Shareholders approve all proposed resolutions of Novartis Board of Directors
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Novartis International AG /
Shareholders approve all proposed resolutions of Novartis Board of Directors
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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
* Shareholders approve 15(th) consecutive dividend increase to CHF 2.25 (+2%)
per share for 2011, representing a payout of approximately 63% of net income
from continuing operations
* Novartis reaffirms Group outlook; renews commitment to consistently meet
quality standards across manufacturing operations
* Dr. Dimitri Azar elected as new member of the Novartis Board of Directors
for a three year term
* Drs. Srikant Datar, Andreas von Planta and Wendelin Wiedeking re-elected for
three-year term each; Drs William Brody and Rolf M. Zinkernagel re-elected
for two-year term each
Basel, February 23, 2012 - Novartis shareholders today followed the Board of
Directors' recommendations for all proposed resolutions at the Group's Annual
General Meeting. Shareholders approved the fifteenth consecutive dividend
increase of 2% to CHF 2.25 for 2011, marking a continued increase in the
dividend per share since the creation of Novartis in 1996.
A total of 1,896 shareholders were present at the meeting held in Basel,
representing approximately 1,45 billion shares or 52.8% of the almost 2,75
billion issued shares of Novartis.
"The 2011 business environment remained uncertain, impacted by governmental
budget deficits, considerable currency turbulence and greater regulatory
scrutiny. Building on an attractive business portfolio, Novartis remains
nevertheless successful, focusing on innovation and geographic expansion. New
and recently launched products continued to be key growth drivers in 2011 and
hold more promise for the future," said Dr. Daniel Vasella, Chairman of
Novartis.
Shareholders approved a dividend payment of CHF 2.25 per share for 2011 compared
to CHF 2.20 in 2010, representing a payout ratio of approximately 63% of net
income from continuing operations. Payment for the 2011 dividend will be made
with effect from March 1, 2012.
The Group confirmed expectations for 2012 to be a year of continued progress in
delivering its strategic priorities continuing to drive innovation, growth and
productivity across its businesses implementing its strategy to meet the growing
needs of patients and aging societies worldwide through its healthcare
portfolio. Barring unforeseen events Group constant currency net sales are
expected to be in line with 2011. Products launched since 2007 are expected to
continue to grow strongly and compensate for the negative impacts of generic
competition, lower Tekturna/Rasilez sales (expected to be less than half of
2011 sales), anticipated price reductions and the expected reduction of
enoxaparin sales. This expectation assumes a mid-year start of shipments out of
the Lincoln plant. Group core operating income margin in constant currencies is
expected to be slightly below 2011 core operating income margin. While
productivity measures and margin improvements on products launched since 2007
are important contributions to improving profitability, they are not expected to
fully offset the loss of margin from generic competition, price erosion, new
investments necessary to sustain growth in new products and the impact of a
delayed start-up of Lincoln.
During the Annual General Meeting, Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez renewed the
company's commitment to ensure one single high quality standard across all
Novartis divisions. "We've talked with customers as well as public officials who
protect safety and are concerned and they have told us their expectations - to
know that our products are safe, effective and manufactured properly. We want to
ensure that all sites consistently meet Novartis quality standards. We need to
continue to improve the quality standards at some of our manufacturing sites and
we are demonstrating this commitment by making the necessary investments and
changes to meet this goal," Jimenez said.
In addition, shareholders elected Dimitri Azar M.D. to the Novartis Board of
Directors for a three-year term. Dr. Azar, a US citizen, is Dean of the College
of Medicine and Professor of Ophthalmology, Bioengineering, and Pharmacology of
the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. He holds a medical degree from the
American University of Beirut, Lebanon, an Honorary MA from Harvard University
and an Executive MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
Dr. Azar is an internationally recognized ophthalmic surgeon and prolific
researcher. He has been named one of The Best Doctors in America and one of the
Castle Connolly Top Doctors in America annually since 1994. He holds multiple
committee positions with the American Academy of Ophthalmology, is a member of
the American Ophthalmological Association, and sits on the Board of Trustees of
the Chicago Ophthalmological Society and the Association of Research in Vision
and Ophthalmology. He has received multiple leadership awards, including the
2009 Lans Distinguished Award from the International Society of Refractive
Surgery.
Shareholders also re-elected Srikant Datar Ph.D., Andreas von Planta Ph.D. and
Dr. Ing. Wendelin Wiedeking for a three-year term each, and William Brody M.D.
Ph.D. and Rolf M. Zinkernagel M.D. for a two-year term each (due to their
reaching the age limit).
Disclaimer
This presentation contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by
terminology such as "outlook," "commitment," "promise," "will," "expectations,"
"expected," "anticipated," "expectation," or similar expressions, or by express
or implied discussions regarding potential future sales or earnings of the
Novartis Group or any of its divisions; or by discussions of strategy, plans,
expectations or intentions. You should not place undue reliance on these
statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the
Group regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that the Group, or any of
its divisions, will achieve any particular financial results. In particular,
management's expectations could be affected by, among other things, unexpected
regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally, including the
potential outcomes of our ongoing discussions with health authorities concerning
Rasilez/Tekturna(®) as a result of the ALTITUDE study, and including the outcome
of health authority reviews of the benefits and risks of Gilenya(®); unexpected
clinical trial results, including additional analyses of existing clinical data
or unexpected new clinical data, including any potential new analyses of the
ALTITUDE study which may occur; the Group's ability to obtain or maintain patent
or other proprietary intellectual property protection, including the ultimate
extent of the impact on the Group of the loss of patent protection on key
products which commenced last year and will continue this year; unexpected
product manufacturing issues, including the potential outcomes of the Warning
Letter issued to us with respect to three Sandoz manufacturing facilities, and
the potential outcome of the shutdown of the OTC manufacturing facility at
Lincoln, Nebraska; government, industry, and general public pricing pressures;
uncertainties regarding actual or potential legal proceedings, including, among
others, actual or potential product liability litigation, litigation regarding
sales and marketing practices, shareholder litigation, government investigations
and intellectual property disputes; competition in general; uncertainties
regarding the after-effects of the recent global financial and economic crisis;
uncertainties regarding future global exchange rates and uncertainties regarding
future demand for our products; uncertainties involved in the development of new
healthcare products; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the
values attributed to the Group's assets and liabilities as recorded in the
Group's consolidated balance sheet; and other risks and factors referred to in
Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange
Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or
should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or
expected. Novartis is providing the information in this presentation as of this
date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About Novartis
Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving
needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis
offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines,
eye care, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines and
diagnostic tools, over-the-counter and animal health products. Novartis is the
only global company with leading positions in these areas. In 2011, the Group's
continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 58.6 billion, while
approximately USD 9.6 billion (USD 9.2 billion excluding impairment and
amortization charges) was invested in R&D throughout the Group. Novartis Group
companies employ approximately 124,000 full-time-equivalent associates and
operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information,
please visithttp://www.novartis.com.
Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow (at)Novartis at
http://twitter.com/novartis.
# # #
Novartis Media Relations
Central media line : +41 61 324 2200
Eric Althoff Beth Calitri
Novartis Global Media Relations Novartis Global Media Relations
+41 61 324 7999 (direct) +41 61 324 7973 (direct)
+41 79 593 4202 (mobile) +41 79 523 0198 (mobile)
eric.althoff(at)novartis.com beth.calitri(at)novartis.com
e-mail: media.relations(at)novartis.com
For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/Novartis
For questions about the site or required registration, please
contact:journalisthelp(at)thenewsmarket.com.
Novartis Investor Relations
Central phone: +41 61 324 7944 North America:
Susanne Schaffert +41 61 324 7944 Richard Jarvis +1 212 830 2433
Pierre-Michel Bringer +41 61 324 1065 Helen Boudreau +1 212 778 9375
Thomas Hungerbuehler +41 61 324 8425 Jill Pozarek +1 212 830 2445
Isabella Zinck +41 61 324 7188 Edwin Valeriano +1 212 830 2456
e-mail: investor.relations(at)novartis.com e-mail:
investor.relations(at)novartis.com
Media release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/134323/R/1588498/498525.pdf
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Source: Novartis International AG via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1588498]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 23.02.2012 - 13:07 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 117932
Anzahl Zeichen: 13176
contact information:
Town:
Basel
Kategorie:
Business News
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