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BERU’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting approves dividend of EUR 0.83 for short financial year 2005The Executive Board Chairman of BERU AG, Marco von Maltzan, reported in his speech at the meeting on short financial year 2005 on BERU’s ongoing growth strategy. The Group continued along its path of profitable growth in the reporting period. With sales revenues of EUR 305.8 million, the mark of EUR 300 million was surpassed for the first time in a nine-month period. BERU is Number 1 in the world for Diesel Cold-Start Technology. The Executive Board has the stated goal of further improving the Group’s strong market position also in its divisions of Ignition Technology and Electronics and Sensor Technology. In view of BERU’s solid financial position, the Executive Board is also reviewing opportunities for external growth. “Key technologies and market niches with strong growth have our full attention,” commented Marco von Maltzan on the Group’s growth strategy. Due to the startup of new products and additional efficiency improvements in BERU’s international production network, the Executive Board is confident that the Company will successfully defend its position in a difficult market environment also in the year 2006. As a result of the positive business trend in the second quarter and the good outlook for the full year, the Executive Board has raised its revenue and earnings forecasts for the current financial year. “Assuming that the world economy and the automotive industry develop in line with market forecasts, we anticipate sales revenues in 2006 at the upper end of the previous target corridor of EUR 425 million to EUR 435 million, and possibly even slightly higher. And we expect correspondingly higher earnings. In full-year 2006, BERU anticipates earnings before interest and taxes of at least EUR 52 million,” stated Marco von Maltzan on BERU’s organic growth targets. High attendance of 74.2% at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting Attended by nearly 300 shareholders and guests, 74.2% of the Company’s capital stock was represented at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting (2005: 74.6%). The meeting approved the proposal on the appropriation of the balance-sheet profit with 99.8% of the votes cast. The actions of the members of the Executive Board and the members of the Supervisory Board in short financial year 2005 were both ratified with 96.1% of the votes. With 96.8% of the votes, the meeting once again elected Bayerische Treuhandgesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft Steuerberatungsgesellschaft, of Munich, as the independent auditors for the 2006 financial year. The other items of the agenda, which were mainly concerned with an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation relating to the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code and the provisions of the German Corporate Integrity and Modernization of the Right of Rescission Act (UMAG), were approved in the form recommended by the management. Authorization to acquire own shares With 96.8% of the votes, the shareholders authorized the Company to purchase its own shares in a volume up to10% of the capital stock. The authorization is to be regarded as a contingent resolution, as no concrete plans currently exist to acquire own shares. The Company does not hold any of its own shares at present. The exact voting results on all the items of the agenda have been posted here.
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