In June, the Dunker Foundations, in a letter, directly informed Helsingborg City, the beneficiaries and other stakeholders of write-downs of the value of securities in the 2018 financial statements of a total amount of SEK 90 million. The value of such assets shall be written down if a depreciation in value is determined or there is deemed to be a risk of a future loss in value.
Of the amount written down, SEK 15 million is the value of investments in a company that was liquidated during 2018 and is thus a recorded capital loss. The remaining proportion of the write-downs has been undertaken according to the so-called precautionary principle, and the total write-down amount should be seen as a worst-case scenario for loss in value on these investments. Measures have been initiated to, if possible, limit the loss in value.
In addition to the shares in Trelleborg AB, the Dunker interests manage capital well in excess of SEK 1 billion. This capital is managed to provide the best return at reasonable risk and there are rules and instructions for this - an investment policy. Early in 2019, the Board of Directors discovered that the former CEO could be suspected of having made investments of the Dunker interests in violation of this investment policy. A considerable part of the amount written down relates to such investments.
The former CEO has been divested of all assignments for the Dunker interests and, following objections from the auditor, has not been granted discharge from liability. Legal action has been initiated and the highest priority is to seek to limit losses. We immediately hired a consultant to take over the position of CEO of the company and take the necessary measures. Their assignment will be wound up as planned during the autumn. An agreement on hiring a new CEO has been reached. This will be presented shortly. Although SEK 90 million is a significant amount, such a capital loss does not mean that future dividends to Helsingborg City, the Dunker Nursing Home or Dunker's relatives are affected, as these dividends are mainly dependent on the dividends the Dunker interests receive through the shareholding in Trelleborg AB. Nor does this mean that the financial stability or role of Dunker interests as the principal owner of Trelleborg AB are affected.
