2002 financial review
Mr Roger Talermo, President & CEO, addressed the AGM, summarising 2002's financial statements. In his review Mr Talermo said that Amer Group's operating profit continued to grow in 2002. Net sales were similar to the previous year's level. Cash flow from operating activities was strong. The Golf Division returned to profitability. In the fourth quarter Amer Group expanded its operations into the fitness equipment market with the acquisition of Precor in the United States. Amer Group's net sales and operating profit are expected to grow in 2003.
Dividend
The AGM adopted the Board's proposal to distribute a dividend of EUR 1.40 a share in respect of the 2002 financial year. The record date is 25 March 2003, and the dividend will be paid on 1 April 2003.
Board of Directors
The number of members of the Board of Directors was resolved to be six.
Of those Board members whose term was scheduled to expire, Mr Ilkka Brotherus and Mr Timo Maasilta were re-elected for three years for the term 2003-2005 and Mr Tuomo Lähdesmäki was re-elected for two years for the term 2003-2004. The other Board members, Mr Felix Björklund (term 2002-2004), Mr Pekka Kainulainen (term 2001-2003) and Mr Roger Talermo (term 2001-2003) will continue as Board Members.
At its first meeting the new Board of Directors elected Mr Pekka Kainulainen as Chairman and Mr Ilkka Brotherus as Vice Chairman, respectively.
Auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy, Authorised Public Accountants, were elected Auditors of the Company. The auditor in charge of the audit is Mr Göran Lindell, Authorised Public Accountant.
Cancellation of own shares
The AGM adopted the Board's proposal that the registered share capital of Amer Group be decreased by EUR 3,873,200 by cancelling without payment those 968,300 of its own shares the Company currently holds. The accounted counter-value of one share is four euros. After the cancellation, the Company's paid up and registered share capital will amount to EUR 93,032,880 and the number of shares in issue is 23,258,220.
The restricted shareholders' equity will not decrease due to the cancellation because the accounted counter-value of the shares will be transferred from the share capital to the share premium fund.
The cancellation will not have any impact on the breakdown of shareholdings and votes in the Company because the shares to be cancelled are owned by the Company.
Changes to the 2002 warrant scheme
The AGM also resolved that the terms of the 2002 warrant scheme be changed and the maximum amount of warrants be limited to 572,500 and the undistributed 327,500 warrants be cancelled. Due to this change the Company's share capital may increase by up to 572,500 new shares instead of 900,000 new shares, i.e. by a maximum of EUR 2,290,000 instead of 3,600,000. Other terms and conditions of the 2002 warrant scheme remain in force.
A new warrant scheme
The AGM adopted the Board's proposal that a new warrant scheme be issued to Amer Group Plc's key personnel.
The proposed number of warrants to be issued will be 550,000 with entitlement to subscribe for a maximum of 550,000 Amer Group shares. Of these warrants, 185,000 will be offered for subscription to the Group's key personnel and 365,000 will be offered for subscription to Amera Oy, a company belonging to the same group of Amer companies, in order that the warrants may, at a later date, be offered to the key persons determined by Amer Group's Board of Directors. The warrants shall be subscribed for from 10 April to 30 June 2003.
The share subscription price will be EUR 37.90 which is the trade volume weighted average quotation of Amer Group Plc shares on the Helsinki Exchanges during the period 2 January - 14 February 2003 with an addition of ten per cent. The share subscription period commences on 1 January 2006 and ends on 31 December 2008.
AMER GROUP PLC
Communications
Päivi Antola
Communications Manager
Tel. +358 9 725 78 306, e-mail: paivi.antola@amersports.com
For further information, please contact:
Mr Roger Talermo, President & CEO, tel. +358 9 7257 8210
Mr Pekka Paalanne, Senior Vice President & CFO, tel. +358 9 7257 8212
DISTRIBUTION:
Hex Helsinki Exchanges
Major media
ENCLOSURE
Terms and conditions of Amer Group Plc's warrant scheme 2003
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AMER GROUP PLC'S WARRANT SCHEME 2003
I TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ISSUE OF WARRANTS
1. Number of warrants
Amer Group Plc (the "Company") will issue not more than a total of 550,000 warrants entitling their holders to subscribe for a maximum of 550,000 shares in the Company.
2. Allocation of warrants
Deviating from the shareholders' pre-emptive rights to subscription, 185,000 warrants are offered for subscription to the Amer Group's key personnel. The Company's Board of Directors will decide on the allocation of warrants to the Group's key personnel.
The remaining 365,000 warrants are offered for subscription to Amera Oy, a company belonging to the same group of companies as the Company, in order that the warrants may, at a later date, be offered to those key persons determined by the Amer Group Plc's Board of Directors. Amera Oy has no right to transfer the warrants other than to those persons determined by the Company's Board of Directors.
This deviation from the shareholders' pre-emptive right to subscription is due to the fact that the warrant scheme is a part of Amer Group's incentive scheme, and thus, from the Company's point of view, there is a weighty financial reason for the deviation.
3. Subscription period
The warrants shall be subscribed for from 10 April 2003 to 30 June 2003. Persons with the right to subscription will be notified of their right in writing.
4. Subscription price
Warrants will be issued without consideration.
5. Secondary subscription period
Deviating from the shareholders' pre-emptive rights, the Board of Directors will determine the basis on which those warrants that have not been subscribed for during the subscription period will be subscribed for.
6. Prohibition of transfer of warrants, warrant certificate and incorporation into book-entry system
Prior to the commencement of the subscription period, warrants may not be transferred to any third party or pledged without the prior written consent of the Company's Board of Directors. Warrants may be transferred to a third party after the share subscription period has commenced. No warrant certificates shall be given for the warrants.
The warrants will be transferred into the book-entry system prior to the commencement of the share subscription period. The restrictions set out in Sections 6 and 7 of these terms and conditions will be registered so that they are applicable to all warrants in the book-entry system. The Company shall have the right to execute the registrations pursuant to these terms and conditions without the consent of the warrant rights holders.
7. Ceasing of employment or service relationship
Should the employment or service relationship in Amer Group of the respective warrant holder cease subsequent to the subscription for warrants but prior to the share subscription period for reasons other than retirement for pension, permanent disability to work or death, the option rights of such warrant holder shall, without consideration and any further measures, transfer to Amera Oy at the time of cessation of the respective employment or service relationship. Amera Oy shall have the right to transfer such option rights pursuant to these terms and conditions. The Company shall have the right to get the transfer to Amera Oy registered in the book-entry system without the consent of the warrant holders in order to ensure the execution of this Section 7.
II TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SHARE SUBSCRIPTION
8. Maximum increase of the share capital
Each warrant shall entitle its holder to subscribe for one (1) share in the Company, each with an accounted counter value of four (4) Euros. As a result of the share subscriptions, the share capital of the Company may be increased by a maximum of 550,000 shares corresponding to 2,200,000 Euros.
Amera Oy shall have no right to subscribe for shares.
9. Share subscription price
The subscription price shall be the trade volume weighted average quotation of the share of Amer Group Plc on the Helsinki Exchanges between January 2 and February 14, 2003 with an addition of ten (10) per cent, however, not less than the accounted counter value of the share.
10. Subscription and payment of shares
The share subscription period commences on 1 January 2006 and ends on 31 December 2008.
Warrants that are held by Amera Oy on 31 December 2004 and that have not, prior to the said date, been transferred to key persons in accordance with Section 2 of these terms and conditions, do not entitle to subscription for shares and become automatically null and void. The Board of Directors of the Company shall enter the annulment of the warrants for registration in the Trade Register.
The place of the share subscription shall be the Head Office of the Company, or another location to be announced at a later date. The shares shall be paid for at the time of subscription.
11. Registration of shares
Subscribed and wholly paid shares will be registered in the subscriber's book-entry account.
The Company will approve the subscriptions in its Board meetings that convene regularly. The Company will enter any increase of the share capital, based on the approved subscriptions, for registration in the Trade Register and arrange for the new shares to be traded on Helsinki Exchanges.
The Company's Board of Directors shall not, however, have the obligation to approve any subscription that is made subsequent to the end of an accounting period but prior to the annual general shareholders' meeting.
12. Shareholders' rights
New shares will qualify first for a dividend payment for the financial year during which the subscription takes place. Other rights will commence on the date when the increase in the share capital is entered into the Trade Register.
13. Share issues, convertible bonds, bonds with warrants and warrants prior to the subscription
13.1 Bonus issue
Should the Company increase its share capital through a bonus issue by issuing new shares, the subscription price and the number of shares to be subscribed for based on a warrant shall be amended using the following formulas:
New subscription price = subscription price prior to bonus issue multiplied by the number of shares prior to bonus issue, then divided by number of shares subsequent to bonus issue.
Number of shares to be subscribed for based on all option rights = number of shares prior to bonus issue multiplied by the number of shares subsequent to bonus issue, then divided by the number of shares prior to bonus issue.
Should the new number of shares to be subscribed for based on subscriber's all warrants not be a round figure, the fraction will be taken into consideration by lowering the subscription price.
13.2 New issue, issuing of convertible bonds and warrants
Should the Company, prior to the subscription for shares, increase its share capital through a new issue or an issue of convertible bonds or bonds with warrants or warrants by granting to its shareholders the first right to subscribe, the holders of warrants will have the same or equal rights as shareholders. Equality between shareholders will be addressed by the Company's Board of Directors through an amendment of the number of shares to be subscribed for, the subscription price, or both.
Should the new number of shares to be subscribed for based on subscriber's all warrants not be a round figure, the fraction will be taken into consideration by lowering the subscription price.
14. Rights of warrant holders in certain situations
Should the Company, prior to the subscription for shares, lower its share capital, the right to subscription of the holders of warrants shall be amended accordingly in a manner specified by the Company in its decision to lower the share capital. If such lowering of the share capital is considered to have no financial effects on the warrant holder, the lowering shall not influence the conditions for the subscription.
Should the Company be placed in liquidation, the terms and conditions of the subscription will remain unchanged.
Should the Company elect to merge with another company as a merging company, or merge with a new company via a combination merger, or to de-merge into two or more companies, the warrant holders will be given the right to subscribe for shares during a period set forth by the Board of Directors prior to such the merger or de-merger. No right to subscription will exist after the above period. In the situation referred to above, the warrant holders shall not have the right to claim that the Company redeems the option rights from them for market value. If the Company is the receiving company in the merger, the terms of the subscription will remain unchanged.
The Company's decision to acquire its own shares shall not have any effect on the warrant holders.
Should a redemption situation arise, as referred to in Chapter 14, Section 19 of the Companies Act, Chapter 6, Section 6 of the Securities Markets Act or Section 13 of the Articles of Association of the Company, the warrant holders will be reserved an opportunity to use their right of subscription during the time period set by the Board of Directors before the redemption. No right to subscription will exist after this period.
Should the accounted counter value of the shares be amended so that the share capital remains unchanged, the terms and conditions of the subscription shall be amended so that the total accounted counter value of shares to be subscribed and the total subscription price remain unchanged. The provisions of section 13 shall be taken into account in any such amendment.
Should the Company's form change from a public limited liability company to a private limited liability company, the terms and conditions of the subscription will remain unchanged.
15. Dispute resolution
The Finnish law shall govern these terms and conditions. Any dispute arising out of these option rights will be settled by one (1) arbitrator in accordance with the Rules of Arbitration of the Finnish Central Chamber of Commerce.
16. Other issues
The Board of Directors of the Company shall decide on other matters relating to the subscription of warrants and shares, such matters including changes in conditions and specifications, which are not to be considered as of significant nature.
Any benefit derived from the warrants will not be accrued to a pension.
Any notices relating to this warrant program may be sent by mail or e-mail.
The documentation for the warrants will be available for inspection at the Company's Head Office in Helsinki.
These terms and conditions have been drawn up in the Finnish and English language. In the event of inconsistency, the Finnish version shall prevail.