DGAP-Adhoc: technotrans withdraws dividend proposal for 2019 and forecast for 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic; preliminary first-quarter figures
DGAP-Ad-hoc: technotrans SE / Key word(s): Dividend/Change in Forecast
technotrans withdraws dividend proposal for 2019 and forecast for 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic; preliminary first-quarter figures
30-Apr-2020 / 14:30 CET/CEST
Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Disclosure of inside information in accordance with Article 17 of MAR
Ad hoc information from technotrans SE (ISIN: DE000A0XYGA7)
Sassenberg, April 30, 2020 - The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board of technotrans SE today jointly resolved to withdraw their previous proposal for the appropriation of accumulated profit published in the invitation to the Annual General Meeting and to submit a new, amended proposal for the appropriation of accumulated profit for the financial year 2019 to the Annual General Meeting.
With regard to recent announcements by the German government in the last few days, there is a risk that for the first-time access to short-time allowances when a dividend is paid out will be restricted or completely denied. However, it is important to prevent any disadvantages for technotrans in connection with the use of short-time allowances, even as the Group has sufficient liquidity in the foreseeable future and according to the current planning. The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board therefore had to react quickly to these uncertainties caused by politics.
The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board now propose to the Annual General Meeting that no dividend shall be paid for the 2019 financial year and that the accumulated profit shall be carried forward in full. The original proposal provided for a dividend of 0.44 euro per share. The amended proposal for the appropriation of profit does not represent a fundamental change of the dividend policy of technotrans SE of distributing up to 50 per cent of the accumulated net profit of the Group.
Furthermore, the Board of Management of technotrans SE today decided to withdraw the forecast for the financial year 2020 published on March 10, 2020. In view of the continuing global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not possible to predict how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect technotrans Group's business in 2020 with sufficient reliability. The Board of Management is therefore currently refraining from announcing a new forecast for the 2020 financial year and will publish a new forecast as soon as this is sufficiently reliable.
Despite the initial effects of the pandemic, particularly at the production site in China, business development in the first quarter was in line with previous expectations and announcements. Based on preliminary and unaudited figures, the technotrans Group generated consolidated revenue of 52.2 million euro and a consolidated EBIT of 1.8 million euro in the first three months of the 2020 financial year. technotrans has a solid financial position including a strong balance sheet and a sound liquidity position. technotrans will publish its quarterly report for the first quarter of 2020 on May 12, 2020.
Further information on this, in particular on the new profit appropriation proposal and on this year's virtual Annual General Meeting on May 20, 2020, are available on the company's website.
Contact: technotrans SE, Investor Relations, Frank Dernesch, phone +49 (0)2583/301-1868,
Email: frank.dernesch@technotrans.de
End of the ad hoc announcement
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