Protests and a Stark Warning Dominate OMV's AGM as Leadership Overhaul Takes Shape

Outgoing OMV CEO Alfred Stern warns Europe's gas situation is worse than short-term supply suggests, as shareholders approve key governance changes and a new CEO.

The OMV annual general meeting in Vienna on May 27 was no routine affair. Climate activists disrupted proceedings with coordinated singing, forcing supervisory board chairman Lutz Feldmann to repeatedly suspend the session before security eventually removed the protesters. While the noise in the hall grabbed headlines, the substance came from outgoing chief executive Alfred Stern, who used his last address to shareholders to deliver a sobering outlook on Europe's energy security.

Stern warned that the continent faces a more difficult gas situation than the short-term supply picture suggests. Although immediate deliveries are assured, the filling of storage facilities for the months ahead has become a serious challenge. Global LNG availability has tightened considerably, with the Iran conflict adding further strain. State interventions such as windfall taxes or price caps, he argued, are counterproductive — they worsen scarcity rather than incentivise additional European production. OMV itself, he noted, has been free of Russian gas dependency since the end of 2024, a first in over six decades.

The warning comes against a mixed operational backdrop. OMV reported first-quarter 2026 CCS operating results before special items of just over one billion euros, with revenues from continuing operations at €5.9 billion. The Energy segment underperformed due to lower exploration contributions, while the Fuels division suffered from supply chain disruptions. Chemicals fared significantly better, buoyed by the Borealis reclassification and improved polyolefin margins.

Shareholders backed a slate of governance changes that will reshape the company's leadership as it navigates this period. Reinhard Florey, the finance chief, secured a mandate extension through June 2029. Edith Hlawati and Patrick Lammers were re?elected to the supervisory board with approval rates of 91.6% and 94.5% respectively. Newcomers Andreas Klauser and Ahmed El?Hoshy joined the board with almost 99% support each. KPMG Austria will take over the audit mandate — covering the financial statements, consolidated accounts and sustainability reporting — for the 2026 fiscal year.

The handover at the top is now set in stone: Emma Delaney, currently at BP, becomes CEO on September 1, 2026, with Stern stepping down on August 31. In a brief recorded message, Delaney cited her experience with deep transformations but offered no further detail. The newly composed supervisory board will therefore oversee the transition from day one.

Alongside the personnel moves, shareholders approved a new executive compensation policy with 97.1% of votes, designed to tighten the link between performance and pay while boosting transparency. The dividend for fiscal year 2025 was confirmed at €4.40 per share — comprising a regular €3.15 plus a special payout of €1.25 — with payment due on June 11, 2026. The ex?dividend date is June 8.

OMV shares closed the session at €61.70, up 0.33% on the day, reflecting little immediate reaction to the decisions. That leaves the stock roughly 4% below its 52?week high of €63.85, reached in mid?May. Year?to?date, the shares have climbed around 27.5%, one of the stronger performances in the European energy sector. Investors will get the next operational snapshot on July 31, 2026, when OMV publishes its half?year results for January through June — the first real test of whether the incoming leadership team inherits a solid foundation.