IRO's Annual General Meeting

IRO's Annual General Meeting At the Company's Annual General Meeting on 12 April 2000, the shareholders adopted the proposal of the Board of Directors and the President that a dividend of SEK 3,30 per share be declared for the year ended 31 December 1999, as compared with the dividend of SEK 3,00 declared for the previous year. The total dividend payment will be SEK 41 250 000. The day of record will be Monday 17 April, and VPC AB (The Swedish Securities Register Centre) is expected to distribute the dividend on Thursday 20 April. The proposal that the Board of Directors should consist of six ordinary members elected by the shareholders in Annual General Meeting, and that there should be no deputy members was also adopted. In accordance with the recommendations of the Nominations Committee Stig- Arne Blom, Bert-Åke Eriksson, Dan Sten Olsson, Mauritz Sahlin, Lennart Spetz and Lennart Svensson were re-elected to the Board. The Board will also have two employees' representatives as ordinary members, Egon Johansson and Bo Stensson and two deputy employees' representatives, Maj- Britt Johansson and Roger Larsson. At the first meeting of the new Board held immediately after the Annual General Meeting, Mauritz Sahlin was re- elected to serve as its Chairman. The Company's auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers Revisionsbyrå KB of Göteborg were re-elected for the period 2000-2003. Head of audit remains Authorized Public Accountant Olof Enerbäck. Primarily with the intention of using them as part consideration in respect of any future acquisitions, the shareholders in Annual General Meeting authorized the Board, up until the date of the next Annual General Meeting and on one or more occasions, to buy back and transfer shares in the Company to a maximum of five per cent of the issued share capital. Such transactions are to be carried out as normal transactions on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and at current market prices. The Board was also authorized, within the same time frame, to transfer shares in the Company other than on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, without regard to shareholders' rights of preemption and for cash, setoff or consideration in kind. Should the Board proceed as authorized and buy back a maximum of five per cent of the issued share capital in the Company at the current market price, the Company's equity/assets ratio would be approx. 43 per cent as against approx. 49 per cent at the end of 1999. In his address the Company's President, Stig-Arne Blom told shareholders about developments during the first quarter of 2000. The positive trend noted during the second half of 1999 had been sustained. Orders received during the first quarter of the new year totalled MSEK 290, representing an increase of 20 per cent over those received during the same period in 1999. The preliminary turnover figure for the first quarter of 2000 was MSEK 287, as against MSEK 232 for the first quarter of 1999, which represented an increase of 24 per cent. While the full figures for the first quarter had not yet been finalized, he did not expect there to be any surprises where margins and expenses were concerned, why the operating profit for the first quarter of 2000 is estimated to approximately 50 MSEK as compared to 21 MSEK in the first quarter of 1999. The President also told shareholders about the Company's intention to make future investments in the field of electronics. The Company's existing core skills in this field would be further developed with a view to meeting the needs of customers outside the textiles sector as well as within it. This would particularly be the case with development of customized controls for electric motors and interfaces for rapid electronic communication in machinery systems, both of them areas with documented high growth potential. The interim report for the first three months of the year 2000 will be published on 19 April. Further information is available from: Stig-Arne Blom, President, tel: +46 321 297 01 Lennart Claesson, Financial Director, tel: +46 321 297 02 IRO is an international group that develops and manufactures yarn feeders for textile machines. Its principal customers are manufacturers of knitting and weaving machines. IRO is the world's leading manufacturer of yarn feeders, with a share of more than 60 per cent of the global market. Production takes place at locations in Sweden, Germany, Italy and China. Markets outside Sweden account for some 97 per cent of sales. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/12/20000412BIT01290/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/12/20000412BIT01290/bit0002.pdf