Relations with shareowners
Our shareowners are very important to us. All shareowners receive regular communications from the Group and a full Annual Report is available by election or on request. Regular trading updates are published via the London Stock Exchange and by press release, and appear on our website. Presentations and webcasts on the development of the business are available on the website.
Annual General Meeting ("AGM")
The Board views the AGM as an opportunity for individual shareowners to question the Chairman, and through him the chairmen of the various Board Committees and other Directors. At the AGM there will be statements by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and all the Directors plan to attend.
Directors are submitted for reappointment by the shareowners at regular intervals. At each Annual General Meeting, not less than one-third of the Directors must retire by rotation. In addition, any Director who has been a Director at either of the two previous Annual General Meetings but who has not retired by rotation, and any Director who was appointed since the last Annual General Meeting, must retire.
Details of the meeting and the resolutions to be proposed together with explanatory notes are set out in the Notice of Meeting which is sent to shareowners. Shareowners attending will be advised of the number of proxy votes lodged for each resolution, in the categories "for" and "against", together with the number of "votes withheld". All resolutions will be voted on by taking a poll, the results of which will be announced to the London and New York Stock Exchanges.
Institutional investors
The Company engages with its institutional investors on a day-to-day basis via the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer. The senior independent non-executive Director and other members of the Board are also available to meet major shareowners on request. The Chairman contacts the top 10 shareowners each year with an offer to meet them. As part of his role as the senior independent non-executive Director, Roger Carr is also available to shareowners when contact with the executive Directors or the Chairman may not be appropriate.
The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer meet with institutional investors in the UK, the US and continental Europe on a regular basis. In October 2006, they hosted a seminar for institutional investors, analysts and brokers in New York and London.
The Directors are supported by our Investor Relations department (IR), which is in regular contact with institutional investors, analysts and brokers. An IR report is produced for each Board meeting: this includes direct feedback from institutional investors provided by our external advisors including Goldman Sachs, UBS and Makinson Cowell. In addition, the Board commissions an annual independent audit of institutional investors' views on our management and strategy. These measures ensure Board members develop an understanding of the views of our major shareowners.
Company website
Our website, www.cadburyschweppes.com, is a primary source of information on the Company. The site includes an archive of financial announcements and presentations, as well as detailed information on our corporate governance practices. This includes:
- Our Financial Code of Ethics;
- Our Business Principles;
- Our Statement of Corporate Governance Principles;
- Details of how we comply with the Combined Code on Corporate Governance;
- Terms of reference for the Audit, Corporate and Social Responsibility, Nomination and Remuneration Committees;
- Summary of the terms and conditions of the appointment of our non-executive Directors;
- Full schedule of matters reserved for the Board;
- Details of our approach to corporate and social responsibility;
- Documentation sent to shareowners, including AGM material and our report and accounts; and
- Voting figures from the AGM.
Shareowners can register to receive a notification when any press releases are made.