BASEL, Switzerland, April 6, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Annual General Meeting of Roche Holding Ltd was attended by 592 shareholders representing 147,822,220 or 92,39 percent, of a total of 160,000,000 shares. The Meeting approved the 2003 annual report and financial statements and authorised payment of an annual dividend for 2003 of 1.65 Swiss francs per share and non-voting equity security, an increase of 14 percent over the previous year. This is Roche's seventeenth consecutive dividend increase.
In his address to shareholders, Chairman and CEO Franz B. Humer summed up the year as follows: "We achieved our ambitious goals in 2003. Our core pharmaceuticals and diagnostics businesses grew faster than their respective markets, increasing their sales at a double-digit rate of 19 percent in local currencies to 29.0 billion Swiss francs. Operating profit before exceptional items once again outpaced sales growth, with a 25% rise in local currencies to 6.1 billion Swiss francs. Moreover, we have continued to strengthen Roche's financial position and have further enhanced corporate governance."
Humer went on to say that Roche's good performance in 2003 confirmed that its clearly defined strategy of focusing on the highly innovative pharmaceuticals and diagnostics businesses as an independent company was on track. "Furthermore, we firmly believe that long-term business success is possible only through a policy of economic, social and environmental sustainability. Our new Sustainability Report underlines our commitment in this area."
As had already been announced, the 2004 Annual General Meeting was marked by a number of changes to the membership of the Board of Directors. Fritz Gerber, Andres F. Leuenberger and Henri B. Meier all stepped down as of today's Meeting. Humer thanked all three gentlemen on the shareholders' behalf for their significant contributions to Roche's success over the past decades. As Chairman of the Board from 1978 and CEO for many years, Gerber played a key role in shaping the direction and remarkable success of the company. He remains Honorary Chairman of Roche.
The shareholders elected Bruno Gehrig and Lodewijk J.R. de Vink as new Board members. Before taking up his current position as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Swiss Life Holding, Bruno Gehrig was Vice-Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, which he joined in 1996. From 1992 to 1996 he was Professor of Business Economics at the University of St Gallen. Gehrig will assume the newly created function of Independent Lead Director. Lodewijk J. R. de Vink is a founding member and consultant of Blackstone Healthcare Partners. As a former President of Schering International and Chairman, President and CEO of Warner-Lambert, de Vink has many years of experience in the pharmaceuticals industry.
Board members Walter Frey and Andreas Oeri, whose four-year terms of office ended today, were re-elected. Finally, the shareholders elected KPMG as the new Group Auditors and Statutory Auditors of Roche Holding Ltd.
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading innovation-driven healthcare groups. Its core businesses are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is number one in the global diagnostics market, the leading supplier of pharmaceuticals for cancer and a leader in virology and transplantation. As a supplier of products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people's health and quality of life. Roche employs roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries. The Group has alliances and R&D agreements with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai.
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