Darmstadt, Germany, April 17, 2015 – At the Annual General Meeting of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany held in Frankfurt am Main today, shareholders approved a dividend increase of 5 cents or 5.3% to € 1.00 per share. The dividend payment takes into account the 1:2 share split in 2014, corresponding to a payout ratio of around 22% based on earnings per share pre one-time items.

The Annual General Meeting approved the actions of the members of the Executive Board and of the Supervisory Board for fiscal 2014 by a significant majority and approved all of the resolutions.

More than 1,000 shareholders took part in the Annual General Meeting. When the resolutions were voted on, 83,128,668 shares were represented, corresponding to 64.32% of the approximately 129.2 million shares issued.
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Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life – from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2016, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of € 15.0 billion in 66 countries.
Founded in 1668, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, holds the global rights to the "Merck" name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.