The Board of Directors of Loihde Plc has decided to continue the Employee Share Savings Plan (ESSP) that started last year with a new savings plan. The aim of the ESSP is to encourage employees to acquire and own shares in Loihde, to align the interests of shareholders and employees, and to increase employee motivation and long-term commitment to the company.
The ESSP consists of a one-year savings period and a holding period following the savings period. The ESSP is offered to all Loihde employees. The employees will have the opportunity to save a portion of their salaries and invest those savings in Loihde’s shares. The savings will be used to buy shares in Loihde four times a year. The Board of Directors will decide whether the savings shares are purchased from the market or whether they are delivered to the participants in a directed share issue decided separately by the Board.
As a reward for their commitment, Loihde grants the participating employees a gross bonus of one (1) matching share for every two (2) savings shares acquired with their savings. Additionally, the participants have the opportunity to earn half (0.5) or one (1) performance-based matching share (gross) for every two (2) savings shares acquired with their savings, based on the achievement of the performance criterion. The performance criterion is the Group's EBITDA for the financial years 2024-2026. Continuity of employment and holding of acquired savings shares for the duration of the holding period are the prerequisites for receiving the bonus.
The potential bonus will be settled in shares, or partly in shares and partly in cash, after the holding period. The cash portion is intended to cover taxes and tax-like charges. The matching shares will be freely transferable after their registration on the participant's book-entry account.
Participation in the ESSP is voluntary. The savings period will commence on 1 June 2024 and end on 31 May 2025, and the holding period will commence with the first acquisition of savings shares and end on 31 May 2027. The maximum number of matching shares (gross number before taxes) for the ESSP that is about to commence is approximately 71,500, calculated at the current share price. The final number of matching shares will depend on the employees’ participation and savings rate in the plan, the fulfilment of the prerequisites for receiving matching shares and the achievement of the performance criterion.
"Loihde has offered its employees share-based incentive schemes since 2018. More than half of our employees have become owners of Loihde through them," says Loihde’s CEO Samu Konttinen.
CEO Samu Konttinen:
Media contact: Director of Communications Tiina Nieminen, tel. +358 44 411 3480 or tiina.nieminen@loihde.com
Certified Adviser Aktia Alexander Corporate Finance Oy, tel. +358 50 520 4098
Loihde enables business continuity. We help our customers to gain a sustainable competitive edge through data, AI and digitalisation, to harness the potential of the cloud and to protect themselves against both physical and cyber threats. The combining of these skills is what makes Loihde a unique and comprehensive partner. We are approximately 850 skilled professionals, and our revenue in 2023 amounted to EUR 133 million.