Munich Re Group Annual Report 2006 (PDF, 1.8

Munich Re Group Annual Report 2006
Share buy-back programme with a volume of €1bn
In addition to our shareholder-friendly dividend policy, we
are intent on reducing capital costs – to the benefit of our
shareholders – by employing our capital efficiently and
thus managing the amount of our equity in line with operational
requirements. Consequently, on 7 November 2006,
the Board of Management decided to buy back Munich Re
shares with a value of up to €1bn via the stock exchange in
the period up to the Annual General Meeting on 26 April
2007. This step is intended to further strengthen the confidence
of our shareholders and optimise our capital
management.
Share buy-back as an additional yield
If a company buys back shares and then retires them, the number of
shares issued consequently falls. Future profits are divided between
fewer shares – the earnings per share increase. Besides the dividend,
shareholders will thus receive an additional yield in 2006; altogether, the
payout ratio to shareholders will amount to 58% of the profit for the year.
The share buy-back was concluded by the end of February.
Just over eight million shares were acquired at an average
price of €124.36. These shares will be retired prior to the
Annual General Meeting. Further details of the buy-back
programme can be viewed under “Investor Relations > Our
Shares” at www.munichre.com.
Share profile
Munich Re shares are no-par-value registered shares. Each
share carries one vote. First admitted for trading on the
stock exchange in Munich on 21 March 1888, they are
today listed on all the German stock exchanges. The major
part of the trading (98.3%) takes place on the electronic
platform Xetra.
Reuters MUVGn
Bloomberg MUV2
40
ISIN: DE 000 843 002 6
WKN: 843 002
The average daily turnover of Munich Re shares amounted
to €220m in the year under review, putting us in ninth place
among the DAX stocks at year-end 2006. In terms of market
capitalisation, we ranked 12th, with €29.9bn.
Free float at 100%
Until the end of February 2007, Allianz was Munich Re´s
largest single shareholder, with 9.4% of the share capital.
At the beginning of March 2007, Allianz redeemed its BITES
exchangeable bond early with Munich Re shares, which
reduced its stake in Munich Re to 4.9%. This shareholding
Key figures for our shares
Munich Re Group in 2006_Munich Re shares
2006 2005
Share capital €m 587.7 587.7
Number of shares at 31 December m 229.6 229.6
Year high € 131.99 121.88
Date 28.12.2006 5.12.2005
Year low € 97.15 83.32
Date 14.6.2006 13.5.2005
Year-end closing price € 130.42 114.38
Annual performance (excluding dividend) % 14.0 26.5
Beta relative to DAX 0.9 1.0
Market capitalisation at 31 December €bn 29.9 26.3
Market value/equity * at 31 December 1.1 1.1
Average daily turnover ’000 1,910 1,825
Earnings per share € 15.12 11.74
Dividend per share € 4.50 3.10
Dividend yield at 31 December % 3.5 2.7
Overall dividend amount €m 988 707
* Including minority interests.
is now allocated to the free float. At the end of September
2006, AXA notified us that it held more than 5% of our shares,
mostly attributable to it via an investment and asset management
company in the USA (AllianceBernstein L.P.).
Designated a purely financial investment without strategic
interests, these shares are included in the free float. The
UniCredit Group has further reduced its stake held via
HypoVereinsbank from 4.9% to 2.2%. Since March 2007,
our free float – a prime factor for the weighting of Munich
Re shares in various indices – has stood at 100%.
The number of international investors has continued
to grow. On 31 December 2006, nearly 70% of our shares
were held by foreign investors (end of 2005: around 60%).
Private investors accounted for 7.7%, and it is our aim to
increase this proportion.