Basel - Novartis shareholders today approved the Board of Directors' recommendations for all proposed resolutions at the company's Annual General Meeting (AGM).

A total of 1,693 shareholders were present at the meeting held in Basel, which corresponds to around 53.65% of Novartis shares issued.

Shareholders approved the 27th consecutive dividend increase since Novartis was founded in 1996, with an increase of 3.1% to CHF 3.30 per share. The dividend for 2023 will be paid out from March 11, 2024. The dividend for 2023 corresponds to a distribution of approximately 58% of free cash flow and results in a dividend yield of 3.7%. 1

Annual re-election of the members of the Board of Directors

The shareholders elected Jorg Reinhardt as Chairman of the Board of Directors and all current members of the Board of Directors for another year.

They also confirmed all current members of the Compensation Committee for one year. The Board intends to reappoint Simon Moroney as Chairman of the Compensation Committee.

Reduction of share capital

In accordance with the recommendation of the Board of Directors, shareholders also approved the cancellation of 87,547,255 shares (purchased under the authorizations of March 4, 2022) and approved the corresponding reduction of share capital by CHF 42.9 million CHF 1,115,964,098.48 to CHF 1,073,065,943.53.

Vote on the report on non-financial matters

With the introduction of new provisions regarding the transparency of non-financial matters in the Swiss Code of Obligations, Novartis was obliged for the first time for the 2023 financial year to prepare a report on non-financial matters and present it to shareholders. The shareholders approved the report on non-financial matters for the 2023 financial year in an advisory vote.

Votes on the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Board

In two separate binding votes, the shareholders approved the maximum total remuneration of the Board of Directors from the 2024 Annual General Meeting to the 2025 Annual General Meeting and the maximum total remuneration of the Executive Board for the 2025 financial year. In a consultative vote The shareholders also approved the 2023 remuneration report.

Election of KPMG AG as auditors

In accordance with the Board of Directors' proposal, the shareholders elected KPMG AG as auditors for the financial year beginning on January 1, 2024.

Disclaimer

This communication contains forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements reflected in the forward-looking statements or are implied. Some of the risks associated with these statements are summarized in the English language version of this release and Novartis AG's most recent Form 20-F filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The reader is advised to read these summaries carefully.

About Novartis

Novartis is a focused company focused on innovative medicines. Every day we work to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people's lives, so that patients, healthcare professionals and society are able to manage serious illnesses. Our medicines reach more than 250 million people worldwide.

Contact:

Tel: +41 61 324 7944

Email: investor.relations@novartis.com

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