Lonza Publishes Invitation to the 2022 Annual General Meeting and 2021 Annual and Sustainability Reports

• Annual General Meeting to take place on 5 May 2022 at the company’s headquarters in Basel, Switzerland
• Albert M. Baehny proposed for re-election as Chairman of the Board of Directors
• Stable dividend of CHF 3.00 per share proposed
• 2021 Annual and Sustainability Reports published

Lonza today announced the publication of its 2021 Annual and Sustainability Reports, as well as its invitation to the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM). The event will take place on Thursday, 5 May 2022, at 10:00 a.m. CEST, at the company’s headquarters in Muenchensteinerstrasse 38, 4002 Basel, Switzerland.

To consider the health and safety of Lonza’s shareholders and employees, and in line with the applicable Swiss regulations, the 2022 AGM will be conducted solely by voting through the independent proxy, and without the physical attendance of shareholders.

2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The AGM invitation and a Letter from the Chairman can be accessed on the AGM webpage.

The Board of Directors proposes the re-election of Albert M. Baehny as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Werner Bauer and Dorothée Deuring have decided not to stand for re-election. Werner Bauer has been a member of the Board since 2013, while Dorothée Deuring has been a member of the Board since 2020. The Board would like to thank them both for their contributions to Lonza. The Board is proposing the re-election of all other Board members.

The Board of Directors is proposing to Lonza’s AGM the election of two new Board members, Marion Helmes and Roger Nitsch.

Dr. Marion Helmes is a professional board director and experienced finance professional. She currently serves on the board of ProSiebenSat1, Heineken NV, Siemens Healthineers AG and British American Tobacco plc. Her board memberships span the health, entertainment as well as food and beverages sectors. She holds a Master of Science in Business Administration from the Free University of Berlin and a PhD in Law from the University of St. Gallen.

Prof. Dr. Roger Nitsch brings to Lonza extensive experience from his career as researcher and biotech entrepreneur. Currently, he is professor and director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Zurich as well as CEO and Chairman of Neurimmune AG. He also serves on the board of Integra Biosciences Holding AG as well as Novago Therapeutics AG. He holds an MD degree from the University of Heidelberg and completed PhD and post-doctoral studies in neurobiochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School.

Further motions include the election of the Nominations and Compensation Committee and the approval of the compensation of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.

Lonza’s Board of Directors is proposing an unchanged dividend for shareholders of CHF 3.00 per share for 2021. The proposal represents a pay-out of 7.5%¹ of 2021 reported net profit of Lonza Group. Subject to approval at the upcoming AGM, 50% of the dividend of CHF 3.00 per share will be paid out of the capital contribution reserve and will therefore be free from Swiss withholding tax.

All details on the motions can be found in the 2022 AGM invitation.

2021 Annual and Sustainability Reports

Lonza published today its 2021 online Annual Report and Sustainability Report, which is aligned with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. PDF versions of the reports can be accessed here.

For the 2021 edition of the Annual Report, short personal perspectives are included from the leadership team, alongside five main sections:

• Company Overview including Strategy Priorities, Talent Management and Our Approach to the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Our Businesses
• Financials
• Remuneration 
• Governance

The 2021 Sustainability Report is Lonza’s fourth report and reflects the company’s increased focus as a pure-play strategic partner to the pharma, biotech and nutrition markets, following the divestment of the former Specialty Ingredients business. The report provides insights into the company’s renewed commitments and performance related to the most relevant sustainability topics for its business and stakeholders. 

Sustainability is a critical component of Lonza’s long-term strategy and forms an ethical imperative for its business. To ensure that responsibility is integrated and embedded across the company’s global network, environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics will be incorporated into Lonza’s compensation policy for both management and employees, commencing in 2022. The targets and respective achievement levels for each metric will be shared next year in Lonza’s Remuneration Report.

_^[1] Pay-out ratio of 7.5% based on the profit for the period of Lonza Group consolidated (incl. discontinued operations). The pay-out ratio based on the profit for the period of continuing operations would amount to 32.9%