STOCKHOLM, Jan. 23, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Carnegie (SSE:CAR) today announced year-end results, teleconference date.

The Nordic stock market index closed 25 per cent down during 2001 after having been down by 40 per cent at its bottom in September. Turnover in the Nordic equity markets was down by 14 per cent. Mergers & Acquisition volumes were down by 37 per cent and Initial Public Offerings were down by 64 per cent.

In these challenging markets, Carnegie managed to reinforce its position as the leading Nordic investment bank. Total income for the year 2001 was SEK 3,440 million, down 19 per cent from 2000 (SEK 4,247 million). Income from business area Securities was SEK 1,615 million, down 29 per cent, Investment Banking income was SEK 901 million, down 6 per cent and Asset Management & Private Banking income was SEK 924 million, down 10 per cent. Total assets under management were SEK 73 billion, down by 8 per cent.

Net profit for 2001 was SEK 572 million, down 48 per cent from 2000. The profit corresponds to a return on equity of 38 per cent (85 per cent). Earnings per share were SEK 8.76 based on average number of shares (SEK 17.20).

The Tier 1 ratio excluding the profit for 2001 is 20.0 per cent, which well exceeds the target ratio of 15 per cent. The Board of Directors will therefore, subject to the final audit, propose a dividend of SEK 8.57 per share, corresponding to 100 per cent of earnings per share, calculated on outstanding number of shares at year-end.

Total expenses for 2001 were down by 15 per cent to SEK 2,522 million, reflecting an increase in operating expenses excluding bonus of 20 per cent and bonus expenses declining by 48 per cent.

The result from principal investments was SEK -65 million (SEK 251 million), mainly reflecting the mark-to market valuation of Carnegie's holding in Orc Software.

From January 2002, Carnegie's shares are traded at Attract 40, a special section of the O-list of Stockholmsborsen consisting of the 40 most actively traded shares.

Quotations from Lars Bertmar, CEO:

"Carnegie has further strengthened its market position in all business areas. We have chosen to stay close to our clients also in difficult markets, in order to maintain or improve the service levels. It is therefore our firm belief that we are also well positioned to take advantage of any improvement of the market conditions.

Our long-term strategy is to grow relative to competition. Despite the poor markets, we have therefore continued to grow our staff, which increased by 23 per cent in 2001. This is the main reason for our 20 per cent increase in cost excluding bonus costs.

Carnegie's strategy is also not to hoard unnecessary capital. Since our capital meets very conservative capital ratios, I am glad that we end our first year as a public company by announcing that the Board of Directors will propose a dividend of 100 per cent of the profit."

CEO's comment on 2001

"The year 2001 was a difficult year in many ways. It was a year of continued slowdown in the global economic growth leading to significantly lower equity valuations. The tragic events in the U.S. on September 11 underlined the uncertainty and the extremely challenging market conditions. Despite the recovery in the markets during the last quarter the stock market development for the full year 2001 was negative. The Nordic stock market index fell 25 per cent, Mergers & Acquisitions activity declined by 37 per cent and Initial Public Offerings decreased by 64 per cent during 2001.

In these challenging markets, Carnegie's total income for 2001 was down 19 per cent from the record-year 2000. In Securities, income was down by 29 per cent, in Investment Banking income was down by 6 per cent and in Asset Management income fell by 10 per cent. The moderate decline in income indicates that we have maintained or strengthened our market positions in all business areas.

Our strategy to focus as a Nordic investment bank proved successful in the difficult market conditions. The Nordic focus is a key element to become number one in the targeted businesses.

We have chosen a strategy to stay close to our clients in order to maintain or improve service levels also in tough market conditions. Although the market development has emphasised the need for cost-consciousness in the organisation, we have not introduced any traditional personnel reduction programs. In fact, strategic recruitments have been made in targeted growth segments. A long period of rapid growth in income also has created lagged demand for personnel and additional premises, which lead to an increase in operating expenses of 25 per cent in the first half of 2001, year-on year. The cost increase is now levelling off due to a lower increase in personnel; total expenses before bonus were unchanged from the first half to the second half of 2001. In total, the costs before bonus for 2001 amounted to SEK 1,738 million, an increase of 20 per cent.

The listing on Stockholmsborsen in June 2001 was an important step in the strategic development of Carnegie, making it possible to continue having equity-related incentive programs as instrument to retain and recruit staff. The decentralised decision-model, the bonus model and the widespread shareholding among the employees are key factors for the commitment from Carnegie's employees to service our clients in the best possible way and thus to take advantage of any recovery of the financial markets."

Dividend

The Board of Directors of D. Carnegie & Co AB will, subject to final audit, propose a dividend of SEK 8.57 per share, which corresponds to 100 per cent of earnings per share (calculated on number of shares at year-end). The total dividend amounts to SEK 572 million and will be distributed to shareholders on 22 March 2002. The last day for trading in the Carnegie share including dividend is 14 March 2002.

Auditors' examination

This year-end release has not been reviewed by the company's auditors.

Teleconference

A teleconference to discuss the year-end release will be held on 24 January at 09.00 AM (CET). The teleconference will be open to the public. In order to participate, please call +44 (0)20 8781 0571. The conference call will also be accessible as an audio web cast (including slide presentation) at www.carnegie.se/ir and at www.financialhearings.com. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available on the mentioned websites approximately one hour after the event.

Financial calendar

The annual report for 2001 will be available at Carnegie's headquarters from 14 February 2002.

The printed version of the annual report will be distributed to shareholders and available at www.carnegie.se/ir at the end of February 2002. Carnegie's financial information will be presented at the following dates during 2002:

 Capital markets day: 7 March 2002
 Annual General Meeting: 14 March, 2002
 Interim report Jan-March: 17 April 2002
 Interim report Jan-June: 17 July 2002
 Interim report Jan-Sept: 16 October 2002

Additional information is available at www.carnegie.se/ir.

The full text of this release, including the financial tables can be found at http://reports.huginonline.com/845909/98517.pdf

Carnegie is the leading Nordic investment bank and asset management firm operating in three principal business areas: Securities, Investment Banking and Asset Management & Private Banking. Carnegie provides a wide array of products and services to Nordic and international clients from offices in seven countries: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Luxembourg, the UK and the US.