The attendance list is laid out throughout the term of the General Meeting, until the Meeting session is closed. The persons preparing the attendance list are obliged to include therein any changes in the membership and the number of the represented shares before each voting. The attendance list is signed by the participants and by the Chairman of the General Meeting.
General Meeting and rights of the shareholders
The methods of Grupa Kęty S.A. General Meeting operation and the basic rights of the General Meeting are regulated by the Company Articles of Association and the General Meeting By-law. The documents are available on the corporate website.
General Meetings are held at the registered office of the Company in Bielsko-Biała or in Warsaw. They are convened by the Management Board on the basis of an announcement published on the corporate website, in the manner specified for current information disclosure, in accordance with the Act on Public Offering and Conditions Governing the Introduction of Financial Instruments to Organised Trading, and on Public Companies. A General Meeting may also be convened by the Supervisory Board or shareholders representing at least half of the share capital. The shareholders representing at least 5% of the share capital may request convening of a General Meeting and including certain items in the agenda of the Meeting.
The selection of the General Meeting Chairman takes place in secret voting by way of voting for each of the candidates separately. The Chairman is the person with the largest number of votes cast. If more than one candidate receives the equal largest number of votes, the person opening the General Meeting orders supplementary voting for the candidates with the equal largest number of votes. The Chairman is the person with the largest number of votes cast in the supplementary voting.
After having selected the Chairman of the General Meeting, the person opening the General Meeting hands over the conducting of the General Meeting to the Chairman of the General Meeting, who verifies the correctness of preparing the list of attendance at the General Meeting and in the absence of reservations signs the same, confirms the correctness of convening the General Meeting as well as its capacity to pass resolutions in the matters included in the session agenda, based on the submitted documents related to the convening of the General Meeting, the attendance list and the original powers of attorney, and also the possible motions filed in that regard by a person entitled to vote, then orders the acceptance of the agenda, and orders voting on the selection of the vote-counting committee, if they deem the committee appointment needed. In the absence of grounds for determining the correctness of convening the Meeting or capacity to pass resolutions, the Chairman of the General Meeting closes the Meeting session.
During a session, the duties and rights of the Chairman include caring for the compliance of the course of proceedings with the provisions of the Code of Commercial Companies, the Articles and the By-law, giving the floor and asking questions to the participants, as well as the persons identified in § 6.2 of the General Meeting By-law, taking the floor away from the participants, ordering voting on removing from the meeting room any persons who grossly breach the law, the provisions of the Articles, the provisions of the By-law or good manners, ordering breaks during the meeting, cooperation with the notary public taking down the minutes from the General Meeting, ordering voting on the resolutions of the General Meeting, determining the correctness of the course of voting and the voting results, taking a stand with regard to the motions reported by the participants and, when such need is determined, ordering voting in the subject-matter of the motions, introducing into the agenda any matters of organisational nature, and also solving doubts as to the interpretation of the provisions of the General Meeting By-law.
Due to the fact that the Company is stock listed, only the shareholders who have obtained their status at 16 days prior to the date of the General Meeting at the latest may participate in it and exercise their voting rights. Furthermore, the Members of the Management and Supervisory Boards, the Company auditor and other persons invited by the governing body convening the General Meeting, including the representatives of media, may participate in the Meeting, unless, at the request of a participant filed before proceeding to the discussion over the issues included in the agenda, the General Meeting decides otherwise with a simple majority of votes.
The list of shareholders entitled to participate in the General Meeting, signed by the Management Board, and including the names and surnames or business names of the entitled persons or companies, their addresses (addresses of registered offices), the number of their shares and votes, is available at the registered office/on the premises of the Company Management Board three business days prior to the General Meeting.
Pursuant to the Company Articles of Association, the General Meeting of Grupa Kęty S.A. By-law as well as the legal regulations, the Company shareholders may, specifically:
- participate in the General Meeting and exercise their voting rights in person or through attorneys;
- run for the position of the General Meeting Chairman or propose one candidate for the position to be included in the minutes;
- report draft resolutions on matters included in the agenda but not related to organisational matters;
- submit proposals of amendments and supplements to draft resolutions included in the General Meeting agenda by the time of closing the discussion on the items of the agenda concerning the draft resolutions to which such proposals pertain;
- take the floor and ask questions concerning each item on the agenda;
- demand secret voting;
- demand inclusion in the minutes of their objections and other statements;
- demand information from the Company Management Board concerning the items on the General Meeting agenda in the case of and subject to exceptions provided for in legal regulations;
- demand the list of shareholders to be e-mailed to them free of charge, indicating the e-mail address to which such a list should be sent. A shareholder may examine the list of shareholders on the Management Board’s premises and demand a copy of the list, paying the costs of its preparation;
- examine the books of minutes of the General Meeting and request copies of resolutions certified by the Management Board;
- appeal against resolutions of the General Meeting in the cases provided for in legal regulations.
The participants attending the General Meeting confirm their presence with their own signature in the attendance list laid out in the meeting room and collect the voting sheets. The representatives and attorneys, before entry into the attendance list, submit to the minutes the documents which undoubtedly prove their legal authorisation to representation in the General Meeting, unless the power of attorney has been granted in electronic form, and they sign the attendance list legibly with their full name and surname, next to the surname or name of the principal. The attendance list must include specifically: the name and surname or company name of each participant, determination of the document based on which the identity of the participant has been confirmed, and in the case of representatives and attorneys of the participants, additionally specified should be: the name and surname or company name of the participant replaced by the representative or the attorney, and the source of representation (e.g. attorney, statutory representative), identification of the basis on which the participant is entitled to participate in the General Meeting (e.g. shareholder, pledgee), the number of shares held by the participant and the number of votes vested in the respective participant.
The course of the General Meeting is recorded in the minutes by a notary public, and the minutes must include specifically a statement on the correctness of convening the General Meeting and its capacity to pass resolutions in the matters covered by the agenda, the text of the resolutions passed, as well as the number of votes cast for each resolution and the reported reservations. The minutes are signed by the Chairman of the General Meeting and the notary public. An excerpt from the minutes together with the evidence of convening the General Meeting and documents are attached by the Management Board to the book of minutes. The book of minutes includes the minutes of the vote-counting committee from the results of voting, if the committee has been appointed, as well as the voting sheets, if the voting has been carried out with the use of voting sheets.
The resolutions of a General Meeting are passed with the majority of votes, as set out in the Articles of Association and the Code of Commercial Companies. The voting is carried out with the use of a vote counting system ensuring that the number of votes cast is equivalent to the number of votes possessed, as well as eliminating – in the event of secret voting – the possibility of identifying the method of casting votes by the particular persons authorised to vote. The voting is open. Secret voting is ordered during the elections and with regard to motions relating to dismissal of the members of the Company governing bodies, bringing them to justice as well as with respect to personal matters. Secret voting is also ordered when at least one shareholder present or represented at the General Meeting so requests.
After discussing all the matters included in the agenda, the Chairman announces the closing of the General Meeting. The proceedings of the General Meeting are broadcast live and recorded, and further uploaded to the corporate website to be watched at a chosen time.
In 2022, there were held two Extraordinary General Meetings, on 11 February 2022 with three resolutions passed, and on 17 March 2022 with four resolutions passed. On 25 May 2022, an Annual General Meeting was held, in which 20 resolutions were passed.
Detailed information on General Meetings, and the resolutions passed are available on the corporate website at:
https://grupakety.com/en/investor-relations/corporate-governance/general-meeting-of-shareholders/
https://grupakety.com/en/investor-relations/grupa-kety-on-wse/current-report/?rok=2023
Amendments to the Company Articles of Association
Any amendment to the Articles of Association requires a resolution of the General Meeting passed with the majority of 3/4 of votes, and the amendment must be entered in the National Court Register (Article 430 of the Code of Commercial Companies). Reporting of the amendment to the Articles is the responsibility of the Company Management Board. The Management Board is obliged to report an amendment to the Articles within three months of the adoption of the respective resolution.
Information on the issued securities and limitations in the exercise of the right of vote, and transfer of ownership rights
The Company has not issued any securities with special control powers. The Company Articles of Association do not provide for any powers in that regard. The shares of Grupa Kęty S.A. are ordinary bearer shares. Each share entitles its holder to one vote at the General Meeting.
The Company has not introduced any special limitations on the exercise of the right of vote. The Company Articles of Association do not provide for any limitations in that regard.
The transfer of ownership rights with regard to the securities issued by the Company is not restricted. The Company Articles of Association do not provide for any limitations in that regard.