- Annual General Meeting
At Agfa’s General Meeting today, shareholders approved the payment of a gross dividend of 50 cents per outstanding share. The share will be listed ex-coupon as of April 25, 2007.
Shareholders also approved the reappointment of Jo Cornu as member of the Board of Directors. He was appointed for a 3-year period, to come into effect today.
Marc Olivié, Agfa’s President of the Executive Committee and CEO, commented on the progress of the business since the beginning of the year: “2007 will be a milestone for Agfa-Gevaert, as it is the last year the Group will operate as a whole. During this period, day -to-day business as well as the implementation of the growth strategies are of crucial importance for the business groups. Also in 2007, all businesses will start seeing the benefits from the savings plans, but high raw material costs are expected to continue to affect results.
Graphics expects industrial inkjet to break through in 2007, with increasing sales and the gradual elimination of the start-up losses in the course of the second half of the year. Prepress operates in a mature market where the continuing decline of analog products is mostly being compensated by the growth of the more profitable digital printing plates. In HealthCare, the international roll-out of the enterprise-wide IT solutions as well as the growth in other digital and IT solutions and services should more than offset the continued market driven decline of film and print sales. Specialty Products is gaining market share in its film products and is targeting additional growth with innovative products and systems.”
Agfa-Gevaert’s first quarter results will be announced on May 3, 2007, before the stock market opens.
Another major topic of interest at the meeting was the announced demerger of the Agfa-Gevaert Group into three independent, listed companies by the end of the year. CEO Marc Olivié gave an update of the project’s progress: “Currently, the demerger project is in its preliminary phase in which the different legal entities are being split up; the governance structure is being defined and the prospectus is being prepared. The final prospectus with all detailed information on the three companies will be ready for approval by the CBFA in the fall, after which it will be published. We will then convene for an Extraordinary General Meeting on the occasion of which we will ask the shareholders to approve the demerger. Following the approval, shareholders will own shares in the three new companies, in stead of one Agfa-Gevaert share.”
Director Corporate Communication
Tel nr.: +32 (0) 3 444 7124
Fax nr.: +32 (0) 3 444 4485
katia.waegemans@agfa.com
Corporate Press Relations Manager
Tel nr.: +32 (0) 3 444 8015
Fax nr.: +32 (0) 3 444 4485
johan.jacobs@agfa.com