Shareholder meetings for major food companies will be held for two days starting on the 25th. On the 25th, shareholder meetings for CJ CheilJedang, LOTTE Wellfood, and LOTTE Chilsung will take place, while meetings for KT&G, SPC Samlip, Pulmuone, ORION, and OTOKI are scheduled for the 26th. This year's hot topics at the shareholder meetings of food companies are interim dividends, expansion into new businesses, and strengthening the expertise of outside directors.
① Strengthening interim and quarterly dividends
According to the retail industry on the 24th, CJ plans to handle amendments to its articles of incorporation regarding quarterly dividends. The key change is to allow the dividend record date to be set after the dividend declaration date. Previously, shareholders had to own the stock before the end of each quarter to be eligible for dividends.
However, the actual dividend amount was determined at a board meeting held within 45 days after the end of the quarter. As a result, shareholders only learned the dividend amount after becoming shareholders. This meant that calculating the dividend yield was difficult.
As a result, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Capital Markets Act to improve the dividend procedure last year. Under the amendment, corporations are allowed to designate the dividend record date after the dividend amount is decided, based on board decisions or articles of incorporation.
SPC Group's SPC Samlip is creating new quarterly dividend regulations. Following SPC Samlip's quarterly dividends, it is highly likely that Pariskra, SPC Samlip's largest shareholder, will see an increase in dividend revenue. Pariskra serves as the holding company for SPC Group. Dongwon Industries, the holding company of Dongwon Group, will establish new interim dividend regulations. Dongwon Industries has 87.82% equity owned by related parties, including Chairman Kim Nam-jung.
② Strengthening the expertise of outside directors
In addition, this shareholders' meeting will focus on strengthening the expertise of outside directors. LOTTE Wellfood, which is tightening its reins on entering the Indian market, is expected to appoint Kim Do-sik, an advisor at Hyundai Motor, as an outside director on the 25th. Kim has previously served as the head of management support for Kia's Indian branch and as the external relations manager at Hyundai Motor. LOTTE Wellfood is setting and implementing plans to expand its global market, focusing on India. Shin Dong-bin, chairman of LOTTE Group, also visited LOTTE Wellfood's production facility in India as his first overseas business trip this year.
LOTTE India, LOTTE Wellfood's Indian subsidiary, was established in 2004 after acquiring the Indian confectionery company Paris. It has a production facility in Chennai in southern India and has been operating a production facility in the northern Haryana region since 2015. Additionally, it also owns Habmore, a company focused on ice cream production. LOTTE Wellfood plans to implement a 'One India' strategy to merge the two companies in the first half of this year. With the merger, it will be able to operate in more than half of the areas excluding the eastern region of India.
Additionally, CJ CheilJedang plans to appoint Jeong Hwang-geun, former Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, as a new outside director and committee member on the same day. CJ Freshway will appoint Ahn Il-hwan, former second vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as a new outside director on the 28th.
③ Specifying new businesses for growth
New business efforts for growth are also gaining attention. Nongshim has added smart farming to its business objectives in its articles of incorporation. This comes about seven years after it started researching smart farming. Nongshim's smart farm project began in 2008 when it installed smart farm equipment called 'vertical farm' at its plant in Anyang. In 2018, it took its first steps toward commercializing smart farming technology through an in-house startup. Since then, it has been looking for smart farm business opportunities abroad. Last year, Nongshim was selected as a corporation for the 'smart farm export activation project' hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Dongwon F&B amended its articles of incorporation to add new businesses while merging with Dongwon Deer Foods. The sale of pet-related products is a notable example. A Dongwon F&B official said, "By bringing over the business previously conducted by Dongwon Deer Foods, it appears as if we are expanding our business area." Dongwon Deer Foods was established through a physical division from Dongwon F&B on April 1, 2021, and was merged back into Dongwon F&B after about three years.
Typically, when companies add new business objectives, it is often seen as a signal that a foundation for growth has been established in that area. If new areas are added without preparation and the results are underwhelming, it may lead to criticism.
Investment industry officials noted, "In the case of unknown small businesses, it is common to add promising areas unconditionally to their business scope, but for well-known large companies, adding business areas is cautious," and added, "This can be interpreted as confidence in venturing into the new areas and observing trends may aid in investment decisions."