Electronic commmunications for shareholders
As a shareholder of Associated British Foods plc, you may now choose to receive certain communications from the Company in electronic format instead of by post provided you have a computer and access to the internet.
The key advantages are:
Receiving shareholder information speedily and efficiently
Reducing the demand on natural resources
Helping your Company reduce its costs
The Company's electronic communications capability is provided by its Registrar, Equiniti, through their internet-based service called Shareview, which allows you to view details of your shareholding and also to indicate a preference for e-mail delivery. To register you have to complete a simple online form and you will be registered automatically to receive an e-mail notification whenever the Company mails information to shareholders.
Although the Company actively encourages its shareholders to make use of this facility it is appreciated that not everybody will find it suitable or convenient.
Please note that the option to receive hard copy communications through the post is still available to you.
If you wish to receive communications from the Company in electronic format, you will need to register online by clicking on the link to the Shareview website at the bottom of this page. You will need your shareholder reference number in order to register: this number can be found on your dividend tax voucher (which starts with 0851/ ) or on your share certificate. When you register you will need to create your own Password. A few days after you have submitted your registration online, the Registrar will post to your registered address a letter containing your Access Number. This is a secure code you can use on the Shareview site to administer your shareholding in the Company.
If you have a joint shareholding, only the first-named holder is eligible to register for this service.
If you are already registered with Shareview but have not yet registered for electronic communications, please log onto Shareview using your existing Access Number and Password and ensure that your mailing preference is shown as "e-mail". If it is not, you can update your preference by clicking on "change" next to the description.
Once you have registered, you will need to ensure that you inform Equiniti of any changes of e-mail address. Please note that e-mail addresses registered for electronic communications purposes are kept confidential and will not be made publicly available or used by the Company for any purpose other than communicating with you as a shareholder. There is no charge for this service.
You will be able to change at any time the details you have registered with Shareview or to cancel an election for electronic communications and revert to receiving documents in paper form by post.
The Company intends to communicate the following documents in electronic format:
Annual Report and Accounts (usually issued in November)
Annual General Meeting Notice (usually issued in November)
Proxy Form and any accompanying documents
Extraordinary General Meeting Notices
If you are unable to attend the AGM you will also be able to submit your proxy vote online via the Shareview website.
Adjusted operating profit increased by 26%. Grocery margins improved, there was an excellent result for Sugar and an outstanding performance from Primark. Our Chinese sugar operations made a significant recovery from the difficulties reported last year and there was no repeat of the losses incurred on vegetable oil futures in the US. Growth in adjusted earnings of 25%, particularly in the prevailing economic climate, is a fine achievement by the whole group
In order to take advantage of the electronic communication facility, you wil need:
access to the internet and an e-mail address
web browser software (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer)
Adobe Acrobat (which can be downloaded free of charge by following this link)
Whenever the Company has a shareholder mailing, you will receive an e-mail with a link to the website where electronic copies of the document can be viewed or downloaded. The documents themselves will not be sent with the e-maiL. You wil no longer receive a copy of that document by post.
You should be aware that the Company's legal obligations to you in respect of the delivery of information will be satisfied when the Registrar on behalf of the Company transmits an e-mail to you at the address you have provided, whether or not it is delivered. Nevertheless, where the Registrar is aware of any failure in delivery of an electronic message, a notification will be posted to your last known address informing you that the attempt to communicate with you electronically has failed and advising you of the website address where the document can be found.
You should note that e-mail communications are not necessarily secure and there is al ways a risk that email messages may be lost, intercepted or tampered with. In agreeing that the Company and its Registrar may communicate with you electronically, you agree that neither the Company nor the Registrar will be under any liability for any losses that may arise as a result of any such loss, interception or tampering or other factors beyond their control. You should check documents and attachments for viruses and defects
before opening and using them. The liability of the Company and its Registrar in this respect is limited to re-delivering the affected documents
REGISTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ELECTRONIC COMMMUNICATIONS BY CLICKING HERE.
http://www.shareview.co.uk
If you have any questions about Shareview, please contact Equiniti on 0871 384 2233