Ad-hoc Publicity: Preliminary Enquiries Against Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. Halted

In November 2004, the SWX Swiss Exchange announced that it had instituted preliminary enquiries against Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. (SWISS) with regard to a possible breach of Art. 72 of the Listing Rules (ad-hoc publicity). In the course of these enquiries, SWX concluded that SWISS did not breach the ad-hoc publicity rules. SWX has thus halted proceedings.

The SWX investigation looked into whether an interview given by the SWISS CEO to the "Rundschau" magazine of the Swiss pilots' union Aeropers constituted the passing on of potentially price-sensitive facts by SWISS. The interview with Christoph Franz was conducted on 6 October 2004 and published online on the Aeropers website on 3 November 2004. In the course of this interview Christoph Franz made the following statement: "Compared to the previous year alone, we will be able to improve the operating result by some 300 to 400 million [Swiss] francs.“

Art. 72 of the Listing Rules defines price-sensitive facts as new facts which, because of their considerable effect on the company's assets and liabilities or financial position or on the general course of business, are likely to result in substantial movements in the price of the securities. Accordingly, it is prohibited to pass on such facts discriminately to selected persons. Discussions with analysts or journalists are permissible provided no potentially price-sensitive facts are selectively communicated.

The enquiries showed that SWISS did not breach ad-hoc publicity rules. There were no indications that the statements made by Christoph Franz in his interview with the "Rundschau" magazine on SWISS's operating result constituted potentially price-sensitive facts not then known to the public. To the best of SWX's knowledge, the principle of equal treatment of all market participants was adhered to. SWX has thus halted proceedings.