Roche 2006 annual report approved at AGM

Roche has announced that its financial statements and annual report for the 2006 fiscal year have been approved at its annual general meeting (AGM). The shareholders approved the board’s recommendation of a 36 per cent rise in the gross dividend to CHF 3.4 (1.44 pounds) per share.

The 680 shareholders present at the meeting, whose shareholdings represent 85.97 per cent of the total stock of the company, also approved the appointment of Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer and Pius Baschera to the company’s board of directors.

Wolfgang Ruttensstorfer is chief executive officer and chairman of the board of European energy group OMV, while Pius Baschera is chairman of the board of Hilti.

Franz B Humer, chairman and chief executive officer of Roche, said; “We have maintained the strong business trend of recent years and achieved another extraordinarily good result – indeed the best in our company’s 110-year history.”

He added that the firm’s financial and scientific success had put the company in a privileged location in the pharmaceuticals industry, that of being able to meet the prospects and challenges of the market from a strong position.

Roche reported its financial results for the 2006 fiscal year last month, recording a 17 per cent increase in group sales to CHF 42 billion, with pharmaceutical sales rising by 21 per cent.