present. I'm now going to be the owner of a box that you see a photo of when you see many photos of Nobel Prize award winners in science and biotechnology because they're all using QIAGEN products, and when you see pictures of them in their labs, they have usually many QIAGEN boxes behind them.
Thank you very much for that first box, even though I'm not going to win a Nobel Prize in biotechnology, but I love to have the box anyway. So thank you very much. And again, thanks to all of you for the great support. So that brings us to agenda item 18 on the agenda. Before I close the meeting, on behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank the Managing Board, along with the Executive Committee members and all of our employees worldwide for their contributions to the success of QIAGEN . My colleagues in the Supervisory Board and I have great confidence in our future growth prospects and the impact QIAGEN can have on achieving our vision of making improvements in life possible. Let me thank each of you for your attendance at this meeting. We truly appreciate your continued support of QIAGEN .
I now close the shareholder meeting today.