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06/03/2007, 3.28 PM CET
Novartis shareholders approve all resolutions at 2007 Annual General Meeting, including dividend increase and Board elections
Shareholders approve 17% increase in dividend payment for 2006 to CHF 1.35 per share, reflecting dynamic business performance  Marjorie Yang elected to the Board of Directors, while Dr. Daniel Vasella and Hans-Joerg Rudloff re-elected to the Board   Basel, March 6, 2007 - Novartis shareholders today approved all proposals of the Board of Directors at the Group's Annual General Meeting, including the tenth consecutive annual dividend increase to CHF 1.35 per share and the election of three Board members.   A total of 2,507 shareholders were present at the meeting held in Basel, representing 1.17 million shares and 42.9% of the 2.73 billion outstanding shares of Novartis.   "Our strategy of building a broad portfolio around growth areas of the dynamically changing healthcare sector, with pharmaceuticals as our core and a continuous focus on innovation drove our outstanding performance in 2006.  This is reflected in the double-digit dividend increase." said Dr. Daniel Vasella, Chairman and CEO of Novartis. "Identifying and addressing the needs of patients remains at the forefront of all that we do, and our full pipeline will allow us to optimally respond to the growing demand for healthcare solutions."     Shareholders approved a dividend payment of CHF 1.35 per share for 2006, up from CHF 1.15 in 2005. This increase marks the tenth consecutive higher payout per share since the creation of Novartis in December 1996. The payment date for the 2006 dividend has been set for March 9, 2007.   Marjorie Yang was elected to the Board of Directors for a three-year term starting on January 1, 2008. Yang, who is Chairman and CEO of the Hong Kong-based Esquel Group, has been named in recent years to Fortune magazine's annual international list of the 50 most powerful women in business.   Dr. Daniel Vasella, who serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Novartis, and Hans-Joerg Rudloff were also re-elected to the Board of Directors    Birgit Breuel, who has served on the Board since the creation of Novartis and previously for the predecessor company Ciba-Geigy AG, retired at her own wish at the Annual general Meeting.   Disclaimer The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "pipeline," "will," or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential future dividend payments by Novartis, or potential future approvals of pipeline products. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements.  There can be no guarantee that Novartis will be pay its shareholders any dividends, or any particular level of dividends this year, or in the future. Neither can there be any guarantee that any of Novartis' pipeline products will be approved for sale in any markets.  In particular, management's expectations could be affected by, among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; unexpected clinical trial results, including additional analysis of  existing clinical data, and new clinical data; industry, government, and general public pricing pressures; the company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.   About Novartis Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) is a world leader in offering medicines to protect health, cure disease and improve well-being. Our goal is to discover, develop and successfully market innovative products to treat patients, ease suffering and enhance the quality of life. We are strengthening our medicine-based portfolio, which is focused on strategic growth platforms in innovation-driven pharmaceuticals, high-quality and low-cost generics, human vaccines and leading self-medication OTC brands. Novartis is the only company with leadership positions in these areas. In 2006, the Group's businesses achieved net sales of USD 37.0 billion and net income of USD 7.2 billion. Approximately USD 5.4 billion was invested in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 101,000 associates and operate in over 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.   # # #   Novartis Media Relations   John Gilardi  Novartis Global Media Relations +41 61 324 3018 (direct) +41 79 596 1408 (mobile) john.gilardi@novartis.com   Corinne Hoff Novartis Global Media Relations +41 61 324 9577 (direct) +41 79 248 5717 (mobile) corinne.hoff@novartis.com   e-mail: media.relations@novartis.com    Investor Relations   International: Ruth Metzler-Arnold +41 61 324 7944 Katharina Ambühl +41 61 324 5316 Nafida Bendali +41 61 324 3514 Jason Hannon +41 61 324 2152 Thomas Hungerbuehler +41 61 324 8425 Richard Jarvis +41 61 324 4353   North America: Ronen Tamir +1 212 830 2433 Arun Nadiga +1 212 830 2444 Jill Pozarek +1 212 830 2445 Edwin Valeriano +1 212 830 2456   e-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com Attachments: Media release (PDF)