REMUNERATION POLICY FOR MEMBERS OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD AND SUPERVISORY BOARD OF GRUPA AZOTY S.A. Contents:
Part I 3
General provisions 3
Part II 5
Remuneration and Management Objectives 5
Part III 7
Benefits and additional rights 7
Part IV 8
Legal relationship between the Company and members of its governing bodies 8
Part V 9
Miscellaneous 9
Part 1 General provisionsSection 1.
The remuneration policy stipulated in this document (the "Remuneration Policy") defines the rules and terms of remuneration for members of the Management Board and Supervisory Board of Grupa Azoty S.A. within the meaning of the Act on Rules of Remunerating Persons Managing Certain Companies of 9 June 2016, as well as the Act on Public Offering, Conditions Governing the Introduction of Financial Instruments to Organised Trading, and Public Companies of 29 July 2005.
The framework for remunerating the Managers as adopted in this Policy, including in particular:
definition of the criteria for granting and determining the amount of variable remuneration components so as to include criteria related to the consideration of social interests, the Company's contribution to environmental protection, and measures taken to prevent and eliminate adverse social impacts of the Company's operations;
explanation of how the criteria (management objectives) are taken into account in granting and determining the amount of Variable Remuneration,
For the purposes of this Remuneration Policy:
1) Company | − | shall mean Grupa Azoty S.A. of Tarnów; |
2) Grupa Azoty Group | − | shall mean a group of companies within the meaning of Article 4(1)4 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 16 February 2007, consisting of the Company and its subsidiaries; |
3) Group Companies | − | shall mean Grupa Azoty Group companies; |
4) Manager(s) | − | shall mean a member(s) of the Company's Management Board; |
5) Supervisor(s) | − | shall mean a member(s) of the Company's Supervisory Board; |
6) Remuneration | − | shall mean cash benefits to which a Manager or Supervisor is entitled for serving on the Company's governing bodies; |
7) Fixed Remuneration | − | shall mean the fixed component of the Remuneration, determined at a flat monthly rate; |
8) Variable Remuneration | − | shall mean an additional component of the Remuneration, the grant and amount of which shall be determined based on certain conditions defined in accordance with this Remuneration Policy; |
9) Management Objectives | − | shall mean the objectives and tasks assigned to each Manager for a given financial year; |
10) Act | − | shall mean the Act on Rules of Remunerating Persons Managing Certain Companies of 9 June 2016. |
11) ESG | − | shall mean sustainability aspects: E - environmental, S - social, G - governance. |
12) Public Offering Act | − | shall mean the Act on Public Offering, Conditions Governing the Introduction of Financial Instruments to Organised Trading, and Public Companies of 29 July 2005; |
setting out rules to ensure gender balance on the Company's Management Board and Supervisory Board, and to support professional development of women and men.
Section 2.
A Manager shall be remunerated based on a managerial contract concluded between the Company and the Manager for the period of their service as a Management Board member. A Supervisor shall be remunerated based on the corporate relationship arising from their appointment. A Supervisor shall receive remuneration during their term of office, subject to Section 2(6).
The total Remuneration of a Manager shall consist of a fixed component (Fixed Remuneration), representing a monthly base pay, and a variable component (Variable Remuneration), representing additional remuneration payable for the Company's financial year.
The Variable Remuneration shall be of an incentive nature and its amount shall be defined based on the achievement of the Management Objectives, and thus it is an instrument ensuring implementation of the Company's business strategy, including its sustainability (ESG) goals, pursuit of the Company's long-term interests, stability and growth of the Company and increase in its value.
The remuneration of a Manager specified in the contract referred to in Section 2(1) shall also comprise remuneration for serving as a member of the management or supervisory board of a Group subsidiary. Therefore, a Manager shall not be remunerated separately by the Group's subsidiaries in which the Manager serves at the same time as a management or supervisory board member.
A Supervisor's Remuneration shall comprise solely the Fixed Remuneration defined as a fixed
monthly amount.
A Supervisor delegated by the Supervisory Board to temporarily perform the duties of a Management Board member shall be entitled to monthly remuneration in an amount specified in the Supervisory Board's resolution, which shall not be higher than the amount most recently set for the Manager whose duties the Supervisor is delegated to perform. It shall not be necessary to execute a managerial contract with a Supervisor delegated to temporarily perform the duties of a Management Board member.
Neither Managers nor Supervisors shall receive remuneration in the form of financial instruments. Nor shall they be covered by any supplementary pension schemes or early retirement schemes, subject to mandatory provisions of law.
Section 3.
The monthly Fixed Remuneration of a Management Board Member shall fall within the following ranges:
for the President of the Management Board - from seven to fourteen times,
for Vice Presidents of the Management Board - from seven to twelve times,
for other Members of the Management Board - from seven to ten times
the reference salary, understood as the arithmetic average of the monthly average salaries in the enterprise sector, excluding bonuses from profit, as announced by the President of Statistics Poland, for the 12 (twelve) quarters of the last 3 (three) full consecutive years preceding the year for which the reference salary is determined.
The amount (rate) of the monthly Fixed Remuneration of a Manager shall be determined by the Supervisory Board in monetary terms, i.e. by specifying a nominal amount expressed in Polish złoty, in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(1).
The monthly Fixed Remuneration of a Supervisor shall be set as the product of the reference salary referred to in Article 1(3)(11) of the Act, taking into account other legal acts that change or modify the reference salary, including the provisions of laws on specific solutions supporting the implementation of the budget act for the given year, and a multiplier of 2.75 (two point seventy-five). The remuneration thus determined shall be increased by:
10% in the case of the Chair of the Supervisory Board,
9% in the case of the Deputy Chair of the Supervisory Board,
8% in the case of the Secretary of the Supervisory Board,
9% in the case of the chairs of the Supervisory Board standing committees,
with the proviso that if a Supervisor is entitled to more than one increase, they shall receive the largest one (no aggregation of the increase rates).
Pursuant to the Act, the amount of remuneration payable to the Managers and Supervisors shall be determined taking into account the products specified in Sections 3(1) and 3(3) above; this remuneration system has been developed with due regard to the economic and financial condition of the Company as well as its liquidity position, and taking into consideration:
an analysis of the market remuneration levels at companies with a similar scale of operations or business profile (taking into account the scale of operations of the Grupa Azoty Group as a whole, including its operations in international markets);
an analysis of the scope of responsibilities, the size and nature of the supervised area. Since the remuneration of members of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board is governed by the Act, the average remuneration of the Company's employees shall not be taken into account in determining the rules of this Policy. Section 4
The Variable Remuneration for a given financial year of serving as a member of the Company's Management Board shall be payable subject to and after approval of the Directors' Report on the Company's operations and the financial statements for that financial year, and grant of discharge from liability to a given Manager in respect of their duties in that financial year.
An entitlement to Variable Remuneration for a given financial year shall be subject to prior assignment of the Management Objectives by the Supervisory Board for that financial year and a given Manager's undertaking to perform the assigned objectives in a given financial year.
The Variable Remuneration for a given financial year shall depend on and shall be determined pro rata to the achievement of the Management Objectives assigned to individual Managers for that year; it shall not exceed 100% (one hundred per cent) of the Fixed Remuneration due for the same financial year (the "Maximum Remuneration").
The specific Management Objectives for individual Managers for a given financial year, the method of assessing the level of their achievement, including in particular the definition of ratios or indicators reflecting their achievement, method of measuring individual values, weights allocated to each objective and (optionally) a list of documents necessary to prove the achievement of Management Objectives in the financial year and to calculate the amount of Variable Remuneration shall be determined annually by a resolution of the Supervisory Board,
in accordance with the rules stipulated in Section 5 of this Remuneration Policy. The Supervisory Board may also adopt rules specifying a detailed procedure and timetable for defining and adopting Management Objectives, as well as for submitting information on their achievement, assessing the achievement level, and determining the amount of Variable Remuneration for a given financial year on this basis (the "Variable Remuneration Rules").
The amount of Variable Remuneration shall be defined by the Supervisory Board based on its assessment of the achievement of the Management Objectives, by reducing the Maximum Remuneration pro rata to the achievement level of each shared and individual objective, taking into account the weights allocated to each objective.
If a Manager's mandate expires after the end of a financial year, the Manager shall retain the
right to Variable Remuneration for that year.
Variable Remuneration shall be calculated pro rata to the time of a given Manager's serving as a Management Board member in a given financial year, which means that the Maximum Remuneration for a given financial year shall correspond to the aggregate amount due to the Manager as monthly Fixed Remuneration for such time in that financial year.
Section 5.
The Management Objectives shall be defined in such a way as to enable assessment of their achievement based on measurable data or economic indicators, taking into account and based on the Grupa Azoty Group's business strategy, the Company's and the Grupa Azoty Group's budgets and long-term plans, ensuring stability of the Company's financial position, social interests, environmental protection, as well as preventing and eliminating adverse social impacts.
The Management Objectives may include, without limitation:
growth of net profit or EBITDA, or a positive change in the growth rate of one of these values;
achievement of a specific level, or improvement of, the production or sales volumes;
a specific amount of income, in particular revenue, operating income, other income or finance income;
reduction of losses, administrative expenses or operating expenses;
implementation of the strategy or restructuring plan;
achievement or improvement of specific economic and financial ratios or indicators, in particular profitability, financial liquidity, management efficiency or solvency ratios or indicators;
implementation of investment projects, taking into account in particular their scale, rate of return, innovation and timeliness of delivery;
improvement of the Company's market position, measured as its market share or based on some other criteria or the relations with customers/suppliers regarded as key trading partners based on specific criteria;
implementation of the HR policy and increased employee engagement;
reduction of adverse environmental impacts, including emissions of harmful substances;
achievement of sustainability (ESG) objectives and impacts;
resolution of collective disputes and reduction in the number of disputes with individual employees;
restructuring of the company or increasing its value;
support for the professional development of women, in accordance with the Gender Balance Policy.
The Supervisory Board shall define the following types of Management Objectives:
- key objectives - their achievement shall be a precondition for accruing and demanding payment of the Variable Remuneration;
- shared objectives - assigned to all Managers and defined, as a rule, by reference to economic and financial ratios and parameters;
- individual objectives - defined individually for each Manager, taking into consideration their powers and responsibilities in the business area assigned to the Manager in line with the internal division of powers and responsibilities among the Management Board members.
Where permitted by their nature, Management Objectives shall be adopted and assessed taking into account and with respect to the Grupa Azoty Group, i.e. as if the Company and the Group Companies were a single entity (one business organisation). This shall in particular apply to the key objectives, with the proviso that in each case, each of the following shall be a separate key objective whose achievement shall be a precondition for a Manager's being eligible to receive the Variable Remuneration, representing additional remuneration payable in respect of the Company's financial year:
the establishment and application of remuneration rules for members of the management and supervisory bodies that are consistent with the provisions of the Act, taking into account other legal acts that change or modify the reference salary, including the provisions of laws on specific solutions supporting the implementation of the budget act for the given year;
performance of the obligations specified in Article 17−20, Article 221 and Article 23 of the
Act on State Property Management of 16 December 2016
at the Company's subsidiaries within the meaning of Article 4(3) of the Competition and
Consumer Protection Act of 16 February 2007.
In the Variable Remuneration Rules, the Supervisory Board may reserve the right to suspend evaluation of a Manager's achievement of their Management Objectives and determination of the amount of Variable Remuneration, as well as to defer its payment for reasons related to the Company's particularly material interests, and in particular if, after granting discharge from liability for the financial year for which the Variable Remuneration is to be determined/paid, any material circumstances become known indicating that the Manager has not performed their function (duties) properly, to the detriment of the Company's material interests. The period of such suspension may not exceed 36 months from the date of the General Meeting approving the financial statements for the year for which the Variable Remuneration is to be paid.
In the Variable Remuneration Rules, the Supervisory Board may also specify cases (circumstances) in which, for reasons related to the Company's material interests and a Manager's acts or omissions detrimental to such interests, the right to demand Variable Remuneration may be lost or, as the case may be, the obligation may arise to return Variable Remuneration paid to the Manager prior to disclosure of such circumstances. An entitlement to the Variable Remuneration shall not be lost as a result of circumstances which had been made public and been known before the General Meeting passed a resolution to grant discharge from liability for the financial year to which those circumstances relate.
Section 6.
If the Company's contract with a Manager is terminated for any reason other than a breach by the Manager of their principal obligations under that contract, the Manager shall be entitled to severance payment equal to 3 (three) times the monthly Fixed Remuneration, provided that the Manager held the position of a member of the Company's Management Board for at least 12 (twelve) months prior to the termination.
The Manager shall not be entitled to receive the severance benefit referred to in Section 6(1):
if the Manager has resigned as a member of the Company's Management Board;
if the Manager's contract has been terminated by mutual consent of the Parties;
when, despite the termination of the contract, the Manager continues to serve as member of the Company's Management Board under a different contract, or continues or begins to serve as a member of the management board of a Group Company;
in other circumstances, as indicated in the contract.
Section 7.
A Manager may also be entitled to compensation for refraining from engaging in competing activities if a relevant non-competition agreement has been concluded between the Company
and the Manager upon the Manager's ceasing to hold the office. A non-competition agreement may not be concluded after termination of the managerial contract.
The entitlement referred to in Section 7(1) shall in each case be subject to the requirement that the Manager has served as member of the Management Board for at least 3 (three) months.
The non-competition period shall not be longer than 6 (six) months as of the Management Board member's ceasing to hold the office. The non-competition agreement shall lose its force before the expiry of that period if the Manager becomes a member of a governing body of another company within the meaning of Article 1(3)(7) of the Act.
The amount of compensation payable to the Manager for each month of the non-compete obligation shall not be higher than 100% of the monthly Fixed Remuneration received for the last full month before the Management Board member's ceasing to hold the office.
The non-competition agreement referred to in Section 7(1) should stipulate the Company's right to demand that the Manager pay the Company a contractual penalty equal to or higher than the compensation due for the entire non-competition period if the Manager fails to perform or properly perform the agreement.
Section 8.
The Company may provide the Manager with equipment and technical devices, being the Company's property, necessary to perform the duties of a Management Board member, including:
a business car of a standard suitable for a Management Board member,
a mobile telephone,
a portable computer with accessories,
accommodation at the locations where the managerial are performed.
The Company may enter into insurance agreements covering damage or losses suffered by it as
a result a Manager's or Supervisor's failure to properly perform their duties.
The Company's Supervisory Board may define detailed rules, including limits or a method for defining limits of costs incurred by the Company in connection with the activities referred to in Sections 8(1) and 8(2).
The Supervisory Board may also define rules for a Manager's use of Company assets for private
purposes against consideration.
The Managers and Supervisors shall be entitled to reimbursement of reasonable expenses they may incur to protect or promote the Company's interests, to the extent this relates directly to their position on the Management or Supervisory Board, in accordance with the general rules applicable at the Company. This shall primarily apply to the reimbursement of cost of business travel, including to/from the place(s) where meetings are held or other management or supervisory activities are performed.
Section 9.
The Company shall enter into a managerial contract with a Manager for the duration of the Manager's term of office (mandate) as member of the Company's Management Board; the contract shall stipulate that the management services shall be performed by the Manager personally, irrespective of whether they are performed as part of the Manager's business activities.
The wording of the contract shall be determined by the Supervisory Board, taking into account the provisions of the Act, the Company's Articles of Association and the provisions of this Remuneration Policy.
The contract referred to in Section 9(1) shall provide for its early termination, with effect from the end of a calendar month and subject to the following notice periods:
one month - if the Manager has held the position for less than 12 months,
two months - if the Manager has held the position for 12 months or more, but not more than 24 months,
three months - if the Manager has held the position for more than 24 months.
The contract referred to in Section 9(1) shall also provide for the Company's right to terminate it early with immediate effect in the event of the Manager's material breach of its provisions.
The contract shall oblige the Manager to notify the Company of the Manager's intention to hold a position on a governing body of another commercial company or acquisition of shares or other interest in such company. The contract may also prohibit the Manager from holding positions on governing bodies of any other commercial company and may impose other restrictions on the Manager's activity outside the Company.
The Supervisory Board shall be authorised to define the prohibitions and restrictions referred to above, obligations to report on compliance with such prohibitions and restrictions, and sanctions for failure to duly comply therewith.
Section 10.
The Supervisors shall be appointed for a joint three-year term of office in accordance with the
rules laid down in the Company's Articles of Association.
The substance of the legal relationship between the Company and a Supervisor shall be governed by the relevant provisions of the Commercial Companies Code, the Company's Articles of Association and resolutions of the Company's General Meeting. The corporate relationship shall continue until the end of the term of office (mandate) of a member of the Company's Supervisory Board.
As regards procedural matters, including compliance with OHS regulations, fire safety, personal data protection, business secret protection. etc., a Supervisor shall comply with internal regulations applicable at the Company and issued by the Company's Management Board.
Section 11.
Prevention of conflicts of interest with respect to remuneration of the Company's Managers and Supervisors shall be ensured by applying the division of powers and responsibilities provided for in Article 378 and Article 392 of the Commercial Companies Code, and in Article 90d of the Public Offering Act, in so far as it concerns defining remuneration rules. The same objective shall also be served by the requirement that remuneration be determined in accordance with the provisions of this Remuneration Policy.
If a possible conflict of interest in any area governed by this Remuneration Policy is identified, the fact shall be promptly reported by each Manager to the Chair of the Company's Supervisory Board and by each Supervisor to the President of the Company's Management Board.
If a report referred to in the preceding paragraph is received, the Company's Supervisory Board or the Management Board, as the case may be, shall initiate a procedure to amend this Remuneration Policy in order to eliminate the identified conflict of interest.
Section 12.
Definition of this Remuneration Policy and any amendments hereto shall be initiated by the Company's Management Board or Supervisory Board, supported by the Company's relevant functions, including with respect to legal assistance. This shall be without prejudice to the
General Meeting's powers to adopt or amend this Remuneration Policy, also without prior
initiative of the Supervisory Board or Management Board.
This Remuneration Policy should be updated at least every four years. Any material amendment to this Remuneration Policy shall be adopted by the General Meeting by way of resolution.
The Supervisory Board shall monitor whether this Remuneration Policy needs to be updated, and if any need for amendments is identified it shall adopt a relevant proposal and submit it so that the amendment can be adopted by resolution of the Company's General Meeting.
The Supervisory Board shall draw up an annual remuneration report providing a comprehensive overview of the remuneration, including all benefits, in whatever form, received or due to individual Managers and Supervisors in the previous financial year in accordance with this Remuneration Policy.
Section 13.
Where necessary for furthering the Company's long-term interests and ensuring its financial stability or viability, the Supervisory Board may decide to temporarily disapply this Remuneration Policy. Such a decision may be made in the event of:
a change in the legal framework governing remuneration of members of the management board and members of the supervisory board of state-owned companies,
permanent discontinuation or material limitation of the Company's operations caused by
circumstances that cannot be prevented,
opening of restructuring, liquidation or similar proceedings of a restructuring nature,
a difficult or deteriorating economic and financial condition or liquidity position of the Company.
Disapplication of this Remuneration Policy shall be effected by resolution of the Supervisory Board, which must define the scope and timeframe of such disapplication.
Disapplication of all or any of the provisions of this Remuneration Policy may not result in noncompliance with the Act or any other mandatory laws.
Section 14.
This version of the Remuneration Policy includes the following material changes relative to the previous version (the Remuneration Policy adopted by Resolution No. 4 of the Company's Extraordinary General Meeting to adopt the Remuneration Policy for Members of the Management Board and Supervisory Board of Grupa Azoty S.A. dated 20 August 2020, as amended by Resolution No. 34 of the Company's Annual General Meeting to amend the Remuneration Policy for Members of the Management Board and Supervisory Board of Grupa Azoty S.A. dated 30 June 2021, and by Resolution No. 6 of the Company's Extraordinary General Meeting to amend the Remuneration Policy for Members of the Management Board and Supervisory Board of Grupa Azoty S.A. dated 26 September 2024):
it has been specified how the Remuneration Policy contributes to achieving the objectives set out in Article 90d(2) of the Public Offering Act;
the provisions on the possibility of entering into a supervision services contract with a Supervisor have been deleted;
the following amendments have been made to align the Policy with the rules of remunerating members of the Management Board and Supervisory Board as amended under resolutions of the Company's General Meeting: introduction of remuneration ranges depending on the function performed within the Management Board; change of the definition of the reference salary for the Fixed Remuneration of the Managers; with respect to the Fixed Remuneration of the Supervisors - inclusion of a new requirement to take into account other legal acts that change or modify the reference salary (including the provisions of laws on specific solutions supporting the implementation of the budget act for the given year); expansion of the illustrative catalogue of Management Objectives; and incorporation of a provision that the Managers are not entitled to severance benefits if their contract is terminated by mutual consent of the parties;
a provision has been added to stipulate that the remuneration system for the Managers and Supervisors has been developed with due regard to the economic and financial condition of the Company and its liquidity position, and taking into account an analysis of the market remuneration levels at companies with a similar scale of operations or business profile, and an analysis of the scope of responsibilities, the size and nature of the supervised area;
the provisions on preventing conflicts of interest related to the remuneration of the Managers and Supervisors have been refined;
the list of cases in which the Supervisory Board may decide to temporarily disapply the Remuneration Policy has been expanded to include a difficult or deteriorating economic and financial condition or liquidity position of the Company;
the previous wording of Section 14 has been deleted and replaced it with this wording describing the amendments made to the Remuneration Policy.
Marta Anna Sajna
Signed with an electronic signature by Marta Anna Sajna
Date: 2026 01 15 15 24 16 +01'00'
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