Investors

Dividends are payments made by Shire to you as a shareholder. Dividends are paid twice yearly usually in April and October. A dividend is paid on each share, so the amount you receive depends on the number of shares you own and the dividend declared. To receive the dividend, your name must be on the share register on the record date. If you purchase shares on or after the ex-dividend date, the declared dividend will be paid to the previous owner as the trade will not have settled by the record date, and the previous owner will still be showing on the register of members on the record date.

It is expected that the first interim dividend in each year will be maintained around the USD level of the first 2004 interim dividend. The company intends to grow the second interim dividend for each financial year progressively. See our Dividend growth page.

Holders of ordinary shares will be paid in GBP and holders of ADSs will be paid in USD.

The record date determines which shareholders will be entitled to the declared dividend. Persons registered as shareholders on the record date will be paid the declared dividend even if they have already sold all or some of their Shire shares.

The payment of dividends is at the Board’s discretion and dependent on the company’s performance but the present intention is that dividends will be paid semi-annually.

First interim: announced end of July or early August and paid in October
Second interim: announced in February and paid in April.

Please visit our dividend history page.

Shareholders are able to choose how they receive their dividends:
directly into their bank account* or by cheque.

*Shire’s preferred option: The quickest and most efficient way to receive your dividends is to have them paid directly into your bank account. Those selecting this payment method receive a tax voucher with each payment.

How a dividend is taxed will depend on the shareholder’s territory of residence and specific circumstances. This can be a complex area and we advise shareholders to consult their professional advisors.

Dividends received from the Company

Any dividends paid by the Company directly will be subject to Irish dividend withholding tax of 20% unless an exemption applies under Irish domestic tax law and provided that the Company has received all necessary documentation required by the relevant legislation from the shareholder prior to payment of the dividend.

Individual shareholders who are (ordinarily) resident in the UK will generally be subject to UK income tax on the gross amount of any dividends paid by the Company before deduction of any Irish tax withheld.

Shareholders may also, depending on their individual circumstances, be able to claim a credit for any Irish withholding tax deducted. For further information on dividend withholding tax and about what declarations are required to be made in particular circumstances, shareholders should contact Equiniti.

Dividends received via the Income Access Share (IAS) arrangements

Any dividends paid via the income access share arrangements will not be subject to any withholding tax.

Individual shareholders who are (ordinarily) resident in the UK will generally be entitled to a tax credit on dividends received by the IAS arrangement.

If you are a UK resident shareholder and are not a higher rate taxpayer, your tax credit will offset your income tax liability on the aggregate of the net dividend and the tax credit (gross dividend) in full.

If you are a UK resident shareholder and a higher rate taxpayer, you will be liable for additional tax liability on the gross dividend.

If you are a UK resident shareholder not liable to UK tax on dividends (eg: pensions funds, charities, holder of a Personal Equity Plan) you will not be able to claim repayment of your tax credit attaching to your dividends.

If you are a UK resident corporate shareholder, you will not normally be liable to corporation tax in respect of a UK dividend and not able to claim repayment of tax credits for that dividend.

Shareholders should contact Equiniti for further information on tax on dividends received via the IAS arrangement.

Ordinary shareholder

You should contact Equiniti as soon as possible to tell them which payment or voucher has been lost. For cheques, they will arrange for the old cheque to be stopped and will then issue you with a duplicate less an administration fee of £10.00 + VAT (cheques less than £30.00 will be replaced free of charge) If you need a replacement tax voucher, Equiniti will send you a duplicate, but you may be charged for this.

ADS shareholder

Please do not to cash old, out of date, cheques. You can access your account by visiting www.adr.com. Once you have accessed your account you may request a cheque replacement online, or you may contact our Shareowner Relations area.

For Investor Relations queries please call:

Rest of World: Clea Rosenfeld
Tel: +44 (0)1256 894160
Email: investorrelations@shire.com
North America: Eric Rojas
Tel: +1 617 551 9715
Email: erojas@shire.com

Other queries should be directed to:

Ordinary shareholders
Shire Shareholder Services
Equiniti (Jersey) Limited
PO Box 63
11-12 Esplanade
St Helier
Jersey JE4 8PH
Shareholder helpline
From overseas: Tel: +44 (0)121 415 7047
In the UK: Tel: 0871 384 2553*

*Calls to this number are charged at 8p per minute from a BT landline. Other telephone providers' charges may vary.

ADS holders
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
General enquiries:
Toll free in US: Tel: +1 800 990 1135
From outside the US: Tel: +1 651 453 2128
Email: jpmorgan.adr@wellsfargo.com
http://www.adr.com