On May 18, 2006, Standard&Poor’s Governance Services announced the upgrade of WBD’s Corporate Governance Score (CGS) from 7 to 7+ (from 7.3 and 7.7 accordingly on the Russian national scale), which makes the company’s score the highest rating in Russia. The increase in the score reflects the effective work of the Board of Directors and, in particular, the real influence of independent directors in the decision-making process and the adherence of the controlling shareholders to the highest standards of corporate governance.
David Yakobachvili, Chairman of the Board of Directors, commenting on the increase of the CGS, said: “We are pleased to see that our efforts in improving the quality of corporate governance in the company have received such a favorable evaluation. We have always worked to build an open and transparent company, upholding the best international and Russian practices in corporate governance. We are able to listen to other opinions and aim to take into account all constructive input.”
The high level of information transparency about the ownership structure, the dedication of the controlling group of shareholders to effective corporate governance practices, the presence of a majority of independent directors on the board as well as the high qualifications of its members are highlighted as particularly strong features of WBD’s corporate governance. The agency’s analysts also noted the openness of the company to the investment community as well as a high level of financial and operational transparency and the effectiveness of independent oversight over the processes of internal and external audit.
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Wimm-Bill-Dann, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements to conform them to actual results. We refer you to the documents Wimm-Bill-Dann files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form F-1. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned “Risk Factors” in our Form F-1, that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, acquisition strategy, risks associated with operating in Russia, volatility of stock price, financial risk management, and future growth subject to risks.