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Report of the month

June 2010

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UCB Brussels, Belgium Report Facts Company name: UCB S.A. Fiscal year end: December 31, 2009 Report title: Delivering for patients through innovation Chief Executive Officer: Roch Doliveux Number of books: Two + CSR report. Report length: 68 + 92 + 38 pages. Auditors: PricewaterhouseCoopers AB Design: Comfi E-mail: antje.witte@ucb.com	Report Rating 3.5/5 (Rating scale below) Profile-Products (Excerpts, as from the report) UCB aspires to be the patient-centric global biopharmaceutical leader transforming the lives of people living with severe diseases. Major products address central nervous system diseases (epilepsy, Parkinson’s) and immunology (rheumatoid arthritis, bone loss disorders...). (Excerpts, as from the report. Italics are own company’s words) Key Figures Revenue: € 3,116 million Operating income: € 837 million Net income: € 513 million Earnings per share: € 2.85 Dividend per share: € 0.96 R&D expenses: 21.6% Net financial debt: € 1,752 million Equity: € 4,417 million Number of employees: 9,324 (Source: 2009 figures sourced from the annual report) Competitors - Peers Cephalon Wilex Amgen AstraZeneca Johnson & Johnson Pfizer Sanofi-Aventis Lundbeck Sepracor ....

Triple A > A report that skillfully draws a patient-centric thread, and gives a vivid account of research and results. > Year Milestones, Results, Pipeline, Operational Strategies (see selected page), Priorities wrapped up in a few pages and lines. > Pictures tell stories –and make company’s focuses clear. Other visual ingredients (circles, dotted lines, sidebars) give the narrative a strong read appeal, as such and in comparison with wordy reports in the sector. > Each area is introduced with a matter-of-fact introduction About the disease and patients’ unmet needs.

Double A > Smart use of all covers -which all convey a message- also as a packaging for the twin-book format. > Short case stories spread all across, also for Research and Development sections.

Simple A > (Just a few) Key Data charted in the inside front cover. More Key Figures are set forth on the last page (why there? Why not?) and span over 3 years but without ratios. > Investor information and share indicators in the inside back cover. > Fair disclosure of governance policies, but remuneration details lag behind best practice. > Simply structured and not fully optimized yet visitor-friendly corporate and IR website. > The first CSR report revolves around Patients, People, Planet and Ethics and is designed with consistency to address those matters in a lively tone.

B Sides > A mission, but where can the real company profile? > The Operating and Financial Review comes late in the second book, is not as legible as the first book (though not as worse as the usual 10-K or 20-F), is often short on comments and even purely descriptive e.g. on financial condition and liquidity matters. And there is a big lack of ratios, left to readers’ calculators. > First ever CSR report only published in May 2010. A laudable effort, lacking in measures, figures and targets. > Paper savings within reach? Lots of blank spaces, two pages for notes. More fundamentally, some might find some sections not elaborate enough compared with many big pharma long-winded books.

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Selected Page (p 18 of UCB Annual report 2009)	Rating Scale 5 First-Rate 4.5 Excellent 4 Very good 3.5 Sound 3 Average 2.5 Uneven 2 Common 1.5 Substandard 1 Poor 0.5 Uncompetitive The rating is based on ReportWatch internal desk research and does not take into account the independent Rating Panel’s judgment.