Opcon, the energy and environmental technology Group, holds its Annual General Meeting
Opcon AB held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 4 May 2011 at Citykonferensen in Stockholm.
Rolf Hasselström, President and CEO of the Opcon Group, said that 2010 was a difficult year for the company, mainly due to the weak investment climate and problems within the Swedish bioenergy business.
“It was a tough period. We are now carrying out a major savings and restructuring programme that will reduce costs by SEK 35-40 million in 2012. Meanwhile, the start of the second quarter has been positive with several important developments, not least the collaboration that has started with Baosteel to take Opcon Powerbox onto the Chinese market, and the recent allocation decision by Göteborg Energi that looks like it will result in a record SEK 80 million order. Alongside the launch of our savings and restructuring programme this means that we consider we have entered a new period when profitability will improve while sales grow,” says Rolf Hasselström.
The Annual General Meeting voted in accordance with the Board’s proposal that the Board shall comprise six members with no deputies, and re-elected Mats Gabrielsson, chairman, Ulf Ahlén, Kenneth Eriksson, Rolf Hasselström and Bengt E Johnson as Board members.
Bill Tunbrant, 60, from Strängnäs, Sweden, was voted onto the Board replacing Nina Linander who declined re-election. Bill Tunbrant is a civil engineer who graduated from Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Technology and who has an industrial background that includes having been CEO of companies in various sectors. He has international experience and has worked in China. Bill Tunbrant also has extensive experience of directorships and he has had over 20 board assignments, including a spell with Nibe AB.
The employee representatives on the Board are Maurizio d’Agostino for the IF Metal trade union and Karin Hansen for the Unionen trade union.
The following is a summary of the other key decisions made at the meeting, all of which were in accordance with the Board’s proposals.
The income statements and balance sheets of the Group and parent company were adopted, and the Board and CEO were discharged from liability for the 2010 financial year.
The fees for the chairman of the Board and Board members, as well as guidelines for remuneration to the CEO and other senior executives, were adopted.
Opcon’s nominations committee was re-elected. It comprises Anders Thorendal, Mats Gabrielsson, Peter Wahlberg and Per Egeberg.
As a part of an incentive scheme, Opcon will issue at most 200,000 subscription options, with each option giving entitlement to one share in Opcon AB, for senior executives of the Opcon Group. The decision of the meeting was unanimous.
As a part of another incentive scheme, Opcon will issue at most 200,000 subscription options, with each option giving entitlement to one share in Opcon AB, for current and future Board members of Opcon AB. Mats Gabrielsson and Rolf Hasselström will not be included in this allocation of options. The decision of the meeting was unanimous.
Opcon will issue 2,200,000 subscription options, which in deviation from preferential rights for existing shareholders will be subscribed for by GEM Global Yield Fund Limited. The reason for deviating from preferential shareholder rights is to strengthen Opcon and raise new capital. One subscription option gives the right to subscribe for one new share in the company at a subscription price of SEK 24 per share. The decision of the meeting was unanimous.
The Board was authorised to make a decision on one or more occasions up until the next Annual General Meeting concerning the issue of new shares and/or issue of convertibles and/or subscription options. Through such decisions supported by authorisation, the share capital could increase by at most SEK 40,000,000 and at most 8,000,000 shares. The purpose of the authorisation is to give the Board freedom of action in connection with company acquisitions and raising of capital. The decision of the meeting was unanimous.
For further information, please contact
Niklas Johansson, vice president, Investor Relations, Opcon AB, tel. +46 8 466 45 00, +46 70 592 54 53
Opcon AB, Box 15085, 104 65 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel. +46 8 466 45 00, fax +46 8 716 76 61
e-mail: info@opcon.se
www.opcon.se
The Opcon Group
Opcon is an energy and environmental technology Group that develops, produces and markets systems and products for eco-friendly, efficient and resource-effective use of energy.
Opcon has activities in Sweden, China, Germany and the UK. There are around 400 employees. The company’s shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. The Group comprises two business areas:
Renewable Energy focuses on the following areas: electricity generation based on waste heat, bioenergy-powered heating and CHP plants, pellets plants, drying of biomass, handling systems for biomass, sludge and natural gas, industrial cooling, flue gas condensation, treatment of flue gases, air systems for fuel cells and measurement and monitoring of processes.
Engine Efficiency focuses on energy-efficient solenoid technology and ignition systems for combustion engines including ethanol, natural gas and biogas engines.
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