On 28 April 2011, the third Ordinary Annual General Meeting of Alpiq Holding Ltd. was held in the Stadthalle Kleinholz, Olten. The 665 shareholders in attendance represented 92.84 % of the voting rights. In his address, Chairman Hans E. Schweickardt said that Alpiq had moved forward despite a headwind, and presented the new 2020 strategy "Produce, Focus, Optimise". Over the next ten years Alpiq is aiming to double production and invest CHF 8 billion in new facilities. But the initial emphasis will be on debt reduction and boosting its own financial capability. The Alpiq Chairman told shareholders that the new strategy applies even in light of the events in Japan and remains strong in the face of changes: "That speaks volumes for the strategy, and for Alpiq."
Dividend of CHF 8.70 per registered share Alpiq stood its ground well in 2010 in a difficult market environment and in the face of challenging market conditions. Consolidated Group revenue amounted to CHF 14.10 billion and operating income (EBIT) ended the year slightly under CHF 1 billion. Group profit amounted to CHF 645 million. The meeting approved the proposal by the Board of Directors to pay a dividend of CHF 8.70 per registered share as the previous year. Shareholders also approved the consolidated 2010 financial statements of the Alpiq Group as well as the 2010 Annual Report and financial statements of Alpiq Holding Ltd. Subsequently the meeting elected Frédéric Mayoux, Philippe Torrion and Stéphane Tortajada to the Board of Directors to succeed Marc Boudier, Guillaume de Forceville and Philippe Huet for the remaining term of office until 2012. All newly elected members are representatives of Electricité de France (EDF).
Alpiq is used to wind and weather – and can cope with them. Addressing the meeting, Alpiq CEO Giovanni Leonardi spoke of the difficult environment in 2010, for Alpiq as well as for other companies. But Alpiq had stood its ground well, he added, citing the wide range of projects Alpiq was implementing "day after day" with a view to the future. This included the commissioning of Bieudron pump storage power station and work on the Nant de Drance pump storage power station (both in canton Valais), the startup of Le Peuchapatte wind farm in canton Jura and Vetrocom wind farm in Bulgaria as well as projects to build or acquire new gas-fired combined-cycle power stations in France, Italy and Spain. Alpiq also stepped up its energy efficiency activities and intends to further exploit business opportunities in this field. According to the Alpiq CEO, 2011 got off to a very slow start in January and February, and achieving the goals set for 2011 is proving a highly challenging task.
Due to the decision to suspend the process for the submitted general licence applications, the value of the work devoted to these applications is no longer a given under the IFRS accounting standards, added Leonardi. The incurred costs of around CHF 35 million will therefore be written down. But Giovanni Leonardi was optimistic, emphasising that the financial consolidation programme would be consistently pursued at Alpiq and that, as a result, Alpiq will continue to develop strongly because "Alpiq is used to wind and weather and can take adverse conditions in our stride".