Voting rights, restrictions and representation
Each share duly entered in the share register with voting rights entitles the shareholder to one vote, except for resolutions regarding the discharge of the Board of Directors or the Executive Management, where shareholders who have participated in any way in the management of the company have no voting rights. On 31 December 2025, 66.5% (2024: 64.9%) of the issued capital was registered in the share register.
All shareholders may be represented at the General Meeting by a proxy. Proxies and directives issued to the independent voting representative may be given either in writing or electronically. Other voting representatives must have a proxy signed by hand by the shareholder. The Board of Directors decides whether proxies shall be recognized.
The independent voting representative is elected by the AGM for a term of office until the end of the next AGM and can be re-elected. In the case of a vacancy, the Board of Directors shall designate an independent voting representative for the next General Meeting.
GENERAL MEETINGS
The Annual General Meeting is convened by the Board of Directors within six months of the end of the financial year. The General Meeting may be held physically, by electronic means without a venue or as a hybrid meeting, provided that shareholders who are not present at the venue of the General Meeting may exercise their rights by electronic means.
The 2026 AGM will be held on 17 April in Basel as a purely physical meeting. Votes on resolutions and elections will be held electronically. In case of technical difficulties, the meeting chair may order an open or written ballot.
Shareholders individually or jointly representing at least 5% of the share capital may request an extraordinary General Meeting. The request must be made to the Board of Directors in writing, stating the agenda items and proposals, and in the case of elections, the names of the proposed candidates.
Invitations to the General Meetings are to be made public at least 20 days prior to the General Meeting, either through publication in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce or in any form which allows proof in writing. The date, beginning, type and place of the General Meeting, the name and address of the independent voting representative, as well as the agenda items and proposals (including brief explanations) by the Board of Directors and, if the case may be, by shareholders who have requested the General Meeting, must be announced in the notice convening the General Meeting.
Shareholders who individually or jointly represent at least 0.5% of the share capital may ask for an item to be included in the agenda. If the notice of items to be included in the agenda fails to mention any deadline, or if the company waives publication of a notice of items to be included in the agenda, then such a request must be made in writing at least 45 days prior to the General Meeting and must indicate the agenda items and the proposal or the proposals of the shareholder(s).
The General Meeting adopts its resolutions and holds its ballots by a majority of votes cast. Abstentions and invalid ballots are not taken into account. The legal provisions (in particular Art. 704 of the Swiss Code of Obligations) that stipulate a different majority are reserved.
ENTRIES IN THE SHARE REGISTER
Share purchasers are entered in the share register as shareholders with voting rights if they have provided notice of their name and surname (for legal entities, the company name), nationality and address (for legal entities the registered office) and declared that the shares were acquired in their own name and for their own account and that there is no agreement on the redemption or return of corresponding shares and that the purchaser bears the economic risk associated with the shares. Purchasers who are not willing to make such declarations are registered as shareholders without voting rights. Nominees approved by the Board of Directors are recorded in the share register as shareholders with voting rights if such nominee has entered into an agreement with the company concerning their position and is subject to recognized banking or financial supervision. As of 31 December 2025, no nominee had asked for registration and voting rights.
There are no statutory rules concerning deadlines for entry in the share register. However, for organizational reasons, the share register is closed several days prior to the General Meeting. The cut-off date for inscriptions is announced in the meeting’s invitation.