The new AssiDomän

AssiDomän's future strategy was presented at a Capital Market Day in Färna, Skinnskatteberg on 22 August 2001. The presentations from the Capital Market Day are available on AssiDomän's website at 15.00 hrs UK time: www.asdo.se The new AssiDomän AssiDomän is the innovative forest company which creates new and growing values in every business in which the company operates. Strategy AssiDomän's core business is ownership, development and management of timberland. Based on its timberland assets, the company will concentrate on the first links in the forestry value chain and create value there by developing and offering products and services of the highest quality. Growth will primarily be organic. The timberland holdings will also grow through AssiDomän acquiring land as part of its involvement in the restructuring of the forest industry. Strategic goals AssiDomän intends to be the most efficient and innovative player within forestry, which means exploiting the full production potential of its timberland. The company will be in the frontline as regards development of business concepts, products, sales channels and service, and will assume greater responsibility for value creation in customers' processes. AssiDomän will be the leader in economically, socially and ecologically sustainable forest management. Operational focus The company will expand within areas close to the core business where we have high competence and can create competitive advantages. AssiDomän will further develop existing business such as biofuels and various types of leases and grants, including hunting and fishing rights. One new business opportunity is to use our management competence to help others to cultivate and manage timberland, primarily outside Sweden. We are therefore open to an extension of our business to new geographic markets - mainly for services, but over time also ownership of forest assets. Trading in timber options is another potential new business opportunity. Possible future trading in emission rights can also increase timberland values. Active timberland assets Active forest ownership means that timber production capacity can be increased through acquisitions. Equally, divestitures can be made when the market price is significantly higher than AssiDomän's internal value. Divestiture and acquisition of timberland will therefore continue to be a natural part of AssiDomän's forestry operations. The scope and focus of these transactions will be adapted to market and price conditions. A reasonable assessment today is that divestitures over the next two years will be at the same level as the average over the last ten years, i.e. MSEK 450-500 per year. Refocusing AssiDomän Over the past year extensive restructuring has been carried out within the Group in order to refocus its operations. This has resulted in the sale of the sack paper, sack conversion and barrier coating operations. The corrugated board business was also sold in spring 2001. Today, the industrial operations in the Group comprise the cartonboard mill in Frövi, the sawmill operations and a 50% stake in Billerud. In conjunction with a stock market listing of Billerud, AssiDomän will distribute its share of the company to AssiDomän's shareholders. Billerud's listing is expected to take place in December 2001. AssiDomän will play an active role in making the Swedish sawmill industry more profitable and market oriented in order to improve development potential and solvency. AssiDomän intends to contribute to consolidation by forming a new timber processing company, together with one or more partners. Once such a company has been set up, it can be listed in the longer term. AssiDomän Cartonboard is developing well and in the most recent interim report, showed its highest return since 1996. However, there is no change in our assessment that the business unit will be better placed to achieve long-term, optimal profitability within a larger structure outside AssiDomän. AssiDomän will continue to develop Cartonboard with the future aim of finding a stronger home for these operations. AssiDomän AB Corporate Communications 22 August 2001 AssiDomän's operations focus on ownership, management and utilization of forest assets, 2.4 billion hectares of productive timberland in Sweden. The Group also includes sawmill operations and the Frövi cartonboard mill. The company has some 2,000 employees and annual sales of MSEK 7,200. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/08/22/20010822BIT00090/bit0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/08/22/20010822BIT00090/bit0001.pdf