Höganäs General Annual Meeting
5/11/2000 12:07 PM EST
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting of Höganäs AB (publ) was held on Thursday 11
May 2000 in the HB Hall in Höganäs.
Pursuant to the Board's proposal the Meeting approved a dividend of SEK
4.00 per share with 16 May 2000 as the date of record.
Ulf G Lindén, Claes Lindqvist, Bernt Magnusson, Hans Mivér and Per Molin
(all re-elected) and Magnus Lindstam and Jacob Palmstierna (both newly
elected) were appointed full members of the Board of Directors.
Pursuant to the Board's proposal the Meeting resolved to authorize the
Board to acquire and divest shares in the Company on one or more occasions
during the period until the next Annual General Meeting.
Acquisitions are to be made on the OM Stockholm Exchange at the price
quoted on the date of acquisition. Acquisition of the Company's own shares
is subject to the restriction that the Company's total holdings of its own
shares must not at any time exceed ten percent of all the shares in the
Company.
Divestments of the Company's own shares may be made with or without right
of first refusal for shareholders, but not via the OM Stockholm Exchange.
Divestments may be made to finance corporate acquisitions or operations.
The Meeting further resolved firstly that not more than 600 000 options to
buy bought-back shares in the Company be issued, and secondly that not
more than 600 000 shares in the Company be transferred in connection with
requests, if any, to take up such options. Shares may be transferred to
holders of options who apply to take up their options during the period
from 1 June 2001 to 31 May 2005 inclusive. The price per share (redemption
price) will be SEK 185.
In his address to the Annual General Meeting the Company's President Claes
Lindqvist stated that demand had been strong during the first quarter and
was expected to remain at a high level during 2000. The previously issued
forecast still stood, viz. that operating income was predicted to be on
the same level as in the preceding year, but that pre-tax income would be
substantially higher as a result of the sale of the Company's holdings of
stock in the Hoeganaes Corporation.
The President also informed the Meeting that the Board of Höganäs AB had
resolved earlier the same day to proceed with investments amounting to
about MSEK 700. The largest single investment is in the construction of a
new powder manufacturing facility in the United States of America.
Annealing capacity in Brazil is to be substantially enlarged. An
additional modern annealing line is to be installed in Höganäs, and the
additives plant there is to be expanded. A fully automated high-stacking
warehouse is to be built in Japan.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Höganäs AB resolved today, by virtue of the authorization
granted to the Board by the Annual General Meeting, to acquire shares in
the Company. Acquisitions will be made on the OM Stockholm Exchange at the
price quoted on the date of acquisition. The purpose of the buyback is to
adjust the Company's capital structure and to make it possible to
distribute shares under to the option scheme for senior executives adopted
today by the Annual General Meeting. The buyback will also enable bought-
back shares to be used to finance future acquisitions.
According to the resolution adopted by the Board, not more than 3 825 000
shares are to be acquired during the period until the next Annual General
Meeting.
Höganäs, 11 May 2000
Claes Lindqvist
President and Chief Executive Officer