- All proposals of the Board of Directors approved
- Christoph Franz as Chairman of the Roche Board of Directors and all other Board members standing for re-election approved;
Jemilah Mahmood elected as a new member of the Board of Directors - 35th Consecutive dividend increase to CHF 9.30 per share
Basel, 15 March 2022 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced that its shareholders approved all proposals of the Board of Directors at its ordinary Annual General Meeting (AGM). Owing to the ongoing high infection rates, the AGM was held with only representatives of Roche Holding Ltd and those persons required by the Articles of Incorporation in attendance and with no shareholders physically present. The AGM was broadcast live on the Internet. Roche shareholders were able to exercise their rights via written or electronically submitted instructions to the independent proxy, Testaris AG. The independent proxy represented 77.25% of the total of 106,691,000 shares. The Management Report, the Financial Statements and the Consolidated Financial Statements for 2021 were approved.
Christoph Franz was confirmed as Chairman of the Board of Directors with 98.91% of the votes. He addressed shareholders in a speech published online today:
"In 2021, in which we celebrated our 125th anniversary, we have once again been able to develop and manufacture innovative diagnostics and therapies against serious illnesses and, in particular, against COVID-19, and make them accessible to the world. Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, 2021 was a good year for Roche. This enables us to raise the dividend for the 35th consecutive time to 9.30 Swiss francs per share. We are proud of the contributions that our Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals Divisions have made to combating the pandemic. At the same time, we have been able to make great progress in our product pipeline across several areas, including oncology, vision loss and neurological diseases."
Shareholders endorsed the total amount of bonuses paid to the Corporate Executive Committee for 2021 with 98.53% of the votes, as well as the total amount of bonuses paid to the Chairman of the Board of Directors for 2021, which was approved by 98.54% of the votes. Furthermore, shareholders authorised the ratification of the Board of Directors' actions.
Shareholders approved the proposed appropriation of available earnings with 99.93% of the votes. They also approved an increase in the dividend for the past financial year from 9.10 to 9.30 Swiss francs (gross) per share and non-voting equity security. This is the 35th consecutive dividend increase.
In addition to Dr Christoph Franz, all other Board members who stood for re-election were confirmed for a term of one year:
? André Hoffmann
? Julie Brown
? Dr Jörg Duschmalé
? Dr Patrick Frost
? Anita Hauser
? Professor Dr Richard P. Lifton
? Bernard Poussot
? Dr Severin Schwan
? Dr Claudia Süssmuth Dyckerhoff
Professor Dr Jemilah Mahmood was elected as a new member of the Board of Directors for a term of one year.
The following Board members were re-elected to the Remuneration Committee for a term of one year:
? Dr Christoph Franz
? André Hoffmann
? Professor Dr Richard P. Lifton
? Bernard Poussot
Dr Patrick Frost was elected as a new member of the Remuneration Committee for a term of one year.
Shareholders also approved the maximum total amount of future remuneration of the Board of Directors, which was confirmed by 98.59% of the votes, and the maximum total amount of future remuneration for the Corporate Executive Committee until the 2023 ordinary Annual General Meeting by 98.50% of the votes.
The Meeting elected Testaris AG as independent proxy for the 2022 financial year until the conclusion of the 2023 ordinary Annual General Meeting and KPMG AG as external auditor for the financial year 2022.
To create the greatest possible transparency, this year's AGM was broadcast live on the Internet. The speech by Chairman of the Board Christoph Franz to shareholders can be found at https://www.roche.com/de/about/governance/annual_general_meetings.htm.
About Roche
Founded in1896 in Basel, Switzerland, as one of the first industrial manufacturers of branded medicines, Roche has grown into the world's largest biotechnology company and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world. We are a pioneer in personalised healthcare and want to further transform how healthcare is delivered to have an even greater impact. To provide the best care for each person we partner with many stakeholders and combine our strengths in Diagnostics and Pharma with data insights from the clinical practice.
In recognising our endeavor to pursue a long-term perspective in all we do, Roche has been named one of the most sustainable companies in the pharmaceuticals industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the thirteenth consecutive year. This distinction also reflects our efforts to improve access to healthcare together with local partners in every country we work.
Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.
For more information, please visit www.roche.com.
Roche Group Media Relations
Phone: +41 61 688 8888 / e-mail: media.relations@roche.com
| Dr. Nicolas Dunant Phone: +41 61 687 05 17 | SileiaUrech Phone: +41 79 935 81 48 |
| Dr. Barbara von Schnurbein Phone: +41 61 687 89 67 | KarstenKleine Phone: +41 61 682 28 31 |
| Nina Mählitz Phone: +41 79 327 54 74 | Nathalie Meetz Phone: +41 61 687 43 05 |
Attachment
- 15032022_MR_Roche_AGM_en (https://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/793461be-9886-4ac1-8b9c-f91c5cfd970f)
