Annual General Meeting of Nefab AB (publ)

Annual General Meeting of Nefab AB (publ) The Annual General Meeting of Nefab AB shareholders was held on May 19, 2001. Summary of the President's address to shareholders Target achieved It has now been five years since Nefab was listed on the Stockholm Exchange. Our aim then was to achieve a sales figure of SEK 1 billion by year 2000. We achieved the target by a clear margin, with invoiced sales for the year amounting to slightly more than SEK 1.1 billion. I am proud to be able to affirm that we also exceeded our earnings target - an increase of 9% - for 2000, the actual margin being 11%. Cooperation with SCA important Our work within Nefab is inspired by the vision of being a global partner for complete packaging solutions. In order to function as such, we need partners. In the area of alternative outer packagings and supplementary packaging materials, our ambition is to be able to master the product technology so successfully that we become outstanding problem solvers. But we are not aiming to become producers. Accordingly, it was gratifying to be able to announce a few weeks ago that SCA Packaging and Nefab have signed a cooperation agreement. Uncertainty regarding demand from the telecom equipment industry When we published our year-end report in February, we stated that we anticipated continued healthy growth during 2001. However, the sluggish business trend, particularly in the telecom equipment sector, makes it extremely difficult to forecast developments - even in the immediate future. It is unreasonable to expect our long-term planning to be better than that of our customers, and lead times today - from receipt of an order by our customer to the date when we are expected to deliver our product - are very short. Growth expected in automotive industry For some time, we have been investing in marketing activities aimed at the automotive industry. Starting during 2000 and continuing into this year, we have seen the effects of these efforts, and I predict that the trend will continue. Weak demand in North America Demand is weak in North America. The reason is the economic downturn in general and the downturn affecting the telecom equipment industry in particular. I can see no clear signs of any improvement in the near future. Some optimism in Brazil In South America, where we are represented in Brazil, demand to date has been weaker than I had expected. But we have a good customer base, and when some of our global partners increase their local production, we should also see increased demand for our products and services. I predict that this will happen before year-end. Fragmented picture in Europe The picture in Europe is more fragmented. We are still experiencing strong demand in southern and central Europe, the reason being that in these regions we sell large volumes to segments that have not been affected by the economic slowdown. There is a noticeable slowdown in the UK and the Nordic region, however, where we are dependent on the telecom industry, and we naturally feel the impact. In those markets where demand is currently lower, we are gradually adapting our overall costs to the situation. [REMOVED GRAPHICS] China the second largest market in 2001 The main cause for rejoicing is Asia. Since we first began operations in China about three years ago, we have established a position as the market leader in packagings for the telecom equipment industry. The telecom equipment sector is still developing strongly in China and I anticipate that, already this year, China will become our second largest market after Sweden. Outlook for the full-year Our best estimate at present is that invoiced sales in 2001 will increase compared with 2000. Dividend The Annual General Meeting approved the Board of Directors' proposal that a dividend of SEK 2.80 per share be paid to shareholders. This amount is unchanged compared with the preceding year. May 23, 2001 was set as the record date and the dividend is expected to be distributed via VPC on May 29, 2001. Board of Directors Ing-Marie Nordgren, Jochum Pihl, Björn Svedberg, Hans Nilsson, Reinhold Geijer and Lars-Åke Rydh were all re-elected as members of the Board for the next fiscal year, and Hans Narfström was elected as a new member. Financial reports Interim report for January-June August 15, 2001 Interim report for January-September October 31, 2001 Year-end report for 2001 February 12, 2002 For further information, contact President and CEO Lars-Åke Rydh, tel. +46-70-592 45 70, e-mail lars-ake.rydh@nefab.se, or CFO Anna Stålenbring, tel +46-70-814 23 44, e-mail anna.stalenbring@nefab.se Alfta, May 19, 2001 Lars-Åke Rydh President and CEO Information about Nefab Nefab delivers complete packaging solutions to international industrial groups, primarily within the telecom equipment and automotive industries. Nefab has its own companies in Europe, North and South America and Asia. Annual sales are about SEK 1.1 B. The Nefab share is listed on the OM Stockholm Exchange. Nefab AB (publ) Östra Storgatan 20 . P O Box 2184 . SE-550 02 Jönköping . Sweden Telephone +46(0)36-345050 . Telefax +46(0)36-150444 . Organization No. 556226-8143 Homepage: www.nefab.com . E-mail: info@nefab.se The registered office of the board of directors is in Ovanåker, Sweden ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/05/19/20010519BIT00030/bit0002.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/05/19/20010519BIT00030/bit0002.pdf