BASEL, Switzerland, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- At the Annual General Meeting of Syngenta AG on April 24, 2012, the 1,003 shareholders representing 33.61% of the total shares approved all the motions proposed by the Board of Directors.

Shareholders approved a dividend of CHF 8.00 per share for the business year 2011, an increase of 14% over the previous year.

Shareholders also approved a reduction of share capital to CHF 9,312,614.90 through the cancellation of the 636,750 shares repurchased by the Company in 2011 within the scope of the approved repurchase program.

Pierre Landolt and Rolf Watter stepped down from the Board, having completed their term of office. Syngenta Chairman Martin Taylor said: "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank both for their outstanding contribution to the Company. Their considerable experience and sound guidance have been instrumental in our collective success."

Vinita Bali, Managing Director & CEO of Britannia Industries, Gunnar Brock, Chairman of Stora Enso, Molnlycke Health Care and Rolling Optics, and Michel Demare, Chief Financial Officer of ABB, were elected as new members of the Board of Directors.

Stefan Borgas, Peggy Bruzelius, David Lawrence and Jurg Witmer were re-elected to the Board. Following a recent decision of the Board of Directors, Jurg Witmer was confirmed as Vice Chairman of the Syngenta Board of Directors.

Syngenta is one of the world's leading companies with more than 26,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life.  Through world-class science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve health and quality of life.  For more information about us please go to www.syngenta.com.

Note to the editor:
The speech of the Chairman, the presentation of the CEO and images of the Annual General Meeting can be found at www.syngenta.com/agm2012.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as 'expect', 'would', 'will', 'potential', 'plans', 'prospects', 'estimated', 'aiming', 'on track' and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. We refer you to Syngenta's publicly available filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for information about these and other risks and uncertainties. Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors. This document does not constitute, or form part of, any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer, to purchase or subscribe for any ordinary shares in Syngenta AG, or Syngenta ADSs, nor shall it form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefor.

SOURCE Syngenta