The Essity share

On June 15, 2017, Essity Aktiebolag (publ) was listed on Nasdaq Stockholm in Sweden. Essity shares are quoted and traded on Nasdaq Stockholm, and as American Depository Receipts (ADR level 1) in the US through Deutsche Bank. The final 2017 closing price on Nasdaq Stockholm for Essity’s B share was SEK 233.00. Essity’s market capitalization was SEK 164bn at December 31, 2017. In the period June 15–December 31, 2017, the price of Essity’s B share fell 6%. During the same period, the OMX Stockholm 30 Index fell 3%. The highest closing price for Essity’s B share during the year was SEK 252.10, which was noted on December 5. The lowest closing price was SEK 215.50 on August 21. The proposed dividend is SEK 5.75 per share. For more information, refer to the section Dividend and dividend policy.

Index

On Nasdaq Stockholm, Essity is included in the OMX Stockholm 30 Index, OMX Nordic 40 and in the Personal & Household Goods sector within Consumer Goods. In addition to indexes directly linked to Nasdaq Stockholm, Essity is included in other indexes, such as the FTSE Eurofirst Index and FTSE All World Index. Within MSCI, Essity is included in Household Products within Consumer Staples. Essity is also represented in sustainability indexes such as the FTSE4Good Global index, which measures earnings and performance among companies that meet globally recognized norms for corporate responsibility. Essity is also included in the ECPI index and Global 100 index.

Liquidity

In 2017, the volume of Essity shares traded on Nasdaq Stockholm was about 180 million, corresponding to a value of approximately SEK 42bn. Average daily trading for Essity on Nasdaq Stockholm amounted to approximately 1.3 million shares, corresponding to a value of approximately SEK 306m. During the year, trading on Cboe amounted to approximately 25 million Essity shares, trading on Turquoise to about 5 million Essity shares and trading on other marketplaces to approximately 1 million Essity shares.

Ownership

Some 44% of the share capital is owned by investors registered in Sweden and 56% by foreign investors. The US and the UK account for the highest percentage of shareholders registered outside Sweden. Of Essity’s shareholders, at least 23% perform sustainability assessments.

Dividend and dividend policy

Essity aims to provide long-term stable and rising dividends to its shareholders. When cash flow from current operations exceeds what the company can invest in profitable expansion over the long term, and under the condition that the capital structure target is met, the surplus shall be distributed to the shareholders.

The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 5.75 per share for the 2017 fiscal year. The 2017 dividend represents a dividend yield of 2.5%, based on Essity’s share price at the end of the year.

Share price performance June 15, 2017–December 31, 2017