The Board of Directors proposes that for the 2010 business year this distribution be made in the form of a tax-privileged repayment of CHF 10 by means of a reduction in the par value from CHF 20 to CHF 10 per registered share.

In principle, profits can be distributed in the form of either a dividend or a par value repayment. In the latter case, the par value of each share is reduced by a certain amount, which is then paid out to shareholders in lieu of a dividend. The share capital is then reduced by the relevant amount. Unlike dividends, par value repayments by Swiss companies to private shareholders (i.e. not brokers) resident in Switzerland are subject neither to income tax nor to withholding tax. Shareholders resident abroad do not have to pay withholding tax either, while the issue of income tax is handled differently according to the country of residence. 

In a par value repayment or dividend payment, shareholders who hold the share on the day of the payout receive the payment.

If the shares are held by a custodian bank, the sum due will be paid to this bank. Registered shareholders who keep their shares at home or in a bank vault will receive the sum due at the address for dividend payments they themselves have provided.