Georg Fischer AG shareholders approved all proposals

All told, 1,204 shareholders and 37.5 percent of the share capital were represented at the Annual General Meeting. The AGM approved the annual accounts for 2009 and endorsed the Board's proposal to forgo the distribution of a dividend. In addition, the shareholders voted in favour of amending the Articles of Association to create authorised and conditional capital. This will give Georg Fischer greater financial flexibility, enabling it to raise new capital or to issue a convertible bond, if necessary. 

Andreas Koopmann was elected as a new member of the Board. Koopmann, 58 years of age, has a degree in engineering from the ETH and a proven track record in Swiss industry: from 1982 to 2009 he worked for Bobst Group SA in Lausanne. He also sits on the Board of a number of corporations. Former Federal Councillor Flavio Cotti, a member of the Board for ten years, retired at the 2010 AGM, having reached the retirement age. The Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Georg Fischer thanked Flavio Cotti for his deep commitment and outstanding contribution and wished him all the best for the future. 

In his address to the AGM, Martin Huber, Chairman of the Board, expressed his confidence that Georg Fischer would master its future as an independent company "thanks to a clear strategy, an experienced international management team and a corporate culture that has stood the test in difficult times."