History
In 1926, SKF subscribed a share capital amounting to SEK 200,000, represented by 2,000 shares. In 1935, when Volvo´s shares were listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, the share capital had increased to SEK 13 M, and the number of shares to 260,000. At year-end 1998 the share capital of AB Volvo amounted to SEK 2,649 M, represented by 441,520,885 shares, distributed among approximately 210,600 shareholders. The share capital is divided into Series A shares with one vote each and Series B with one tenth of a vote each. Totally, there are 168,896,539 voting rights with a par value of SEK 6 per share. The 50 largest shareholders account for more than 80% of the voting rights.
Volvo shares in 1998
The stock year 1998 was a year full of uncertainty and great stock exchange shifts. A positive first half-year was during the second part of the year exchanged to concern regarding global recession. The Stockholm Stock Exchange General Index increased with 10% and the Dow Jones (Industrial Average) Index in New York by 16%. The market price of Volvo Series B shares was SEK 213 at the beginning of the year, and SEK 186 at the close of the year – a decrease in value of 13%. Volvo´s market value at December 31, 1998, was SEK 8 c1.5 billion, equal to 3.4% (4.3) of the total market value of all companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The highest price paid for Series B shares during the year was SEK 283, on July 17 and the lowest price, SEK 152.50 was paid October 8. There is also trading in Volvo put and call options, futures and stock loans on the Stockholm Options Exchange (OM Stockholm AB). During 1998, 624,436 call options, 358,588 put options, 10,774 futures and 516 stock loans were traded.
Delistings
In February 1998, the Board of Directors decided to delist Volvo’s shares from the stock exchanges in Paris, Zurich, Basel and Geneva due to the low turnover relative to listing and administration costs.
Exchange listings of Volvo shares, locations and year   Stockholm 1935 London 1972 Frankfurt am Main, Düsseldorf, Hamburg 1974 Paris 1984 1) United States (NASDAQ) 1985 Brussels, Antwerp 1985 Tokyo 1986 Zürich, Basel, Geneva 1987 1) 1)      The Board of Directors decided on delisting in February 1998.
Turnover
The Stockholm Stock Exchange accounts for the largest part of the turnover, with an average of 1.6 million Volvo shares being traded per trading day. Apart from the Stockholm Stock Exchange, most of the trading takes place in London and on NASDAQ. Trading on the NASDAQ electronic exchange declined by 3% during the year and the number of outstanding American Depositary Receipts (ADRs – certificates representing Series B shares) increased by 15%, to 19.4 million. Holdings of Volvo shares by foreign investors decreased from 36% of the share capital (19% of the votes) to 33% (14) in 1998.
Dividend
The Board of Directors and the President propose that shareholders at the General Meeting approve payment of a dividend of SEK 6.00 per share corresponding to a total of SEK 2,649 M, for the 1998 fiscal year. The dividend paid on 1997 operations amounted to SEK 5.00 per share, or a total of SEK 2,208 M.
Euro
As of January 1, 1999 it is possible to list Swedish shares denominated in euros on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Volvo may consider a listing in euros, depending on the demand from Swedish and foreign shareholders and investors.
Data per share (adjusted for issues and splits)                      1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Income 1) 12.70 12.30 (2.60) 1.80 (8.60) (8.90) 31.80 20.20 26.90 22.90 19.60 Dividend, SEK 2.80 3.10 3.10 3.10 1.55 1.55 3.40 4.00 8) 4.30 5.00 9) 6:00 9) Share price at year-end, SEK (B share) 77 89 41 63 69 108 140 136 151 213 186. Direct return, % (B share) 2) 3.6 3.5 7.6 4.9 2.3 1.4 2.4 2.9 2.9 2.3 3.2 Effective return, % (B share) 3) 44 19 (50) 61 13 60 32 0 30 46 (10) Price/earnings ratio (B share) 4) 6 7 neg 36 neg neg 4 7 6 9 9 EBIT-multiple 5) 5 8 45 neg neg 36 7 7 16 9 11 Payout ratio, % 6) 22 25 neg 176 neg neg 11 20 16 22 31 Shareholders´ eq uity, SEK 7) 86 97 91 87 77 70 98 110 125 137 154 Income as percentage of average shareholders´ equity 15.8 13.3 neg 2.0 neg neg 36.5 19.3 23.7 17.4 13.7 Other share data                       Number of shareholders at year-end 177,400 173,200 169,100 170,500 163,800 147,300 182.700 206,700 176,800 225,500 210,600 Number of Series A shares at year-end, millions 25.3 25.3 25.3 25.3 25.3 25.3 142.2 142.2 142.2 138.6 138.6 Number of Series B shares at year-end, millions 52.3 52.3 52.3 52.3 52.3 52.3 301.9 321.4 321.4 302.9 302.9 Number of Series A shares traded in Stockholm during the year, millions 2.4 1.3 2.1 64.7 16.6 32.8 54.1 23.2 23.7 23.7 34.5 Number of Series B shares traded in Stockholm during the year, millions 19.3 13.7 13.2 34.5 169.7 465.5 363.3 363.3 316.4 362.7 371.3 Number of A and B shares traded in London during the year, millions 14.9 19.3 11.0 89.1 178.9 150.7 287.5 232.8 301.0 260.8 425.5 Number of shares traded in ADR, NASDAQ during the year, millions 5.7 4.6 1.9 9.9 9.4 11.5 19.0 73.5 83.0 51.8 10) 50.5 10) 1)       Income per share is calculated as net income divided by average number of shares. 2)      Dividend in SEK per share, divided by share price at year-end. 3)      Share price at year-end, including dividend paid during the year, divided by share price at beginning of year, including redemption 1997 and distribution of one share of Swedish Match 1996. 4)      Share price at year-end divided by income per share. 5)      Market value at year-end plus net financial debt and minority interest, divided by operating income, before items affecting comparability. 6)      Dividend divided by income per share. 7)      Shareholders´ equity divided by number of shares outstandning at year-end. 8)      Plus one share of Swedish Match per Volvo share, price of SEK 21.74 (weighted average first ten trading days following listing). 9)      Proposed by the Board of Directors. 10)    Source: NASDAQ - Amex Online
The largest shareholders in AB Volvo, December 31 1998 Number of shares % of total votes Share of capital % The funds of FöreningsSparbanken 43,435,512 11.2 9.8 The National Pension Insurance Fund, Fourth Fund managing board 22,047,590 8.6 5.0 Svenska Handelsbanken (pension funds) 8,700,000 5.2 2.0 Försäkringsbolaget SPP (pension funds) 16,985,672 4.8 3.8 AMF Pensionsförsäkring AB (labour market insurances) 16,130,000 4.7 3.7 Skandia (insurance group) 12,722,804 4.7 2.9 Nordbankens aktiefonder (saving funds) 10,760,625 3.6 2.4 Trygg-Hansa Försäkring (insurance group) 7,074,343 2.9 1.6 SEB/Trygg/ABB aktiefonder (saving funds) 6,674,230 2.9 1.5 Parcitas Investment SA 4,975,000 2.9 1.1
Distribution of shares, Dec 31, 1998 Volvo shareholders owning  Number of shareholders % Number of shares Share of capital, % 1– 500 shares 182,046 86.4 19,124,640 4.3 501– 1,000 shares 15,072 7.2 11,537,075 2.6 1,001– 2,000 shares 7,550 3.6 11,021,076 2.5 2,001– 5,000 shares 3,900 1.9 12,184,745 2.8 5,001– 10,000 shares 914 0.4 6,548,794 1.5 10,001– 20,000 shares 427 0.2 6,017,382 1.4 20,001– 50,000 shares 259 0.1 7,958,222 1.8 50,001– 100,000 shares 146 0.1 10,538,236 2.4 100,001– shares 284 0.1 356,590,715 80.7 Total   210,598 100 441,520,885 100