The Novozymes stock

The Novozymes stock is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen and included in the OMX Copenhagen CAP 20 index.

Shareholders

Novozymes' common stock consists of two types: A shares and B shares, both with a nominal value of DKK 2 per share. All A stock is held by Novo A/S, and an A share carries 10 times as many votes as a B share. At the end of 2016, Novo A/S held 25.75% of the total common stock and, through its holding of the A stock and a proportion of the B stock (26,071,400 shares), controlled 71% of the votes. Novo A/S, domiciled in Hellerup, Denmark, is wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, and Novozymes is therefore included in the consolidated financial statements of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

At year-end, Novozymes had more than 60,000 shareholders, of whom more than 95% were private shareholders in Denmark. Forty institutional investors, including Novo A/S, owned approximately 50% of the B shares. Around 65% of the B shares were held outside Denmark. Novozymes held 4.9% of the B stock, equivalent to 4% of the total common stock.

Novo A/S was the only major stockholder holding more than 5% of Novozymes' common stock on December 31, 2016.

Stock performance

Novozymes' share price contracted by 26% during the year. In comparison, the OMXC20CAP fell by 2% in 2016.

The average daily trading volume of Novozymes' stock in 2016 was 826,589 shares, or DKK 141 million, making it the 10th most actively traded company on Nasdaq Copenhagen, compared with ninth in 2015. At year-end, the total market cap of Novozymes was DKK 75.5 billion, split between DKK 62.4 billion for the B shares and DKK 13.1 billion for the nontraded A shares, assuming the same value per share as for the B shares.

Over the past five years, Novozymes' stock has generated an average annual return (compounded) to shareholders of 8%. Total shareholder return in 2016 was a negative 25%, adjusted for dividends.

Dividends

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual Shareholders' Meeting approve a dividend of DKK 4.00 per share for the 2016 financial year. This will result in an expected total dividend payment of approximately DKK 1,190 million, corresponding to a payout ratio of 39%.

The dividend for 2016 will be disbursed on February 27, 2017, and the last trading day with right to dividend for 2016 is February 22, 2017.

Stock buyback program in 2016

A DKK 2 billion buyback program ran from February 1 to November 15, 2016. Under the program, 6,767,182 shares were purchased and added to treasury stock.

New stock buyback program in 2017

Novozymes has decided to initiate a new stock buyback program worth up to DKK 2 billion in total or a maximum of 20 million shares. The program is expected to begin early in 2017 and run for the remainder of the year. The shares acquired within the program will be used to reduce the common stock and to meet obligations arising from employee share incentive programs.

Investor Relations

Novozymes’ Investor Relations maintains an ongoing dialogue with sell-side equity analysts, as well as major institutional and retail shareholders. A list of the current analysts covering Novozymes can be found at novozymes.com/investor.

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