Tue April 10 06:20 pm 2018 in category Stock exchange releases

Decisions by the Annual General Meeting of Nokian Tyres plc

Nokian Tyres plc Stock Exchange Release April 10, 2018, 6.20 p.m.

Nokian Tyres’ Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held today, April 10, 2018 in Tampere, Finland. The AGM approved the Financial Statements for 2017 and discharged the members of the Board of Directors and the President and CEO from liability for the 2017 financial year.

The AGM decided on the payment of dividends, the composition of the Board of Directors and their remuneration, the election of the auditor and its remuneration, authorized the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of the company’s own shares as well as authorized the Board of Directors to decide on a share issue.

Dividend

The meeting decided that a dividend of EUR 1.56 per share shall be paid for the period ending on December 31, 2017.

The dividend payment date is April 25, 2018 and the dividend shall be paid to shareholders included in the shareholder list maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the record date of April 12, 2018.

Remuneration for the members of the Board of Directors

The meeting decided that the monthly fee paid to the Chairman of the Board shall be EUR 7,500 (or EUR 90,000 per year), the monthly fee paid to the Deputy Chairman of the Board and to the Chairman of the Audit Committee shall be EUR 5,625 (or EUR 67,500 per year), and the monthly fee paid to Members of the Board shall be EUR 3,750 (or EUR 45,000 per year).

50% of the annual fee is to be paid in cash and 50% in Company shares, to the effect that in the period from April 11 to April 30, 2018, EUR 45,000 worth of shares in Nokian Tyres plc will be purchased at the stock exchange on behalf of the Chairman of the Board, EUR 33,750 worth of shares in Nokian Tyres plc will be purchased at the stock exchange on behalf of the Deputy Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Audit committee, and EUR 22,500 worth of shares will be purchased on behalf of each Board Member.

The company is liable to pay any asset transfer tax which may arise from the acquisition of shares.

Furthermore, each member of the Board will receive EUR 600 for meetings held in their home country and EUR 1,200 for meetings held outside their home country. If a member participates in a meeting via telephone or video connection, the remuneration will be EUR 600. Travel expenses will be compensated in accordance with the company’s travel policy.

Members of the Board of Directors

The meeting decided that the Board of Directors has eight (8) members. Current members Heikki Allonen, Raimo Lind, Veronica Lindholm, Inka Mero, George Rietbergen and Petteri Walldén will continue in the Board of Directors. Two new members were chosen to the Board: Mr. Kari Jordan and Mr. Pekka Vauramo.

All members are non-executive members independent of the Company and its major shareholders.

The term of office of the members of the Board of Directors expires at the end of the next Annual General Meeting.

Election of the auditor and their remuneration

Authorised public accountants KPMG Oy Ab continue as company’s auditor for a term expiring at the end of the next Annual General Meeting. The responsible auditor will be Lasse Holopainen, APA.

Auditors' fees shall be paid according to the current practice, i.e. auditor invoices approved by the Company.

Authorizing the Board to decide on the repurchase of the Company’s own shares

The AGM of Shareholders authorized the Board of Directors to resolve to repurchase a maximum of 5,000,000 shares in the Company by using funds in the unrestricted shareholders’ equity. The proposed number of shares corresponds to 3.6% of all shares in the Company.

The shares may be repurchased in order to improve the capital structure of the Company, to carry out acquisitions or other arrangements related to the Company’s business, to be transferred for other purposes, or to be cancelled, to be used in the Company’s incentive plans or, if according to the Board of Directors’ comprehension, it is in the interest of shareholders.

The price paid for the shares repurchased under the authorization shall be based on the market price of the Company’s share in public trading. The minimum price to be paid would be the lowest market price of the share quoted in public trading during the authorization period and the maximum price the highest market price quoted during the authorization period.

Company’s own shares can be repurchased otherwise than in proportion to the shareholdings of the shareholders (directed repurchase).

The authorization will be effective until the next Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, however at most until June 30, 2019.

Authorizing the Board to decide on a share issue

The AGM of Shareholders authorized the Board of Directors to make a decision to offer no more than 25,000,000 shares through a share issue, or by granting special rights under chapter 10, section 1 of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act that entitle to shares (including convertible bonds), on one or more occasions.

The Board may decide to issue new shares or shares held by the company. The maximum number of shares included in the proposed authorization accounts for approximately 18.2% of all shares in the Company. The authorization includes the right to issue shares or special rights through private offering, in other words to deviate from the shareholders’ pre-emptive right subject to provisions of the law.

Under the authorization, the Board of Directors will be entitled to decide on the terms and conditions of a share issue, or the granting of special rights under chapter 10, section 1 of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act, including the recipients of shares or special rights entitling to shares, and the compensation to be paid. It is proposed that this authorization be exercised for purposes determined by the Board of Directors.

The subscription price of new shares shall be recognized under the unrestricted equity reserve.

The consideration payable for the Company’s own shares shall be recognised under unrestricted equity reserve.

The authorization will be effective until the next Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, however at most until June 30, 2019. This authorization will invalidate all other Board authorizations regarding share issues and special rights.

The minutes of the Annual General Meeting

The minutes of the AGM will be available at the latest on April 24, 2018 on the company's website at www.nokiantyres.com/company/investors/ir-services/ir-calendar/annual-general-meetings/

Nokian Tyres plc

Antti-Jussi Tähtinen
Vice President, Marketing and Communications

Further information: Anne Leskelä, Vice President, CFO, tel. +358 10 401 7481

Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki, media and www.nokiantyres.com