POWR.L Regulatory News (POWR)

16 Apr 2008 10:35

Powerflute Oyj16 April 2008 16 April 2008 POWERFLUTE OYJ Annual General Meeting of Powerflute Oyj: dividend of EUR 3.366 cents per shareand other matters relating to the annual general meeting and withholding taxposition for shareholders The Annual General Meeting of Powerflute Oyj (the "Company") yesterday eveningapproved the Company's income statement and balance sheet for the financialperiod ended 31 December 2007 as presented by the Board of Directors. Inaddition, at the Annual General Meeting, all of the proposals by the Board ofDirectors to the General Meeting were passed thereby authorising the Board ofDirectors to resolve on the repurchase of the Company's own shares, the issue ofnew shares and the conveyance of treasury shares, as well as the payment of aninterim dividend if appropriate. Dermot Smurfit was re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors and all ofthe current Board Members (Don Coates, Ian Halliday, Christopher Knight, JuhaNiemela and William Anthony Smith) were re-elected. The term of office ofBoard members lasts until the end of the Annual General Meeting in 2009. The Annual General Meeting resolved that the remuneration of the Board Membersbe as follows: EUR 100,000 per annum for the Chairman, and EUR 50,000 per annumfor the other Board Members. Ernst & Young Oy were re-elected to act as auditors of the Company until the endof the Annual General Meeting in 2009. Dividend The Annual General Meeting resolved that a dividend of EUR 0.03366 (i.e. 3.366cents) per share be paid in respect of the financial year ended 31 December,2007. The dividend will be paid to shareholders who have been entered asshareholders in the Company's shareholders' register maintained by the FinnishCentral Securities Depository Ltd or as holders of depositary interests in theregister maintained by Capita Registrars Ltd. by the dividend record date on 18April, 2008. The dividend will be paid on or about 6 May 2008. As stated in the Company's Annual Report and Accounts 2007, for dividends paidby a Finnish company to a non-resident shareholder, an applicable withholdingtax, if any, shall be withheld in connection with the payment of the dividend.The general withholding tax for nominee-registered shares in Finland is inprinciple 28 per cent. The withholding tax may be reduced or removed based onthe treaties for the elimination of double taxation. Additionally, under Finnishlaw no withholding tax will be levied on dividends paid to corporate entitiesthat reside in the European Union (as defined in Article 2 of the Directive 90/435/EEC) and directly hold at least 15 per cent of the capital of thedistributing company (this threshold will be reduced to 10 per cent in 2009). Awithholding tax at a rate of 15 per cent or higher as required by a relevant taxtreaty would be collected from the dividend paid on shares that arenominee-registered, provided that, pursuant to the information duly ascertainedby the payer, the recipient qualifies under the tax treaty between Finland andthe relevant country applicable to the dividend. The recipient of the dividend may, for a limited period well in advance of thepayment, provide the payer with an explanation of his/her/its domicile and thefulfilment of the other requirements for the application of the tax treaty, inwhich case he/she/it may receive the dividend payable on the nominee-registeredshares at a lower tax rate pursuant to the applicable tax treaty. For those nominee-registered shareholders (such as the holders of DIs) that havenot, prior to the payment, provided the payer with the necessary informationregarding their tax treaty position and qualify for a more advantageouswithholding tax rate (such as 15 per cent or nil per cent.) according to arelevant tax treaty and wish to claim for refund of excess Finnish withholdingtax, it is possible to claim the overpaid withholding tax both during thedividend payment year and after this. According to the applicable stipulations,during the dividend payment year only the payer of the dividend (i.e. NordeaBank Finland) is able to reclaim back the overpaid withholding tax. If it is intended that the payer of the dividend claims for a refund of excessFinnish withholding tax, the following information regarding the dividendrecipient should be disclosed to the payer of the dividend name, address incountry of residence and date of birth or another identification number.Additionally, the dividend recipient should assure that a relevant tax treaty isapplicable to him/her/it. After the year of the dividend payment, the recipientof the payment can personally turn to the Finnish tax authorities and ask for arefund of Finnish withholding tax by using a form provided by the Finnish TaxAdministration. www.powerflute.com For further information, please contact: Powerflute OyjDermot Smurfit (Chairman) c/o Billy CleggDon Coates (Chief Executive Officer) +44 (0) 20 7269 7157 Collins Stewart Europe LimitedNick Ellis/Helen Goldsmith +44 (0)20 7523 8350 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange