NOVOZYMES AS (NVZMF) March 2026 Annual General Meeting Transcript

So, it is now 4 p.m. and we are ready to start this year's Annual General Meeting. So, dear shareholders, welcome to Nova Syme's 2022 Annual Shareholders Meeting. The Board of Directors is thrilled to be able to host you here at the Ballerop Sports Arena after more than two years of many virtual events. We look forward to spending the afternoon with you and hope you will join us for some refreshments and an individual snack box when the meeting concludes. It's a pleasure for me to talk to you today and present the great work and progress we made in 2021 on our path to finding biological answers for better lives in a growing world with more and more people. I also look forward to presenting where Novosheims is headed in the coming years and how we plan to increase the positive impact of our work towards a healthier planet, all while creating strong, sustainable growth and an attractive return to our investors. So I'm Jürgen Bühl-Rasmussen, I'm Chairman of the Board of Nova Syms, and the other members of the board are Kirsten Young, he's the Vice-Chair, we have Heine Delskaard, Sharon James, Kasim Kutai, Kim Stratton, and Matthias Uhlein. So here they are, the seven members elected by the AGM. As announced in December, Matthias Hulain will not seek re-election here at this AGM to replace him. The board proposes to elect Morton Sommer as a new member of the board, with a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University and more than 10 years' experience in biotechnology research And as a professor at the Technical University of Denmark, Morton brings extensive knowledge within the areas of biotechnology, the human microbiome, pipeline management and intellectual poverty rights. Morton also has strong business acumen as a co-founder of several biotech businesses. I'll come back to all of that when we come to the election of board members a bit later. And then we have the employee representatives. They were elected on the 2nd of February 2021 for a four-year term. Three of them were newly elected. Here we have them. Anna Braum, laboratory technician. Anders Henze Knudsen, he is a senior operator. Preben Nilsen, he is a science manager. And Jens Oebro, he is a senior quality professional. So these are the four employee representatives on the board. And here we have the full board of directors. We have then the following registered members of the executive leadership team. Esther Bashe, president and CNO, and Lars Grein, he is the CFO. They are registered with the Danish Business Authority. Esther will talk to you a bit later about the business and the year under review in Novo Simps. So, in addition to that, the other Executive Vice-Presidents are Amy Byreck. She is the Executive Vice-President for Strategy and Business Transformation. We have Tina Sayersko-Faner, Executive Vice-President, Agriculture and Industrial Biosolutions. We have Klaus Krohner Fulsang, Executive Vice-President for Research and Development. Then we have Anders Lund, Executive Vice President for Consumer Biosolutions. We have Graziella Maluzzelli, Executive Vice President, Operations, Supply and Quality. And finally, Morten Ingo Rasmussen, Executive Vice President for People, Sustainability and Brand. So in April 2021, we welcomed two of these Executive Vice Presidents. we welcomed two, and that was Amy Barak and Morten Ingo Rasmussen that we welcomed to the executive leadership team. They've both contributed a lot, and they're a good match to the executive leadership team. We look forward to seeing what this team can do together going forward. The company's auditor is PwC, and in pursuance of Article 8, one of the company's Articles of Association, the board of directors has once again appointed Nils Kronerup, attorney-at-law to chair the annual shelters meeting. Over to you, Niels Koenrup.

Thank you very much for appointing me chair of today's meeting of Novozymes. I look forward to a good and smooth process and a good discussion. My first job is to make sure that the meeting has been legally and lawfully convened and is qualified. For sure to Article 75 of the Articles of Association, notice convening the meeting shall be published on the company's website, not more than five weeks and not less than three weeks before the meeting. And this was done on the 11th of February 2022. And on that same date, the meeting notice was sent directly to shareholders registered by name who had asked for such meeting notice to be sent to them and with links to forms for registration, proxies and postal votes. Agenda, full proposals and the Auditor Annual Report have also been available for shareholders on the company's website since February the 11th. And I therefore find that this meeting has been lawfully and legally convened and in compliance with the company's Articles of Association, and therefore it is legally competent to transact the business on the agenda. With your agreement, I confirm this and will record it in the minutes. I would also point out that the entire meeting will be broadcast live via webcast on Novosim's website, so it's possible to follow proceedings or revisit them at a later date. I can explain that just before we started the meeting, it was found that 85.46% of the The votes are represented at the meeting after deduction of Treasury shares. And if we look at the share capital, it is 60% of the share capital that is represented on the total share capital, also after deduction of Treasury shares. The Board of Directors has received proxies and post-itle votes corresponding to 99% of the votes represented. and there is already good support to the proposals contained in the agenda. Adoption of items 10A, 10B, 10E and 10F require the support, no, sorry, require that shareholders representing at least two-thirds of the total number of votes in the company to be represented at the meeting. And that's the case, as I just stated. However, at least two-thirds of both the votes cast and the share capital-carrying voting rights represented at the meeting have to be in favor of the proposal. And I would refer you to Article 9.2 of the Articles of Association if you wish to see the details of all this. Approvals, adoptions, and elections are otherwise by simple majority. Also, as mentioned at previous annual shareholder meetings, I have referred to the provision in section 101, paragraph 5, of the Danish Companies Act, which requires a full account of voting to be provided for each resolution at the meeting, even if the outcome of the voting is reasonably clear. I suggest that we follow the same procedure as in previous years, that we don't ask for a complete account. I hope that with your agreement I can confirm that we will proceed as in previous years and therefore dispense with the need to provide a full account of the voting result. Any shareholders wishing to speak on the item on the agenda should approach me. you can then show me your access card whether it is in a hard copy or on your mobile phone and please come up to the rostrum to speak from up here we have some chairs reserved for people having asked for the floor up here so please come up here well in time before your turn has come and in that way we can have a more smooth process Here we have the agenda, item one, report of the Board of Directors. Two, presentation and approval of the audited annual report. Three, resolution on the distribution of profit in accordance with the approved annual report. Four, approval of the remuneration report and also a vote that is only a guidance. Approval of remuneration of the Board of Directors for 2022 is number five. Six, election of chair. Seven, election of vice chair. Eight, election of other board members. Nine, election of auditor. And then we have reached item 10, which includes proposals from the Board of Directors, and there are seven of them this year. Renewal of authorization to the Board of Directors to implement capital increases B. Share capital reduction C. Renewal of authorization to acquire treasury shares D. Authorization to the Board for distribution of extraordinary dividends E. Removal of the age limitation for Board members contained in the Articles of Association F, removal of Article 4.2 in the Article of Association. It has to do with the shareholders register. And G, authorization to the chairman of the meeting. Right. We can now embark on the business to be transacted today. As always, we deal with items 1, 2, 3 and 4 together. And with these words, I will now hand over first to the chairman of the board, Jørgen Buhl-Rasmussen, and then we will also hear the CEO, Esther Beshi, who will report on the financial results for 2021 and the outlook for 2022, and then the chair will complete the report with looking at remuneration and corporate governance conditions. So, Mr. Chairman, you have the floor.

So, before we get into all the great things that are happening at Novosibes, I'd like just to pause and reflect on the war in Ukraine. Citizens in Ukraine have our deepest empathy, it's a human tragedy that's unfolding right Naturally, we hope to see this war end as soon as possible. The war raises many concerns, humanitarian, geopolitical, and for Novozymes it raises the question of how we can help and who we can help and how we can help the best. Through the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novozymes has contributed to donations totaling 55 million kroner to emergency relief efforts in response to the war. Novozymes will donate an additional 1 million krona to support refugees coming to Denmark. Symers, the colleagues here at Novozymes, have also expressed a strong desire to help. We have a program called INSPIRE, one of our long-term initiatives, and employees are being mobilized globally to help via INSPIRE to brainstorm, plan and act on ways that can further support refugees from Ukraine. The war has also led to serious disruptions in the supply chains and trading conditions. Under these conditions of war, Novosams will not sell or ship to these two countries, Russia and Belarus. We must never take peace for granted. It is only during times of peace that people and societies can thrive. So against this sad background, I'll now turn to Novozymes and our biotech business. This past year, the world was again greatly impacted by the COVID pandemic. In addition, businesses and global trade were impacted by supply chain disruptions and increasing raw material and energy costs. Novozymes has done very well during these tricky conditions. we will make great strides in showing the endless potential that biotechnology holds in creating better lives in a world with more and more people. Novozymes has delivered very strong financial and non-financial results. We finished 2021 with 6% organic growth. That was at the upper end of our full year guidance when we entered the year. We also delivered strong earnings with an EBIT margin of 26.8% and we are well on track to reach 12 out of 13 non-financial targets here in 2022. We launched a total of 14 new solutions in the year under review, we entered into strategic partnerships, completed important investments and acquisitions in line with our strategic direction. We live in a dynamic world, a rapidly changing world with growing populations, increased interest in health, growing demand for chemical replacement, changes to nutritional needs and alternative proteins and solutions that can reduce CO2 emissions. Consumers increasingly have opinions about how products are made and the overall environmental and health impact of their purchasing decisions. So, these types of developments have led to an increase in demand for solutions like alternative proteins and probiotics, as well as more climate-friendly options that are less dependent on chemicals and fossil-based resources. This development supports nearly all business areas in Novosibes. So it's in this global context that companies, customers and nations navigate, shape their business and policies and politics and this is where biotechnology plays a pivotal role. It is Novosam's responsibility to ensure that through our technology we continue to provide solutions that meet the needs of consumers and the world. Novosam's innovative solutions enable us to imagine in a better future, where together we can achieve net zero emissions and sustainable growth while contributing to fair and equal societies. So let me give you a couple of examples of how such a world could look like. Imagine, imagine, just imagine if we could replace 10% of global animal protein with alternative proteins. This could mean saving about 2% of agricultural land, that will be 50% of the EU's agricultural area. Another example, if you imagine we all shift to bio-based detergents when cleaning our clothes, that could mean preventing 10 tonnes of chemicals from being poured down the drain every minute. That really could make a difference. So, even if sometimes things look bleak in this world, biotechnology can help create a brighter future. So, if there's anything we've learned in particular in recent years, it is this. Businesses must be focused, they must be agile, but we must stay true to our purpose. For Novozymes, our purpose is rooted in everything we do. It sounds together we find biological solutions for better lives in a growing world.

This is our purpose.

It is a purpose that gives us the right to dream, to imagine a world made better with biotechnology. Sustainability is part of our DNA here at Novozymes. Novozymes is in a unique position to drive change towards a healthier planet. And as a company, we have a responsibility to make this happen. We are proud of the positive impact that the use of our products has in the world. In more than 30 industries, in more than 130 countries, Our enzymes, microbes, yeasts and proteins help every day reduce consumption of energy, water, chemical substances and raw materials. They help improve performance of our customer products and give people healthier, more sustainable choices for living better lives. Over the years, we have built an even stronger foundation. With our 60 years of experience in understanding biotechnology, we are committed to growing our business sustainably, thereby making a lasting difference to the world and all our stakeholders. In September 2021, we launched our strategy Unlocking Growth Powered by Biotech. In this strategy, we focus on areas where we believe we can have the greatest impact. It's also these areas where we can best use our growth potential. The strategy guides the way towards 2025, and it's also a foundation for our ambition to double our sales in 2030, while creating a carbon-neutral society, transforming food systems and enabling healthier lifestyles. 2021 was a good year for Nova Symes, very much because of the success and implementation with the implementation of our strategy. Based on our strong foundation, ESTA and the executive leadership team and all Symers are well underway in executing this strategy. As a growth company, Nova Symes is investing heavily in the future. We focus our efforts where we see the greatest need and demand and where we know we can make the largest impact for Nova Syms and the world. In 2021, we made significant investments to ensure future growth. In August, for example, we announced that we are investing 2 billion kroner in a dedicated state-of-the-art production line for advanced protein solutions. That's in Blair, Nebraska in the U.S. With this investment, we tap into the growing market need for alternative, healthier sources of protein in biohealth. In the year under review, we acquired three companies, thereby expanding our portfolio of probiotic and microbiome solutions, and we accelerated our technological capacities. In emerging markets, we increased our reach, we got a better foothold, and we created good growth through existing platforms, like with our yeast platform in Latin America. Southeast Asia, we are better able to support our customers in developing greener detergents through our global powder center in India. In 2021, we continued to build on our digital offering to customers. In June, we launched a new digital program called Front Sight, where we use data and analysis real-time to help producers, corn and enzymes to dose... We help to dose corn and enzymes in production processes, so thereby enabling higher production yields and improving the environmental footprint. So we are a global leader. We are a responsible corporation. So we want to do that in societies where we operate. Our solutions play an important role in helping our customers contribute to a healthier planet, but it takes more than that. We must look beyond our own solutions. Novozymes does that by setting ambitious targets and by working together with others to drive a sustainable agenda. using our position as a leading global company to advance biotechnology as a key enabler of a healthier planet. For the last 20 years we've cooperated with the UN Global Compact and we continue working with climate change for instance through the science-based targets initiative the climate change platform and the ambition to keep the temperature increase in the world below 1.5 degrees. At COP26 in Novosibes was awarded a British Terra-Carta seal by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. This award recognizes international corporations that have made a serious action-oriented commitment towards a sustainable future. So now more than ever before we are taking a lead in and sustainability. With years of experience, we know we can create better results together than we can do alone. So companies, governments, global citizens, we all share the responsibility for a healthy planet. NOVA SAMS will continue to actively advocate change by engaging in dialogue and offering expertise when working with organizations like the UN Global Compact, the World Economic Forum, the International Chamber of Commerce, the B-Team, and many other important organizations. So, we have a world, an ever-changing world. We must know our direction, but we must also be agile when necessary. That's how we generate value for our shareholders, and that's how we can best contribute. Novosimes has upheld our commitment of giving return to our shareholders through dividend and stock buybacks. In 2021, Novosimes paid out $1.466 billion and we bought back shares worth an additional $1.5 billion, thereby completing the 2021 share buyback program. Today we are proposing a dividend of 1.524 billion, that's 5.5 krona per share for the 2021 financial year. This is 5% up, 0.25 krona up compared with 2020, corresponds to a payout ratio of about 48.5% of the net profit. So it's in line with our policy to have a payout ratio of around 50%. Today the board is also seeking approval to distribute dividends more than once a year. The distribution of an interim dividend will not impact Novosimic's policy with an annual payout ratio target of around 50%. If approved, the board will subsequently decide whether it wishes to make use of this authorization. We have started a new share-by-bank program of 500 million krona for 2022. This is all in keeping with the capital structure policy we announced at the capital market stay that was back in June 2019. This policy sets to maintain interest-sparing debt at the EBITDA level and to return all free cash flow to shareholders after investments and possible acquisitions through a combination of dividends and stock buybacks. At the end of of 2021. Novoselm's market capitalization reached $151.5 billion. This was a strong increase compared to really contributed to giving shareholders a return of 55%. This is satisfactory, but we recognize the high volatility of the share market, not least here as we see in the beginning of 2022. Two, global share markets are affected by macro-related events, so obviously this is applied also to Novosim's shares, obviously. Well, as I mentioned earlier, 2021 offered uncertainties in the world. Our employees, Simers, have handled this uncertainty with incredible spirit, dedication, and perseverance. Zymers continued to look out for one another, stayed focused on their work, and in short, we couldn't only deliver to customers, but we kept their trust. It is thanks to our Zymers that we can celebrate such a fine result today. So on behalf of the full board directors, I extend a sincere thanks to the Zymers and to the executive leadership team for your enduring passion, commitment, and contribution to our company. So, let's carry this great momentum that we created in 2021 forward. Let's carry it on into 2022 and beyond. While global uncertainties and the tragic war persist, our strategy unlocking growth powered by biotech builds on a strong foundation that has set a clear path for our journey going forward. We'll continue to invest in innovation and new ventures in our people, in our partners, in our communities, and we will ensure that we live up to our purpose every day. I'm confident that Nova Symes is in a strong position to spread out our biobased solutions further to the benefit of our customers, but also to the benefit of the planet. So with this, I'd like to say thank you for now, and now Esther will take you through the 2021 results and share insights into our expectations for 2022.

Over to you, Esther.

Thank you. Thank you, Jorgen, and thank you all for joining us today. It's truly a pleasure. It's truly a pleasure to be here and for us to share our 2021 achievements and offer a look into what the coming year and also the forecoming years ahead will hold for Novosibes. 2021 was a year of was a year of many things it was a year of overcoming it was a year of inspiring it was a year of investing it was a year of delivering it was a year of learning and while the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic lessened in the past year the changes in consumer behavior and the supply chain issues continue to affect the industries that we live in many in different ways. And despite these challenges, Novozymes delivered a strong organic sales growth of 6%, ending the year in the high end of our guidance. Our growth was led by emerging markets delivering an impressive 18%, and developed markets increased by 1%. The reported EBIT margin came also at 26.8 percent for the year also in line with the 2021 outlook net profit increased by 11 percent and free cash flow before acquisitions was strong at 2.9 billion dkk and finally on the key parameters for 2021 return on invested capital including goodwill lended at a solid 19.3% also in line with our outlook. I am proud I am proud to say that in 2021 we delivered double-digit growth in three of our five business areas food beverages and human health grain and tech processing and bioenergy all a testimony to the strength of our well diversified business and product portfolio household care delivered soft performance which came against a strong 2020 performance and was impacted by challenge European trading conditions especially at the year-end agricultural animal health and nutrition delivered flat sales in line with our expectations we wanted to reach more customers and aim to generate at least 50% of our sales leads digitally this goal was also achieved as more than 60% of our new leads were led digitally. Overall, the innovation played a key role on our strong performance, with over 30% of our sales coming from solutions launched in the past five years. To drive the current and future growth, we launched a total of 14 innovative solutions in 2021. I invite all of you to learn more about the performance in the individual business areas and also to learn more about the all the important solution launches in the Novozymes 2021 report. We continue to operate today in a world where unfortunately changes seems to be the new norm. I am proud of the results, I am, but I am especially, especially proud of how we achieved them. Simas and I see many here in the room, you keep to amaze me, you keep to amaze me with your dedication, with your resilience, the passion, the passion for finding biological solutions for better lives in a growing world. And not surprisingly, our employees are very engaged. Last year, we achieved a score of 82 on the Symer Spirit Index, showing that our employees are engaged and committed to our purpose and to our strategy. To put this number in perspective, what does 82 mean? The average benchmark of the top 20 companies using the same measurement system was 79. We score higher in all parameters when we compare to the external benchmarks. Lots to be proud. Last year, we also focused on how to ensure the voice of CIMAS could be heard and important dialogue continued, even when many continue to be restricted to home offices. To keep the engagement high and to offer safe and accessible spaces where we can listen and continue to encourage our dialogue, we did several things. We hosted virtual town halls. We hosted regional and functional town halls. Where considered time of those town halls was allocated and set aside to answer, to listen and to answer the questions of the CIMAS. We held a special session for the new CIMAS hosted by all the executive leadership team. We appointed change agents to act as voice of the CIMAS and ensure that we continue success with our strategy implementation. We enable the workplace and we launch an e-learning on anti-haragement and non-discrimination. Despite an uncertain world, I genuinely hope that 2022 will give me the whole XLT the possibility to meet money assignments face-to-face. With our new strategy, unlocking growth, powered by biotech, we have a clear roadmap to ensure our solutions can have maximum impact. Our strategy, it guides us on how to invest. It guides us on how to innovate, on how we interact with our customers and how we interact with our partners. I believe it's fair to say that when we look at Novozymes, in the past, we have been known primarily as an enzyme company, as an enzyme supplier. But Novozymes, we have much more than that. Our expertise reaches far beyond enzymes. We have world-class biotech toolbox, from fermented proteins to microorganisms. We have unique scale-up capability. We have an extraordinary innovation muscle where we master cutting-edge technologies. Novozymes is a biotech powerhouse. and when we look at the world of whom we are a biotech powerhouse then we're facing an addressable opportunity addressable market size of at least a billion dkk a space that will continue to grow as bio-based solutions continue to replace fossil-based solutions and as we answer also the merging needs of the society with solutions like a bio-recycling for plastics or carbon capture this means a whole wall of new opportunities is just that ahead of us there's another side here a world of opportunities it requires attentive prioritization it requires attentive prioritization and with our new strategy we boldly decide what we do more but we also decide what to invest less to ensure that our resources are spent where they matter the most our strategy is root on our unique very unique ability to unlock growth for our customers for investors for the world with the power of biotechnology it is on this solid foundation that we're now building on our future we're guided by our commitments to a healthy planet and standing for me on a solid foundation we create sustainable growth for novosimes by evolving our core business, by expanding biohealth and human nutrition, and by exploring new options for growth. 2021 was also a year where we took steps to realize our 2030 ambition of doubling our sales sustainably. And I would like to mention, to share with you, a few of those strategic examples that make us closer, that put us on the right path to reach our ambition of doubling our cells sustainable and also fully in alignment with our commitments to a healthy planet. In 2021, 77% of our revenue was generated from products that contributed to lower CO2 emissions by reducing the use of fossil-based resources and reducing waste. Last year, we added two new solutions to our ambitions, the Innova Element and Innova Quantum. We also launched FiberX 2.5. Our enzymes, our yeast, our digital solutions, our technical services all combine allow the ethanol producers to generate the highest level of ethanol, diversify their portfolio, lower input costs, and achieve significant productivity gains. All that to the benefit also of the planet. With the launch of our new laundry solution at Pristine, we took a significant and step in delivering biological solutions that address the benefits of stain removal pristina addresses the malodor the grim the discoloring and ultimately also improving the life of the fabric we also announced a collaboration with sipem for the development of innovative solutions for enzymatic carbon capture enzymatic carbon capture is answering a need a precious need a vital need in the society but in addition it does it more sustainable more cost effective than other solutions as enzymes enable lower heat input and more moderate use of chemicals in 2021 35 of our revenue came from products enabling our food production systems to produce more food with less and in addition improve the nutrition and the quality there is an increasing demand for sustainable neutrals, and consumers are embracing plant-based products. You're going to mention it before, Novozymes is investing 2 billion DKK in a new state-of-the-art production line in Blair, in Nebraska, for high-value novel proteins. And this facility allows us to capitalize on decades of experience on formatic catalytic proteins. In a parallel mode, we continue to invest in protein extraction enzymes that also support the trajectory and the lead solutions to plant-based foods last year we also entered a strategic collaboration with fnc a leading global agricultural science company to research to co-develop to commercialize new enzyme-based crop protection solutions for all the farmers around the world and in turn helping the agricultural business to move away from chemical solutions to bio-based solutions, to move away from chemical to bio-based solutions and helping the agricultural industry. In 2021, at least 5% of our revenue came from solutions that enabled better health for people around the world. After acquiring Microbiome Labs and purchasing the biotech technology, we took another important step to advance, to move forward our bio-health business with the acquisition of Synergia Life Sciences. Synergia is a leading developer and manufacturer of spore probiotics, but also of natural vitamin K27. And it will play a key role for us in expanding our position in human health and in functional foods. Lots to be proud of. Last year, we again restricted on how much we could travel and meet each other and our most important stakeholders face-to-face. Many Simas had the opportunity to return to the office, sometimes only for a little short time, when some others managed to do also to enjoy rare business trips when the conditions were safe. Whether we met in person, whether we met digitally, we still met. We shared ideas. We successfully collaborated, and we successfully continued to move Novozymes forward. We did this both within Novozymes, but we also did it at the global stage. We continue to participate in COP26, the United Nations General Assembly, and interacted in the World Economic Forum. We see in these arenas a very active engagement from companies and other stakeholders. And for Novoselms, many have shown real interest in the power of biology and encouraged to learn more about existing bio-based solutions that will enable, that will be part of the answers for transition to a more sustainable economy. In 2002, Novozymes was the first company in the world to report and make ourselves accountable to the triple bottom line. Today, more than 20 years later, we continue to show sustainability leadership and constantly challenge ourselves how to be bolder, how to continue to be a leader. As global leaders we are, we must build trust and confidence by showing the path for others on how to move ahead and the best way to do that it's to lead by action when shaping our strategy we took an honest look at the operational targets and we and we ask ourselves how we could best embrace our leadership position in sustainability we are proud we are very proud of what we have accomplished with a 42% reduction in co2 emission reductions in scope one and through when you compare relative to the eight 2018 vice line but we are very much on the right path towards our strong sustainability targets for a better planet in healthier people like reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 operating with a hundred percent renewable energy by 2030 and ensuring gender balance across all professionals and senior leadership also by 2030 so if turn our attention now in 2022 in 2022 we expect to increase sales organically by three to seven percent the wide range reflects uncertainty related to the ongoing pandemic and the volatile market conditions we also expect solid reported ebit margin between 25 and 26 percent we're building of last year's great momentum where we set a strong direction. And already we have seen great progress, and we're walking the talk in our strategy. In Novozymes, we are on a good path of reaching our 2025 financial targets of average organic sales of 5% or higher, EBIT margin of 26% or higher, and IOC of 20% or higher. We are excited about our ambition to sustainably double our sales by 2030, and by doing that, also enabling a healthier planet. Novozymes is a company that embraces its obligation to dream. It embraces the right to be bold, the right to be ambitious. and with that we keep also a type portfolio that carries great potential where we apply a venture logic and as we scout for tomorrow's growth we only continue to invest if the milestones are met and this includes areas exciting areas like nitrogen fixation carbon capture and biorecycling of plastics there's very few companies that can match the reach and the impact of Novozyme solutions We translate the world's needs into biological, sustainable answers. And we do that by using our unique technology and our innovation power. Our innovation is the result of the CIMR dedication. It's the result of the CIMR willingness to put their hearts and their souls together to find the best solutions. And that means, it's very simple. That means that our success relies on retaining and attracting the best and global talent. And part of that happens when you can offer an inclusive and a healthy workplace and a strong company culture. In Novozymes, we seek people with different educations, with different life experience, with different genders and perspectives to contribute, to challenge each other, and to live up to our ambition. So we continue to invest in cyber development, fostering a culture where people can be themselves and where they can have the space to thrive, where they can have the space to be inspired. And it's only then, it's when we do that, when we master this space, then it's when the magic happens. We are on a journey. We are on a journey. And while we have had the successful 2021, we're not done. We're not done by far. We can and we will be better. the world needs our solutions so let's continue to rethink tomorrow together i would like to thank all the simas for the hard work and the commitment to our purpose through 2021 and i would also like to thank our shareholders for continuing to see and continuing to believe in our potential thank Thank you for your time and your attention. And now I'll hand it back to Juergen.

Thanks, Esther.

Right then. So we have come to the matter of remuneration to the board and management and corporate governance, as it's called. The executive management fee is set by the board directors within the framework set by the AGM. Novosim's remuneration policy for the executive management is designed to attract and retain qualified members of the executive management and to provide a simple performance-based remuneration package that supports sustainable value creation for our shareholders. The individual components of the policy are structured to strongly align the interests of executives and shareholders with focus on delivering on Novosim's key strategic objectives. Executives receive a fixed remuneration consisting of a base salary, pension and other benefits. In addition, significant proportions of their remuneration packages are based on performance-related pay through short and long-term incentives. The majority of the variable remuneration is weighted towards long-term value creation. This is in line with Novosam's strategic focus and mirrors the long-term nature of Novosam's investments in the business. The goals for the short-term incentive program in 2021 were split. Financial performance of the company was 60% weight. That was composed of 45% EBIT and cash flow of 15% and targets for the individual executives at 40% weight. But the financial performance of nervous abs in 2021 resulted in both the EBIT target and the cash flow target being exceeded. So the payout related to this target was 100% and 77% respectively of the maximum. In accordance with the remuneration policy, we have established a new long-term incentive program for the executive management with a performance period covering the years 22 to 24. Since 2020, the Board has issued annual long-term incentive program grants with overlapping three-year performance periods. This allows the Board Directors to reassess targets for each annual grant cycle to ensure the targets are sufficiently demanding, incentivizing and also aligned with the strategy. The new Long-Term Incentive Programme for the Executive Leadership Team, covering the performance period from 2022 to 2024, consists of 50% shares and 50% share options. The Long-Term Incentive Programme reflects a 4% weight on organic sales growth, 20% weight on EBIT margin from primary operations and 20% from the return on invested capital and 20% weight on non-financial targets. These targets are aligned with the updated strategy and business success criteria for the period 22-24. The annual long-term incentive program cannot exceed 19 months base salary, which is the value at conditional grant. In addition, the program includes a maximum value that allows the Board to limit the total allocation of stock options and stock if the intrinsic value exceeds twice the annual conditional grant. The Board Directors received total remuneration in 2021 in the amount of £9.8 million compared with £8.2 million in 2020. The increase is the result of the full-year impact of the new Innovation Committee, which was established in August 2020, plus the increase in employee representatives from 3 to 4, and the 2% increase in the fixed-based remuneration fee, which was last increased in 2015. The individual board members' fees and their shares can be found in the Novos Ames Remuneration Report. The Novos Ames Remuneration Report 2021 is the official title of that report. In 2021, the board directors commissioned an external consultant to conduct an evaluation of the board in accordance with the recommendations from the Danish Committee on Corporate Governance. The board directors was deemed to be a well-functioning board that has worked exceptionally well together. The operational board processes were in place, and the overall tone of the board directors was positive, encouraging, challenging, and constructive. While the board was perceived to be very well-functioning, the evaluation identified a few focus areas where the work of the board could be improved, such as the balance between meetings for the full board and meetings in committees. and also the balance between virtual meetings and physical meetings. When laying down the management principles of Novosim, the Board Directors followed the recommendations on good corporate governance that form part of the disclosure requirements applicable to companies listed on NASDAQ Copenhagen. A detailed review of Novosim's position on each of the recommendations and a description of the internal controls and risk management system relating to financial reporting can be found in the statutory report. on Corporate Governance prepared pursuant to Section 107B of the Danish Financial Statements Act. These recommendations require companies to comply or explain. The recommendations were revised, effective for the financial year 2021. Changes have been implemented and Novosibes follows 39 of the 40 recommendations. In 2021, Novosibes adopted a data ethics policy. This policy sets the overall principles for ethical management of data by NOVA-SYMES and supplements our commitment to integrity and compliance. The basic principles identified to support the commitment to ethical data management are universal principles relevant for all categories of data processed in and by NOVA-SYMES. So, hereby I give the floor back to Nils Kornorup.

Thank you very much to Jørgen Buhl-Rasmussen and Nikstad Beche. We've now heard the verbal reports on the past year and the outlook for 2022, and we have had a presentation of the audited annual report with proposals for the distribution of the profit. The company has also prepared a remuneration report for 2021. That's the one that the chairman explained about right now and which is pursuant to section 139B of the Danish Companies Act. And the Board of Directors recommends the remuneration report for adoption. And I would refer you to the chair's review of the remuneration of the executive leadership team and of the Board of Directors and to the remuneration report, which has been available on the company's website since the 1st of February this year. But before I open the meeting, I should point out that the annual report has been signed by members of the board of directors and the executive leadership team and certified by the company's auditors without any qualifications or endorsements. And the Board of Directors proposes the payment of a dividend for 2021 of 5.5 Danish kroner per share of 2 kroner, which means a total payout of 48.5% of the profit for the year, or 1.524.000.000 Danish kroner. It's proposed that the remaining profit, 1.621.000.000 Danish kroner, be taken to retained earnings. So, it's now possible to put questions and give comments. There are some that have already signed up. If you wish to speak, you should make yourselves known to me. The Danish Association of Shareholders has announced that they had a presentation. But just before the meeting started, we heard that their representative has been taken ill. But it is okay for us to read out their contribution. Usually, we have sort of a verbal discussion here in order to have some life to the whole thing. But under the given circumstances, we feel that it is okay to read it out. So, this is what they would have said if they had been present at the meeting. So, my name is Jan Skauby. I represent the Danish Association of Shareholders. We are an association with approximately 1,000 members, and we look after the interests of small and medium-sized private investors. We work to develop a healthy investment and share culture. We participate every year in several annual general meetings all over the country in order to promote our core topics. I am not personally a shareholder of Novoscience, but it's been my pleasure to follow your developments in the past. In particular, the green aspect is interesting, I find. So thank you for the presentation of the annual report. It seems as if you have come through the restructuring well, EBITDA 27%, and an increase in the share price, which is very fine, also in view of the continued turbulence that we find in the market in 2021. NovoSimes did really well in 2021, but we do have a couple of questions. First of all, total revenue reported in DKK has been more or less stagnant for the past four years, although it appears that there is a growth in volume of 6%. Could you explain what you expect will happen going forward? Because what will happen to the growth in revenue and what is the connection to the new strategy? You have been very attractive as an object of investment, but that was last year. But now, in January this year, the share price has fallen more than in the market in general. Could you please explain why? Are there any underlying reasons why and how did it affect you? And my third and last question is, what is most topical? COVID-19 and the crisis in Ukraine. These two factors, do they cause you to review your strategy for Russia and the Asian markets, in particular China? We are satisfied with the development in the price here in 2021 and the proposal of a dividend of 5.5 kroner per share reveals that the financial gearing is sensible. Only too bad that you have a problem with the pay level for women. We wish all shareholders a good 2022 and thank you for 2021. And this was Jan Skowby. And now over to the chairman for a reply to the questions put in this document.

Thank you to the Danish Association of Shareholders for these questions. I'd like to address them as best I can. The first one had to do with growth expectations. And you could say can Novozymes grow because of the last few years we haven't grown that much. I think, you know, it's important to say that Novozymes by definition is a growth company. We want to be, we must be a growth company. If you look back at the time when we've been a separate company since the year 2000, we've delivered on average 6% organic sales growth. There have been years when it's been more years when it's been less but we have been a growth company for the 21 years of our existence as an independent company we certainly have an ambition to continue being a growth company going forward you know we delivered 6% in 2021 we are planning as Esther showed you to deliver between 3 and 7% growth in in 2022 and we have the ambition to be at the upper end of that range, not at the lower end. But there's lots of incessances in the world. That's why we certainly need this range, wide range. But we are a growth company. There will be years when it's more difficult to reach 6 plus percent. But we believe in the strategy we have for nervous times. We prioritize where we see underlying growth. And with the trends that we see in the world, we can and we will deliver on the growth journey and deliver on our ambition to double our revenue by 2030. The next question had to do with the price of the share and what has happened in 21 and what has happened in 22. We do not generally comment on share prices. We cannot manage that as a company. Whatever we do at nervous times is not driven by short-term developments in share prices, no. It's driven by what we believe to be the right strategic long-term decision. We are not managed by any short-term influence. That being said, I can give you a couple of sort of guidelines for what we think has happened in the market. market, we mustn't forget that the price of our share went up by 55% in 21. That was really a strong increase. So Novazymes is a growth company, it's a growth share. So that means when there's lots of speculation, lots of worries about inflation, interest increases, growth shares are hit harder than those that are not seen as growth shares. And that's why probably I think it hit Novozymes a bit harder here at the beginning of 2022 than companies that are not seen as companies. If you look at comparable companies, let's call them ingredient companies, we've developed very much in line with the other ingredient companies here at the beginning of this year. So we believe a lot of that has to do with worries about interest rate increases The last question had to do with COVID and what's happening in Ukraine and what else is happening in the world. Do we see that changing our strategy, changing the things we do? Basically not because we really believe we have the healthy strategy, the right strategy based on global trends that are in society. And this tendency that we should all be more sustainable and we should be more responsible consumers. Our entire business is based on that and those trends are not going to change because things happen in the short run. But obviously we have a strategy, we operate in a way so that we can adapt and adjust if things happen in particular regions, countries, segments, we are able to adapt. And that is certainly what our management is doing all the time, adapting to new situations. But underlying, we do not see any need to change our strategy. I hope that gave the Danish Association of Shareholders a good reply. Thank you to the Chairman for answering the questions here from the Danish Association of Shareholders. Does anyone else wish to speak? That does not seem to be the... Oh, a person is coming up. Please come up here.

Dan Pilegaard is the name of the next speaker. You have the floor, sir. Thank you. Good afternoon. I'd like to thank the chairman and the woman member of the executive leadership for what they said. I'm not very good at languages, unfortunately, but I'm very good at reading financials. But that's an entirely different matter. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if you had subtitled the UK or the English version or the English text? That would be to the benefit of all the shareholders. And now my question. We'll go back in history. In the Nords, when Novozymes was separated off from Novo, the objective of the company was to reach $10 billion by 2010. That didn't happen, but it was close. As far as I remember, the achievement was about 9 billion. Now, 11 years later, we are seeing 14 billion. So, in 11 years, the figure has grown by 5 billion. That's about half a million per year. And now, over a period of eight years, there are plans of going to 29 billion. So I think I would like to know a bit more about how you intend to do that in view of the time it took to go from one step to the next in the past 20 years. And just for my own interest, does it mean that dividend will go up from 5.5 to 11 kroner per 2 kroner share in 2030? Thank you very much.

Talk to Dan Pielgård.

Thank you, Dan Pielgård, for your comments and question. I think it's the chairman who will give a reply. First to your first part of your question, this thing about Danish and having it in writing up here. I hope it was clear when you entered the room that if you wanted a headset to hear the Danish translation, you could just ask for it at the entrance, please. So they are available to everyone if it was a problem with the English. We have tried to make sure that was okay. About growth and dividend, I really don't know what to answer to that question other than to say that if I understood correctly what you said. This is a growth company. We have delivered 6% growth on the top line over the 21 years. It's been a nice growth journey. There have been years where we didn't deliver quite what we wanted, but other years where we delivered more. Whether that can be translated into the same growth in dividend, I don't know. But it's a clear policy. We have a clear policy. About 50% of earnings will go back to shareholders. That's where we're at now. We were not there some years ago. So what we're paying to shareholders today is a higher percentage of what we earn than what it used to be. I hope that answers your question, what you tried to. No, it didn't answer your question, it seems.

Thank you very much to the chairman. And there is an additional from Mr. Pilgård. The chairman misunderstood my question entirely. What I said about the dividend was actually meant in fund. But now that it has taken 11 years to go to 5 billion, how do you intend to go to 14 billion in just eight years? That's what my question was aimed at. Thank you very much to Mr. Pilko. I don't know whether this triggers any comments from I'm not quite sure I 100% understand where all this comes from because, again, what we have announced as being our ambition, that's top line sales growth when you talk 14 billion and back to what it was. What we have announced is our ambition to double our sales from the current level by 2030. We believe we can do that with the current strategy, with the investments we undertake, also long-term in new potential growth areas. I also said that the journey we have been on since 2001 to 2021 has given us an average growth per year of 6%. We are a bit above 6% for the period until 2030, not much but a bit above. So I hope this is sufficient to answer your question. Otherwise, come up to me after the meeting is over and we can deal with this on a bilateral basis. Thank you. And there's another speaker headed towards the rostrum. Please approach. And your name is Fleming Els. Thank you. Mr. Bull, I'd like to give you a helping hand. I've been involved in the company all the way back to the time we were located in the meat district in central Copenhagen. I think the name of the CEO was Riesbjerg and the agreement was at the time that the first 10 years we wanted to reach 10%. I think that's where all this comes from. I also, it was before your time.

After he stopped, there may have been people who were not that skilled at causing growth but with the current team, I'm sure that you will deliver on those promises thank you for these comments from fleming else does anyone else wish to speak that does not seem to be the case so i take it that we have finalized the debate and that shareholders have approved the annual report The proposed distribution of profit and the remuneration report have been adopted. And as I said, because of proxies and personal votes, this was already in place. And that finalises items 1 to 4. Item 5 is the approval of the remuneration of the board directors for 2022. The proposal is to increase the base fee from $510,000 to $522,000 for ordinary board members. It is proposed that the fee for the chair and vice chair and supplementary fees for the chair and other members of the audit committee, the nomination committee and remuneration committee and the innovation committee will be set on the basis of the base fee as three, two, one and a half times the base fee respectively. This is in line with previous year's principles. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Board Directors will not receive any supplementary payment if they are elected to the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Are there any comments on this? Does anyone wish to speak on this topic? does not seem to be the case, so I take it that this proposal has been duly adopted and again I can tell you it had the votes in advance. That brings us to the matter of election. Item six is the election of the chairman. The board proposes re-election of Jurgen Paul Rasmussen as chairman. His management positions etc. are listed in the notice convening the meeting. Are there other candidates for the position of chairman of the board? It does not seem to be the case, so I hereby confirm that Jürgen Bull Rasmussen has been re-elected for a one-year term. Congratulations! The next item is also an election, that's item 7, the election of a vice-chairman. And the proposal is to re-elect Keister Young, his management positions, etc. are listed in the notice convening the meeting. Are there other candidates for that position? This does not seem to be the case, so I hereby confirm that Keister Young has also been re-elected for a one-year term. Also, congratulations to you. It brings us to item 8, that's the election of other board members. And the thing is that the board is proposing re-election of four, Heine Dalsko, Sharon James, Kasim Kutai and Kim Stratton. And the board of directors proposes to newly elect Morten Sommer. And the candidates' management positions are listed in the notice convening the meeting. Are there other candidates for the board? That does not seem to be the case, so these five candidates have been duly re-elected and newly elected. Congratulations and all the best wishes to you all. So, the members elected by the AGM are now Jürgen Buhl-Rasmussen as Chairman, Gies de Jong as Vice Chair, and as ordinary members, Heine Dahl-Scott, Sharon James, Kasim Kutai, Kim Stratton, and Morten Sommer. The employee elected board members are Anna Braham, Anders Hintze Knudsen, Prebe Nilsen and Jens Oebrow. The employee elected board members were elected in 2021 for, as you know, for a four-year term when it goes to employee elected board members. So, we have here the new full board of directors and this also means that Matthias Ullehn is retiring and I give the floor to the chairman to comment on that. Yes, I just thought I'd take the opportunity here to say thank you. In front of all your shareholders, thank you very much to Matthias Ullehn. He's been a member of the board for 15 years and contributed significantly through his deep understanding of research and development, biotechnology, and intellectual property rights. We've really appreciated Matthias' dedication for the many years and the lasting impact he has left on Nova Symes. Unfortunately, Matthias is unable to join us yesterday. He was supposed to be here. But unfortunately, two days ago, he got COVID. So obviously, he couldn't come. So it's a big shame we can't say goodbye to him properly. But I hope we will all give him a hand so we can hear it all the way to Stockholm, where I hope he's feeling better. Thank you so much, Matthias.

Thank you very much to the chairman. We have now dealt with item eight. So we have the last election item, which is election of auditor. The Board proposes the re-election of PricewaterhouseCoopers, states' authorized revisionspartners' selskab, and pursuant to the EU audit regulation, I am obliged to inform you that the proposal is based on a recommendation from the audit committee, and the committee has not been influenced by third parties in its recommendation or has not been subject to any agreement with the third party that restricts the election of auditors by the annual shareholders' meeting today. So, So, are there any other candidates? That doesn't seem to be the case. So, with your support, I find that PricewaterhouseCoopers has been re-elected. This brings us to item 7, which is a proposal from the board. The chair now says 10, that's probably what he means. There are seven proposals in item 10. The first, Proposal 10a, concerns renewal of the authorization to implement capital increases. Article 5 of the Articles of Association contains several different authorizations to the Board of Directors to implement capital increases that all expire this year. Please refer to the notice convening the meeting, and the Board proposes that these authorizations be renewed and extended for one year, which means until April 1, 2023. Article 5 of the Articles of Association will be amended as specified in the meeting notice. As mentioned in my introduction, adoption of a proposal requires a majority vote pursuant to Article 92 of the Articles of Association. Are there any comments to this proposal? I would like to hear if there are any comments or questions. That doesn't appear to be the case. Yes, I take that as a sign that the meeting has approved the proposal. That seems to be the case. Thank you very much. The second proposal is 10b, has to do with the reduction of share capital by the cancellation of Treasury shares on the 8th of February 2021. Novozymes initiated a share buy-back program that was first announced in Company Announcement number one of the 2nd of February 2021. In pursuance of the buyback program, Novozymes bought back a total of 3,401,975 B shares in 2021 with a transaction value of 1.5 billion kroner. In connection with the buyback, Novo announced that the shares would be used to reduce the share capital and to honor obligations relating to the company's various incentive programs. The Board of Directors, therefore, proposes that the company's share capital be reduced by the cancellation of a proportion of the company's holding of Treasury B shares. I have referred to the convening notice, but will briefly mention that the Board of Directors proposals the cancellation of 1 million B shares of 2 Danish krona east, i.e. an average price of 440.8 Danish krona per B share of 2 Danish krona, which means that a total of 438,800,000 Danish krona have been paid out to shareholders in addition to the nominal capital reduction. The total share capital after this will be 562 million kroner. This requires a majority vote like the last item did. Are there any comments or questions to this? That does not appear to be the case. I take it to show that once again we have adopted the proposal to reduce the share capital. I find that the company has been adopted. I can also point out that a notice to creditors will subsequently be issued with a deadline of four weeks after which the reduction of the share capital will be final. There will be a company announcement that shows when the share capital has been reduced. The next item on the agenda is 3C, has to do with authorization to acquire treasury shares. This is an issue that we are all familiar with from previous year's shareholders meetings. Ongoing purchases and sales of treasury shares is a useful tool in a company's efforts to regulate or adjust its capital structure so as to achieve the correct balance between the company's own resources and its loan capital. The current authorization, which was used in connection with the share buyback program last year, expires after this meeting. And therefore, the Board of Directors would like to ask for authorization in the period until 1st of April 2023 for the company to acquire Treasury shares on an ongoing basis up to a total nominal amount of 56.2 million kroner, corresponding to 10% of the share capital, subject to a holding limit of 10% of the total share capital. The purchase price must not deviate by more than 10% from the price listed on NASDAQ Copenhagen. The authorization is required to complete the announced new share buyback program. This only requires a simple majority vote. Are there any comments or questions? That doesn't seem to be the case. Again, I take it to mean that the meeting has adopted this proposal. Thank you very much. The fourth proposal is 10.D. has to do with authorization to the Board of Directors to distribute extraordinary dividends. In the interest of financial planning and as a service to Novozyme shareholders, the Board of Directors proposals that until the next annual general meeting in accordance with Articles 182 and 83 of the Danish Companies Act, that it be authorized to adopt one or more decisions to distribute extraordinary dividends to the company's shareholders to the extent possible under applicable legislation. Any comments? That doesn't seem to be the case. I take this to mean that the meeting has adopted this proposal. Number five.

So this is a change to Article 12.2 of the Article Association regarding the age limitation for members of the board is proposed that it should be deleted. The current age limit of 70 years for members of the board directors in Article 12.2 of the Article Association should be deleted. So this proposal amends Article 12.2 as specified in invitation to the general meeting. As also stated in the invitation to the AGM, the board directors has a revised competency profile that describes the required qualifications of the board directors collectively and individually and the desired diversity of the board directors in order to carry out its task in the best possible way. The board directors does not believe that a certain aid should automatically exclude persons from being elected to the company's board directors if they're in compliance with the competency requirement. So the revised competency profile does not contain an aid's limit. Does anyone wish to speak on that? Does not seem to be the case. I take it to mean that the motion has been duly adopted. Thank you. The sixth proposal concerns an amendment to Article 4.2 of the Article Association concerning the keeper of the company's shareholders register. The board director's proposal to delete Article 4 to concern the keeper of the company's shareholders register for increased flexibility in the choice of provider. At the same time, the numbering of the subsequent sections of Article 4 will be updated accordingly. As a result of this change, the board directors will continue to be responsible for keeping the shareholders register, but will obviously continue to delegate the task to a professional service provider. Are there any comments to this item, this very interesting item? Does not seem to be the case. No, no, no. I'm not the keeper of the shareholders register, so that's the chair of the meeting. No, that's not the case. So, this proposal has been duly adopted. The last item, that's 10G, is the authorization to authorize the meeting chairperson, yours truly, to ensure that amendments to the article association, just adopted, are duly registered. More details are stated in the notice convening of the meeting. Does anyone wish to speak on that? That is not the case. So I take it that this has also been duly adopted. So that brings us to the end of item 10. And we are now at item 11, any other business. This is where you can speak on the company. You can give comments. You can state whatever you want concerning the company. But you cannot make any proposals. You should have sent in proposals in advance. But that doesn't seem to be the case, last possibility, no. So that completes the agenda and all that is left from me is to thank you and to finish my work. So I discontinue my work as chairman of the meeting and give the floor back to the chairman.

Well, that just leaves me with saying that the meeting is over And on behalf of Noah Simons, I'd like to thank all those who participated, and not least you, to our chairman of the meeting, who once again helped us navigate safely through the agenda. So, the meeting is adjourned, and on behalf of the Board of Directors, I'd like to thank our shareholders for support and interest in 2022. We look forward to seeing you again, perhaps even a higher number of you, next year in 2023. Thank you for attending.