DECISIONS OF RAUTE CORPORATION'S ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2011
RAUTE CORPORATION STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 13 April 2011 at 7:20 p.m.
DECISIONS OF RAUTE CORPORATION’S ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2011
Raute Corporation’s Annual General Meeting on 13 April 2011 confirmed the Financial Statements for 1 January to 31 December 2010 and discharged the members of the Board of Directors and President and CEO from liability.
The Annual General Meeting decided according to the proposal of the Board of Directors to distribute a dividend of EUR 0.30 per share to be paid for series A and K shares, with the payment date 27 April 2011. The record date is 18 April 2011.
The Annual General Meeting elected the Board of Directors for the next term of office ending at the Annual General Meeting in 2012. Mr. Erkki Pehu-Lehtonen was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ms. Sinikka Mustakallio was elected Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Mr. Risto Hautamäki, Mr. Ilpo Helander, Mr. Mika Mustakallio, and Mr. Pekka Suominen were elected members of the Board of Directors.
The Annual General Meeting elected authorized public accounting company PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy as auditors with Mr. Janne Rajalahti (Authorized Public Accountant) as the principal auditor.
The Annual General Meeting decided that the remuneration to the Chairman of the Board continues to be 40,000 euros and to the Vice-Chairman of the Board and Board members 20,000 euros for the term of office. The Board members’ traveling expenses will be compensated according to the company’s travel policy. The compensation to the company's auditors will be paid on the basis of reasonable invoicing.
Authorization of the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of shares
The Annual General Meeting decided to authorize the Board to decide on the repurchase of a maximum of 400,000 Raute Corporation’s series A shares using assets from the company’s non-restricted equity, which would lead to a decrease in the company’s distributable assets. The number of shares is less than ten percent (10%) of the company’s overall shares.
The authorization entitles the Board to acquire the company’s series A shares to be used for the development of the company’s capital structure, as consideration for funding or carrying out any acquisitions or other arrangements, or to be otherwise disposed of or cancelled.
The purchase consideration paid for shares purchased by virtue of the authorization shall be based on the price of the series A share in public trading so that the minimum price of acquired shares is the lowest market price quoted in public trading during the term of validity of the authorization and the maximum price, correspondingly, the highest market price quoted in public trading during the term of validity of the authorization.
The authorization includes the right to acquire shares otherwise than in proportion to the holdings of the shareholders. This can take place, for example, by acquiring shares in public trading on marketplaces whose rules and regulations allow a company to repurchase shares. The company must have important financial reasons to acquire shares in public trading as explained above or otherwise than in proportion to the holdings of the shareholders.
A Series K share can be converted to a series A share in compliance with section 3 of Raute Corporation’s Articles of Association.
The Board of Directors will decide on the other conditions related to share repurchases.
The authorization shall take place of the authorization granted by the Annual General Meeting of 31 March 2010 and is effective until the end of the next Annual General Meeting, or at least until 31 May 2012.
Authorization of the Board of Directors to decide on a directed issue of Raute Corporation’s series A shares
The Annual General Meeting decided to authorize the Board to decide on a directed issue of Raute Corporation’s series A shares, as well as on all of the related conditions, including the recipients and the sum of consideration to be paid. The Board of Directors may decide to issue either new shares or company shares held by Raute. The maximum number of shares issued is 400,000 series A shares. The authorization is effective until the end of the next Annual General Meeting. As proposed, the authorization will be used to fund or carry out acquisitions or other arrangements or for other purposes decided by the Board of Directors.
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting are available on Raute Corporation’s website at www.raute.com as from 27 April 2011.
RAUTE CORPORATION
Tapani Kiiski
President and CEO
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Mr. Tapani Kiiski, President and CEO, mobile +358 400 814 148
Ms. Arja Hakala, CFO, mobile +358 400 710 387
DISTRIBUTION:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd, main media, www.raute.com
RAUTE IN BRIEF:
Raute is a technology and service company that operates worldwide. Raute’s customers are companies operating in the wood products industry that manufacture veneer, plywood and LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber). The technology offering covers machinery and equipment for the entire production process. As a supplier of mill-scale projects Raute is a global market leader both in the plywood and LVL industries. Additionally, Raute’s full-service concept includes services ranging from repairs and spare parts deliveries to regular maintenance and equipment modernizations. Raute’s head office is located in Nastola, Finland. Its other production plants are in the Vancouver area of Canada, in the Shanghai area of China, and in Kajaani, Finland. Raute’s net sales in 2010 were EUR 62.9 million. The Group’s headcount at the end of 2010 was 495.
More information on the company can be found at: http://www.raute.com/.