Dear Fellow Shareholders,
Since our initial public offering five years ago Tim Hortons has experienced significant evolution and progress. In 2010, as many in our industry continued to grapple with the lingering effects of worldwide recession, we continued to build on our track record with positive growth and performance.
Ongoing uncertainty and volatility confronted businesses and consumers around the world this past year. The restaurant industry also faces the added pressures of mounting commodity price increases just as the hopeful promise of gradual economic recovery begins to take root.
Our business has stood the test of time, demonstrating success in both positive and challenging economic circumstances, due to the value we represent for our guests and our ability to adapt our business to their ever-changing needs and tastes.
I am proud of what we accomplished in 2010 from an underlying performance viewpoint and also for the ongoing work our executive team and Restaurant Owners undertook to position our business for the future.
We have a comprehensive strategic roadmap that guides where we are taking the business, and how we want to get there. We are not just relying on what has served us so well in the past, but we are also thinking creatively about new ideas, initiatives and programs to build our business for the future.
Together with our Restaurant Owners, we have never been afraid to embrace change, and in fact I believe that is one of the primary contributing factors to our success over the years. I believe our Restaurant Owner group is among the very best, and together, we are actively pursuing initiatives that I believe, over time, will contribute to an improved and even more successful Tim Hortons than ever before. We are actively building on our leadership position in Canada, getting more precise and targeted as we work to accelerate growth in the U.S., and beginning to sow the seeds for longer-term growth internationally.
Your Board continues to be actively engaged in this effort, and I am proud to serve with them. We are fortunate to benefit from the collective wisdom and experience of highly capable directors. They have played an instrumental role in contributing to, and providing oversight of, our strategic thinking and plans, as well as ongoing operations.
Our commitment to good governance practices, such as the adoption in November 2010 of majority voting standards, and the Board's newly established oversight of sustainability and responsibility policy and strategic direction, serves us, our Company and our shareholders well.
Sincerely,
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