• Patrick De Maeseneire reelected as Chairman
• Board thanked Suja Chandrasekaran who had decided to step down
• Yen Yen Tan elected as new Board member
• All other Board members reelected for a term of office of one year
• Dividend payout of CHF 22.00 per share approved
• KPMG AG, Zurich, reelected as auditors of the company

The ordinary Annual General Meeting 2020 of Barry Callebaut AG was held today under the chairmanship of Markus R. Neuhaus, Vice-Chairman of the Board. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Annual General Meeting could not take place in the usual format. To protect the health of its shareholders and employees, Barry Callebaut decided that voting rights could only be exercised by submitting the voting instructions in writing or electronically to the independent proxy. 4,690 shareholders exercised their votes, representing 4,352,217 shares and equaling 79.3% of the issued share capital.

All motions were adopted as proposed by the Board of Directors, including the reelection of Patrick De Maeseneire as Chairman and the election of Yen Yen Tan as new Board member.

Suja Chandrasekaran, Board member since 2018 and member of the Nomination & Compensation Committee (NCC), stepped down from her functions. The Board of Directors thanked Suja Chandrasekaran for her valuable contributions to the company.

All other Board members, namely Patrick De Maeseneire, Markus R. Neuhaus, Fernando Aguirre, Angela Wei Dong, Nicolas Jacobs, Elio Leoni Sceti and Tim Minges were reelected for another term of office of one year.

The shareholders also approved the proposed payout of a dividend of CHF 22.00 per share, corresponding to a stable payout ratio of 39%. The dividend will be paid to shareholders on or around January 7, 2021.

KPMG AG, Zurich, was reelected as auditors of the company for fiscal year 2020/21.

Barry Callebaut’s fiscal year 2019/20 closed on August 31, 2020.

About Barry Callebaut Group:

With annual sales of about CHF 6.9 billion (EUR 6.4 billion / USD 7.1 billion) in fiscal year 2019/20, the Zurich- based Barry Callebaut Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products – from sourcing and processing cocoa beans to producing the finest chocolates, including chocolate fillings, decorations and compounds. The Group runs more than 60 production facilities worldwide and employs a diverse and dedicated global workforce of more than 12,000 people.

The Barry Callebaut Group serves the entire food industry, from industrial food manufacturers to artisanal and professional users of chocolate, such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants or caterers. The global brands catering to the specific needs of these Gourmet customers are Callebaut® and Cacao Barry®, Carma® and the decorations specialist Mona Lisa®.

The Barry Callebaut Group is committed to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025 to help ensure future supplies of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods. It supports the Cocoa Horizons Foundation in its goal to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future.