Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you at this year's ordinary Annual General Meeting of Sika AG. After three years during which the AGM was not held in physical form due to the corona pandemic, it's a special pleasure for me to welcome you once again here in the Waldmannhalle in Baar without any limitations. I would like to thank all of you for having come here in such large numbers today. A special welcome goes out to the members of the Board of Directors and the Group Management, as well as to all present Sika employees. With me here on the podium are Thomas Hasler, our CEO, Adrian Widmer, our CFO, and Stefan Mösli, General Counsel and Secretary of the Board. Today, we have about 20 Sika employees who are supporting us in various functions today. Another special thank you for everybody who's helping out today. Thank you for your commitment. First of all, we come to the constitution of today's annual general meeting. By publication in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce of 24th of February, 2023, as well as written notification sent out on 24th of February, 2023, the invitation for this general meeting took place in accordance with our articles of association and the letter of the law in due form and time. In the invitation, there was a list of the agenda items as well as proposals by the board of directors. From 24th of February, 2023 onwards, the annual report, the auditor's report, and the compensation report were available for perusal at the main office of the company. In the invitation to this general meeting, we also pointed out the possibility for every shareholder to request that these documents be sent to them personally. You also have the possibility, as of 24th of February, 2023, to read our annual report on the website and if you wish so to download it. Upon invitation by the company published in the Gazette of Commerce on 27th of January, 2023, there were no requests for additional agenda items submitted during the term. The minutes of the last ordinary general meeting were signed by the chairman and by the minute keeper, and were also available at the main office of the company and also published online. Chairmanship of today's meeting, in accordance with our articles of association, is held by the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Our minutes taker today will once again be Mr. Stefan Mösli. In that context, I would like to point out to you that this meeting is being recorded on video and will be broadcast as a web stream online. The minutes of the General Meeting, as well as the presentations, will be available on our website as well, and if you wish so, can be sent to you. We will now come to the appointment of the vote tellers. You see their names on the screen. These vote tellers are only for the eventuality that the electronic system has a problem and that we would have to carry out the votes as open votes or written votes. In case of a written vote, we would ask you to use the voting coupons that were given to you. Head teller is Ms. Caroline Inauen today. My thanks go out to the ladies and gentlemen vote tellers for assuming this task. Our auditors, KPMG AG, is represented by Mr. Toni Wattenhofer and Ms. Anna Pohle, to whom I also extend a warm welcome. Shareholders also have the possibility to take part at today's general meeting by electronic instructions and powers of attorney given to the independent voting proxy. This type of participation and any amendments to the instructions were still possible until Sunday, 26th of March at 11:59 P.M. As our Independent Voting Proxy, I would like to welcome Mr. Jost Windlin, notary and attorney at law from Bright Law AG in Zug. He will vote in accordance with the instructions given to him by shareholders. I thank Mr. Windlin for taking over this mandate, and I would ask him to kindly stand up for a moment. Thank you. In accordance with the corporate law reforms that came into effect on first of January 2023. Mr. Windlin has an obligation as the independent voting proxy to inform shareholders at the annual general meeting if he gave any information to the company regarding the instructions he received beforehand. Such information is admissible also according to the new laws. However, no, earlier than three days prior to the general meeting. I would like to ask Mr. Windlin to give a short explanation at this point. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the company has foregone this right, so they have not asked me to inform them about any prior instructions I have received. Therefore, I have not informed them about any of these instructions before the meeting. Thank you, Mr. Windlin. Today's general meeting, as already mentioned, will be broadcast as a web stream on our webpage. As was already the case last year, shareholders had the possibility to register via an online platform in order to ask questions directly. The corresponding link for registration on the online platform was sent out with the invitation of 24th of February 2023, and was possible until Sunday, 26th of March 2023 at 11:59 P.M. To this, up to now, there have been no registrations of shareholders, therefore, there will be no additional online contributions today. In that context, I would like to point out to you again that shareholders who follow our general meeting via the web stream can exclusively exercise their voting rights via the independent voting proxy, and that is, you know, giving their instructions prior to today's meeting. Exercising them via the online platform directly is not possible. Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Dominik Slappnig and his team for organizing today's event. The number of present shareholders as well as the represented votes is being updated continuously. I will give you the attendance figure prior to voting about agenda item one. I take note of the fact that today's Annual General Meeting was invited and convened in accordance with our Articles of Associations and the articles of law, and that therefore, it is properly constituted and quorate for all agenda items. Are there any objections to this statement? That is not the case. At today's meeting, pardon me, we will proceed according to the agenda you see on the screen. After some introductory remarks from my side, our CEO, Thomas Hasler, will talk about the past business year 2022 under agenda item one and give an outlook to the business year 2023. After that, Mike Campion, Regional Manager for Asia Pacific, will talk about Sika's involvement and business potential in one of the most important growth regions, that is Southeast Asia. At today's general meeting, you have the possibility to voice your opinion or ask questions. If you wish to contribute, we would kindly ask you to first register at the speaking registry at the left of the hall and inform us which agenda item you would like to talk about. At the given time, you would be invited to come forward to the lectern over there to make a contribution. For the sake of expediency, we would kindly ask you to already register now if you wish to contribute later. The maximum speaking time, in principle, is three minutes. The board of directors reserves the right to reply to questions in aggregate or individual form or to impose further restrictions on speaking time. This brings me to my introductory remarks. In the business year 2022, the economic situation was a great challenge for most companies. Sika, in this year and in an increasingly difficult environment, was able to assert itself successfully and achieve new record figures in sales as well as the EBIT. For the first time in our history, we have sales of more than CHF 10 billion. All this was only possible thanks to excellent management, highly motivated and capable employees, and thanks to the proximity to local markets and customers. Strategically, we are in an excellent position to make the best of many megatrends we see today, especially increasing urbanization. For years, we have been using and leveraging these trends successfully. In the past years, we were able to have more than 10% average growth in the past 10 years in local currencies. In parallel, the profit also increased above average. Our CEO, Thomas Hasler, will tell you more about all of this in his contribution. Apart from these record figures in sales and profitability, during the last 10 years, we were also able to create added value for our shareholders. Market capitalization has increased from approximately CHF 4 billion in 2011 to currently around CHF 40 billion, so almost a tenfold increase. This is mainly based on our growth strategy and our decentral organization. Sika strategy is based on six solid pillars and is clearly geared for growth. The opportunities that arise from sustainability, innovation, digitization, and acquisitions are being leveraged efficiently. Our goals are ambitious and are being communicated in a transparent manner. I am very proud that in this current strategy period, 2023, we will continue to be in direct contact with all of you. The development of the next periods, 2024 to 2028, is already fully underway, and our approximately 100 subsidiaries with their 450 managers are fully involved. The new strategy goals, 2028, will be communicated to all our stakeholders and the public on October 3rd during the Sika Capital Markets Day. The implementation of our past and present strategies happens decentrally in the various subsidiaries with a very strong focus on our defined target markets. Ultimately, we are working on more than 800 strategic opportunities. We are making use of all the detailed knowledge of our local organizations in an optimal fashion. Our subsidiaries also have a huge leverage effect when it comes to realizing business potential of acquisitions that are an important pillar of our strategy. The largest acquisition in the history of Sika, the acquisition of MBCC Group, is moving into the final phase. Due to some concerns from competition authorities, we had to make some amendments to the original bid. For example, in the admixtures business of MBCC Group in England, the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand. That divestment is part of the process, we have now found an acceptable buyer, which means that we expect the conclusion of the acquisition of MBCC still within the H1 of 2023. This acquisition is extremely valuable and value-adding for Sika. Together with MBCC, we will further extend our growth platform and be able to make full use of the complementary nature of both business activities concerning solutions portfolio, channels of distribution, geographic presence, and the delivery chain. We are expecting yearly synergies to the tune of CHF 160 million-CHF 180 million. Since over 10 years, sustainability has also been a clear element of our strategy. We develop environmentally friendly solutions for the construction industry and for industrial purposes. A special focus is a reduction of our CO2 emission. In the last year, we were able to be part of the Science Based Targets initiative and work further towards net zero goals. We have made a commitment until 2032 compared to the reference year 2020 to lower our greenhouse gas emissions by 25%. Until the year 2050, this will be even a reduction of 90%, and the rest would be compensated. In the first phase, we will be mainly focusing on reducing our own emissions and later on additional materials purchased and the entire life cycle of our products. We are working already today closely together with our suppliers and our customers. Innovations have a central role in all of this. To give more weight to the sustainability issue, we have taken a very important decision as an organization in the past year. The most important is the establishment of a sustainability committee at board level. Which will support the board in its responsibility for sustainability. This means that this topic will be broadly embedded throughout all different levels and functions in our organization. Sustainability has already been a core value of Sika for decades. It's part of our strong corporate culture, and is as important as innovation, customer centricity, and focusing on solutions, integrity, and respect. Despite a accelerated rate of acquisitions in the past years, we have managed to preserve these strong values in our organization and to keep fostering them. On the long term, we need to be acting sustainably and responsibly, and this will also be to the benefit of you as shareholders. In the past years, we were able to constantly and reliably raise our sales and profits, and that means that you as shareholders were able to take part in this success through rising dividends. Once again, we are proposing a raise of the dividend this year by 10% to CHF 3.2 per share. On behalf of group management, the board of directors, and our more than 27,500 employees, I thank you for the trust you place in us, in our work, and would like to come to the statutory part of our meeting. Thank you very much. Allow me to make a few remarks on the voting procedure. As you have seen, we're using an electronic voting system for votes and elections. It is operated by a company called Devigus Engineering. Let me briefly explain to you the voting devices. The voting devices have three buttons. The top button is for yes, the center button for abstention, and the lower button for rejection, for no. During the voting time, if you don't press a button, it will be considered as abstention. As soon as I've explained a proposal, and as soon as the discussion has been closed, I will officially open voting time. From this point in time, your voting devices will automatically change over to voting mode, and all three buttons are going to light up. This shows that your device is ready for voting. If that is not the case, I would like to ask you to go to the exit and have your voting device replaced. To cast your votes, you will have five seconds time each time. There is a countdown on the screen of the five seconds. During this period of time, you can press the green button for yes, the amber button for abstention, or the red button for no. Should you have pressed the wrong button, you can simply press the correct button within the voting time to correct your vote. As soon as the five seconds of voting time have elapsed, it will not be possible anymore to correct your vote. Shortly after that, the voting results will be shown on screen. If during a vote you will find that your device is out of order or you have problems operating it, please turn to access control, the access control desk. Should you want to leave the room during the meeting, please take with you your voting device and your ballot papers. Shareholders who wish to reject a proposal have a possibility of having this taken down in the minutes. To this end, we would like to ask you to indicate your name after the end of the general assembly and to have your voting device registered. Furthermore, every shareholder may request that their votes are kept, taken down in the minutes, and the precise voting results will be published in the minutes of the annual general meeting. Now, we're going to test the voting, the electronic voting devices. To this end, there'll be a test question. The test question is, were you aware that Sika, in the 2022 financial year, achieved sales in excess of CHF 10 billion for the first time? When I've opened the voting time, you have five seconds' time to press the yes, abstention, or no button. Please take your devices. I declare that the voting time is on now. Please press the yes, no, or abstention button. Voting time is now up. As you can see here, these are the results shown on screen. 98.2% were aware that in the 2022 financial year, Sika achieved more than CHF 10 billion for the first time. Should you have found out that your voting device is out of order or should you be unclear about how to handle the voting device, please turn to the exit or the entrance to have it replaced or to have it explained to you. Let us move on with attendance figures at the annual general meeting today. On the screen behind me, you can see the number of shareholders present and the total of votes represented, including the representations or proxies. This could not be 453,900 shareholders. That's the votes, I guess. It's the 18 shares that are shown. These are the votes held by the shareholders present here today. We have 717 shareholders present, independent proxy representing 107,283,463 votes, and shareholders present representing 453,900 votes, and the total is 107,737,363 votes. Shares held by Sika and its treasuries are not entitled to vote and are not represented today as a result. These figures will be adjusted prior to every vote, adjusted for people leaving or coming in. Based on our articles of association, the AGM carries out votes and elections at an absolute majority of votes represented, excluding abstentions and invalid votes, unless provided otherwise by the law or the articles. The number of yes, no votes, and abstentions on the individual votes are announced for every item. This brings us to the items on the agenda today. You can see the list of items at the AGM today being shown on screen, and you will have read it from the invitation. For this reason, I will forgo reading the various items out to you. Let's begin with item one, approval of the annual financial statements and the consolidated financial statements for 2022. At the media conference on the 17th of February in 2023, we have reported extensively on the 2022 financial year. For further details on the annual and consolidated financial statements for 2022, may I refer you to the detailed data in the 2022 annual report of Sika AG. Our CEO, Thomas Hasler, is now going to explain more things on business development in the year under review and to talk about an outlook for the current year. Thomas, over to you. Thank you. A cordial welcome. You seem to be very well informed of our sales figures, and yet I will also say a few words about our results. The year 2022 was a wild year. I would want to call it the wild twenties, beginning with COVID-19 in 2020, with the supply chain distortions in 2021. 2021 held a lot of surprises and challenges for us. Despite all these adversities, we continued to work in an agile and committed manner and pragmatical manner, achieving record results. I'm particularly pleased to be standing here representing the 27,500 employees because these results are the results of the efforts of all of us. Growth of 10% in local currency is very strong result for sales, but also at profit level, we were able to hold or even slightly increase our EBIT margin, achieving CHF 1.58 billion for the first time. Net profit, we also had double-digit growth rates in 2022, 10.9% of growth. Apart from that, we continued to work and implement our 2023 strategy, making key investments. On the one hand, an organic, inorganic acquisitions, two of them, and organic ones, in other words, expansion of global production and sales organization with five new or expanded plants. Innovation is key for our clients. In this regard, we've produced significant results. More than 100 patents were filed and 168 new inventions were filed, and I think this is a clear indication of the power of innovation of our organization. Paul mentioned it before. Sustainability is an important thing for us. We reduced our CO2 output per ton sold by 6.9%. This is under Scope one and two. The world is not homogeneous. You can see that. The regions are faced with different challenges. The Americas came up with the most impressive growth result of 27.5%, and the markets in North and South America were spared a little more from the crazy developments in Europe. They were not spared all the challenges. Availability of raw materials and explosion of raw materials costs and inflationary components were great challenges for us. Europe's last year grew by 8.3%. The European business, despite the adversities, despite the attack of Russia on the Ukraine, with all the implications that you will have noticed, but had implications, increasing implications throughout the year. Despite the inflationary costs, the energy issues that we were faced with and clearly muted economic development as a result, especially in Western and Central Europe. Asia and Pacific within the group performed at a growth of 14.8%. This is an impressive example that you will hear from Mike Campion on the region of Southeast Asia. I think the factor of China is also playing a key role here. China, as you know, has changed greatly. Surviving the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic rather well and having a lot of lockdowns that were bad for the economy last year and at the end of the year, suddenly all the restrictions were lifted, which triggered a wave of infection that almost paralyzed the country and still had an impact at the beginning of this year. The global business is navigating in quieter waters, not always been the case. This is the automotive business. Had suffered for many years, given the slumps of in power, in chip availability, the, with volumes having gone down. Growth is coming back at two. 22.2%, which is 6% of growth in the production vehicles. Given that, it's a strong result of our activities in the field of global business. It's not only the figures that speak for themselves, it's also the non-financial results that we want to emphasize and we're working on. In particular, our sustainability goals. Almost 63% of the energy that we purchase stems from renewable sources. As I said before, we reduced our CO2 footprint by almost 7%, but we also need to reduce waste to avoid waste. Here we have a minus of 3.3% to 6.1% less use of water. Safety and security of our employees is important. We have a significant improvement of incapacity for work due to accidents by almost 24%. Let me be more specific about sustainability. What can Sika contribute to making this transformation towards a CO2 reduced future becoming a reality? 40% of CO2 emissions are accounted for by the construction industry, 22% by automobiles, 60% of relevant markets for us that we have as target markets. This is an example from Sweden. In this mine, the Kiruna mine in the north of Sweden, we were able to contribute to reduce the use of cement by 93% for construction of shafts. Now, we managed to activate a sideline product from ore extraction and through our additives and replace with it cement. With something that was there, but not so much considered a material, but considered a waste product. This brought about considerable reduction of CO2 emissions and is a symbol of what you can do with smart solutions. This can be implemented or has already been implemented, it's a case in point for the power of innovation and for what is possible today in terms of reducing CO2 emissions. Let me get back to our inorganic and organic efforts to expand. Let me talk about two acquisitions, one of them in Canada, Quebec, and the other in the United States of America. Both are companies primarily involved in trading that are very complementary to our local activities, enabling us to move from east to west in Canada and to cover the entire US business in the United States of America with new solutions acquired in May. 2022 was an exceptional year also as a result of the two divestments that we made. Divestment of industrial coating to Sherwin-Williams and of the injection molding business that we sold to Dinormed. These were niche components in our portfolio, and both the businesses are making strategic progress and growth going on a growth path with the new owners. Our factories in Africa, if you recall, we talked about Africa at last year's AGM, and the expansion is going on there. There are openings in the Côte d'Ivoire, in the Ivory Coast, Tanzania, then also in South America, in Bolivia, and in the established markets such as the U.S. We have a plant in Washington, D.C., but then also in China. Despite the adversities, at the end of the year, we were able to open a new plant in Chengdu, a motor business for expansion in this region. I think it's important to see that our strategy is delivering and has been delivering for a number of years. This is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, the impact of many factors over a longer period of time. It's impressive to see that the organization is managing time and again, coping with these challenges, creating opportunities, and turning challenges into excellent results. Always with the claim of trying to grow, but not only growing for growth, but growing profitably. Our EBIT margin is therefore developing disproportionately well. Let me repeat, it's very important to say that these results are due to a strong corporate culture and due to the efforts of all employees. You can see those posters and billboards in the room. They make me very proud because these are the people behind our success. These are the people making a great commitment, focusing on clients and producing the innovation that creates added value for clients. I would say this is expressed in very fundamental and universal values. This is empowerment. Our employees feel well embedded and are ready to make their contributions both at a regional and group level. This makes us powerful. This makes us strong. We are respectful in interacting with all the stakeholders, with our clients, and with other employees. Results are important. Results are positive as they protect our company in the long run, protect them against unfriendly takeovers, as we have seen. That is the strength that is typical of us and that drives us. It's a positive kind of energy strongly anchored in this company. Coupled with this are our activities and the long-term focus of our activities, we can only be successful if we practice integrity internally and externally every day. Building trust is one of the core slogans in our company, and it's being practiced around the world by all our employees. I think that's the secret to our success when it comes to the bottom line. To give you an outlook on 2023, good question. How are we going to evolve, develop? I would assume that 2023 will seamlessly follow up on the wild 2020s. We've seen that we cannot really expect too good things from the financial industry. Inflation is going up. The banks are turning the interest rate screws, and these are the factors that we need to take into account. Some of them are slowing down the business cycle, and we may be in for more surprises. Yet, I'm confident that I can say that within our strategic objectives, we are going to come up with a growth of 6%-8% in local currencies of sales. We will have disproportionate to profit growth in 2023 without the acquisition of AMBCC that we're going to close in the H1 of 2023, and that will then be accretive or will be explained in the semiannual presentation. The strategic goals for 2023 can be confirmed. Let me, at this point, hand over to someone who will give you more insight in a different region. Last year it was Africa. This year it's Southeast Asia. Mike Campion is the head of the region of Asia Pacific. He's going to give his presentation in English, I would assume. Mike, are you ready? Let me hand over to you. Thank you. Good afternoon. It's my great pleasure to give a quick overview of our business in Southeast Asia. The markets of Southeast Asia are characterized by the remarkable social and cultural diversity. Southeast Asia is really not a homogeneous market, but it's rather a collection of very dynamic and vibrant economies in various stages of market development and market maturity. What they do have in common is the highest GDP and population growth prospects in all of the Asia-Pacific region. Southeast Asia's massive need for infrastructure and urban development will continue this growth potential for decades to come. The potential is fully aligned with our mega trends of growth in the emerging markets, population growth leading to accelerated urbanization, and the challenges brought on by climate change, which are always more acutely felt in the emerging markets due to lack of proper infrastructure and the appropriate societal safeguards. After a long, two-year period of COVID-19 lockdowns, the project pipeline is once again full. Southeast Asia has been a significant winner of the more active China Plus One strategy employed by many companies to ensure the supply chain turbulence over the last few years. We've seen increased manufacturing and industrial activities in Vietnam, in Thailand, and other parts of Southeast Asia as manufacturers seek to manage risk and diversify their production platforms. We are actively involved in many projects for renewable energy, industrial and commercial projects, transportation, and numerous infrastructure projects. There are opportunities virtually everywhere. To keep up with this rapid growth, we continue to invest in our production capacities and expand our operational footprint throughout the area. The operational expansion is further enhanced by our new or future acquisition of the MBCC business, which gives us eight additional plants in the Southeast Asia market and a highly technical and well-trained team to help us service our customers. For the construction sector, we're expecting investments of over CHF 500 billion through 2026. This is a growth of 25%. The infrastructure will grow even faster at a 27% growth rate. The infrastructure investments representing over 30% of the total construction put in place in this market. Sika has been active in Southeast Asia since 1987 with our first company opening up in Indonesia. For the last 30 years, Sika has been active in the six largest countries in Southeast Asia. Now we have eight national subsidiaries and 20 plants generating over CHF 400 million in business. Through our strong market presence and brand awareness, Southeast Asia remains our most profitable and dynamic area in the region. As a general rule, construction follows population. There are 650 million people in Southeast Asia, and only 51% live in an urban setting. As population grows in the emerging markets, the mega cities rise and through continued urbanization. This immediately brings increased demand for infrastructure, residential and commercial construction, education and healthcare, and all of it requiring an ever-increasing need for clean energy. Sika is uniquely positioned to support all of these needs with the most diverse portfolio in the industry. Our growth strategy in Southeast Asia is based on two-pillar approach. We look at the large project development and continuous expansion of our robust distribution network. We can provide the right product for the right application, whether it's the largest main contractors and specialty applicators, down to the do-it-yourselfer at home. Sika is a current turnkey provider for Southeast Asia. Now we can take a look at some of the major projects we've done. Here we see the Bangkok MRT Orange Line. This plays a key role in Bangkok's urban transport system. The MRT system in Thailand, the capital, contains eight lines and is being expanded on a continuous basis as the city grows. Our first project was the MRT Blue Line over 25 years ago. Sika had all the business then. We continue to have all the business today. This new 23-kilometer section will connect the east part of Bangkok to the city center. Sika provided over 80 innovative products into this tunneling and railway solutions. From concrete admixtures to waterproofing membranes, sealants and adhesives, fire protection, roofing, Sika provided the solutions for every challenge they met on this project. This is another really cool project on the outskirts of Bangkok. Bangkok's landmark construction for sustainable living development on the outskirts of Bangkok with an urban district of the future. This is Bangkok's largest new project encompassing over 400 hectares. Was conceived by city authorities as the embodiment of sustainable urban living. These smart buildings utilized over 50 Sika products, many LEED certified to build a sustainable future for living. Here we see a very typical industrial manufacturing facility here requiring our ESD flooring for sensitive applications to ensure safety and reliability of sensitive electronic components. Sika is heavily involved not only in industrial buildings, but also in incorporating our technologies in the products produced there. Sealing and bonding, strengthening, reinforcing, damping, all manner of technologies for so many applications from e-mobility to wind blade construction. We remain a key partner for our industrial manufacturing customers. Here we see the tallest bridge in Vietnam. This was the construction of Vietnam's highest bridge in a rural portion of northwestern Vietnam, the Mong Sen Viaduct. The viaduct is 600 meters long and 83 meters high. It connects the provincial capital to the more rural communities, saving time and increasing safety. Even in the remote locations, our strong local technical support makes projects like this possible every day. Finally, we look at our retail leadership journey. Here, as I mentioned before, we do half of our business in direct sales, we do half of our business through distribution. In this retail leadership journey, since 2018, we had 3,000 points of sale in Southeast Asia. Today, at the end of 2022, we had 60,000 points of sale. Last year, we grew over 40% of points of sale in this area. We delivered over 40% growth, our distribution network will continue, and this is all outside of our China growth, which was even a higher percentage. This growth will continue, our aggressive retail leadership journey will drive brand awareness and additional sales in the distribution network. With that, I will thank you for your attention. Thanks. Thank you, Thomas Hasler and Mike Campion for their presentations. I hope they've provided good insight in our activities to you. On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank the group management and all employees of Sika around the globe for their great commitment, their exemplary agility, and their excellent performance in the 2022 financial year. I think we all agree that the Sika team did a fantastic job last financial year and achieved first-rate business results yet again. This is worth a big hand. Thank you very much. Let's now get back to item one on the agenda, approval of the annual financial statements and the consolidated financial statements for 2022. The annual and consolidated financial statements have been audited by KPMG. The reports by the auditors on the annual and consolidated financial statements can be found on pages 257-260 and 276-279, respectively, of the annual report. KPMG are proposing to approve the annual and consolidated financial statements. I would like to thank the auditors for the work they performed. Let's vote on the proposal. Based on the auditor's report, the board of directors propose to approve the annual financial statements and consolidated financial statements for 2022. The discussion is open, but no one has asked for the floor, so let's proceed to the vote. Please take your voting devices. If you wish to approve the board's proposal, press the yes button. If not, press no. If you wish to abstain, press the abstention button. Voting time is on now. Voting time is up. You have approved the annual and consolidated financial statements. The annual and consolidated financial statements for 2022 have thus been approved. Thank you very much indeed. Moving on to item two, the vote on appropriation of retained earnings of Sika AG. The AGM has a total of CHF 1.3 billion available. The board of directors proposes to pay a dividend of CHF 513.5 million. Profit carried forward to new accounts is CHF 820.6 million. The dividend proposal with all the explanations is being shown behind me on the screen, it was printed in the invitation for the AGM today and on page 275 in the 2022 annual report. The auditors have confirmed that the proposed appropriation of retained earnings is in agreement with the law and the articles. I will not read out the proposal to you in detail. If you approve the board's proposal, the gross dividend will amount to CHF 3.20 per share. The floor is open for a debate. No one has asked for the floor, let's proceed to the vote. It's always the same. Press yes, green for yes, red for no, and amber for abstention. The voting time is on now. The voting time is up. You have approved the board's proposal very clearly. This brings us to item three, granting discharge to the administrative bodies. The board of directors proposes that the members of the administrative bodies be discharged. I want to vote collectively on discharge of the bodies. Before we move on to voting, let me point out that in agreement with Article 695 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, anyone who has been involved in business management in any way is not entitled to vote on this item. Persons representing other shareholders who've been involved in business management are not entitled to vote either. Anyone requesting the floor? Doesn't seem to be the case, let's proceed to the vote. Same procedure as before. Green for yes, red for no, amber for abstention. Voting time is on now. This is on item three. Voting time is up. I herewith note that you have granted discharge to the administrative bodies. I would like to thank you very much for your trust. This brings us to elections. Beginning with item 4.1: re-election of the chairman of the board. As provided by our articles, we are going to elect all directors individually and for a period of one year. That is, until completion of the next annual general meeting. The electronic voting system allows us to conduct individual votes of all candidates and in one go, and to present the results collectively at the end of the voting rounds. In other words, I will have voted on. Have you voted individually on every candidate. The results will only be shown collectively at the end of all the voting rounds. This saves some time for us. As pointed out in the invitation on the 24th of February, 2023, all current Directors are standing for re-election, and they're all supported by the Board of Directors. No one has asked the floor to speak on this item. Let's proceed to the vote or the election. Item 4.1.1. The Board of Directors proposes, according to item 4.1.1 to 4.1.8, to re-elect myself as the Chairman of the Board and re-elect Viktor Bälli, Lucrèce Foufopoulos-De Ridder, Justin Howell, Gordana Landén, Monika Ribar, Paul Schuler, and Thierry F.J. Vanlancker as Directors for a period of one year. Please take your voting devices. If you wish to support the board's motion, press yes. If you wish to reject it, press no. If you wish to abstain, press the amber abstention button. As I mentioned before, we shall vote on each candidate individually. The results of the votes will only be shown collectively at the end of the last vote. Beginning with the vote on my person, yours truly, item 4.1.1. Voting time is on. Voting time is up. As I said, the results will be shown at the end of all the election rounds. Voting on Viktor Bälli, 4.1.2. Voting time is on now. Voting time is up. Next, 4.1.3, re-election of Lucrèce Foufopoulos-De Ridder. Voting time is on now. Time is up. Moving on to re-election of Justin Howell under 4.1.4. Voting time is on. Voting time is up. Moving on to re-election of Gordana Landén, 4.1.5. Voting time is on. Time is up. Next in line, re-election of Monika Ribar under 4.1.6. Voting time is on now. Time is up. Moving on to the vote on re-election of Mr. Paul Schuler under 4.1.7. Voting time is on now. Time is up. Finally, the vote on re-election of Thierry F.J. Vanlancker under 4.1.8. Voting time is on now. Time is up. Bear with me for the collective results of all the votes. Here they are. These are all the election results on item 4.1. I herewith note that you have elected all the candidates proposed by the board of directors at vast majorities. Congratulations to my colleagues on re-election. I would like to thank you for your trust. Moving on to item 4.2, election of the chairman of the board. The board of directors proposes re-election of myself for the term of office of one year. Again, I can't see anyone having signed up to speak. Let's proceed to the election. On to the vote on my re-election as chairman of the board. Voting time is on now. Closed. Time is up. You have re-elected me as chairman of the board. I would like to thank you for your trust. Moving on with item 4.3, elections of the members of the Nomination and Compensation Committee. Our articles specify that the annual general meeting has to elect the members of the nomination and compensation committee out of the members of the board of directors. The members of the nomination and compensation committee will be elected individually and for a period of one year until completion of next year's annual general meeting. Again, we will vote on each and every candidate individually, and the results will then be shown collectively after the last round of voting. All members of the nomination and compensation committee stand to be re-elected, and they are all supported by the board of directors. No one has signed up to take the floor, let's proceed to the vote. The board of directors proposes, according to items 431 to 433, re-election of Justin Howell, Gordana Landén, and Thierry F.J. Vanlancker as members of the Nomination and Compensation Committee for a term of office of one year. Take your voting devices and choose. Press the button of your choice. Green for yes, red for no, amber for abstention. Re-election of Justin Howell under 4.3.1. Time is on. Time is up. Next, the vote on re-election of Gordana Landén. This is item 4.3.2. Voting time is on. Time is up. Finally, on the re-election of Thierry F.J. Vanlancker under 4.3.3. Voting time is on now. Time is up. Bear with me until the results are being shown on screen. Here they are. You have re-elected Justin M. Howell, Gordana Landén, and Thierry F.J. Vanlancker at vast majorities as members of the nomination and compensation committee. Thank you for your trust, congratulations, Justin, Gordana, Jerry, on re-election. This brings us to agenda item 4.4, election of statutory auditors. The board of directors proposes that KPMG AG be elected as statutory auditors for the 2023 financial year. Ms. Pohle and Mr. Wattenhofer, who are both present here today, have informed us that KPMG would be happy to continue the mandate if the AGM votes them into that position. Also here, we have no requests to take the floor, we proceed directly to the vote. Voting on agenda item 4.4 is now underway. Voting is closed. You have re-elected KPMG as statutory auditors with a wide margin. Thank. I thank you, and I congratulate our auditors. 4.5, election of the independent voting proxy. As set out in the articles of association, the general meeting also elects the independent voting proxy. The board of directors proposes that Jost Windlin, attorney at law and notary at Bright Law AG in Zug, be elected independent voting proxy until the close of the next annual general meeting. Here, there are no requests to take the floor. We proceed directly to voting. Voting on agenda item 4.5 is now on. Voting is closed. You have reelected Mr. Jost Windlin as independent voting proxy. Congratulations, Mr. Windlin, on your reelection. This brings us to agenda item five: compensations. Agenda item 5.1, consultative vote on the 2022 compensation report. The compensation report 2022 explains compensation systems and their programs for the board of directors and group management, as well as the compensations given to the members of the various corporate bodies for the business year 2022. It can be found on pages 179 to 202 of our annual statement. At this point, I would like to briefly set out the compensation system of the board of directors as well as group management. In order to guarantee the independence of members of the board, in the assumption of their duties, towards management, they only receive fixed compensations. They do have no performance contingent compensations and are not part of the pension scheme of Sika. It consists of a basic compensation and for the board of directors as well as remuneration, and they will be paid 50% in cash and for 50% in locked up shares that cannot be made into cash for a set out time. It consists of a fixed amount and a variable amount. It's the basic salary plus, participation in, pension plans. Hey. By striking a balance between the different elements, the yearly performance as well as the long-term success are being given due credit. It is also measured against the previous year and benchmarks with comparable companies that are subject to the same market cycles. The performance bonus honors the yearly financial figures of the group and compared to the market in general, the achievements of sustainability goals, the results of the business unit, as well as the individual performance of members of general management. There is a upper limit for all of this. The long-term scheme honors the long-term performance of the company and is also meant to strengthen shareholder interest in the form of rights to shares. They are subject to a three-year period. The definite number of shares is dependent on the profit during the period as well as the roles he achieves. Same as the performance bonus, this is also subject to a upper limit. These also contain particular conditions for repayments or annulments. Under Members of group management are also expected to build up a minimum contingent of Sika shares and to keep those shares in line with shareholder interest. The board is convinced that this model is well-balanced and well in line with the interests of our shareholders. The total compensation of the board of directors for the business year 2022 was at CHF 3.1 million. Compared to the previous years, that is a 4% increase due to the compensation paid out to the members of the newly created Sustainability Committee. The overall compensation for group management for the business year 2022 of CHF 16.1 million is a little higher compared to the previous year. It is clearly below the maximum amount set out at the AGM 2021 for the business year 2022, and that was an upper limit of CHF 21.5 million. The slightly increased compensation of group management is mainly due to the fact that the group management in 2022 consisted of eight persons, whereas in the previous year, it only included seven persons. I now come to the proposal for this consultative vote. The board of directors proposes that the 2022 compensation report be approved. Here we have no requests to take the floor, so we proceed directly with the vote. I already read out the proposal, and voting starts now. You have approved the compensation report for 2022. Thank you very much. This brings us to agenda item 5.2, the approval of future compensation for the board of directors. The board of directors proposes that a maximum total amount of CHF 3.4 million in compensation for the board of directors, consisting of eight members, be approved for a term of office of one year until the close of the next annual general meeting in 2024. You see some explanations on screen. It consists of the following elements: CHF 1.6 compensation in cash, CHF 1.6 share-based compensation, CHF 200,000 for social security contributions. The maximum total amount consists of the basic compensation activity in the various bodies and a fixed payment. It has remained the same compared to the previous year. This brings me to the proposal. The board of directors proposes that a maximum total amount of CHF 3.4 million in compensation for the board of directors, consisting of eight members, be approved for a term of office of one year until the close of the next annual general meeting. I don't see any requests to take the floor. We will now continue with the votes. Voting starts now. You have approved this proposal as well. Thank you very much. 5.3, approval of the future compensation of Group Management. Here, a few explanations, if you will allow me. The amount proposed for 2024 is slightly higher than the one proposed for 2023. Several members of Group Management were promoted into Group Management in the recent years. In accordance with our compensation philosophy, their target compensation at the point of time when they were promoted was first set under the market median and will gradually be increased to market level, following a solid performance of a period of two to five years. It is meant to include CHF 8.1 million for fixed salaries, including Social Security and pension contributions, as well, auxiliary payments, CHF 6.7 million for a performance bonus with a maximum payment. The actual payment would take place in 2025 and would be contingent to what extent the group management is able to realize the targets in 2024. The effective payment might actually be less than originally budgeted. CHF 6.7 million for share allocations to Sika shares under the long-term investment scheme for the periods 2024 to 2026. These share rights would only be actually paid out in shares after this period, that means in 2027, based on the effective realization of goals. Again, there is a maximum set which would only take place if a maximum target achievement has been realized. The total for the 2024 business year of CHF 21.5 million was set based on the current maximum compensation of the eight members of the group management, and it also contains a reserve for any necessary amendments. This brings me to the proposal. The board of directors proposes that a maximum total amount of CHF 21.5 million be paid to group management consisting of eight members, and that it be approved for the financial year 2024. I see no requests to take the floor on this point either, which is why we now move on to the votes directly. The vote starts now. You have approved these compensations with a large majority. I thank you for your trust. This brings us to agenda item six, introduction of a capital band and a conditional share capital. Under the corporate law reform being in effect since 1st of January, 2023, there is no longer a possibility to use a capital raise in order to increase the capital. The new system now is the capital band, so-called. It gives the board the authority during a maximum period of five years to increase the share capital registered in the register of commerce within a bandwidth of +5% to maximum CHF 1,614,218.3, or 105% of the currently registered capital, or to below that to CHF 1,460,482.99, or 95% of the current share capital. Within this bandwidth of 5%, additional capital can also be created by optional or other conversion rights. The introduction of the capital band has no effects on the existing capital in accordance with Article II, Paragraph four of the Articles of Association, that was put in place for conversions in May 2018. This should be clearly stated under the head-heading of outside the capital band in Article II of Paragraph four. In accordance with the new provisions of the corporate law, however, the upper and lower limits of the capital band can change according to the situation. With this, a capital band offers the company flexibility when acquiring capital. You can find the proposed wording for this amendment to the articles from your invitation documentation or on the Sika website. This brings me to the proposal. The board of directors proposes to introduce a capital band and a conditional share capital within the capital band. To this end, the board of directors proposes to amend Article II, Paragraph four of the Articles of Association as follows, and to introduce Article II, Paragraph five and Paragraph six into the Articles of Association with the following wording. I see that also here, we have no requests for taking the floor. This brings us to voting on agenda item six. Voting starts now. You have approved the introduction of a capital band and a conditional share capital. Thank you. Moving on to item seven amendments of the Articles of Association. We have proposed amendments, they are mandatory amendments of the articles to the revision of the corporate law, editorial adaptations, a new nominee rule, the introduction of the possibility of a virtual annual general meeting, introduction of the possibility of the use of electronic devices or means, and a reduction of mandates outside the corporation. The mandatory amendments are required in order to eliminate contradictions between the articles and the revised corporate law. With the editorial amendments, the articles will be adjusted to the wording of the law and to current circumstances. The nominee rule is to be adjusted insofar as it will reflect the wording in the law. A specific rule for what are called nominees is to be introduced, I'll elaborate on that later on. With the introduction of the possibility of holding the AGM virtually, we want to create the basis in the articles to conduct the annual general meeting virtually in if required. With the introduction of the use of electronic means, the board of directors will have the opportunity to meet using electronic means to communicate with shareholders and to pass resolutions by way of electronic means. Finally, the number of admissible mandates for members of the board of directors outside the corporation is to be reduced from currently 15 to 10, and only four of them are to be with listed legal entities rather than five currently. I will explain the amendments proposed by the board of directors when we come to the individual items on the agenda. Let's move on to item 7.1, mandatory amendments of the articles to the re-revised corporate law. There are many amendments to items 7.1, 7.2, paragraphs two, three, and 4. 7.3, paragraph four and seven. Article 8.2, paragraph two. Article 10, paragraph three, and Article 13 of the articles of association are related to the revision of the corporate law as coming into force on 1st of January 2023. Regulations in the articles that are to reflect the wording of the new corporate law, the revised corporate law, and the proposed wording for the amendments of the articles can be taken from the invitation and is available at the Sika website. Let's move on to the proposal. The board of directors proposes to amend articles 71, 72, paragraphs two, three, and four, article 73, paragraphs four and seven, article 82, paragraph two, article 10, paragraph three, and article 13 of the articles of association and to amend them as proposed, or to erase them, or to supplement them. No one has signed up to take the floor on this item, so let's proceed to the vote. I would like to ask the Notary Public, Mr. Tobler, to keep an official record of the results. Same goes for the previous item, number six. Voting time on item 7.1 is on now. Time is up. Thank you. You have approved the amendments of the articles to the revised corporate law. Thank you very much for that. Moving on to item 7.2, which are editorial amendments of the articles. Amendments of articles II, paragraph four, article III, paragraphs three and four, article 7.3, paragraph three, and articles 15, paragraph three, are of purely editorial nature. The articles are to be adjusted to the current wording in the law and in the case of article 7.3, paragraph three, to current circumstances. The precise wording of the proposed amendments can be seen in the invitation or was available at the Sika website. Moving on to the proposal. The board of directors proposes to approve amendments of the articles, as mentioned before, two, paragraph four, three, paragraphs three and four, article 7.3, paragraph three, and article 15, paragraph three. No one has signed up to take the floor on this item either. I would like to ask Mr. Tobler, the Notary Public, to keep an official record of the results of this vote. Let's proceed to the vote on item 7.2. Please take your voting devices. Voting time is on now. You have approved the editorial amendments of the articles of association. Thank you very much. Moving on to item 7.3, addition to the nominee rules. With the addition of Article IV, Paragraph two, Subparagraph one, the articles are to be adjusted to the wording of the law. In addition, with the new Articles IV, Paragraph two, and Subparagraphs two and three, a specific rule for what is referred to as nominees is to be introduced. The nominee as a general rule, is a legal person appearing commercially, usually acting in a professional capacity on behalf of clients. This shows that they are in a capacity of a fiduciary, and the nominees declare that they will disclose the identity of their clients under certain circumstances. A nominee will be able to register a maximum of 3% of the share capitals in the share register. The precise wording of the proposed amendments can be seen again from the invitation or was available at the Sika website. Again, the board of directors proposes to approve amendment of paragraph, article IV, paragraph two of the articles, and no one has signed up to speak on this item. Again, Notary Tobler, would you please keep an official record of the outcome of the vote? This is the vote on item 7.3. Voting time is on now. You have approved the amendment of the nominee rule. Thank you very much. This brings us to agenda item 7.4, introduction of the possibility of holding a virtual general meeting. A few explanations. As part of the corporate law reform, the possibility of virtual general meetings was included in the Swiss Code of Obligations in order to strengthen shareholders' rights. Subject to a corresponding provision in the company's articles of association that makes it possible to hold a general meeting by general electronic means and entirely without a physical venue. The aim of this revision was to align the corporate law with the developments in digitization. To give companies more flexibility in holding the general meeting and to allow shareholders for whom physical attendance is not possible to participate in the general meeting. At a virtual general meeting, shareholders have the same rights as they have at a physical general meeting, and the board of directors is in no way entitled to restrict or exclude these rights. In particular, the participation rights that go beyond the right to vote, such as the right to information or the right to make proposals, are fully preserved. Shareholders will therefore continue to have the opportunity to discuss matters with the board of directors and group management, as well as to ask questions. The position of shareholders is also strengthened by the fact that they can all participate in the virtual general meeting, including those who would not have been able to travel to the venue and attend the physical general meeting. In light of the above, the board of directors proposes the inclusion of a provision in the articles of association, allowing for virtual general meetings to be held. Physical and hybrid general meetings will remain possible and in the opinion of the board of directors, should continue to be the standard in the future, unless the factual or legal circumstances don't allow it. The board of directors will in particular review annually whether the general meeting shall be held in physical, hybrid or as an exception in purely virtual form. Again, here you can find the exact wording in your documents of the invitation, or you can find it on our website. I come to the proposal. The board of directors proposes to amend Article 7.2, paragraph four, and Article 7.3, paragraph six of the articles of association as follows. There are no requests to take the floor on this agenda item either. We now come to voting on this agenda item 7.4. Voting starts now. You have approved of the introduction of the possibility of using electronic means for general meetings. We continue with 7.5. Pardon me. This is the point. The introduction of possibility of using electronic means. The amendments of the articles of association are intended to introduce the new electronic possibilities provided by the corporate law reform. Essentially, the board of directors proposes the introduction of the possibility of notifying shareholders by electronic means, as well as further flexibility for the board of directors. The board of directors shall also be able to hold meetings by electronic means and without a venue, and to pass resolutions electronically. The exact wording can be found in your invitation or online on our website. Again, here we come to the proposal. The Board of Directors proposes to amend, delete or supplement Article 8.3 and Article 17 of the Articles of Association. Also here, no requests to take the floor, which brings us directly to voting on Agenda Item 7.5. I require Mr. Tobler to enter into the record, and voting starts now. You have approved the proposal with a clear majority. Thank you very much. This brings us to Article 7.6, reduction of the number of mandates outside the group. In the interest of corporate governance, the number of mandates that a member of the Board of Directors may hold in comparable positions at companies outside the group shall be reduced. This is to ensure that the members of the board of directors continue to have the necessary time and capacities to fulfill their duties within the group in the best possible way. This provision is amended to reflect the new wording of the law. The general wording, once again, in your invitation documents or online on our website. This brings me to the proposal. The board of directors proposes to amend Article 8.4 of the Articles of Association as follows. Again, no request to take the floor. Mr. Tobler, please take note, and we proceed directly to the vote on agenda item CS 7.6. Voting starts now. You have approved the reduction of the number of mandates outside the group. Thank you very much. This brings me to the conclusion of the statutory part of this year's annual general meeting of Sika AG. Again, we had a general meeting with overwhelming support from your side and large attendance. I thank all of you for your loyalty to Sika and your trust in the board of directors and group management. We'll do everything we can to continue earning your trust in the future as well. The next ordinary AGM number 56 will take place on 26th of March, 2024. I'm looking forward to welcome you there in such large numbers again. I would kindly ask you to hand back your voting devices and headphones either to or hand them back to our Sika personnel on site or leave them on your seats as you leave. There's going to be an aperol on offer in the halls to the side, and I would cordially invite all of you to stay here for a moment and raise a glass with us. Afterwards, you'll have the possibility to take a transfer bus to the Baar train station. I thank you for appearing in such large numbers and wish you safe travels. I hereby declare the ordinary annual general meeting 2023 of Sika closed. Thank you.