– Compensation report – Letter to the shareholders
Paying for sustainable performance
Winterthur, February 20, 2023
Dear Shareholder,
On behalf of the Board of Directors and of the Remuneration Committee (RC), I am pleased to present this 2022 Compensation Report. At Sulzer we have put in place a compensation system that allows us to attract, motivate and retain the talent we need to ensure the company’s success. We have not made any changes to the current framework and have kept our principles unchanged.
The year 2022 was marked by a solid performance, albeit impacted by the geopolitical situation that led us to close our operations in Poland and leave Russia. We have taken these exceptional events into account, and you will find more details in this report on how compensation was affected.
The Board also took the decision to appoint its Chairwoman, Suzanne Thoma, as Executive Chair of Sulzer effective November 1, 2022. In this role, she will also drive the business operationally and enable an optimization of the strategy review. She replaces Frédéric Lalanne, who resigned at the end of October 2022. The Remuneration Committee also sought to reflect the nature of these two roles in Suzanne Thoma’s remuneration. You will find more details in this report on this particular subject.
The Remuneration Committee also carried out its regular activities, including the determination of the financial targets for the long-term remuneration plans, the determination of the maximum aggregate for the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, the analysis of the individual objectives of the members of the Executive Committee, and the analysis of the remuneration benchmark for the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. In 2021, we also conducted with Mercer an equal pay analysis on all Swiss entities. These results, which were audited by KPMG, showed that there was no gender pay gap in Switzerland. In 2022, we continued this analysis with respect to nine countries and plan to continue this study with respect to 14 countries in 2023. On this last point, the Remuneration Committee reviewed the group of companies that Sulzer uses as a benchmark for remuneration and revised it to accurately reflect the size of our company.
In terms of pay levels, we increased neither base salaries nor the target amounts for the bonus and PSP. In addition, there were no special grants on variable compensation. The target cash compensation thus remained unchanged for 2022 compared to 2021. The compensation for the Executive Committee amounted to kCHF 11’536 in 2022, a sharp reduction of 21.0% compared to 2021 (kCHF 14’609) and was therefore below the maximum amount previously approved by Sulzer’s AGM 2021 for the period in question.
Compensation paid to the Board of Directors in 2022 was below the maximum amounts previously approved by the AGM for the period in question. No changes to the Board’s compensation were deemed necessary. At Sulzer’s AGM in 2023, you will be asked to vote on the maximum aggregate compensation for the Board of Directors for its 2023–2024 term and on the maximum aggregate compensation for the Executive Committee for 2024.
This compensation report will be submitted for a non-binding, consultative vote to our shareholders. We encourage and pursue open, regular dialogue with our stakeholders. Your constructive input is highly valued and appreciated, as we continue to improve and align our compensation system. On behalf of Sulzer, the Remuneration Committee and the Board, I thank you for your supportive feedback and for your continued trust in our company.
Sincerely,
Hanne Birgitte Breinbjerg Sørensen
Chairwoman of the Remuneration Committee