Shareholders
On 31 December 2007 Cloetta Fazer had 3,679 share holders, of whom 238 were institutional and 3,441 were private investors. Institutional investors held 95.8 per cent of the votes and 88.6 per cent of the share capital. There were 147 foreign shareholders, who accounted for 54.3 per cent of the votes and 62.9 per cent of the capital. The ten largest shareholders held 94.4 per cent of the votes and 84.0 per cent of the capital.
Share price and trading
In 2007 Cloetta Fazer’s share price fell by 16.5 per cent from SEK 273 to SEK 228. During the same period, the SIX General Index declined by 6.0 per cent. The highest quoted bid price for the Cloetta Fazer share in 2007 was SEK 315 (18 January) and the lowest was SEK 192 (24 October). Price growth for the Cloetta Fazer share in 2007 fell below the Affärsvärlden General Index for the first time over the past five-year period. At 31 December 2007, Cloetta Fazer had a market capitalisation of SEK 5,499 million. In 2007 a total of 6,416,739 class B shares were traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange for a combined value of SEK 1,463 million, equal to a turnover rate of 33.0 per cent.
Share capital
Cloetta Fazer’s share capital at year-end 2007 amounted to SEK 1.206 million. The quota value of the share was SEK 50.00. The total number of shares was 24,119,196, consisting of 4,660,000 class A shares and 19,459,196 class B shares. An A share carries ten votes and a B share carries one vote in the Annual General Meeting. All shares grant equal entitlement to participate in the company’s assets and profits.
Options and warrants
There were no outstanding option or warrant programmes in 2007.
Ownership structure
The principal owners of Cloetta Fazer AB at the present time are AB Malfors Promotor and Oy Karl Fazer Ab, both of which were longstanding shareholders in Cloetta AB and Business Area Fazer Konfektyr prior to the merger. In order to create a balance of ownership between the majority owners, the two agreed, at the time of the merger, on a limit whereby no single shareholder/group would be permitted to exercise 40 per cent or more of the total number of votes.
Dividend
The Board of Directors’ long-term goal is to distribute at least 40 per cent of the Group’s profit. For 2007 the Board proposes an increase in the regular dividend to SEK 7.00 per share (6.50) and an extra dividend of SEK 3.00 per share, together amounting to SEK 10.00 per share. The proposed regular dividend is equal to 68 per cent of net profit. The dividend yield for 2007 is 3.07 per cent (2.38). Togehter with the extra dividend, the dividend yield in 2007 amounts to 4.39 per cent. The proposed record date for dividend payment is 19 June 2008. Provided that the AGM approves the proposal, dividends are expected to be distributed by VPC on 25 June 2008.