Vieremä, Finland, 2014-03-25 08:44 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Ponsse Plc’s shareholders are hereby invited to attend the Annual General Meeting to be held on Tuesday, 15 April 2014 at 11:00 a.m. in the auditorium of the Company’s customer service centre at Ponssentie 22, FI-74200 Vieremä, Finland. Reception of those registered for the meeting and the distribution of ballots will begin at 10:00 a.m.
MATTERS DISCUSSED AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
1. Opening the meeting
2. Electing the Chairman
3. Summoning the secretary
4. Selecting examiners of the minutes and scrutineers
5. Recording the legality and competence of the meeting
6. Recording the participants and confirming the list of votes
7. Approving the agenda
8. Presenting the 2013 financial statements, including the consolidated financial statements and the annual report
THE PRESIDENT’S REVIEW
9. Presenting the auditor’s report
10. Confirming the financial statements and the consolidated financial statements
11. Payment of dividend
Ponsse Plc’s Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 0.30 per share be paid for 2013. The dividend shall be paid to all shareholders who are listed in the shareholder register kept by Euroclear Finland Ltd as a company shareholder on the record date, 22 April 2014. The dividend shall be paid on 29 April 2014.
12. Deciding on the discharge from liability for the members of the Board of Directors and the President
13. Deciding on fees for Board members and the auditor
Shareholders who in total represent more than 50% of the votes of the company have notified that they will propose the following on the fees: chairman of the Board of Directors EUR 43,000, vice chairman EUR 38,000 and each member EUR 32,000 per year.
Shareholders who in total represent more than 50% of the votes of the company have notified that they will propose that the auditors be paid a fee in accordance with a reasonable invoice presented to the company.
14. Deciding on the number of Board members
Shareholders who in total represent more than 50% of the votes of the company have notified that they will propose that seven (7) persons be confirmed as the number of members of the Board of Directors.
15. Electing the members of the Board of Directors
Shareholders who in total represent more than 50% of the votes of the company have notified that they will propose that Heikki Hortling, Mammu Kaario, Ilkka Kylävainio, Ossi Saksman, Janne Vidgrén, Juha Vidgrén and Jukka Vidgrén be re-elected as members of the Board of Directors.
16. Selecting the auditor for 2014
Shareholders who in total represent more than 50% of the votes of the company have notified that they will propose that auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy be elected as the auditor and that Sami Posti, Authorised Public Accountant, be appointed as the principal auditor.
17. Proposal for authorising the Board of Directors to decide on share issues by assigning the treasury shares
Shareholders who in total represent more than 50% of the votes of the company have notified that they will propose that the Annual General Meeting authorise the Board of Directors to decide on the assignment of treasury shares held by the company for payment or without payment so that a maximum of 212,900 shares will be issued on the basis of the authorisation. The maximum amount corresponds to approximately 0.76% of the company’s total shares and votes.
The authorisation includes the right of the Board to decide upon all other terms and conditions of the share issue. Thus, the authorisation includes the right to organise a special issue in deviation of the shareholders' subscription rights under the conditions prescribed by law.
The authorisation is proposed for use in supporting the Company’s growth strategy in the Company's potential corporate acquisitions or other arrangements. In addition, the shares can be issued to the Company’s current shareholders, sold through public trading or used in personnel incentive systems.
The authorisation is proposed to be valid until the next Annual General Meeting; however, no later than 30 June 2015. The previous authorisations are cancelled.
18. Payment of profit bonuses to personnel
The company’s Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that personnel employed by the Group be paid a profit bonus maximum of EUR 60 per person per month at work for 2013.
19. Other issues
20. Closing the meeting
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING DOCUMENTS ON DISPLAY FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION AND THE ANNUAL REPORT
The aforementioned Board of Directors’ decision proposals on the Annual General Meeting’s agenda, this notice of the meeting and the documents concerning the financial statements, including their attachments, are on display for the shareholders three weeks before the Annual General Meeting at the company’s head office at Ponssentie 22, Vieremä, and on the company’s website at www.ponsse.com/agm . Ponsse Plc’s annual report, which includes the company’s financial statements, Board of Director’s report and auditor’s report, is available on the company’s website www.ponsse.com/investors/financial-information/annual-reports . The Board of Directors’ proposals and financial statement documents will also be available at the Annual General Meeting, and copies of them and this notice of meeting will be sent to shareholders upon request.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MEETING PARTICIPANTS
a) Right of participation and registration
To be eligible to attend the Annual General Meeting, shareholders must be registered as shareholders in Ponsse Plc’s shareholder register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd by 3 April 2014. Shareholders whose shares are registered in their personal book-entry account are registered in the company’s shareholder register.
Shareholders wishing to attend the Annual General Meeting should notify the Company of their intention to do so by 4:00 pm EET on Thursday, 10 April 2014, either in writing to Ponsse Plc, Share Register, Ponssentie 22, FI-74200 Vieremä, Finland, by telephone on +358 20 768 800, by fax on +358 20 768 8690, or online at www.ponsse.com/agm . Written notifications must arrive before the aforementioned deadline.
Shareholders who are present at the Annual General Meeting will, according to Chapter 5, Section 25, of the Limited Liability Companies Act, have the right to present questions related to the matters discussed at the meeting.
b) The use of a representative and a power of attorney
Shareholders may take part in the Annual General Meeting and exercise their rights through representatives. Shareholders’ representatives must present a dated power of attorney or they must, in another reliable manner, prove their entitlement to represent the shareholder. If a shareholder participates in the Annual General Meeting by a number of representatives who represent the shareholder through shares in different book-entry accounts, the shares on the basis of which each representative represents the shareholder must be indicated.
Any powers of attorney are requested to be submitted as original copies to the aforementioned address before the registration deadline.
c) Holders of administrative-registered shares
Holders of administrative-registered shares are advised to acquire instructions well in advance from their administrator regarding registration in the shareholder register, the issuance of powers of attorney and registration in the Annual General Meeting. The administrator’s account management organisation shall notify owners of administrative-registered shares who wish to participate in the Annual General Meeting that they must register in the company’s temporary shareholder register no later than Thursday, 10 April 2014 at 10:00 a.m. EET.
d) Other information
On the day of the notice of the meeting, the company has a total of 28,000,000 shares that confer 28,0000,000 votes.
Vieremä, 25 March 2014
PONSSE PLC Board of Directors
FURTHER INFORMATION Petri Härkönen, CFO, tel. +358 20 768 8608 or +350 50 409 8362
DISTRIBUTION NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd Principal media www.ponsse.com
Ponsse Plc specialises in the sales, production, maintenance and technology of cut-to-length method forest machines and is driven by genuine interest in its customers and their business operations. Ponsse develops and manufactures sustainable and innovative harvesting solutions based on customers’ needs.
The com pany was established by forest machine entrepreneur Einari Vidgrén in 1970, and it has been a leader in timber harvesting solutions based on the cut-to-length method ever since. Ponsse is headquartered in Vieremä, Finland. The company’s shares are quoted on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic List.
