Nobia's 2010 Annual General Meeting
Dividend
The Annual General Meeting voted in accordance with the Board of Directors' motion that no dividends be paid to shareholders for the 2009 fiscal year. Accordingly, all profit available to the Meeting, a total of SEK 1,744,788,257, was carried forward. The resolution was motivated by the loss after tax for the fiscal year and the aim of strengthening the company's and the Group's financial position and scope for action in light of recent market trends, financial commitments and future structural measures.
Election of Board members
Board members Stefan Dahlbo, Bodil Eriksson, Hans Larsson, Thore Ohlsson, Lotta Stalin and Fredrik Palmstierna were re-elected. Rolf Eriksen and Johan Molin were elected new members of the Board. Wilhelm Laurén, Joakim Rubin and Preben Bager declined re-election.
Election of Chairman
The Meeting elected Hans Larsson as the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Performance-related share option scheme
The Annual General Meeting resolved upon a performance-based share option scheme for 2010. This means that for 2010, approximately 150 senior executives in the Nobia Group will be allotted a total of 2,300,000 employee share options free of charge. The number of options that may be exercised is determined by the average increase in earnings per share over the three-year period 2010-2012. Each employee share option carries entitlement to subscription of one share in Nobia.
Authorisation regarding buy-back of treasury shares
The Annual General Meeting decided to authorise the Board of Directors to acquire and sell treasury shares during the period until the next Annual General Meeting on the basis of the conditions presented in more detail in the complete decision.
A detailed description of the employee share option scheme and the authorisation regarding the buy-back of treasury shares and other resolutions made at the Annual General Meeting are available on the company's website.
Speech by the President
In his speech to the Annual General Meeting, President and CEO Preben Bager said the following:
"To date this year, the trend in the kitchen market, with few exceptions, has been weaker than we anticipated, meaning that production and deliveries remain at a low level, with low capacity utilisation. However, the structural measures implemented in 2009 mostly progressed according to plan. Nevertheless, we experienced delays in the extensive logistical changes in Hygena, which led to lost sales and higher costs than planned."
Nobia AB (publ)
30 March 2010
For further information, contact:
Hans Larsson, Board Chairman
Ingrid Yllmark, IRO, telephone +46 8 440 16 00 or + 46 708 65 59 00
Nobia develops and sells kitchens through some 20 strong brands in Europe, including Hygena in France, HTH in the Nordic countries, Magnet in the UK and Poggenpohl globally. Nobia generates profitability by combining economies of scale with attractive kitchen offerings. The Group has approximately 8,000 employees and net sales of about SEK 15 billion. The Nobia share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm under the short name NOBI. Website: www.nobia.com. Read more about the company under "About Nobia." Financial information can be found under "Investor."