Annual General Meeting : Gross dividend of 50 cents per share
approved
Mortsel / Belgium, April 24, 2007 - 1.00 p.m. CET
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."
(end of message)
About Agfa
The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the world's leading imaging and
information technology companies. Agfa develops, manufactures and
markets analogue and digital systems for the printing industry (Agfa
Graphics), the healthcare sector (Agfa HealthCare) and specific
industrial applications (Agfa Materials).
Agfa's headquarters are in Mortsel, Belgium. The company is present
in 40 countries and has agents in another 100 countries throughout
the world. The Agfa-Gevaert Group achieved a turnover of 3,401
million Euro in 2006.
Agfa-Gevaert Press contacts:
Katia Waegemans
Director Corporate Communication
+32-3-444 7124
katia.waegemans@agfa.com
Johan Jacobs
Corporate Press Relations Manager
+32-3-444 8015
johan.jacobs@agfa.com
