12 Shareholders' equity

The shareholders' equity amounts to EUR 1,351.5 million (2015: EUR 1,285.6 million). For an explanation of the individual items in the shareholders' equity, please refer to the note on the shareholders' equity in the company annual accounts.

The company's authorised share capital amounts to EUR 1,589.0 million and is divided into 3.5 million shares, each with a nominal value of EUR 454.0, of which 1,104,462 (2015: 1,099,682) shares are issued.

The number of shares issued increased by 4,780 shares in 2016 as a result of the 2015 dividend distributed in 2016, for which shareholders could opt for cash or stock dividend. The dividend distributed amounted to EUR 29.10 per share, where those opting for stock dividend received a bonus of 3%. The total cash dividend distributed over 2015 amounted to EUR 26.0 million.