Compensation Report

4. Architecture of compensation of the Group Executive Committee 

The compensation for the Group Executive Committee includes a fixed annual base salary, a variable short-term element, a variable long-term element, participation in the management share plan and occupational pension benefits and perquisites.

Architecture of compensation of the Group Executive Committee

4.1 Annual base salary (ABS)

The annual base salary is determined individually on the basis of the scope and responsibilities associated with the position, the experience and qualifications of the individual. The annual base salary is reviewed annually, and adjustments reflect individual performance, current salary, competitive positioning, market salary trends, and the affordability to the company.

4.2 Variable short-term compensation (short-term incentive, STI)

The STI enables the Group Executive Committee to participate in the Group’s current success. It is disbursed in the form of a cash payment in line with the profit-sharing plan. For each position, a profit-sharing amount is determined, taking into account the impact on the operating result, implementation of company strategy and responsibilities. The STI amount paid for the fiscal year corresponds to the profit-sharing amount multiplied by the Group net profit (in EUR million). The STI is paid only if a Group net profit of at least 80% of the budget value is achieved (threshold, adjusted for non-budgeted one-off effects such as company acquisitions). This aligns with the STI principles of the other executives of Zehnder Group. Considering the profit-sharing characteristic of the formula, there is no formal target level for the STI. However, there is a contractually agreed cap for the STI amount, which is set at 100% of the annual base salary for the CEO and 75% for all other members of the Group Executive Committee.

Calculation of the STI amount:

The STI amount for any given fiscal year is paid in the spring of the following year. In the event of significant inorganic effects (investments, divestments) or other one-off special effects amounting to ≥ 2% of the Group net profit, the Board of Directors reserve the right to adjust the STI payment.

The decision to exclusively and directly link the STI to the company’s financial result (Group net profit) is based on the conviction that performance management should not be directly linked to compensation. The main focus for the STI is on the collective performance as a whole. For the CEO and the other members of the Group Executive Committee, within the framework of the global performance management process, the performance objectives are derived directly from the business strategy by the Board of Directors at the start of each year and reviewed at regular intervals. Such reviews take place at the request of the Nomination and Compensation Committee. These performance objectives include strategic, quantitative, and qualitative objectives; for example, in the area of leadership and project management.

In case of termination of employment during the first half of the fiscal year, the STI is calculated pro rata temporis, based on the payout level of the previous year. In case of termination of employment during the second half of the year, the published half-year figures for the pro rata temporis calculation are used. In case of termination of employment at the end of the year, the published annual results apply.

The STI is subject to clawback and malus provisions in case the company is required to prepare a relevant accounting/financial restatement or in the event of violation of legal provisions or relevant internal regulations.

4.3 Variable long-term compensation ­(long-term incentive, LTI)

As part of a long-term plan, the LTI is granted in form of Performance Share Units (PSUs). The LTI rewards the long-term performance and the sustainable success of the Zehnder Group and is aligned to the interests of the shareholders.

A PSU represents a conditional right to receive shares of the company. The prerequisite for this is the fulfilment of certain conditions during the three-year performance period (vesting period). The vesting conditions include the attainment of the predefined performance objectives (performance conditions) and the continuous and ongoing employment at the end of the vesting period (service condition).

The features of the LTI can be summarised as follows: at grant date, the LTI target amount is determined for each member of the Group Executive Committee, taking the relevant benchmark for the individual total compensation into account.

In 2022, the allocation of the LTI target amount was 50% of the annual base salary for the CEO and no more than 50% of the annual base salary for the other members of the Group Executive Committee.

On the grant date, the individual LTI target amount is converted into the relevant number of PSUs based on the average volume-weighted share price of Zehnder Group on the SIX Swiss Exchange during the period 1 October to 31 December of the year before the grant date.

Of the performance conditions, 50% is based on the relative total shareholder return (rTSR) and the remaining 50% is based on the increase in earnings per share (EPS growth). The rTSR is the achieved increase in value for the investor (i.e. the share price performance plus dividend) in comparison with a peer group. These financial targets were selected because they are key value drivers for Zehnder Group in measuring the profitable growth and ensuring that the shareholders' interests are taken into account.

Peer group

The peer group for the relative TSR (rTSR) measure comprises a universe of comparable companies that have already been taken into account for compensation benchmarking purposes and have remained unchanged from the previous year. The Board of Directors confirmed that the following companies were comparable:

Rewarding long-term performance

The total number of shares that are transferred to the participants after the vesting period is calculated as shown below. The performance factor can range between 0% and 150%, with no conversion into shares carried out below the threshold. The conversion into shares is limited to a maximum of 1.5 shares per PSU.

For both key figures, the Nomination and Compensation Committee defines a lower limit for the performance level (with no vesting taking place below this limit), a target value (100% vesting) and an upper limit for the performance level (150% vesting). Between these levels, vesting is calculated on a linear basis.

The achievement of the relative performance measure and the combined performance factor are calculated by an external independent consultancy company. If Zehnder Group reports a loss from ongoing business activities during the last year of the three-year vesting period or in other special cases, the Board of Directors reserve the right to specify whether and to what extent the PSUs will lapse for this period, regardless of the combined performance factor achieved.

In the case of termination of employment, the blocked PSUs usually lapse, except in the event of retirement, disability, death, or a change of control at the company. These provisions are outlined individually in the table below.

PSUs or shares granted as part of the long-term plan are subject to the same clawback and malus provisions as the STI.

In the event of a participant failing to adhere to reporting regulations and/or committing fraud and/or breaching legal provisions or relevant internal regulations, the applicable clauses enable the Board of Directors to declare that any variable cash compensation elements that have not been paid out or long-term incentives that have not yet been transferred are forfeited, either in part or in full (penalty clause), and/or to reclaim in part or in full any variable cash compensation elements that have been paid out or long-term incentives that have been transferred.

Shareholding guidelines

To align the interests of the Group Executive Committee more closely with those of the shareholders, shareholding guidelines were introduced from the fiscal year 2019. Within five years of the introduction of the share ownership provision or after their appointment to the Group Executive Committee, the members of the Group Executive Committee must hold at least a multiple of their annual base salary in Zehnder Group shares, as shown in the table below.

4.4 Long-term benefits: Zehnder Group Management Share Plan (ZGMSP)

The Zehnder Group Management Share Plan (ZGMSP) is a long-term benefit programme with the objective to encourage members of the Group Executive Committee and all employees at management level to directly participate in the long-term success of the company. The Group Executive Committee members may elect to draw up to 30% of their annual base salary in the form of Zehnder Group registered shares A. These shares are offered at a discount of 30% on the relevant share price determined as the average volume-weighted share price of the share in the period between 1 October and 31 December. The shares are subject to a restriction period of three years during which they cannot be sold, transferred or pledged. The restriction period also applies in case of termination of employment, except in the case of death or a change of control, where the restriction immediately lapses.

The ZGMSP strengthens the link between compensation and the company long-term performance, as the compensation invested in the programme is exposed to the change in the share value over the restriction period of three years.

4.5 Benefits

As the Group Executive Committee is international by nature, the members participate in the benefit plans available in the country of main residence (social insurance payment obligation). Benefits consist mainly of retirement, insurance and, where customary in the market, healthcare plans. These benefits are designed to provide a reasonable level of protection for the employees and their dependents in respect of retirement, the risks of disability, death, or illness/accident.

For members of the Group Executive Committee subject to social security contributions in Switzerland, the salary, which is subject to AHV pension contributions, is insured up to 450% of the maximum AHV retirement pension in the pension fund (currently the mandatory part is set at CHF 129,060). This solution is offered to all employees in Switzerland. Since October 2022, the supplementary part has been insured up to a maximum of 3,000% of the AHV retirement pension (currently CHF 860,400) for members of the Group Executive Committee by a 1e pension solution. Zehnder Group covers 50% of the saving contributions as before. The 1e solution gives the members of the Group Executive Committee more flexibility in investing their retirement savings and at the same time allows the risk of the investment to be fully borne by them. Zehnder Group's pension benefits exceed the legal requirements of the Swiss Federal Law on Occupational Retirement, Survivors and Disability Pension Plans (BVG) and are comparable with the conditions offered by other international industrial companies.

Members of the Group Executive Committee subject to social security contributions outside Switzerland are insured in line with the local legal requirements and based on local market practice and their position. Each plan may vary depending on the respective legal requirements.

In addition, the members of the Group Executive Committee are also eligible for standard perquisites such as a company car, child allowances, access to subsidised staff restaurants, and other benefits in kind, according to local market practice. The monetary value of these other compensation elements is evaluated at market value and is included in the compensation tables.

Expenses that are not covered by the expense lump sum in accordance with the company’s expenses regulations are compensated on presentation of documentary evidence. The reimbursement of business expenses is not considered compensation and does not need to be approved by the Annual General Meeting.

4.6 Contracts of members of the Group Executive Committee

The employment contracts of the members of the Group Executive Committee are unlimited. They incorporate a notice period of a minimum of six and maximum of twelve months and feature a non-competition clause, which is limited to two years after termination of the employment relationship while providing an entitlement to a maximum of the annual base salary. There are no agreements with regard to withdrawal payments or severance compensation in connection with leaving the company or in the case of a change of control, except for the accelerated vesting of the PSUs or early unblocking of shares, as described above.