Company Information for Genus PLC

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Company Statement

Genus is a world leader in applying science to animal breeding.

Genus creates advances to animal breeding through biotechnology and sells added value products for livestock farming and food producers. Its non-genetically modified organism technology is applicable across all livestock species but is only commercialised by Genus in the bovine and porcine farming sectors.

Genus’ worldwide sales are made under the trade marks “ABS” (dairy and beef cattle) and “PIC” (pigs) and comprise semen and breeding animals with superiorgenetics to those animals currently in production.
Genus’ current products and services enable producers and farmers to enhance milk and meat quality and improve efficiency through the application of natural genetic selection. Customers’ animals produce offspring with greater production efficiency, milk and meat output and quality and use these to supply the global dairy and meat supply chain of farmers, breeders, processors, distributors, retailers and consumers.

The Group’s competitive edge has been created from the ownership and control of proprietary lines of breeding animals, the biotechnology used to improve them and its global production and distribution network.

Genus is a FTSE250 member of the London Stock Exchange and is a global company selling in 70 countries and operating in 30 countries. Genus is headquartered in Basingstoke, England, with research laboratories located in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Genus is in a unique position to benefit from changing world agricultural markets given the growing world demand for milk, pork and beef together with the increasing willingness of consumers globally to pay a premium for meat or milk with a superior taste or pedigree.

Company Diagram

Current Operations

The ABS business unit is focussed on Bovine Genetics
Established: 1941
Web Site: www.absglobal.com

Company Profile:
The bovine genetics division of Genus was established in 1999 by the integration of UK based Genus Breeding Ltd with the USA based ABS Global Inc, purchased that year. The division has since become the largest cattle breeding business in the world. ABS operates wholly owned businesses in ten countries, USA, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Ireland, Italy and Mexico. The business also has representatives in around 60 other countries.

All these wholly owned businesses, with the exception of the UK and France, trade under the ABS banner. Because of the strength of long established brands, the UK business trades as Genus ABS and the French as Bovec. All the business web-sites have been established primarily as sales support vehicles.

The ABS business model uses research and development to identify genetically elite bulls, in a number of breeds. Progeny testing of the performance of around 120 daughters for each bull selected, measures their performance against those of their peers. Semen from the best bulls is collected and frozen, for despatch to the 70 sales outlets around the world.

ABS houses and evaluates bulls in six countries spread across the world.

Currently the business sells approximately 10 million doses of semen per year. More than half of this semen is from dairy breeds, with the Holstein breed dominating. Semen from dairy breeds is used by the farmers to breed replacement milking stock. Semen sold from beef breeds is used in either specialist beef breeding herds for multiplication of breeding bulls for use in natural service or on dairy cows to produce offspring to be reared for meat.

ABS also uses its R&D budget to pursue a number of biotechnological commercial targets, including gender selection, the quest to separate male and female sperm, and improved fertility, to improve the reproductive potential of both sexes.

All ABS science uses totally natural biological processes. They involve no laboratory genetic modification. All genetic change is achieved through natural selection, ie the random segregation of genes that occurs in all instances of sexual reproduction.

The PIC business unit is focussed Swine
Established: 1962
Web Site: www.pic.com

Company Profile:
PIC is the international leader in providing genetically superior pig breeding stock and technical support for maximising genetic potential to commercial pork producers. PIC combines quantitative sciences with leading edge biotechnology to develop non-GMO breeding stock that allows major producers to breed healthier animals that cost less to produce and provide higher quality products to consumers. PICmarq(TM) is PIC's brand name that describes all of is marker-testing technologies. Operating for over 40 years, PIC's success is attributed to its thorough concentration and significant investment in aspects of genetics, technology and health.

Since over 90% of Genus' business units production is outsourced today through its global supplier network ("multipliers"), Genus' production and service staff work closely with third party breeders/multipliers, producers and farmers to crossbreed animals possessing desirable traits and genes to produce offspring with the desired meat characteristics and efficient performance. Genus generates revenue and gross profit through the sale of breeding animals and semen. These products are sold to customers along the global meat supply chain.

Geographical Spread

Genus' business units sell to farmers genetically improved breeding animals that have better production efficiency and better product quality. The two main business units are ABS (dairy and beef cattle), PIC (pigs). Genus utilises proprietary quantitative genetics and biotechnology techniques to identify and select animals that possess the genetics/genes responsible for superior meat quality, high health and performance traits. Genus sells breeding animals and semen to customers who produce offspring which yield greater production efficiency, milk and meat quality for the global dairy and meat supply chain. Genus' competitive differentiation lies in its ownership and control of its proprietary lines of breeding animals, the patentable biotechnology to improve them and its global production and distribution network. Genus' business model is predicated on the selective breeding of animals possessing genes that are responsible for desired traits and does not involve the production of genetically modified organisms.

Board of Directors and Key Management

John Hawkins	Chairman
Richard Wood	Chief Executive
Martin Boden	Group Finance Director
Nigel Turner	Senior Non-Executive Director
John Worby	Non-Executive Director
Professor Barry Furr	Non-Executive Director
Ian Farrelly	Group Company Secretary & General Counsel

Company Address Belvedere House, Basing View Basingstoke, Hampshire, United Kingdom RG21 4HG Telephone: 44 (0) 1256 34 5977 Email: lrelf[at]genus-plc.co.uk Website: http://www.genusplc.com

Capital 55,844,730 ordinary shares of 10p each

Annual General Meeting November

Nominated Brokers JPMorgan Cazenove 20 Moorgate London EC2R 6DA

Nominated Advisors JPMorgan Cazenove 20 Moorgate London EC2R 6DA

Major Shareholders

Lansdowne Partners Ltd	6,804,777	11.44
NFU Mutual & Avon Group	6,050,967	10.17
Legal & General Investment Mgmt Ltd	3,893,011	6.54
M&G Investment Management Ltd	3,746,382	6.30
Baillie Gifford & Co Ltd	2,429,168	4.08

Most Recent Statement

05/11/08 - Board Update
27/10/08 - Genus-Notification of major interests in shares
17/10/08 - Genus - Annual Information Update
15/10/08 - Director/PDMR Shareholding
30/09/08 - Blocklisting Interim Review
18/09/08 - Genus announces important advances in its porcine strategy for China