CSK Chesapeake Cp

RICHMOND, Va., April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chesapeake Corporation's (NYSE:CSK) President and Chief Executive Officer Andrew J. Kohut told the audience at the company's annual shareholder meeting here today that much was accomplished in 2007 but there is significant work ahead as the company continues to position itself to take advantage of relevant opportunities. "Last year we continued our focus on operational improvements that began in 2006 with the implementation of our $25-million annualized cost savings program," said Kohut. "That program carried over into 2007 and included more overhead cost reduction programs, workforce reductions, improvements to working practices and other rationalization measures. We have maintained a relentless focus on strengthening our operations. "Looking ahead, we expect the first quarter and first half of 2008 to be challenging," added Kohut. "Results for the first half of 2008 are expected to be significantly lower than 2007, but we anticipate improvement in the second half of the year." In other business at today's annual meeting, shareholders elected three directors to Class I to serve terms of three years. Current directors re-elected today to Class I include: -- Sir David Fell, age 65, chairman of the board of the corporation; and director, National Australia Group Europe Ltd., a banking and financial services company. -- John W. Rosenblum, age 64, management consultant and dean emeritus, Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia. -- Beverly L. Thelander, age 52, management consultant. Additionally, Mary Jane Hellyar, age 54, was elected to a one-year term as a Class II director. She is president of the Film, Photofinishing & Entertainment Group and an executive vice president of Eastman Kodak Company. Directors Joseph P. Viviano and Harry H. Warner retired as of today's meeting. The bylaws have been amended to reduce the number of directors from eleven to nine. Viviano and Warner served on the corporation's board for 20 and 30 years, respectively. Shareholders ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to serve as the independent registered public accounting firm for the company for fiscal 2008. Shareholders rejected a shareholder proposal requesting changes to the company's executive compensation guidelines and approved a proposal requesting that the board of directors take the necessary steps to declassify the company's board so that all directors are elected annually. Chesapeake Corporation protects and promotes the world's great brands as a leading international supplier of value-added specialty paperboard and plastic packaging. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., the company is one of Europe's premier suppliers of folding cartons, leaflets and labels, as well as plastic packaging for niche markets. Chesapeake has 45 locations in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia and employs approximately 5,400 people worldwide. DATASOURCE: Chesapeake Corporation CONTACT: Media Relations, Joseph C. Vagi, Manager - Corporate Communications, +1-804-697-1110, , or Investor Relations, Joel K. Mostrom, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, +1-804-697-1147, , both of Chesapeake Corporation Web site: http://www.chesapeakecorp.com/

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