14. General blackout periods

All directors, officers and employees of any Group company are subject to general blackout periods between the last day of the period for which financial performance data for public release are established and the close of trading on SIX Swiss Exchange one trading day after the public release of the financial performance data for such period. During general blackout periods, these persons are prohibited from trading in any shares of the Company and in any option or conversion rights or any other financial instruments whose price is materially dependent (meaning a degree of more than 33%) on the shares of the Company (together the “Relevant Securities”).

Furthermore, members of the Board of Directors, the Group Executive Board as well as certain employees of the Group notified by the Group General Counsel may only make transactions in Relevant Securities during designated trading windows, subject to pre-clearance by the Group General Counsel. The opening and closing of a trading window are determined by the CEO in consultation with the CFO and the Group General Counsel.

Any exception to the aforementioned rules must be cleared through the Group General Counsel. No such exemption was granted in the reporting year.