In 2009, the Nestlé Group’s sales reached CHF 107.6 billion, with organic growth of 4.1%, including real internal growth of 1.9%. Foreign exchange impacted sales by -5.5% and divestitures, net of acquisitions, by -0.7%. Food and Beverages’ sales reached CHF 99.8 billion, with organic growth of 3.9%, including real internal growth of 1.6%. Foreign exchange impacted Food and Beverages’ sales by -5.7% and divestitures, net of acquisitions, by -0.7%. Underlying earnings per share rose by 9.6% from CHF 2.82 to CHF 3.09, or 16.3% in constant currencies. Net profit was CHF 10.4 billion in 2009 and earnings per share were CHF 2.92. These figures are not directly comparable with 2008 because of the CHF 9.2 billion profit on the disposal of 24.8% of Alcon in 2008.

In 2009, Givaudan group sales totalled CHF 3,959 million, an increase of 1.4% in local currencies and a decrease of 3.1% in Swiss francs compared to the previous year. On a comparable basis (in local currencies and excluding the impact of divestments), sales increased by 1.6% versus 2008. Other important figures:

Swiss Re returned to profit in 2009, reporting net income of CHF 506 million, compared to a loss of CHF 864 million in the prior year. Net income was impacted by impairments of CHF 2 billion, mainly in the securitised products portfolio, and by mark-to-market losses of CHF 1.9 billion on corporate bond hedges. The unrealised gains on these hedged corporate bonds of CHF 2.6 billion are reflected in shareholders’ equity. Earnings per share were CHF 1.49, compared to CHF –2.61 in 2008. Shareholders’ equity increased to CHF 26.2 billion at the end of 2009, compared to CHF 20.5 billion at the end of 2008. For the full year, return on equity increased to 2.3%, compared to –3.4% in 2008. Book value per common share was CHF 67.7, an increase of 11.1% compared to CHF 61.0 at the end of 2008. Given the restored capital strength of the Group and the continued healthy operating performance of its core business, the Board of Directors proposes to increase the dividend to CHF 1.00. This is the first step in returning to a normal dividend policy.

Credit Suisse Group achieved a strong performance in 2009, with net income of CHF 6.7 billion, a return on equity of 18.3% and net new assets of CHF 44.2 billion. The tier 1 ratio was 16.3%. In 4Q09, the Group recorded net income of CHF 0.8 billion, a return on equity of 8.3% and net new assets of CHF 12.5 billion, demonstrating the resilience of the business despite lower client trading activity in November and December. The Board of Directors will propose a cash dividend of CHF 2.00 per share for 2009.

Net loss attributable to shareholders decreased to CHF 2,736 million for full-year 2009 from CHF 21,292 million in 2008. Adjusted for the items below, the underlying pre-tax profit for 2009 was CHF 1.4 billion. In 2009, the biggest negative accounting impact came from losses on own credit on financial liabilities designated at fair value. These own credit losses were driven by the improved perception of UBS's creditworthiness during 2009, which was a positive development but led to a net charge of CHF 2.0 billion. The other items were a loss in relation to the closing of the UBS Pactual sale (CHF 1.4 billion), restructuring charges (CHF 0.8 billion) and a gain on the mandatory convertible notes formerly held by the Swiss Confederation and converted in August 2009 (CHF 0.3 billion).