The ordinary Annual General Meeting of Barry Callebaut AG, the world’s leading manufacturer of cocoa and chocolate products, was held on Wednesday, December 5, 2012, in Zurich-Oerlikon under the chairmanship of Andreas Jacobs, Chairman of the Board. All motions proposed by the Board were adopted. 1,245 shareholders attended the meeting, representing 4,188,865 shares or 81.02% of the share capital.

The shareholders confirmed the re-election of Andreas Jacobs, Andreas Schmid, James L. Donald, Markus Fiechter, Jakob Baer and Ajai Puri for another term of office of one year. In addition, the shareholders elected Mr. Nicolas Jacobs, currently Senior Director for Global M&A and Development at Burger King Corporation, as a new member of the Board of Directors (see separate CV).

Stefan Pfander steps down from the Board after serving for 7 years. The Board of Directors chaired by Andreas Jacobs expressed its gratitude to Mr. Pfander for his valuable contributions to the company’s development.

Furthermore, the shareholders approved the proposed payout of CHF 15.50 per share. The payout partly consists of a dividend payment from reserves from capital contributions and partly of a capital reduction through par value repayment. The payout to shareholders will be executed as of March 4, 2013 (“ex-date”: February 27, 2013; “record date”: March 1, 2013). The redistribution of these funds to shareholders will not be subject to withholding tax and – for individuals residing in Switzerland and holding the shares as private property – income tax.

KPMG AG, Zurich, was re-elected as auditors of the company for fiscal year 2012/13. Fiscal year 2011/12 closed on August 31, 2012. 

Barry Callebaut:
With annual sales of about CHF 4.8 billion (EUR 4.0 billion / USD 5.2 billion) for fiscal year 2011/12, Zurich-based Barry Callebaut is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate – from the cocoa bean to the finest chocolate product. Barry Callebaut is present in 30 countries, operates around 45 production facilities and employs a diverse and dedicated workforce of about 6,000 people. Barry Callebaut serves the entire food industry focusing on industrial food manufacturers, artisans and professional users of chocolate (such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs or bakers), the latter with its two global brands Callebaut^®and Cacao Barry^®. Barry Callebaut is the global leader in cocoa and chocolate innovations and provides a comprehensive range of services in the fields of product development, processing, training and marketing. Cost leadership is another important reason why global as well as local food manufacturers work together with Barry Callebaut. Through its broad range of sustainability initiatives and research activities, the company works with farmers, farmer organizations and other partners to help ensure future supplies of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods.