Report from ÅFs annual general shareholders meeting April 26, 2013
Viktor Svensson, Director Corporate Information +46 70 657 20 26
Friday April 26 2013, ÅF AB's annual general meeting was held at the Group's
headquarters in Frösunda.
Determination of accounts and dividend
The meeting adopted the income statements and balance sheets for the Group and
the parent company for 2012 and determined that the dividend to the
shareholders shall be SEK 5,50 per share (total SEK 214 621 742). Record date
for the dividend was agreed to be May 2(nd), 2013. Payment through Euroclear
Sweden AB is expected to take place on May 7, 2013.
Election of Board and fees for Board members and Auditors
The meeting decided that the Board shall consist of eight members without
deputies. Ulf Dinkelspiel, Anders Narvinger, Björn O. Nilsson, Joakim Rubin,
Kristina Schauman, Anders Snell and Lena Treschow Torell were re-elected to the
Board of Directors. Marika Fredriksson and Maud Olofsson were elected new board
members. Ulf Dinkelspiel was re-elected as Chairman of the Board. Johan Glennmo
and Dan Olofsson had declined re-election.
Marika Fredriksson, born in 1963, holds an MBA from the Hanken School of
Economics in Helsinki, Finland. She has previously held corporate management
positions with Volvo Construction Equipment,
Marika Fredriksson has no shareholding in ÅF.
Maud Olofsson was born in 1955. She has previously been the leader of the
Swedish Centre Party, Sweden's Minister for Enterprise and Energy (2006-2011)
and Deputy Prime Minister (2006-2010). Maud Olofsson is a director of LKAB,
Creades AB, Arise Windpower AB and Diös Fastigheter AB.
Maud Olofsson has no shareholding in ÅF.
Audit firm Ernst & Young AB, with Lars Träff as senior auditor in charge, was
re-elected with a term that extends until the annual general meeting in 2014.
The meeting decided that remunerations to the Board for the period until the
next AGM shall total SEK 2 895 000 SEK (including remuneration for Committee
work), to be distributed with SEK 550 000 to the Chairman and SEK 250 000 to
each Member of the Board of directors who are not employees within the ÅF group.
For the work of the Audit Committee, it was decided on a fee of 90 000 SEK to
the Chair and 45 000 SEK to each of the other members who are not employees
within the ÅF group. For the work of the Compensation Committee fees of 75 000
SEK to the Chair and 45 000 SEK to each of the other members who are not
employees within the ÅF group were decided.
Nomination committee
The annual general meeting decided that the Nomination Committee shall consist
of representatives of at least three and not more than five of the largest
shareholders in terms of voting (by groups of owners) as of the last business
day in August, along with the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The names of
the members of the Nomination Committee and the names of the shareholders they
have designated are to be published not later than six months before the annual
general meeting.
Convertible debentures for staff
It was decided that ÅF AB shall raise a convertible subordinated loan of a
nominal maximum of SEK 200 000 000 by the issuance of convertible debentures. If
the conversion rate at the moment of issue will be determined at an amount which
would lead to a dilution after full conversion by more than 2% of the share
capital, the maximum loan amount shall be reduced so that the maximum dilution
will be 2%. The subscription price for each convertible should correspond to its
nominal amount. Subscribers shall be the employees of the ÅF group in Sweden.
Employees are to be guaranteed a minimum allocation of between SEK 20 000 and
SEK 1 000 000, whereas the highest possible award ranges from SEK 60 000 to SEK
3 000 000. It was also decided, to counteract the diluting the conversion
otherwise can result in, that the Board is authorised to acquire as many shares
as subscribed convertible debentures convert into, and it was decided to reduce
the share capital corresponding to the number of shares equal to the number of
convertible debentures subscribed to.
Performance Share Program
The establishment of the Performance Share Program 2013, for which only
employees outside Sweden are eligible, was decided. The program includes a
maximum of 80 000 shares of series B. Employees subscribing to the program will
be able to save an amount equal to a maximum of 5% of gross compensation for the
purchase of shares of series B on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm during a 12-month
period. If the purchased shares are retained by the employees for three years
from the date of the investment and the employees are then still with the ÅF
Group, they will be allocated an equal number of shares of series B, free of any
charge. In addition to the regular match in accordance with the above, the
employees will also be offered performance matching shares conditional on the
result of the ÅF group.
The Board was authorized to, until the annual general meeting in 2014, to decide
on the acquisition and transfer of more than 80 000 own shares of series B on
Nasdaq OMX Stockholm at a price within the registered price interval at any
time. Such authorization is required for delivery of the shares to participants
in Performance Share Program in 2013 and to secure the ancillary costs.
Authorization for the Board to acquire and transfer own shares
a) The Board was authorized, for the period until the next annual general
meeting, to decide on the acquisition of own shares on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm
and acquisition in case of purchase offer(s) to the shareholders.
b) The Board was also authorized to, on one or more occasions before the annual
general meeting in 2013, decide on the acquisition and disposal of own shares
of series B necessary for the implementation of the Performance Share
Programs decided upon by the annual meetings 2010-2012. Acquisition may be
made only on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm and at a price within the registered
price interval at any time. A maximum of 100 000 shares of series B may be
transferred to participants in Performance Share Program 2010-2012.
Furthermore, the company will be entitled to, prior to the annual general
meeting in 2014, on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm transfer a maximum of 30 000 shares
in order to cover certain expenditure on the programme, mainly social
security costs.
Authorization for the Board to decide on new issue of shares
The Board was also, for the time until the next annual general meeting,
authorized to decide on new share issues of B shares for consideration other
than in cash or, with preferential rights for the shareholders, against cash
payment. Through the new issues, the share capital can be increased by issuing
shares on market conditions, however, the number of newly issued shares shall
not in aggregate exceed a number of 3 000 000, corresponding to a maximum
increase of the share capital of the company with SEK
15 000 000.
Statutory board meeting
At the statutory board meeting following the annual general meeting re-elected
Lena Treschow Torell as the Board's vice Chairman. The Board also decided that
members of the Remuneration Committee shall be Ulf Dinkelspiel (chair), Lena
Treschow Torell, Anders Narvinger and Anders Snell (new). Furthermore, the Board
that the members of the Audit Committee shall be Ulf Dinkelspiel, Kristina
Schauman (chair) and Joakim Rubin (new).
The ÅF Group is a leader in technical consulting, with expertise founded on more
than a century of experience. We offer highly qualified services and solutions
for industrial processes, infrastructure projects and the development of
products and IT systems. Today the ÅF Group has 7,000 employees. Our base is in
Europe, but our business and our clients are found all over the world.