Business News

Océ update prior to Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

Thursday 23. April 2009 - Transitions in Océ Supervisory and Executive Boards

Océ, an international leader in digital document management, announces that Frank de Wit, having served the maximum permissible term of office, will resign as a member of the Board of Supervisory Directors at today?s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) of Océ N.V.
On 9 April 2009, Océ announced that Rudi De Becker has been nominated as a member of the Board of Supervisory Directors. An Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders will be held at a later moment in time related to the appointment of Mr. De Becker.
At the AGM, Jan Dix (63) will step down as a member of the Board of Executive Directors having reached retirement age. The tasks and responsibilities of Mr. Dix will be shared among his colleagues on the Board of Executive Directors.
Océ Strategic Outlook
As earlier announced, in his presentation to the AGM this afternoon, Rokus van Iperen, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, will provide an update to the company?s strategic outlook. He will present that Océ will continue to run a parallel track. First, Océ will continue to firmly execute its current strategic plan, including an effective action program to mitigate the impact of the economic and market downturn. Second, Océ continues to explore all realistic options to improve economies of scale, without excluding strategic alternatives, if beneficial for Océ and all stakeholders.
In recent years, Océ has already taken various initiatives to improve the scale of its operations. Examples of these initiatives are the acquisition of Imagistics and various partnerships, including a strategic alliance with Konica Minolta.
Current action program ahead of schedule
In full 2008 and first quarter 2009, Océ has been able to mitigate the impact of the economic downturn due to its business model, balance sheet improvements and timely launched cost reduction programs. During that period Océ has strengthened its competitive position in key market segments.
The company has reduced its headcount with over 1,250 FTEs and decreased its costs with ? 114 million. As a consequence, the implementation of the 2008/2009 cost reduction program (in total ? 160 million) is ahead of schedule.
On 2 April 2009, Océ announced additional cost savings, containing further phased restructuring of 250 FTEs in its supply center in Poing, Southern Germany. On top of that, Océ is preparing additional cost reductions in other areas of the company.