Autoliv Reduces Dividend, Elects New Director and Announces shareholder AGM
(Stockholm, December 16, 2008) – – – The Board of Directors of Autoliv Inc. (NYSE: ALV and SSE: ALIVsdb) – the worldwide leader in automotive safety systems – today announced a decrease in its quarterly dividend to shareholders due to the financial turmoil and market uncertainty. The dividend per share will be 21 cents in the first quarter of 2009. The Board also elected Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Ziebart as a new member on the Board.
Assuming continued timely customer payments, Autoliv expects to continue to generate a positive operational cash flow even after capital expenditures during the fourth quarter. However, there are substantial uncertainties about certain customers’ payment prospects and vehicle production levels through 2009. In this uncertain environment, the Board of Directors has concluded that it is prudent to preserve a strong cash position.
The Board of Directors therefore declared a quarterly dividend per share of 21 cents for first quarter of 2009, a decrease from 41 cents for the previous quarter. The dividend will be payable on Thursday, March 5, 2009, to Autoliv stockholders of record on the close of business on Thursday February 5, 2009. The Ex-date when the shares will trade without the right to the dividend will be February 3.
New Board Member
Mr. Per Welin today informed the Board that he will retire and not seek or accept re-election at the 2009 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. The Board of Directors elected Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart to the Board effective December 16, 2008, temporarily expanding the Board to thirteen members. Dr. Ziebart’s initial term expires at the 2009 Annual General Meeting and he will be nominated for re-election at the 2009 Annual General Meeting.
Dr. Ziebart has held several top executive positions primarily in the automotive industry. He first made a distinguished career within the BMW Group starting in 1977 and taking him all the way to the Board of Management BMW AG, where he was responsible for R&D and Purchasing. During his tenure with BMW, he was head of Electrics and Electronics, Vice President Body Design and Electronics and Vice President Small Car Lines. In 2000, he joined Continental AG to become Member of the Management Board and, in 2001, Deputy Chairman of Continental AG. Between 2004 and 2008, he was President and CEO of Infineon Technologies AG, a global semiconductor and systems solutions provider based in Germany with €7.7 billion in sales and 43,000 employees. Between 1973 and 1976 Wolfgang Ziebart was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Mechanics in Munich. He has a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Munich, Germany.
Shareholder AGM
The Board of Directors has set May 6, 2009, as the date for the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in Chicago, IL, USA.
Only holders of record at the close of business on March 9, 2009 will be entitled to be present and vote at the Meeting. Notice of the General Meeting will be mailed to the holders of record shortly after the record date.
Inquiries:
Jan Carlson, President and CEO, Tel. +46-8-587 20 600
Mats Ödman, Vice President Corprate. Communications, Tel. +46-8-587 20 623 or
+46-708-320 933
