Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC [NYSE: WBD], a leading Russian producer of
food products and beverages, today announced that its subsidiary
Wimm-Bill-Dann Finance has purchased in the open market 724,123 ordinary
shares, which constitute 1.65% of the company’s share capital.
"The company has a solid cash position and continues to generate solid
cash flow from operations as reflected in our most recent reported
results,” said Tony Maher, Chief Executive Officer of Wimm-Bill-Dann.
"Given our financial strength and our assessment of our ordinary shares
as an attractive investment, we believe that the purchase of our
ordinary shares represents an appropriate use of capital that returns
value to our shareholders.”
Wimm-Bill-Dann may purchase shares from time-to-time in the open market.
The amount and timing of the repurchases are based on a variety of
factors, including general business and market conditions, the
availability of an open trading window, cash requirements, and strategic
investment opportunities among other factors.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC was founded in 1992 and is the largest
manufacturer of dairy products and a leading producer of juices and
beverages in Russia and the CIS. The company produces dairy products
(main brands include: Domik v Derevne, Neo, 2Bio, 33 Korovy, Chudo and
more), juices (J7, Lubimy Sad, 100% Gold), Essentuki mineral water and
Agusha baby food. The company has 37 manufacturing facilities in Russia,
Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Georgia with over 18,000 employees.
In 2005, Wimm-Bill-Dann became the first Russian dairy producer to
receive approval from the European Commission to export its products
into the European Union.
In 2008, Standard & Poor's Governance Services assigned on WBD its
governance, accountability, management, metrics, and analysis (GAMMA)
score "GAMMA- 7+”. 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.