AI assistant
AstraZeneca PLC — AGM Information 2015
Mar 19, 2015
5229_rns_2015-03-19_56f1da83-3dc9-459e-b7da-d2311ff8b587.pdf
AGM Information
Open in viewerOpens in your device viewer
AstraZeneca PLC 2 Kingdom Street London W2 6BD T: +44 (0) 20 7604 8000 F: +44 (0) 20 7604 8151 www.astrazeneca.com
Dear Shareholder
On behalf of the Board of AstraZeneca PLC (the Company), I am pleased to confirm that the Annual Report and Form 20-F Information 2014 (the Annual Report) has now been published, as well as the Notice of Annual General Meeting 2015 and Shareholders' Circular (the Notice of AGM).
What you should have received
If you have previously requested paper copies of these documents, you will find paper copies enclosed.
If you have previously elected to receive these documents via the AstraZeneca website, you can now access the Annual Report at www.astrazeneca.com/annualreport2014 and the Notice of AGM at www.astrazeneca.com/noticeofmeeting2015.
Everyone who receives this letter will also find enclosed a proxy card and AstraZeneca 2014 In Brief.
AstraZeneca 2014 In Brief
In AstraZeneca 2014 In Brief, you will find selected extracts from the Annual Report. These extracts have been taken without material adjustment and include information about AstraZeneca and a summary of our performance in 2014, as well as dividend information. This year we have included the Chief Executive Officer's review of what was a remarkable year for the Company.
While I very much hope that you will find the AstraZeneca 2014 In Brief document interesting and a convenient way to keep you informed about the Company, you should be aware that the document is only intended to introduce the information contained in the Annual Report. Consequently, it should not be read as a substitute for the Annual Report itself which remains the most comprehensive current source of information about the Company. You can find the Annual Report on our website, www.astrazeneca.com/annualreport2014.
Communicating with you
I would urge shareholders to consider opting to receive all future information from the Company in electronic format. There are clear environmental benefits and cost savings arising from reduced paper usage, printing and distribution if you do so.
You can do this by registering your details at www.shareview.co.uk and electing for e-communications. Whenever shareholder communications are published, we will send you an e-mail with a link to the information on the AstraZeneca website.
If you have received the Annual Report and the Notice of AGM in paper format with this letter, and you wish to continue to receive these documents in paper format in the future, then you need take no further action.
Please note that dividend notifications will continue to be sent to all shareholders by post.
Further information
More information for shareholders is on the back of this letter.
Yours faithfully
Leif Johansson Chairman 19 March 2015
Dividend payment and dates
The record date for the second interim dividend for 2014, payable on 23 March 2015, is 20 February 2015. Shares listed in London and Stockholm traded ex-dividend from 19 February 2015. American Depositary Shares listed in New York traded ex-dividend from 18 February 2015. The record date for the first interim dividend for 2015, payable on 14 September 2015, is 14 August 2015. Future dividends will normally be paid as follows:
First interim: Announced in July/August and paid in September. Second interim: Announced in January/February and paid in March.
Shareview
The Company's shareholders with internet access may visit the website, www.shareview.co.uk, and register their details to create a portfolio. Shareview is a free and secure online service from the Company's registrars, Equiniti Limited, which gives access to shareholdings, including balance movements, indicative share prices and information about recent dividends.
ShareGift
The Company welcomes and values all of its shareholders, no matter how many or how few shares they own. However, shareholders who have only a small number of shares whose value makes it uneconomic to sell them, either now or at some stage in the future, may wish to consider donating them to charity through ShareGift, an independent charity share donation scheme. One feature of the scheme is that there is no gain or loss for UK capital gains tax purposes on gifts of shares through ShareGift, and it may now also be possible to obtain UK income tax relief on the donation. Further information about ShareGift can be found on its website, www.sharegift.org, or by contacting ShareGift on 020 7930 3737 or at 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH. ShareGift is administered by The Orr Mackintosh Foundation, registered charity number 1052686. More information about the UK tax position on gifts of shares to ShareGift can be obtained from HM Revenue & Customs on their website, www.hmrc.gov.uk.
The Unclaimed Assets Register
The Company supplies unclaimed dividend data to the Unclaimed Assets Register (UAR), which provides investors who have lost track of shareholdings with an opportunity to search the UAR's database of unclaimed financial assets on payment of a small fixed fee. The UAR donates part of the search fee to charity. The UAR can be contacted on 0870 241 1713 or at PO Box 9501, Nottingham NG80 1WD.
Results
Unaudited trading results of AstraZeneca in respect of the first three months of 2015 will be published on 24 April 2015 and results in respect of the first six months of 2015 will be published on 30 July 2015.
Our website
This letter is also available on our website, www.astrazeneca.com/shareholderletter2014.
Registered office and corporate headquarters
AstraZeneca PLC 2 Kingdom Street London W2 6BD UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7604 8000 Fax: +44 (0)20 7604 8151
Investor relations
UK: as above
US: Investor Relations AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP One MedImmune Way Gaithersburg MD 20878 US Tel: +1 (301) 398 0000
Registrar
Equiniti Limited Aspect House Spencer Road Lancing West Sussex BN99 6DA UK Tel: (freephone in the UK) 0800 389 1580 Tel: (outside the UK) +44 (0)121 415 7033
Swedish Central Securities Depository
Euroclear Sweden AB PO Box 191 SE-101 23 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 (0)8 402 9000
US Depositary
Citibank Shareholder Services PO Box 43077 Providence RI 02940-3077 US Tel: (toll free in the US) +1 888 697 8018 Tel: (outside the US) +1 781 575 4555 [email protected]