RNS Number:0947L
Nestle SA
14 April 2005





Nestle S.A. Shareholders Reject Ethos Initiatives -

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe Elected Chairman and CEO



Lausanne, 14 April 2005  -  2,539 shareholders of Nestle S.A., representing
38.91 percent of the capital, attended today's General Meeting of the Company in
Lausanne. The annual report, the accounts and the release of the Board of
Directors and the management were approved by strong majorities. Shareholders
also accepted the proposed dividend increase to CHF 8.- per share, up 11 percent
over last year, amounting to a payout of 46.3 percent (CHF 3.1 billion) of the
Company's profits.


In contested votes, shareholders did not support the Ethos group's proposed
amendments to the Company's Articles of Association. The breakdown of the votes
was the following:



1. preventing the Chairman from being a member of the Executive Board at
   the same time:
   50.55 percent against; 35.94 percent in favor; 13.51 percent abstentions.

2. There was no vote on reducing Board Directors' term of office from 5
   to 3 years and indi-vidual election of Directors since the two-third quorum,
   required by the Company's Articles of Asso-ciation, was not attained.

3. reducing the nominal value of shares needed to put an item on the
   agenda to CHF 100,000:
   74.08 percent against; 13.72 percent in favor; 12.20 percent abstentions.


After the vote, Mr. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman and CEO, said: "I want to
congratulate shareholders for having made the right decision. The dogmatic
approach to corporate governance issues would have meant a long-term competitive
disadvantage for Nestle. I also want to thank shareholders for their confidence
in the Board's decisions and assure them that we will reflect in a constructive
manner on comments and suggestions made by long-term investors during the
process of this discussion. The Company, which is in the middle of a strategic
transformation period, continues to focus its efforts on delivering yet another
year of growth and improved performance."


Shareholders elected Professor Gunter Blobel, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology
and Medicine in 1999, as a new member of the Board of Nestle S.A. for a 4-year
term. Mr. Rainer E. Gut, Chairman of the Board, having reached the statutory age
limit, did not stand for a new term. Mr. Jean-Pierre Meyers, senior member of
the Board and Vice-Chairman of L'Oreal, on behalf of the Board as a whole,
thanked Mr. Gut for his remarkable contribution to the Company over 24 years,
first as Director, then as Vice-Chairman for 7 years and Chairman for a further
5 years.


Immediately after the conclusion of the General Meeting, the newly-constituted
Board of Directors of Nestle S.A. met to elect Mr. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe as
Chairman and CEO. The Board also elected Mr. Andreas Koopmann as first
Vice-Chairman and Mr. Rolf Hanggi as second Vice-Chairman, and decided upon
the composition of its different Committees, incorporating two recommendations
from shareholders. In order to increase the number of Board members
participating in Committees, Mr. Andre Kudelski will be an additional member of
the Audit Committee. Mr. Peter Bockli, a further independent member of the
Board, will join and chair the Remuneration Committee.


This results in the following composition of the different Committees:


Chairman's and Corporate
Governance Committee:      Messrs. Brabeck-Letmathe, Koopmann, Hanggi, Lord
                           George, Villiger;

Finance Committee:         Messrs. Hanggi, Lord George, Villiger;

Audit Committee:           Messrs. Hanggi, Meyers, Kudelski, Villiger;

Remuneration Committee:    Messrs. Bockli, Koopmann, Lord George.



Contacts:       Media:     Francois-Xavier Perroud    Tel.:  +41-21-924 2596

                Investors: Roddy Child-Villiers       Tel.:  +41-21-924 3622


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

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