STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan. 23, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Carnegie:
- The net profit for the full year 2002 was SEK 250 million (SEK 572 million), down 56 per cent from last year. The result includes total redundancy costs of SEK 92 million, of which SEK 36 million in the last quarter.
- The net profit for the last quarter was SEK 71 million, including a tax refund of SEK 15 million.
- Income for 2002 was SEK 2,392 million -- down 30 per cent from last year -- including Securities income of SEK 1,106 million (-32%), Investment Banking income of SEK 467 million (-48%) and Asset Management & Private Banking income of SEK 819 million (-11%).
- Total expenses were down 18 per cent, due to bonus expenses declining by 68 per cent and operating expenses before bonus increasing by 3 per cent (down 3 per cent when excluding redundancy expenses). The personnel reduction in 2002 included 129 employees, leading to a net personnel reduction of 11 per cent to 835 employees at year-end.
- Earnings per share for the full year were SEK 3.75 (SEK 8.76).
- In view of the Tier 1 ratio target of 15 per cent stated in Carnegie's dividend policy, and the current Tier 1 ratio, the Board of Directors will propose a dividend of SEK SEK 8.93 (SEK 8.57) per share, corresponding to SEK 596 million, based on the total amount available for distribution. The Tier 1 ratio after deduction of the proposed dividend will be 20.4 per cent, which well exceeds the target, leaving room for expansion of the business.
- In 2002, Carnegie has confirmed its position as the leading Nordic investment bank. Carnegie is number one in terms of trading volume on the Nordic stock exchanges and has received top rankings for equity research. Carnegie is also among the top three in the Nordic M&A advisory league table in terms of completed and announced assignments. Carnegie now holds 4- or 5-star rankings for funds representing 75 per cent of the assets under management in equity mutual funds.
Lars Bertmar, CEO: "In the last three years we have seen the worst period in the equity markets since the great depression 70 years ago. Stock markets have declined for three consecutive years and the Nordic index is down a total of 68 per cent since the peak in 2000. Only in 2002, the index was down 32 per cent. In these markets, We have through focusing on offering a competitive service to our clients continued to improve our market position."
"Our dividend policy clearly states that it is not our intention to hoard unnecessary capital. The board's decision to distribute the full amount eligible for dividend takes us to a level of the Tier 1 ratio of 20 per cent, which is above the long-term target of 15 per cent, and still leaves room for expansion."
Auditor's examination
This year-end and fourth-quarter report has been reviewed by the company's auditors.
Teleconference
A teleconference to discuss Carnegie's year-end results will be held on 23 January at 4.00 PM (CET). It will be open to the public. In order to participate, please call +44 (0)20 7162 0125. The conference call will also be accessible as an audio live web cast (including slide presentation) at www.carnegie.se/ir. For those unable to listen to the live web cast, a replay will be available at www.carnegie.se/ir approximately one hour after the event.
Financial calendar
The Annual General Meeting will be held 13 March, 15.00 p.m., at Berns, Wallenbergssalen, Berzelii Park, Stockholm. Invitations and notices of attendance will be distributed to shareholders February 13, 2003. The annual report will be available on Carnegie's website at www.carnegie.se/ir on February 19 and will be distributed to shareholders during the last week of February.
Interim report January-March 2003 -- April 16, 2003
Interim report January-June 2003 -- July 16, 2003
Interim report January-September 2003 -- October 15, 2003
Additional information is available at www.carnegie.se/ir.
Carnegie is the leading Nordic investment bank operating in three principal business areas: Securities, Investment Banking and Asset Management & Private Banking. Carnegie provides a wide array of products and services to Nordic and international clients from offices in seven countries: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Luxembourg, U.K. and the U.S.