Annual general meeting 2012 

Notice is given to the shareholders of KONE Corporation to the Annual General Meeting to be held on Monday 5 March 2012 at 11.00 a.m. at Finlandia Hall, Mannerheimintie 13, Helsinki. The reception of persons who have registered for the meeting will commence at 10.00 a.m.

A. Matters on the agenda of the General Meeting

At the General Meeting, the following matters will be considered:

1.   Opening of the meeting

2.   Calling the meeting to order

3.   Election of person to scrutinize the minutes and persons to supervise the counting of votes

4.   Recording the legality of the meeting

5.   Recording the attendance at the meeting and adoption of the list of votes

6.   Presentation of the annual accounts, the report of the Board of Directors and the auditor’s report for the year 2011

Review by the CEO & President

7.   Adoption of the annual accounts

8.   Resolution on the use of the profit shown on the balance sheet and the payment of dividend

The Board of Directors proposes that for the financial year 2011 a dividend of EUR 1.395 be paid for each class A share and a dividend of EUR 1.40 be paid for each class B share. The date of record for dividend distribution is proposed to be March 8, 2012 and the dividend be paid March 15, 2012.

9.   Resolution on the discharge of the members and deputy member of the Board of Directors and the CEO & President from liability

10. Resolution on the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors

The Nomination and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that the board members’ compensation would be kept unchanged: Chair of the Board of Directors EUR 54,000, Vice Chair EUR 44,000 and board members EUR 33,000 per year, as well as an EUR 500 fee per meeting for each member for Board and Committee meetings.

11. Resolution on the number of members of the Board of Directors

The Nomination and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that nine (9) board members be elected and that no deputy members be elected.

12. Election of members of the Board of Directors

The Nomination and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that Matti Alahuhta, Anne Brunila, Reino Hanhinen, Antti Herlin, Sirkka Hämäläinen-Lindfors, Juhani Kaskeala and Sirpa Pietikäinen be re-elected to the Board and that Shinichiro Akiba and Jussi Herlin be elected as new Board members to the Board.

13. Resolution on the remuneration of the auditors

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that the Auditors be reimbursed according to their invoice.

14. Resolution on the number of the auditors

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that two (2) Auditors be elected.

15. Election of auditor

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that authorized public accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy and Heikki Lassila be elected as Auditors.

16. Authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of the Company’s own shares

The Board of Directors proposes that the General Meeting authorize the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of no more than 25,570,000 treasury shares with assets from the company’s unrestricted equity so that a maximum of 3,810,000 class A shares and a maximum of 21,760,000 class B shares may be repurchased. The consideration to be paid for the repurchased shares with respect to both class A and class B shares will be determined based on the trading price determined for class B shares on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki on the date of repurchase.

Class A shares will be repurchased in proportion to holdings of class A shareholders at a price equivalent to the average price paid for the company’s class B shares on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki on the date of repurchase. Any holder wishing to offer his or her class A shares for repurchase by the company must state his or her intention to the company’s Board of Directors in writing. The company may deviate from the obligation to repurchase shares in proportion to the shareholders' holdings if all the holders of class A shares give their consent. Class B shares will be purchased in public trading on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki at the market price as per the time of purchase.

The Board of Directors proposes that the authorization remain in effect for a period of one year following the date of decision of the General Meeting.

17. Amending the Articles of Association 

The Board of Directors proposes that paragraphs 4 and 8 of the Articles of Association will be amended as follows:

§ 4 Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the company shall include a minimum of five (5) and a maximum of ten (10) regular members, as well as a maximum of three (3) deputy members. The Board of Directors shall elect the Chair of the Board and the Deputy Chair from amongst its members. The term of office of the Board of Directors shall expire at the end of the first Annual General Meeting of Shareholders following the election. The Board of Directors is deemed to constitute a quorum when more than a half of its members are present.

§ 8 Summons to a General Meeting

The summons to a General Meeting of Shareholders must be published on the website of the company no earlier than three (3) months and no later than three (3) weeks prior to the General Meeting of Shareholders, but in any case at the latest nine (9) days prior to the record date of the General Meeting of Shareholders. The Board of Directors may decide to publish the summon or the notice of the General Meeting during the same time limit in one or several newspapers.

18. Closing of the meeting

B. Documents of the General Meeting

The draft resolutions of the Board of Directors and its committees relating to the agenda of the General Meeting, this notice and Company’s annual accounts, the report of the Board of Directors and the Auditor’s report are on view on KONE Corporation’s website at www.kone.com/corporate/en/Investors/AGM. The draft resolutions of the Board of Directors and its committees and the annual accounts are also on view at the General Meeting. Copies of these documents and of this notice will be sent to shareholders upon request.

C. Instructions for the participants in the General Meeting

1. The right to participate and registration

Each shareholder, who is registered on the record date of the General Meeting 22 February 2012 in the shareholders’ register of the Company held by Euroclear Finland Ltd, has the right to participate in the General Meeting. A shareholder, whose shares are registered on his/her personal Finnish book-entry account, is registered in the shareholders’ register of the Company.

A shareholder, who wants to participate in the General Meeting, shall register to the company for the meeting no later than on February 29 2012 at 4.00 p.m. by giving a prior notice of participation. Such notice can be given:
a) on the Company’s website: www.kone.com/corporate/en/Investors/AGM
b) by regular mail to: KONE Corporation, Share Register, P.O. Box 7, FI-02151 Espoo, Finland
c) by telefax: +358 20 475 4523
d) by telephone + 358 20 475 4336

In connection with the registration, a shareholder shall notify his/her name, personal/business identification number, address, telephone number and the name of a possible assistant or proxy representative and the personal identification number of a proxy representative. The personal information is used only in connection with the general meeting and with the processing of related registrations. Pursuant to chapter 5, section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act, a shareholder who is present at the General Meeting has the right to request information with respect to the matters to be considered at the General Meeting.

2. Proxy representative and powers of attorney

A shareholder may participate in the General Meeting and exercise his/her rights at the meeting by way of proxy representation. A proxy representative shall produce a dated proxy document or otherwise in a reliable manner demonstrate his/her right to represent the shareholder at the General Meeting. When a shareholder participates in the general meeting by means of several proxy representatives representing the shareholder with shares at different securities accounts, the shares by which each proxy representative represents the shareholder shall be identified in connection with the registration for the general meeting. Possible proxy documents should be delivered in originals to KONE Corporation, Share Register, P.O. Box 7, FI-02151 Espoo, Finland before the last date for registration.

3. Holders of nominee registered shares

A holder of nominee registered shares is advised to request without delay necessary instructions regarding the registration in the shareholder’s register of the company, the issuing of proxy documents and registration for the general meeting from his/her custodian bank. The account management organization of the custodian bank will register a holder of nominee registered shares, who wants to participate in the general meeting, to be temporarily entered into the shareholders’ register of the company at the latest on February 29 2012 at 10.00 a.m.

4. Other instructions and information

On the date of this notice 26 January 2012, the total number of shares in KONE Corporation is 260,536,120 shares constituted of 38,104,356 class A shares and 222,431,764 class B shares. Based on articles of association each class A share entitles its holder to one vote and each full ten class B shares entitle their holder to one vote, but each shareholder has a minimum of one vote.

The participants of the General Meeting are kindly invited to the coffee reception after the meeting.

In Helsinki 26 January 2012

KONE Corporation
The Board of Directors

About KONE
KONE is one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry. The company has been committed to understanding the needs of its customers for the past century, providing industry-leading elevators, escalators and automatic building doors as well as innovative solutions for modernization and maintenance. The company’s objective is to offer the best People Flow™ experience by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and without waiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment. In 2011, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 5.2 billion and on average 35,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland.

www.kone.com

For further information, please contact:

Jukka Ala-Mello, Secretary to the Board, tel. +358 204 75 4226

Sender:

KONE Corporation
Jukka Ala-Mello 
Secretary to the Board 
  
Anne Korkiakoski
Executive Vice President
Marketing and Communications

 Notice to the AGM

 Agenda of the AGM

 Board proposals to the AGM

 KONE's Financial Statements 2011

Matters on the agenda of the General Meeting

At the General Meeting, the following matters will be considered:

1.   Opening of the meeting

2.   Calling the meeting to order

3.   Election of person to scrutinize the minutes and persons to supervise the counting of votes

4.   Recording the legality of the meeting

5.   Recording the attendance at the meeting and adoption of the list of votes

6.   Presentation of the annual accounts, the report of the Board of Directors and the auditor’s report for the year 2011

Review by the CEO & President

7.   Adoption of the annual accounts

8.   Resolution on the use of the profit shown on the balance sheet and the payment of dividend

The Board of Directors proposes that for the financial year 2011 a dividend of EUR 1.395 be paid for each class A share and a dividend of EUR 1.40 be paid for each class B share. The date of record for dividend distribution is proposed to be March 8, 2012 and the dividend be paid March 15, 2012.

9.   Resolution on the discharge of the members and deputy member of the Board of Directors and the CEO & President from liability

10. Resolution on the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors

The Nomination and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that the board members’  compensation would be kept unchanged: Chair of the Board of Directors EUR 54,000, Vice Chair EUR 44,000 and board  members EUR 33,000 per year, as well as an EUR 500 fee per meeting for each member for Board and Committee meetings.

11. Resolution on the number of members of the Board of Directors

The Nomination and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that nine (9) board members be elected and that no deputy members be elected.

12. Election of members of the Board of Directors

The Nomination and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that Matti Alahuhta, Anne Brunila, Reino Hanhinen, Antti Herlin, Sirkka Hämäläinen-Lindfors, Juhani Kaskeala and Sirpa Pietikäinen be re-elected to the Board and that Shinichiro Akiba and Jussi Herlin be elected as new Board members to the Board.

13. Resolution on the remuneration of the auditors

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that the Auditors be reimbursed according to their invoice.

14. Resolution on the number of the auditors

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that two (2) Auditors be elected.

15. Election of auditor

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that authorized public accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy and Heikki Lassila are elected as Auditors.

16. Authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of the Company’s own shares

The Board of Directors proposes that the General Meeting authorize the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of no more than 25,570,000 treasury shares with assets from the company’s unrestricted equity so that a maximum of 3,810,000 class A shares and a maximum of 21,760,000 class B shares may be repurchased. The consideration to be paid for the repurchased shares with respect to both class A and class B shares will be determined based on the trading price determined for class B shares on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki on the date of repurchase.

Class A shares will be repurchased in proportion to holdings of class A shareholders at a price equivalent to the average price paid for the company’s class B shares on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki on the date of repurchase. Any holder wishing to offer his or her class A shares for repurchase by the company must state his or her intention to the company’s Board of Directors in writing. The company may deviate from the obligation to repurchase shares in proportion to the shareholders' holdings if all the holders of class A shares give their consent. Class B shares will be purchased in public trading on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki at the market price as per the time of purchase.

The Board of Directors proposes that the authorization remain in effect for a period of one year following the date of decision of the General Meeting.

17. Amending the Articles of Association 

The Board of Directors proposes that paragraphs 4 and 8 of the Articles of Association will be amended as follows:

§ 4 Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the company shall include a minimum of five (5) and a maximum of ten (10) regular members, as well as a maximum of three (3) deputy members. The Board of Directors shall elect the Chair of the Board and the Deputy Chair from amongst its members. The term of office of the Board of Directors shall expire at the end of the first Annual General Meeting of Shareholders following the election. The Board of Directors is deemed to constitute a quorum when more than a half of its members are present.

§ 8 Summons to a General Meeting

The summons to a General Meeting of Shareholders must be published on the website of the company no earlier than three (3) months and no later than three (3) weeks prior to the General Meeting of Shareholders, but in any case at the latest nine (9) days prior to the record date of the General Meeting of Shareholders. The Board of Directors may decide to publish the summon or the notice of the General Meeting during the same time limit in one or several newspapers.

18. Closing of the meeting

Proposals of the Board of Directors of KONE Corporation and its Committees to the General Meeting March 5, 2012.

Board of Directors:

Proposal on the use of the profit shown on the balance sheet and the payment of dividend

The Board of Directors proposes that for the financial year 2011 a dividend of EUR 1.395 be paid for each class A share and a dividend of EUR 1.40 be paid for each class B share. The date of record for dividend distribution is proposed to be March 8, 2012 and the dividend be paid March 15, 2012.

Proposal for authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of the Company’s own shares

The Board of Directors proposes that the General Meeting authorize the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of no more than 25,570,000 treasury shares with assets from the company’s unrestricted equity so that a maximum of 3,810,000 class A shares and a maximum of 21,760,000 class B shares may be repurchased. The consideration to be paid for the repurchased shares with respect to both class A and class B shares will be determined based on the trading price determined for class B shares on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki on the date of repurchase.

Class A shares will be repurchased in proportion to holdings of class A shareholders at a price equivalent to the average price paid for the company’s class B shares on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki on the date of repurchase. Any holder wishing to offer his or her class A shares for repurchase by the company must state his or her intention to the company’s Board of Directors in writing. The company may deviate from the obligation to repurchase shares in proportion to the shareholders' holdings if all the holders of class A shares give their consent. Class B shares will be purchased in public trading on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki at the market price as per the time of purchase.
The Board of Directors proposes that the authorization remain in effect for a period of one year following the date of decision of the General Meeting.

Proposal for amending the Articles of Association 

The Board of Directors proposes that paragraphs 4 and 8 of the Articles of Association will be amended as follows:

§ 4 Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the company shall include a minimum of five (5) and a maximum of ten (10) regular members, as well as a maximum of three (3) deputy members. The Board of Directors shall elect the Chair of the Board and the Deputy Chair from amongst its members. The term of office of the Board of Directors shall expire at the end of the first Annual General Meeting of Shareholders following the election. The Board of Directors is deemed to constitute a quorum when more than a half of its members are present.

§ 8 Summons to a General Meeting

The summons to a General Meeting of Shareholders must be published on the website of the company no earlier than three (3) months and no later than three (3) weeks prior to the General Meeting of Shareholders, but in any case at the latest nine (9) days prior to the record date of the General Meeting of Shareholders. The Board of Directors may decide to publish the summon or the notice of the General Meeting during the same time limit in one or several newspapers.

Nomination and Compensation Committee:

Proposal for the remuneration of the members and deputy members of the Board of Directors

The Nomination and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that the board members’ compensation would be kept unchanged: Chair of the Board of Directors EUR 54,000, Vice Chair EUR 44,000 and  board  members EUR 33,000 per year, as well as an EUR 500 fee per meeting for each member for Board and Committee meetings.

Proposal for the number of members and deputy members of the Board of Directors

The Nomination and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that nine (9) board members be elected and that no deputy members be elected.

Proposal for members of the Board of Directors

The Nomination and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that Matti Alahuhta, Anne Brunila, Reino Hanhinen, Antti Herlin, Sirkka Hämäläinen-Lindfors, Juhani Kaskeala and Sirpa Pietikäinen be re-elected to the Board and that Shinichiro Akiba and Jussi Herlin be elected as new Board members to the Board.

From the current Board members, Shunichi Kimura would resign from the Board. KONE extends its gratitude to Mr. Kimura for his significant contribution as Member of the Board of KONE Corporation.

Shinichiro Akiba, born 1956, has served as President and CEO of Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation, alliance partner of KONE, since June 2011. He has previously served in different positions in the Toshiba Group since 1979.

Jussi Herlin, born 1984, has served as Deputy Member of the Board of KONE Corporation since 2007 and as Member of the Board of Security Trading Oy since 2006.

Audit Committee:

Proposal for the remuneration of the auditors

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that the Auditors be reimbursed according to their invoice.

Proposal for the number of the auditors

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that two (2) Auditors be elected.

Proposal for election of auditor

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors proposes that authorized public accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy and Heikki Lassila be elected as Auditors.

 Minutes of KONE AGM 2012

This document is an unofficial translation from the Finnish original. In the event of any discrepancies between the Finnish and English versions, the Finnish version shall prevail.

Matters relating to the Annual General Meeting
KONE Corporation’s Annual General Meeting was held in Helsinki on March 5, 2012. The meeting approved the financial statements and discharged the responsible parties from liability for the financial period January 1–December 31, 2011.

The General Meeting approved dividends of EUR 1.395 for each of the 38,104,356 class A shares and EUR 1.40 for the 216,635,414 outstanding class B shares. The date of record for dividend distribution is March 8, 2012, and dividends will be payable on March 15, 2012.

The number of Members of the Board of Directors was confirmed as nine. Re-elected as Members of the Board were Matti Alahuhta, Anne Brunila, Reino Hanhinen, Antti Herlin, Sirkka Hämäläinen-Lindfors, Juhani Kaskeala and Sirpa Pietikäinen and as new Members of the Board were elected Shinichiro Akiba and Jussi Herlin.

The General Meeting confirmed an annual compensation of EUR 54,000 for the Chairman of the Board, EUR 44,000 for the Vice Chairman and EUR 33,000 for Board Members. In addition, a compensation of EUR 500 was approved for attendance at Board and Committee meetings.

Authorized public accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy and Heikki Lassila were nominated as auditors.

Authorization to repurchase own shares
The General Meeting approved the authorization for the Board of Directors to repurchase KONE’s own shares. Altogether no more than 25,570,000 shares may be repurchased, of which no more than 3,810,000 may be class A shares and 21,760,000 class B shares. The authorization shall remain in effect for a period of one year from the date of decision of the General Meeting.

Amending the Articles of Association
The General Meeting approved to amend paragraphs 4 and 8 of the Articles of Association as follows:

§ 4 Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of the company shall include a minimum of five (5) and a maximum of ten (10) regular members, as well as a maximum of three (3) deputy members. The Board of Directors shall elect the Chair of the Board and the Deputy Chair from amongst its members. The term of office of the Board of Directors shall expire at the end of the first Annual General Meeting of Shareholders following the election. The Board of Directors is deemed to constitute a quorum when more than a half of its members are present.

§ 8 Summons to a General Meeting
The summons to a General Meeting of Shareholders must be published on the website of the company no earlier than three (3) months and no later than three (3) weeks prior to the General Meeting of Shareholders, but in any case at the latest nine (9) days prior to the record date of the General Meeting of Shareholders. The Board of Directors may decide to publish the summon or the notice of the General Meeting during the same time limit in one or several newspapers.

Decisions by the Board of Directors
At its meeting held after the General Meeting, the Board of Directors elected from among its members Antti Herlin as its Chair and Sirkka Hämäläinen-Lindfors as Vice Chair.

Antti Herlin was elected as Chairman and Sirkka Hämäläinen-Lindfors, Anne Brunila and Jussi Herlin as members of the Audit Committee. Sirkka Hämäläinen-Lindfors and Anne Brunila are independent of both the company and of significant shareholders. 

Antti Herlin was elected as Chairman and Reino Hanhinen, Juhani Kaskeala and Jussi Herlin as members of the Nomination and Compensation Committee. Reino Hanhinen and Juhani Kaskeala are independent of both the company and of significant shareholders.