NOTE comments on payment procedures
NOTE comments on payment procedures
In recent days, the media has highlighted an alleged deficiency in payment procedures at one of the NOTE group's subsidiaries, NOTE Norrtelje.
NOTE therefore wishes to make the following comment.
- NOTE has a very good relationship with its suppliers. We maintain close contact via our purchasing company (NOTE Components AB) and have annual supplier days (most recently in March 2004) where NOTE meets and discusses with suppliers how we can develop and improve our co-operation. One important point is surveys where suppliers give feedback on our co-operation.
- The subsidiary NOTE Norrtelje handles over 40,000 supplier invoices per year from some 500 active suppliers, paying SEK 6-7 million per week.
- The Group has a strict policy of only paying invoices that are correct. This leads from time to time to a discussion with a supplier about an invoice. In exceptional cases, there will also be a legal challenge.
- No supplier will have to wait for payments because of deliberately delayed payments or lack of cash with us. It is a completely unfounded assertion that NOTE is "borrowing money" from its suppliers ahead of the forthcoming IPO.
- The report in question, quoted in the media, comes from the credit rating agency Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). The report (Paydex) attempts to describe a company's payment patterns using information from a few selected suppliers
- D&B's own judgement - given the low number of suppliers in the analysis - is that it is not possible to comment with certainty on a company's general ability to pay using the report, but that it should be part of a general credit assessment together with credit ratings etc. NOTE Norrtelje is one of the few Swedish companies to have a triple-A rating (highest credit rating) from D&B.
Comment by NOTE's CEO:
"The NOTE group is a good payer. Despite this, we regret that any supplier has had problems with late payments from us. It cannot be ruled out that administrative procedures have failed in a few cases. We will carefully follow up that our requirements for correct payments are fully applied in the group," says Erik Stenfors, CEO of NOTE.
Further information is provided by:
Erik Stenfors, President and CEO of NOTE; +46 (0)176-799 01 or +46 (0)709-50 80 70
Gunilla Olsson, CFO NOTE AB; 0176-799 05 or 0709-50 80 71
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This information was sent by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.se
The following files are available for download:
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/06/09/20040609BIT20330/wkr0006.pdf