Press release from the Annual General Meeting of Clas Ohlson AB (publ) on 8 September 2023
On Friday, 8 September 2023, Clas Ohlson AB held a physical Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the 2022/23 financial year with the option of advance voting (postal voting) in accordance with the provisions of Clas Ohlson AB’s Articles of Association, at which the main resolutions below were made.
For more detailed information on the proposals addressed by the AGM, please refer to the notification of the AGM which was published on 2 August 2023. The notification of the AGM and the complete proposals pertaining to the AGM resolutions listed below are available on Clas Ohlson AB’s website, https://about.clasohlson.com.
Adoption of the balance sheet and income statement
The AGM adopted the balance sheet and income statement for the Parent Company and the Group for the 2022/23 financial year.
Disposition of profits
The Board’s proposal for the disposition of the profits was approved by the AGM and the proposed dividend to shareholders of SEK 1.50 per share was approved. The record date was set as 12 September 2023. Payment of the dividend is expected to be made from Euroclear Sweden AB on 15 September 2023.
Discharge from liability
The AGM discharged the Board members and the CEO from liability for the 2022/23 financial year.
Board of Directors and auditor
The AGM resolved that the Board of Directors shall consist of eight Board members.
The AGM re-elected Board members Kenneth Bengtsson, Mengmeng Du, Mathias Haid, Patrik Hofbauer, Håkan Lundstedt, Charlotte Strömberg, Göran Sundström and Anne Thorstvedt Sjöberg.
Kenneth Bengtsson was re-elected Chair of the Board.
The AGM resolved to appoint one auditor with no deputies. The AGM re-elected Deloitte AB as auditor for the period until the end of the next Annual General Meeting. The company has been informed that Johan Telander will serve as auditor-in-charge.
Board, committee and auditor fees
The AGM resolved, in accordance with the Nomination Committee's proposal, that Board fees, including fees for committee work, shall be paid in a total amount of SEK 4,320,000 to be allocated as follows: SEK 900,000 per year to the Chair of the Board and SEK 400,000 per year to each of the other AGM-elected Board members. Fees shall be paid to members of the Audit Committee in the amount of SEK 170,000 to the Chair of the Audit Committee and SEK 90,000 to each of the other Committee members (currently two). Finally, fees shall be paid to members of the People Committee in the amount of SEK 135,000 to the Chair of the People Committee and SEK 67,500 to each of the other Committee members (currently two). Fees are paid as salary.
The AGM resolved, in accordance with the Nomination Committee's proposal, that auditor fees be paid on a current-account basis in return for company-approved invoices.
Remuneration report
The AGM approved the Board’s remuneration report, prepared pursuant to Chapter 8, Section 53a of the Swedish Companies Act.
Long-term incentive program (LTI 2023)
Implementation of LTI 2023
In addition, the AGM resolved, in accordance with the Board’s proposal, to adopt a performance-based long-term incentive programme (“LTI 2023”) comprising a maximum of 570,000 Clas Ohlson series B shares. LTI 2023 is open to no more than 50 employees of senior management and other key employees of the Clas Ohlson Group, and entitles the participant to receive an allotment of Clas Ohlson series B shares after a vesting period that runs until the publication date for the first interim report of the 2026/2027 financial year, on the condition that the performance conditions concerning net sales, earnings per share and sustainability are met. LTI 2023 aims to, inter alia, attract and retain senior management in a cost-efficient and competitive manner.
Repurchase and transfer of own shares
The AGM resolved, in accordance with the Board’s proposal, to authorise the Board to resolve on repurchase of a maximum of 570,000 series B shares in the company for LTI 2023. Acquisitions may be made in order to secure the delivery obligations of shares to participants in LTI 2023 and for subsequent transfers on a regulated market to cover cash-flow effects associated with LTI 2023, primarily social security contributions. The shares may only be acquired on Nasdaq Stockholm. The authorisation may be exercised on one or more occasions, until the 2024 Annual General Meeting. Shares obtained may only be acquired at a price per share within the trading interval registered at any point in time.
The AGM resolved, in accordance with the Board’s proposal, to transfer a maximum of 440,000 series B shares in the company for LTI 2023. Right to acquire series B shares shall, with deviation from the shareholders’ preferential rights, be granted the persons participating in LTI 2023, with a right for each participant to acquire the maximum number of shares as set out in the terms and conditions of LTI 2023. Transfer of series B shares to the participants of LTI 2023 shall be made free of charge at a time and in accordance with the other terms and conditions of LTI 2023 under which participants of LTI 2023 are entitled to be allocated shares. The number of shares that may be transferred shall be re-calculated in the event of intervening bonus issues, splits, rights issues or other similar corporate measures.
Authorisation to transfer own shares
The AGM resolved, in accordance with the Board's proposal, to authorise the Board to, on one or more occasions during the period until the 2024 Annual General Meeting, to resolve on the transfer of the company's own series B shares. Transfer under the authorisation may comprise all own series B shares held by the company from time to time and shall be made through trading on Nasdaq Stockholm at a price within the from time to time registered trading interval.
The purpose of the authorisation to transfer own shares is to cover certain expenses, mainly social security contributions, that may arise as a result of outstanding incentive programmes, and to enable the company to transfer such shares that have been repurchased under previous incentive programmes but have not been required for delivery of shares to participants in the incentive programmes.
The company currently holds 2,242,711 own series B shares.
Authorisation to issue new shares
The AGM resolved, in accordance with the Board's proposal, to authorise the Board to, with or without deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights and on one or more occasions during the period until the 2024 Annual General Meeting, resolve to increase the company's share capital through the issue of series B shares. Issue resolutions based on the authorisation may not entail that the total number of series B shares that may be issued corresponds to more than ten percent of the share capital in the company at the time of the AGM's resolution on authorisation.
For more information, please contact:
Niklas Carlsson, Head of Communications & Investor Relations, phone +46 247 444 29, niklas.carlsson@clasohlson.se
Clas Ohlson was founded in 1918 as a mail order business in Insjön, Sweden. Today we are a retail company with customers in three markets, approximately 5,000 co-workers and annual sales of approximately 9 billion SEK. Our share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. A lot has happened since the start in 1918, but one thing has remained the same over the years; that we want to help people fix their homes with practical and sustainable solutions at attractive prices. Visit about.clasohlson.com/en to read more about us and how we make home fixing available, sustainable and enjoyable for everyone.