Volati provides clarification on future dividends
Volati has not paid any preference share dividends since the AGM on 25 June 2020. The Company has recently received an increasing number of questions from shareholders about its position on future dividends on ordinary and preference shares. Volati is therefore providing this clarification.
The Volati Board has not made any dividend decisions for 2021, but the Company notes that the Board is free to propose an Extraordinary or General Meeting of shareholders to decide on dividends.
One factor that is relevant to dividend decisions is the short-time work allowance that has been received. This type of support was for the most part used in the period up to 30 June 2020 and mainly went to the Akademibokhandeln business area, whose store operations have been adversely affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Group as a whole have used a total allowance of approximately SEK 11 million up to 30 June 2020 and approximately SEK 2 million after 30 June 2020. No Volati Group company has used any allowance for the period after 1 December 2020. This support meant that extensive layoffs could be avoided.
Volati AB (publ) has not used any short-time work allowance and has not received any dividends or Group contributions in 2020 from Volati Group companies that have received an allowance.
It is therefore Volati’s assessment that Volati AB (publ) can make dividend payments during 2021 without any impact on the short-time work allowance that individual companies in the Volati Group have received from Tillväxtverket during 2020.
As no preference share dividends have been paid since the 2020 AGM, Volati also wishes to clarify that if the preference share dividend is not paid quarterly, as laid down in the Articles of Association, an interest rate of 10.5 percent is applied to this undistributed amount. This is also payable to preference shareholders before dividends on ordinary shares can be paid.
For further information, please contact:
Mårten Andersson, CEO Volati AB, +46 72 735 42 84, marten.andersson@volati.se
Andreas Stenbäck, CFO Volati AB, +46 70 889 09 60, andreas.stenback@volati.se
Volati AB (publ)
Engelbrektsplan 1, SE-114 34 Stockholm
Tel: +46 8 21 68 40
Email: info@volati.se
Corporate reg. no. 556555-4317
About Volati
Volati is a Swedish industrial group, formed in 2003, organised in four business areas: Trading, Consumer, Akademibokhandeln and Industry. Volati mainly acquires reasonably valued companies with proven business models, leading market positions and strong cash flows and develops them with a focus on long-term value creation. The strategy is to build on the companies’ identity and entrepreneurial spirit, adding leadership, expertise, processes and financial resources. Volati has operations in 16 countries, over 2,000 employees and annual sales of approximately SEK 7 billion. Volati’s ordinary shares and preference shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. Further information is available at www.volati.se.