STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Skandia:
Election of directors
At Skandia's Annual General Meeting on 14 April 2005, Christer Gardell was elected as a new director on Skandia's board, in accordance with the Nominating Committee's recommendation, for a term through the 2006 Annual General Meeting.
Christer Gardell (born 1960, B.Sc. Econ.) is founder and Managing Partner of Cevian Capital and Chairman of AB Lindex. Shares in Skandia: 0. In addition, Lennart Jeansson, Birgitta Johansson-Hedberg, Kajsa Lindstahl, and Anders Ullberg were re-elected as directors on Skandia's board, in accordance with the Nominating Committee's recommendation, all for terms through the 2006 Annual General Meeting.
As a result of the elections, the number of AGM-elected directors increased from seven to eight. Skandia's board thus has the following composition: Bjorn Bjornsson, Christer Gardell, Karl-Olof Hammarkvist, Lennart Jeansson, Birgitta Johansson-Hedberg, Kajsa Lindstahl, Bernt Magnusson and Anders Ullberg, plus three employee representatives. Bernt Magnusson is Chairman and the Board, and Bjorn Bjornsson is Vice Chairman.
Directors' fees
The Annual General Meeting resolved, in accordance with the Nominating Committee's recommendation, that the directors' fees shall amount to a total of SEK 4,600,000.
A base fee of SEK 1,000,000 is payable to the Chairman, SEK 600,000 to the Vice Chairman, and SEK 300,000 to each of the other directors. In addition, a combined extra fee totalling SEK 500,000 is payable to the Chairman and Vice Chairman as compensation for extensive work that these persons are expected to perform for Skandia in the coming year, which is above and beyond their ordinary board duties.
In addition, a fee of SEK 700,000 is payable to directors for committee work, including SEK 250,000 to each of the committee chairs and SEK 50,000 to each the other members of the Board's committees.
In addition to the aforementioned compensation, fees are payable for work on subsidiary boards. Such are payable, where applicable, in accordance with the same principles that apply for outside directors.
No fees are payable to directors who are employees of the Skandia group.
Auditors
Authorised Public Accountants Goran Engquist and Svante Forsberg, both from Deloitte, were elected as auditors of Skandia, in accordance with the Nominating Committee's recommendation, for terms extending until the next Annual General Meeting.
Damages from former company directors
The Annual General Meeting resolved, in accordance with the Board's recommendation, to approve the settlement agreement reached on 31 January 2005 between the company and Lars Ramqvist, with the main purport being that Lars Ramqvist will repay the directors' fees he received in 2000 and 2001, together totalling SEK 2,216,667.
Dividend
Finally, the Annual General Meeting resolved, in accordance with the Board's recommendation, to pay a dividend of SEK 0.35 per share, and that 19 April 2005 shall be the record date. As a result, dividends are expected to be paid out by VPC on 22 April 2005.
For further information, please contact: Gunilla Svensson, Press Manager, tel. +46-8-788 42 97
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