advertisement
 
 
  advanced

 

The eBearing News
December 16, 2004


SKF Makes Financial Moves
copyright © 2004 eBearing Inc.

SKF AB (Sweden), the world's largest bearing manufacturer, made two moves designed to streamline and internationalize its financial picture.

First, SKF made its final moves, in a plan announced over a year ago, to delist itself from all but two of the equity exchanges where it once traded.

SKF B shares (each of which has 1/10 of a vote, vs. A shares which carry one full vote) had traded on the London, Paris, Zurich, and Stockholm exchanges, while American Depository Receipts (ADRs) traded on the U.S. NASDAQ (an ADR is a negotiable certificate issued by a U.S. bank; it represents a specific number of shares of a foreign stock traded on a U.S. stock exchange).

Citing the globalization of trading and resulting low volumes on the secondary exchanges, SKF in 2003 began the process of withdrawing from all but the Stockholm exchange. The company said there is no longer a need for local exchange listings for access to liquidity.

Stockholm (80%) and London (18%) historically carried virtually all of SKF's trading volume. Paris, Zurich and NASDAQ, sharing the remaining 2%, have already been delisted.

SKF has now revealed a surprise decision to leave the London Stock Exchange.

The company said in its announcement, "The trading of SKF's shares on the London Stock Exchange is negligible and therefore does not support a listing."

London trades are expected to be discontinued on January 20, 2005.

SKF has not severed its U.S. equity market ties, keeping B shares registered (but not traded) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and maintaining its U.S. ADR facility.

In the second part of its financial streamlining, SKF announced it will be reporting its financial results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). SKF currently reports its financials under Sweden's Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (Swedish GAAP).

Accounting policies in accordance with IFRS will begin in 2005, with the report for first quarter 2005 as the first IFRS report.

SKF said the impact of adjusting to IFRS will be minimal, both in terms of reported financial results and the related reporting procedures and requirements.

For easier comparison to previous financials, SKF will offer financial results from 1Q2003 forward, recalculated under IFRS.

printer-friendly version


- by Bruce A. Carr
from individual research,
tips and commercial sources.
Copyrighted material; unauthorized reproduction prohibited.


Return to News Headlines

Have bearing industry news leads ?      Send them to news@eBearing.com


eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Copyright 1999-2010, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright information is on www.copyright.com
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
eBearing Inc, eBearing.com, and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.




eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright © 1999-2010, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.