The Board of Directors of Fiskars Corporation launches the second plan period for the employee share savings plan
Fiskars Corporation
Stock exchange release
March 13, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. EET
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
The Board of Directors of Fiskars Corporation launches the second plan period for the employee share savings plan
The Board of Directors of Fiskars Corporation has decided to launch the second plan period of the global employee share savings plan, “MyFiskars”, for the employees of Fiskars Group.
The aim of MyFiskars is to encourage employees to acquire and own Fiskars Corporation’s shares, and it is intended to create a culture of ownership as well as to further strengthen the employees’ long-term commitment to the company.
Nathalie Ahlström, the President & CEO of Fiskars Group, comments on the launch of the second plan period: “We launched MyFiskars, the first employee share savings plan in Fiskars Group's history, last year and already 13% of all employees and 32% of office employees have enrolled in the program. To me this demonstrates our employees' commitment to the company. By launching the second plan period we now enable new colleagues to join, including those who joined Fiskars Group in connection to the acquisition of Georg Jensen. I am convinced that we are creating a stronger culture of ownership and entrepreneurship within the company thanks to MyFiskars.”
MyFiskars consists of annually commencing plan periods, each one comprising a 12-month savings period and a holding period of two years following the end of the savings period. MyFiskars will be offered to approximately 7,100 permanent employees of Fiskars Group, provided there are no country-specific legal, administrative or tax-related obstacles that would prevent running the program. The employees are offered the chance to voluntarily save a portion of their monthly salary and to invest these amounts in Fiskars Corporation’s shares. The savings will be used to acquire Fiskars Corporation’s shares for the participating employees quarterly after the publication dates of the company’s interim reports, subject to applicable rules. As a reward for their commitment, Fiskars Corporation will grant the participating employees a gross reward of one free matching share for every two savings shares acquired. The matching shares will be granted if the participating employee remains employed at Fiskars Group at the end of the plan period and if they have kept the shares they have acquired with their savings until this date.
Under the MyFiskars terms, the potential reward will be settled in shares, or partly in shares and partly in cash, after the end of the holding period. The cash portion is intended to cover taxes and tax-related costs arising from the reward in countries where the employer has the obligation to withhold taxes. Matching shares will be freely transferable after their registration in the participant’s book-entry account. Savings shares and matching shares are regular Fiskars Corporation shares and entitle the participants to dividends. The participants may choose whether they want to receive dividends in cash or invest the dividends in additional shares on the next acquisition date. The shares purchased with dividends will have an equal right to matching shares as the shares purchased with savings.
Participation in MyFiskars is voluntary, and Fiskars Group employees will be invited to participate in one plan period at a time. The second savings period commences on 1 July 2024 and ends on 30 June 2025. The holding period begins when savings shares are acquired for the first time under the new plan period and ends on 30 June 2027.
The maximum number of matching shares (gross before taxes) that could be granted during the second plan period is approximately 122,000, calculated at the prevalent share price. The final number of matching shares issued depends on the employees’ participation and savings rate in the plan, and the fulfilment of the prerequisites for receiving matching shares, as well as the number of shares acquired from the market with savings. For reference purposes only (noting that the market value of the shares will constantly change), calculated based on the volume weighted average price of Fiskars Corporation’s share on March 12, 2024, the estimated total value of shares during the second plan period is approximately EUR 2 million, at the maximum.
FISKARS CORPORATION
The Board of Directors
Media and investor contacts:
Essi Lipponen, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 829 1192
Fiskars Group in brief
Fiskars Group (FSKRS, Nasdaq Helsinki) is the global home of design-driven brands for indoor and outdoor living. Our brands include Fiskars, Georg Jensen, Gerber, Iittala, Moomin Arabia, Royal Copenhagen, Waterford, and Wedgwood. Our brands are present in more than 100 countries and we have close to 450 own stores. We have approximately 7,000 employees and our global net sales in 2023 were EUR 1.1 billion.
We are driven by our common purpose: Pioneering design to make the everyday extraordinary. In 2024, we are celebrating our 375th anniversary. Since 1649, we have designed products of timeless, purposeful, and functional beauty, while driving innovation and sustainable growth.
Read more: fiskarsgroup.com
This press release is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale into the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the law of any State of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from the registration requirements thereof. No public offering of securities is being made in the United States. We do not intend to register all or any portion of the securities in the United States. This press release is being issued in accordance with Rule 135e under the Securities Act.