Toyota shareholders re-elect chairman despite governance concerns
Writes through with data on types of shareholders, CEO apology
By Maki Shiraki and Daniel Leussink
TOYOTA CITY, Japan, June 18 (Reuters) -Toyota 7203.T Chairman Akio Toyoda and nine other members of the automaker's board were re-elected at an annual general meeting on Tuesday, with shareholders shrugging off concerns about governance and certification test scandals.
Two leading proxy advisers had recommended against Toyoda's re-election. But his re-appointment was widely expected given shareholdings in the automaker owned by other Toyota group firms, record business results and his popularity among Japanese retail investors.
That said, any big drop in shareholder support for Toyoda - a figure which will be released on Wednesday - will not only be embarrassing but could spur further action on governance reforms.Analysts have cited an acceleration of efforts to unwind cross-shareholdings as one possible outcome.
Toyoda's approval rating fell to 85% last year from 96% in 2022.Since then, the world's biggest automaker has been bedevilled by a spate of safety and other certification testing violations at group firms including small car maker Daihatsu as well as at its parent company.
Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) had taken issue with the way the automaker has dealt with problems.
New York City's public employee pension funds, for example, agreed with that stance and voted against Toyoda.
"Setting a tone at the top is critical," Michael Garland, who oversees corporate governance for the funds, said in an emailed statement.
Glass Lewis, which had recommended that Toyoda not be re-elected for a second year in a row, said that he was responsible for the board's lack of independence and also cited concerns about its strategic shareholdings and return on equity.
Most of any opposition to Toyoda is expected to have come from overseas investors, which account for a quarter of Toyota's shareholders.
But Toyoda, who is the grandson of the company's founder, remains deeply popular among retail investors, which account for 12.6% of the automaker's shareholders. Last business year's record profits and a strong stock performance have also worked in his favour.
"I bought Toyota shares with my retirement bonus," 84-year-old Hidenori Takahashi told Reuters ahead of the meeting, adding he believed it was the "best company in Japan" for shareholders.
He said the ongoing certification issues that have roiled the automaker were "a bad thing" but that Toyoda seemed eager to take steps to prevent the wrongdoing from recurring.
More certification irregularities have come to light since the proxy advisers made their recommendations.
In early June, Toyota said it had wrongly conducted six different vehicle certification tests in the past, including for three models that were still being sold.
Some of the tests were conducted under stricter conditions than those set out by the government, invalidating their results, it has said.
Toyota's shares have fallen 10% since the new revelations came to light, but are still up 18% for the year.
Toyota CEO Koji Sato, who succeeded Toyoda as chief executive last year, reiterated apologies for the certification problems, but neither he nor Toyoda addressed the recommendations from the proxy advisers directly.
Shareholders on Tuesday also rejected an investor proposal urging greater disclosure of climate lobbying that had been opposed by Toyota.
Reporting by Maki Shiraki in Toyota City and Daniel Leussink in Tokyo; Editing by David Dolan and Edwina Gibbs
Activos relacionados
Últimas noticias
Descargo de responsabilidades: Cada una de las entidades de XM Group proporciona un servicio de solo ejecución y acceso a nuestra plataforma de trading online, permitiendo a una persona ver o usar el contenido disponible en o a través del sitio web, sin intención de cambiarlo ni ampliarlo. Dicho acceso y uso están sujetos en todo momento a: (i) Términos y Condiciones; (ii) Advertencias de riesgo; y (iii) Descargo completo de responsabilidades. Por lo tanto, dicho contenido se proporciona exclusivamente como información general. En particular, por favor tenga en cuenta que, los contenidos de nuestra plataforma de trading online no son ni solicitud ni una oferta para entrar a realizar transacciones en los mercados financieros. Operar en cualquier mercado financiero implica un nivel de riesgo significativo para su capital.
Todo el material publicado en nuestra plataforma de trading online tiene únicamente fines educativos/informativos y no contiene –y no debe considerarse que contenga– asesoramiento ni recomendaciones financieras, tributarias o de inversión, ni un registro de nuestros precios de trading, ni una oferta ni solicitud de transacción con instrumentos financieros ni promociones financieras no solicitadas.
Cualquier contenido de terceros, así como el contenido preparado por XM, como por ejemplo opiniones, noticias, investigaciones, análisis, precios, otras informaciones o enlaces a sitios de terceros que figuran en este sitio web se proporcionan “tal cual”, como comentarios generales del mercado y no constituyen un asesoramiento en materia de inversión. En la medida en que cualquier contenido se interprete como investigación de inversión, usted debe tener en cuenta y aceptar que dicho contenido no fue concebido ni elaborado de acuerdo con los requisitos legales diseñados para promover la independencia en materia de investigación de inversiones y, por tanto, se considera como una comunicación comercial en virtud de las leyes y regulaciones pertinentes. Por favor, asegúrese de haber leído y comprendido nuestro Aviso sobre investigación de inversión no independiente y advertencia de riesgo en relación con la información anterior, al que se puede acceder aquí.
