Bring on the Future!
The participation of the members is crucial for a cooperative like Prokon. Therefore, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the highlight of the year. “The personal exchange with our members is essential to jointly shape the future path of our cooperative,” says Prokon board member Henning von Stechow. This year, Prokon invited its members to the AMO Kulturhaus in Magdeburg on a sunny June day. “It was the most beautiful Annual General Meeting we have ever experienced,” said one member on behalf of many. “The meeting was constructive, harmonious, and well-organised.” The agenda included many important topics – such as reports on the annual and consolidated financial statements for 2023, the general debate, and various votes.
The two board members Katharina Beyer and Henning von Stechow drew a positive conclusion of the business year 2023 in their speech and outlined the future strategic challenges for Prokon. Many participants used the subsequent general debate for questions about specific projects and Prokon's international engagement, or provided suggestions for creative solutions, for example regarding network expansion.
Then it was up to the members to decide what should happen with the profit from the 2023 financial year and whether to grant discharge to the members of the executive board and supervisory board for the past financial year. This was done with a large majority. More than 300 members cast their votes on-site in Magdeburg, around 3000 members participated via postal vote, with over two-thirds doing so online. Furthermore, the general meeting approved the proposal of the executive board to distribute the profit of around 10.88 million euros as a dividend to the members.
That corresponds to a return of 4.65 percent. The executive board and supervisory board emphasised their close cooperation to achieve common goals. The good results strengthened the members' trust in the joint project and in a successful future. Some individual members took the opportunity to increase their business credit by significant amounts.
With a look back at the general meeting and the results of the annual financial statements, Prokon also issued a press release that was picked up by numerous media outlets.