Puig to present its new strategic plan on October 28

Madrid – In one of the week's major business stories, Puig held its 2026 Annual General Meeting last Friday, May 29. The meeting proceeded as planned, with shareholders approving every item on the agenda. These items ranged from the approval of the group's financial and non-financial statements for the 2025 financial year to the renewal of its Board of Directors. During the meeting, the company announced the presentation date for its new strategic plan. It also issued a clear warning following the collapse of negotiations with The Estée Lauder: “Puig is not for sale”.

According to Puig's management, a qualified majority of shareholders in the Spanish multinational group approved all proposals presented by the Board of Directors during the Annual General Meeting. The agenda was structured around 13 points for discussion. The agenda began with the review and approval of Puig's annual accounts for the 2025 financial year. The Spanish company concluded the year with sales reaching 5.04 billion euros (a 5.26 percent increase) and profits of 617.10 million euros (a 13.74 percent increase). This solid performance in both revenue and net profit contrasts sharply with the company's negative stock market performance since its IPO. Shares closed last Friday with a cumulative drop of 34.16 percent, falling from their initial public offering price of 24.50 euros to 16.13 euros at the close of trading on Friday, May 29.

Beyond the approval of the agenda items, which was largely a formality given the Puig family's control over 93.21 percent of voting rights, a key moment was the address by Marc Puig, the executive chairman. He spoke to shareholders who attended the meeting exclusively online, with no in-person attendance. Puig used his speech to defend the recent negotiations with Estée Lauder, despite them ending without an agreement. He also reaffirmed the Puig family's commitment to the company and their decision to remain as reference shareholders. Finally, he clarified that the negotiation process with Estée Lauder does not imply that Puig is for sale; in fact, the opposite is true.

“Although these talks did not result in a transaction, they highlighted the strong recognition Puig has achieved in the sector,” stated Marc Puig during his address to the company's shareholders at the meeting. Elaborating on the reasons for the lack of agreement, he added, “the potential combination would have required aligning three key aspects of a possible merger: governance; business leadership; and economic considerations that correctly recognised the company's value and were fair to all stakeholders”.

“In any case, as has been made clear throughout this process, Puig is not for sale,” asserted its executive chairman, a member of the third generation of the founding family leading the Spanish group. “We have always maintained that the family is and will remain a long-term shareholder, and this would have been the case even in the contemplated business combination.” Looking ahead to the company's next chapter, he said, “we have a very exciting long-term project, with very well-positioned brands, a winning team, a very solid balance sheet, and a history of over 110 years that supports us”.

Approval of dividend and renewal of Board of Directors

In addition to the approval of the accounts, financial and non-financial reports, and the authorisation to grant “Class B” shares to executive directors as payment for the variable components of their remuneration, two other key points from Puig's AGM are worth noting. The first, following the agenda's order, concerned the approval and distribution of the dividend. The second related to the renewal of Puig's Board of Directors.

Regarding the first point, in line with the announcement made by Puig's Board of Directors last February during the 2025 results presentation, the AGM has approved a gross dividend of 0.42 euros per share, to be paid from the 2025 profit. This amounts to a total of approximately 617.10 million euros. The board has agreed to allocate 435.54 million euros as available funds, with 198 million euros designated as a voluntary reserve and the remaining 237.47 million euros for this year's dividend payment. This amount aligns with Puig's shareholder remuneration policy of approximately 40 percent of its net profit. The dividend will be paid to shareholders from June 17, with the final date to be eligible for payment being Friday, June 12.

Regarding the renewal of the Board of Directors, the AGM approved the re-election of eight board members: Marc Puig (executive director); Nicolas Mirzayantz (independent director); Daniel Lalonde (independent director); Ángeles García-Poveda Morera (independent director); Jordi Constans Fernández; Ioannis Petrides; Rafael Cerezo Laporta; and Christine Ann Mei (independent director). The appointments of Jose Manuel Albesa as executive director and Julie Van Ongevalle as a new independent director were also approved. Following the resignation of Josep Oliu, it was agreed to set the number of Board of Directors members at 13.

Additionally, among the items discussed at the AGM, the proposals that faced the most opposition from Puig shareholders were the approval of the company's director remuneration policy, with 31.37 million votes against, and the approval of granting Class B shares to executive directors, with 33.65 million votes against. This opposition was notably weak against the majority power held by the Puig family, representing only 1.51 percent and 1.62 percent of the total voting rights, respectively.

Presentation of new strategic plan on October 28

Looking beyond the Annual General Meeting, during which Jose Manuel Albesa made his debut before shareholders as Puig's new chief executive officer, the company reiterated its outlook for 2026. It expects to close the year “growing above the premium beauty market” with a stable adjusted EBITDA margin at the same level as the end of 2025. The company ended 2025 with an adjusted EBITDA of 1.05 billion euros (a 7.8 percent increase) and a margin of 20.7 percent. To reinforce these trends and build further momentum, the company has scheduled the presentation of its new strategic plan for October 28. This will coincide with the eventual celebration of Puig's first “Capital Markets Day”. The event was initially scheduled for April 16 and 17, then moved to April 14, and was ultimately postponed indefinitely following the start of negotiations with Estée Lauder.

“The leadership of this management team gives us the confidence to move further and faster, building Puig with greater scale and agility,” stated Jose Manuel Albesa. He was addressing shareholders about the management changes agreed upon last March, including his own appointment as the new CEO. “Over the last five years, Puig has been the fastest-growing multi-brand premium beauty company in the industry, significantly outperforming the global premium beauty market.” “We are not only growing rapidly, but we are also becoming a more balanced, global, and resilient company.” Building on these strengths after concluding its 2021 to 2025 strategic plan, the company is now preparing for its next phase of growth. To this end, “our teams have worked intensively on defining our new strategic plan,” which “was originally scheduled to be presented during our Capital Markets Day”. He added, “I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their patience and understanding regarding the event's postponement. I am pleased to confirm that our Capital Markets Day will be held on October 28 in Madrid.”

Regarding the new roadmap, Albesa elaborated, “without revealing too many details that we will save for the Capital Markets Day, I can say that the future involves scaling up what is already working. In short, it means consolidating our three-axis brands; strengthening our leadership in the ‘Niche’ segment; continuing to revolutionise ‘Prestige’ perfumery; and, beyond our core business, positioning ‘Derma’ as a new pillar of growth.” This will all be part of a new strategic plan, which will demonstrate that “we have full confidence in our ability to continue creating value while remaining true to what has always made us unique”.

From this same forward-looking perspective, Marc Puig noted during his speech, “what I see today is a company that is stronger than ever. Above all, I see a company with the confidence, ambition, and values needed to build for future generations.” He added, “as executive chairman, my commitment is to help protect this vision and guide Puig in its next stage, so that future generations inherit an even stronger, more admired, and more relevant company than the one we lead today.”