Investor relations
- Investor relations goal
- Share information
- Delisting from NYSE
- Share performance
- Reverse stock split and capital repayment
- Share buyback program
- Dividends
- Share ownership
- Geographic spread of shareholdings
Investor relations goal
Ahold’s investor relations department is committed in its communications to serving the interests of both private and institutional investors and of both equity and fixed income investors. Ahold’s investor relations follows, to the extent reasonably practicable, the guidelines and principles set forth by the AFM and Regulation FD promulgated by the SEC. More background and financial information can be found in Ahold’s investor relations section at www.ahold.com. Contact information can be found at the end of this Annual Report.
Share information
Ahold’s authorized share capital as of December 30, 2007 was composed of the following:
- 1,250,000 cumulative preferred shares at EUR 500 par value each;
- 477,580,949 cumulative preferred financing shares at EUR 0.30 par value each; and
- 1,700,000,000 common shares at EUR 0.30 par value each.
For additional information about Ahold’s share capital, see Notes 20 and 24 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report. Ahold is a public limited liability company registered in the Netherlands with a listing of shares (symbol: AH) on Euronext’s Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX). The common shares trade in the United States on the over-the-counter (OTC) market through www.pinksheets.com (symbol: AHONY) in the form of ADSs and are evidenced by ADRs.
The Depositary for the ADSs is The Bank of New York. Each ADS evidences the right to receive one common share deposited under a deposit agreement for the ADSs between Ahold and the Depositary dated January 20, 1998, as amended and restated as of January 29, 2004 and as further amended and restated as of October 29, 2007. Ahold has been informed by the Depositary that in the United States, as of December 30, 2007, there were 88,019,197 ADSs outstanding and 39,500 record owners compared with 124,494,812 ADSs outstanding and 41,088 record owners at the end of fiscal year 2006.
Delisting from NYSE
In September 2007, Ahold delisted its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), deregistered from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and terminated its reporting obligations under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The decision to delist was taken as part of Ahold’s strategy to improve cost-effectiveness by reducing complexity without detracting from the integrity of its corporate governance and control processes. The benefits of maintaining a U.S. registration and a NYSE listing have declined over time. The majority of Ahold shares held by U.S. domiciled investors are acquired through Euronext Amsterdam and the average daily trading volume in the United States over the last 12 months has been less than five percent of the total worldwide volume.
Ahold expects to be able to fully satisfy its current and future capital requirements based on its financial standing, through a single listing on Euronext Amsterdam. Ahold’s Corporate Executive and Supervisory boards have also taken into account the regulatory, legal, reporting and governance complexity and costs associated with complying with these two registrations.
Ahold will continue to maintain a high standard of corporate governance and disclosure in line with the current Dutch Corporate Governance Code and regulatory requirements. Ahold is committed to continuously strengthening its risk management, internal control and compliance processes and will continue to publish its Annual Report and communications in accordance with the Exchange Act Rule 12g3-2 (b) in the investor relations section of the Company’s public website at www.ahold.com.
Share performance
The table below sets forth the share prices during the periods indicated for Ahold’s common shares on Euronext Amsterdam.
