Wimm-Bill-Danns Board of Directors approved the Companys Corporate Governance Code at its scheduled meeting, which took place in person on December 17, 2004. The adoption of the Code comes in line with the Companys commitment to further enhance its corporate governance practices. The Code sums up and reinforces corporate governance principles, which are already being widely used within the company. It also outlines their implementation in the light of existing legislative norms, securities trading and capital markets rules.
The Corporate Governance Code enshrines corporate governance principles, set forth by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), which had already been subscribed to by the Companys Board of Directors. It also outlines relationship structure among the Companys Shareholders, the Board of Directors, its Committees, the Corporate Secretary and the Management Board.
The Corporate Governance Code also mentions that Wimm-Bill-Danns Code of Ethics is currently being created and is planned for adoption in the first six months of 2005. The Code of Ethics takes account of the requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The text of the Corporate Governance Code will be posted on Wimm-Bill-Danns Internet site.
The next meeting of the Board of Directors, the first one in 2005, will take place in person on February 11, 2005.
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.