Cadbury Schweppes Announces Further Progress in 1997.LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 1997--The Chairman of Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury Schweppes plc is a confectionery and beverage company with its headquarters in Berkeley Square, London, England, UK. Cadbury Schweppes is currently the only major international confectionery manufacturer to produce Fairtrade or organic products, which it sells through its plc (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : CSG CSG - constructive solid geometry ), Dominic Cadbury Sir Dominic Cadbury (born 12 May, 1940) is a British businessman and member of the Cadbury chocolate manufacturing dynasty. He is the sixth Chancellor of Birmingham University. , told shareholders at today's Annual General Meeting that, "1996 was an important and successful year for Cadbury Schweppes which produced record turnover, profits, margins and earnings and generated substantial free cashflow." Looking at trading performance for 1997 to date, Mr. Cadbury said, "Our Beverages operations are performing well. Some of our key Confectionery markets, however, have experienced a slow start to the year, although our market shares are holding up well or increasing. In common with other UK companies with significant overseas earnings, we are seeing some adverse impact on our results from the strength of the pound. Nevertheless, we are confident that, before disposal gains, the Group will show further progress in 1997." Highlighting events in the first few months of 1997, he said, "We finally completed the disposal of our 51% interest in CCSB CCSB Center for Cancer Systems Biology (Boston, MA) CCSB Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists CCSB Coca-Cola Schweppes Beverages CCSB Constant Contact Side Bearing (freight stock) in February for a consideration of 623 million pounds sterling. This transaction frees up management and cash resources to focus on the priority of managing and growing our own brands and to develop the business strategically in both streams. Importantly we have negotiated a 15 year agreement, plus ten year extension option, for the bottling and distribution of our key Schweppes brands and Dr Pepper in Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. . "In February we also strengthened our position in the confectionery market in Egypt and the Middle East with the acquisition of Bim Bim, Egypt's leading confectionery company in both sugar and chocolate. With Cadbury Egypt this gives us leadership in the region. "In April we introduced our first quarterly report on our US soft drinks performance. In what was a strong first quarter for US carbonated beverages, Dr Pepper volumes continued to grow at an excellent rate. Overall, our plus 1% volume growth performance in US soft drinks is better than in the same period last year and we are encouraged by these results." Cadbury Schweppes plc is a major global company in beverages and confectionery whose brands and products are consumed in over 190 countries around the world. Cadbury Schweppes ADRs are traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. . One ADR ADR - Astra Digital Radio equals four ordinary shares. A copy of the Chairman's full statement follows. CADBURY SCHWEPPES AGM AGM annual general meeting AGM n abbr (= annual general meeting) → AG f AGM n abbr (= annual general meeting) → JHV f 1997 CHAIRMAN'S OPENING REMARKS "As you have just heard, 1996 was an important and successful year for us. It produced record turnover, profits, margins and earnings and generated substantial free cashflow. Our established businesses forged ahead and in many cases increased share of their markets. Our recent investments and expansions made significant contributions to Group results and we have successfully established confectionery operations in Russia and China. These investments are important in developing a credible global strategy. "Against this background, the Board is recommending a final dividend of 11.8 pence per share to give a total dividend for 1996 of 17.0 pence per Ordinary share, an increase of 6% over 1995. "1996 also saw significant strategic developments and a number of new appointments to the Executive Board team. "In June last year we announced our intention to dispose of To determine the fate of; to exercise the power of control over; to fix the condition, application, employment, etc. of; to direct or assign for a use. See also: Dispose our 51% interest in CCSB to Coca-Cola Enterprises Coca-Cola Enterprises NYSE: CCE is the largest bottler by volume in the Coca-Cola System. It is the anchor bottler for North America and parts of Europe. The company is the bottler of Coca-Cola and its other soft drink products, and in some areas a few other soft drink and this disposal was finally completed in February 1997 for a consideration of 623 million pounds sterling. This transaction frees up management and cash resources to focus on the priority of managing and growing our own brands and to develop the business strategically in both streams. Importantly, in successfully completing the transaction with Coca-Cola Enterprises, we have negotiated a 15 year agreement, plus ten year extension option, for the bottling and distribution of our key Schweppes brands and Dr Pepper in Great Britain. "In February 1997, we also strengthened our position in the confectionery market in Egypt and the Middle East with the acquisition of Bim Bim, Egypt's leading confectionery company in both sugar and chocolate. With Cadbury Egypt this gives us leadership in this region. "On April 30 we introduced our first quarterly report on our US soft drinks performance. In what was a strong first quarter for US carbonated beverages, Dr Pepper volumes continued to grow at an excellent rate. Overall, our plus 1% volume growth performance in US soft drinks is better than in the same period last year and we are encouraged by these results. "The Board has experienced considerable change with the retirements, in 1996, of David Wellings, Karl von der Heyden Karl von der Heyden was Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of PepsiCo, Inc. from 1996 to 2001. He had rejoined the Company in September 1996 as Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer. , Frank Swan and Dick Stradwick. Early in 1997, Derek Williams, who had led the CCSB team with distinction, resigned when we sold our 51% interest in CCSB. At today's AGM, Gordon Waddell and Anna Vinton will retire as Non-Executive Directors. In their different roles and responsibilities my retiring colleagues have made vital and valuable contributions to the Group's progress in recent years. "Board succession is a key factor in the progress of any company and in maintaining fresh direction over a company's affairs. I am delighted that the strength and experience of our management has enabled the retiring Executive Directors to be replaced from within our own ranks. John Sunderland John Sunderland may refer to:
John Brock is a fictional British undercover agent created by Desmond Skirrow. He appeared in three fast-paced, witty, and irreverent spy novels written in the late 1960s. , Ian Johnston
Ian Johnston (Walter Ian Harewood Johnston, February 16, 1930 – March 19, 2001) was one of the true pioneers of reproductive medicine in Australia. and Bob Stack lead the key responsibilities of Beverages, Confectionery and Human Resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. . Together with David Kappler as Finance Director this team has the skills and experience to lead us into the next millennium. I would also like to warmly welcome Baroness Wilcox as a new Non-Executive Director. "At the time of our Results announcement in March, we clearly articulated our commitment to growing shareholder value. An important element of this is our proposal to introduce a new Long Term Incentive Plan. Awards under this plan will be based on shares rather than cash and options. This will better align the interests of management and shareholders to provide greater focus on the creation and enhancement of shareholder value. "Before looking ahead, I wanted to draw your attention to our continued focus on community support in areas where we can bring relevant experience and resources in addition to financial support. In particular, I would like to highlight the leadership we have provided in conjunction with Business in the Community to the development of Cause Related Marketing which links companies' promotional programs with charitable causes for mutual benefit. In this way marketing activities and investment can benefit directly the needs of the community. "Looking at the trading performance for 1997 to date, our Beverages operations are performing well. Some of our key Confectionery markets, however, have experienced a slow start to the year, although our market shares are holding up well or increasing. In common with other UK companies with significant overseas earnings, we are seeing some adverse impact on our results from the strength of the pound. Nevertheless we are confident that, before disposal gains, the Group will show further progress in 1997." CONTACTS: Cadbury Schweppes plc David Kappler, Group Finance Director Mike Mason Mike Mason (born 1985-02-28 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina) is an American football wide receiver who currently plays for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent after completing his career at Tennessee State. , Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. Director Dora McCabe, Group PR Manager 44-171-409-1313 or Gavin Anderson & Company Trina Hardiman, Managing Director 212-373-0229 |
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