Since the initial listing in New York on May 1, 1997 until the end of 2004, the Autoliv share increased by 36%, outperforming its peer group in S&P's Auto Parts Index by 33 percentage point (see graph). During the same period, the general market has increased by 51% (see S&P 500 in the graph).
During 2004, the Autoliv share increased by 28%, outperforming both the S&P 500 index that increased by 9% and S&P's Auto Parts Index that increased by 4%. In Stockholm, Autoliv's depository shares rose by 16% during 2004, almost as much as the market that increased by 17%.
Since the initial public offering in Sweden in 1994 until the end of 2004, the Autoliv share has increased at an compounded average annual rate of 13% (excluding dividends) while the composite index in Stockholm has increased at an average rate of 10% during the same ten and half years.
The original Autoliv AB stock, which was a Swedish security, was introduced on the Stockholm Stock Exchange on June 9, 1994, at an offering price of SEK90 (just over US $10) for institutions and SEK85.50 for private individuals.
Following the merger with Morton ASP, the shares in the new Autoliv company - Autoliv Inc. - were listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol ALV and the Swedish Depository Receipts (SDR) of this U.S. corporation listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange under the symbol ALIV.
In Stockholm, trading in Autoliv SDRs started by outperforming the market, reaching a record high of SEK349 on March 6, 1997. After having declined to SEK137.50 on January 4, 2001, the Autoliv SDR recovered during 2001 and has outperformed the market since 2002. During 2004, the Autoliv SDR opened at SEK272.50, declined to the year-low at SEK271.50 (paid) on January 5, hit its annual high at SEK342.50 on April 26 and closed at SEK 318 on December 31.
In New York trading in the Autoliv Inc. share began on May 1, 1997, when it closed at $35.50. The stock has fluctuated with the S&P Auto Parts Index. It hit a record high on September 19, 1997 at $45.13 and reached its lowest level on September 21, 2001 at $13.25. In 2000 and 2001, the Autoliv stock declined more than the peer group, but then it has increased faster than most other automotive parts stocks. This is partly due to the stronger Euro and Autoliv's strong position on markets outside the U.S.
During 2004, the share opened at the year-low of $37.88, quickly increased to about $45 in January and then reached an all-time high at $48.80 on December 28. It closed at $48.30 on December 28.
During 2004, 41% of the trading in Autoliv securities was in shares of common stock in New York and 59% was in SDRs in Stockholm. This was almost the same split between the two markets as the average split when trading in the Autoliv Inc securities started in May 1997. During 1999 and 2000, there was a trend that trading was concentrated in the Stockholm market, which accounted for 91% of the combined trading volume at the peak in 2000.
In 2004, the daily average trading volume in New York increased by 75% to 405,252 shares after having increased by 64% in 2003. In Stockholm, the average trading volume rose by 11% to 589,299 after increasing by 23% in 2003. The Autoliv SDR was the 22nd most traded security in Stockholm, accounting for 1.4% of the trading compared to 1.2% during 2003. In total, 103 million Autoliv shares were traded in New York and 149 million in Stockholm during 2004. This means that each Autoliv security was traded on average 2.67 times in 2004 compared to 2.02 times in 2003.
According to Autoliv's stock registrar, there are nearly 3,600 record holders of Autoliv stock, and according to our soliciting agent, there are over 22,000 beneficial holders that hold shares in a "street name" through a bank, broker or other nominee. According to the depository bank in Sweden, there are almost 4,200 record holders of the Autoliv SDR, and according to the Swedish soliciting agent, more than 11,000 "street holders" of the SDR. Many of these holders are nominees for other, non-Swedish nominees.
Autoliv therefore estimates that the total number of beneficial Autoliv owners exceeds 40,000 and more than 60% of the securities are held in the U.S. and approximately 10% in Sweden. Most of the remaining securities are held in the U.K and central Europe. The largest shareholders known to the Company are shown in the table.
| Owner | Country | Number | Percentage |
| Barclays Global Investors | U.S.A. | 6,548,099 | 7.1 |
| Iridian Asset Management | U.S.A. | 4,724,230 | 5.1 |
| LSV Asset Management | U.S.A. | 4,532,417 | 4.9 |
| Alliance Capital Management | U.S.A. | 3,330,219 | 3.6 |
| Franklin Templeton | U.S.A. | 3,550,000 | 3.9 |
| Management and Directors as a group 2,3) | 480,086 | 0.5 | |
| >40,000 other shareholders 2) | 68,793,126 | 74.9 | |
| Total December 31, 2004 | 91,958,177 | 100.0 |
1) Known to the Company
2) As of March 2, 2005.
3) Includes 283,972 shares issuable upon exercise of options that are exercisable
within 60 days
If possible, quarterly dividends are paid on the first Thursday in the last month of each quarter. The record date is usually one month earlier and the ex-date typically two days before the record date. Quarterly dividends are declared separately by the Board, announced in press releases and published on Autoliv's corporate website.
The Board has declared a 25% increase in the quarterly dividend per share to 25 cents to be paid in March 2005 and another 20% increase to 30 cents per share to be paid in June 2005. As a result, since 2002, Autoliv has raised the quarterly dividend per share by 173% in five steps.
Autoliv is also creating shareholder value by buying back stock. During 2004, 3.4 million shares were repurchased for $144 million compared to 2.1 million during 2003 for $43 million. Since the start of the buy-back program in 2000, Autoliv has bought back 11.6 million shares at an average cost of $27.61 per share for a total of $320 million. At the end of 2004, the market value of these shares exceeded half a billion dollars.
The authorization to buy back shares was first adopted in May 2000. In April 2003, the authorization was doubled from 10 million to 20 million shares. The remaining part of the repurchase authorizations could reduce the number of shares outstanding by 8.4 million.
The repurchased shares are not retired but held as treasury stock.
During 2004, the number of shares outstanding decreased by approximately 2.9 million to 92.0 million due to Autoliv's share repurchase program.
If all outstanding stock options are exercised and all granted restricted stock units utilized (see Note 15), the number of outstanding shares could increase by 1% to 92.9 million.
In 1997, Autoliv adopted a Shareholder Rights Plan designed to encourage third parties interested in acquiring a controlling block of shares in the Company to negotiate with the Board to preserve the best interest of all Autoliv shareholders (see Note 13).
Autoliv's next Annual General Meeting of Shareholders will be held on Tuesday, April 26, 2005, at The Four Seasons Hotel, 120 East Delaware Place, 900 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60611-1428 USA.
Shareholders are urged to return their proxies whether or not they plan to attend the meeting.
EquiServe Trust Company, N.A.P.O. Box 43069
Providence, RI 02940
+1 (800) 446-2617 (within the U.S.)
+1 (781) 575-2723 (outside the U.S.)
+1 (800) 952-9245 (hearing impaired)
Internet: www.equiserve.com
Autoliv Inc.
c/o Autoliv Electronics America
26545 American Drive
Southfield, Michigan 48034. USA
Tel +1 (248) 475-0427
Fax +1 (801) 625-6672
ray.pekar@autoliv.com
Autoliv Inc.
Box 70381, SE-107 24
Stockholm, Sweden
Tel +46 (8) 58 72 06 23
Fax +46 (8) 411 70 25
mats.odman@autoliv.com
Autoliv’s reports, news releases, proxy statements and other general information on the Company are published in English and Swedish and can be obtained free of charge upon request from Autoliv at the addresses given above. These documents are also available at the corporate website www.autoliv.com.
Dates for publishing quarterly reports are announced on Autoliv´s corporate website under Financial info.
The following banks and securities brokers follow Autoliv on a regular basis.
| Klas Andersson | |
| John Hernander | |
| David Lindström | |
| Oscar Stjerngren | |
| Ilan Chaitowitz | |
| Patrik Sjöblom | |
| Stuart Pearson | |
| Christian Breitsprecher | |
| Thomas Aney | |
| Anders Trapp | |
| Magnus Axen | |
| Gregoire Rougnon | |
| Ketih Hayes | |
| Patric Lindqvist | |
| Carl Holmquist | |
| Rolf Woller | |
| Himanshu Patel | |
| Hampus Engellau | |
| Patrice Solaro | |
| Thomas Besson | |
| Nick Pantazis | |
| Adam Jonas | |
| Magnus Behm | |
| Fredrik Nilhov | |
| Jim Rotsman | |
| Frederic Labia | |
| Anders Bruzelius | |
| Scott Merlis | |
| Graham Phillips |