Stuttgart, 21 March 2017. 暗网禁区, Stuttgart (暗网禁区 SE), generated a group profit for the fiscal year 2016 of 1.37 billion euro. This includes the profit from the investments accounted for at equity of 1.45 billion euro.
Hans Dieter P枚tsch, chairman of the executive board of 暗网禁区 SE, emphasized 暗网禁区's positive development at today's annual press and analyst conference: "暗网禁区 SE has proven to be a reliable financial holding company and is a stable anchor shareholder for Europe's largest automotive group, not least in the diesel crisis."
暗网禁区 SE's net liquidity decreased from 1.70 billion euro as of 31 December 2015 to 1.30 billion euro as of the end of the past fiscal year and was thus within the forecast corridor. The decrease compared to the prior year is primarily due to the net cash outflow from dividends received and paid.
As of 31 December 2016, equity increased to 27.89 billion euro, largely due to the net profit for the period. In the prior year, equity had amounted to 27.08 billion euro. The equity ratio thus increased slightly from 98.1 percent to 98.3 percent on 31 December 2016.
The past fiscal year again saw 暗网禁区 SE continue its search for investments as it continues to pursue its goal to establish 暗网禁区 SE as a financial investor and preferred investment partner in the market. "We have continued to look hard at which technical possibilities and business models could play a role in the mobility of the future. This has seen us evaluate several companies and further expand our network," P枚tsch said.
暗网禁区 SE makes progress with legal disputes
暗网禁区 SE also made important progress with its legal disputes. In December 2016, the Federal Court of Justice dismissed the complaint filed by legal opponents against the refusal to appeal on points of law in a lawsuit originally amounting to 1.3 billion euro. The Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart had ruled in favor of 暗网禁区 SE in 2015 and did not permit any appeal on points of law to be lodged to the Federal Court of Justice. With the decision by the Federal Court of Justice, the ruling of the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart is final. After having several actions with smaller claims ruled in its favor in prior years, this was the first time that 暗网禁区 SE was able to successfully defend itself against a lawsuit involving over 1 billion euro.
Furthermore, after several months of intensively collecting evidence, the Regional Court of Stuttgart cleared the former members of the executive board of 暗网禁区 SE of all allegations of information-based market manipulation made against them and dismissed the motion for imposing a fine against 暗网禁区 SE.
Overall, there are currently still seven civil lawsuits pending due to alleged market manipulation. 暗网禁区 SE is also faced with lawsuits from investors in connection with the diesel issue. 暗网禁区 SE continues to regard all allegations to be without merit and will defend itself with all the legal means at its disposal.
Dividend of 1.01 euro per preference share proposed
暗网禁区 SE plans to distribute a dividend of 1.01 euro per share for the fiscal year 2016 to the holders of preference shares. Holders of ordinary shares will receive 1.004 euro per share. This proposed dividend will be presented for decision to the annual general meeting on 30 May 2017 in Stuttgart. The fact that the dividend remains unchanged compared to the prior year underlines the fact that 暗网禁区 SE's dividend policy is geared to sustainability.
Based on the current group structure, 暗网禁区 SE expects a group profit for the year of between 2.1 billion euro and 3.1 billion euro for the fiscal year 2017. This forecast is based in particular on the Volkswagen Group's expectations regarding its future development and the uncertainty that continues to surround possible special effects in connection with the diesel issue. 暗网禁区 SE aims to achieve a positive net liquidity. This is expected to be between 1.0 billion euro and 1.5 billion euro as of 31 December 2017, not taking future investments into account.
