2013-04-16 10:05:26 +02:00

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finance
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mediatechnologyandtelecoms
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8344066
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# Apple investors signal they want more control over company
## Apple shareholders have surprisingly backed a measure that will force
board directors to be elected with a majority vote, but failed to throw their
weight behind a proposal that would have compelled the iPhone maker to reveal
plans for who will eventually succeed Steve Jobs.
![Apple investors signal they want more say over company][1]
Apple investors signal they want more say over company Photo: PA
[![Richard Blackden][2]][3]
By [Richard Blackden][4] 8:08PM GMT 23 Feb 2011
[Comments][5]
The passing of the measure, which was put forward by the California Public
Employees' Retirement System, America's biggest pension fund, means that board
directors can no longer be elected with what's known as a plurality of the
vote, or whoever receives the most votes even if it it deosn't amount to a
majority.
The vote at Apple's Annual General Meeting is likely to be seen as a sign
that, despite the remarkable performance of Apple shares, investors are keen
to have a greater say in the running of the company.
Analysts have said that close-knit nature of the board may have contributed to
the limited nature of the disclosures over the health of Mr Jobs, who is
currently on medical leave for the third time in seven years.
However, as expected, shareholders rejected a proposal from the Laborers'
International Union of North America, another pension fund and Apple
shareholder, that called for the California-based company to reveal its
succession plan for Mr Jobs and detail how it was developing executives that
work for him.
Apple had urged shareholders to vote against both proposals, arguing that the
first would make it harder to retain board members and that the latter would
hand a critical advantage to rivals.
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The AGM was be the first time the Apple board had been questioned on the
company's plans since Mr Jobs stepped back from day-to-day operations last
month. That disclosure generated fresh anxiety among shareholders over the
health of Mr Jobs, who had surgery for cancer in 2004 and a liver transplant
in 2009. Mr Jobs, who is widely credited with transforming Apple since
returning in 1997 to the company he founded, has said that he will remain
involved in strategic decisions while he is on leave and intends to be back as
soon as possible.
Apple, which produced record profits of $6bn (£3.7bn) in the final three
months of last year, insisted that it does have a succession plan but said
revealing it would hand competitors an advantage.
In the quarter, Apple's sales surged 71pc higher to $26.7bn, as it sold 16.2m
iPhones, 4.13m Macs and 7.33m iPads. The success in the past decade of Macs,
the iPod, the iPhone and, from last year, the iPad has turned Apple into the
second-biggest company by market value in the US after ExxonMobil.
Apple has again picked Tim Cook, the company's chief operating officer, to
step into Mr Jobs's shoes. The company awarded Mr Cook $59.1m in pay last
year, including a bonus for running Apple during Mr Jobs's medical leave in
2009.
Mr Cook, who has been with Apple since 1998, told analysts last month that he
is very confident about the company's product pipeline. It has been reported
that the company is planning to unveil a new version of the iPad at an event
in San Francisco next week.
Industry watchers say that the new device is likely to be lighter and thinner
than the current iPad, and have a higher-resolution screen. Part of Apple's
success has been to generate intense speculation over its future products and,
in the run-up to next week's event, some say the company may also unveil a
cheaper, smaller version of the iPad.
So far the absence of Mr Jobs has done little to dent investors' enthusiasm
for the company's shares, which set fresh records last week. The shares were
trading up almost 1pc at $341.73 in afternoon trading in New York. They have
surged 74pc in the past 12 months.
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