The average Swedish Match shareholder is male, 53.4 years of age and owns 100 shares (median).
Slightly more than half of the companys shareholders live in the three metropolitan regions of Stockholm,
Gothenburg and Malm�othenburg is clearly overrepresented, probably a legacy from the
spin-off from Volvo in 1996. One in four private shareholders have their shares in a custody account.
The above information is what can be gathered from Swedish Matchs computerized share register. We know nothing about shareholders incomes or wealth, car ownership, tobacco habits or how often they light a fire using a lighter or
match from Swedish Match.
Shares in Swedish Match are owned by 94,800 Swedish private individuals. The total shares held by private individuals only amount to slightly more than 10 percent of the share capital. In terms of numbers, private shareholders dominate in the share register and at Annual General Meetings, and also in terms of the number of copies of Inside and financial reports distributed.
However, many more Swedes have a indirect interest in Swedish Match through funds. Alecta owned 4,2 percent and Robur 3,7 percent in the end of March.
Further six percent is held jointly by the National Pension Funds. Consequently, millions of Swedes have an indirect interest in the companys performance.
Swedish Match shares are slightly more male than the average share. Among the 15 companies with the most shareholders, Swedish Match ranks in 10th place, with the percentage of females among private shareholders at 39 percent, which is slightly higher than for Volvo and Ericsson, but lower than the banks. Swedish Match has to a large extent inherited Volvos shareholder structure following the spin-off in 1996.
On average, men hold 10 percent more shares than women, which is why the percentage of shares held by women only accounts for 36 percent of the total value.
Shareholders represent a mature segment of the population. The average (median) age of the Swedish population is 40, while the median shareholder is 51.6 years old and the median Swedish Match shareholder is 55.7 years of age. This is clearly older than for companies such as Framfab and Ericsson, but lower than for the banks. For companies with many new shareholders, the average age is normally lower. Older shareholders own more shares. The average median) privately owned share is held by a person aged 57.7 years.
Share ownership in general is spread evenly throughout Sweden, with slight overrepresentation in the Stockholm region and underrepresentation in the M㫡rdalen area, the area surrounding Lake V㭥rn and the Bergslagen area.
Ownership of Swedish Match shares is also spread throughout the country, but with considerable overrepresentation of the Gothenburg area and, to some extent, also Stockholm, Sk䭥 and the area surrounding Lake V㭥rn. There is a clear
underrepresentation of shareholders in ճterg�nd, M㫡rdalen and Norrland (northern Sweden).