VIPsight - December 2013

COMPANIES

Jungheinrich: forecast corrected

S-Dax-listed fork-lift truck manufacturer Jungheinrich AG, has revised its earnings forecast downwards for the current year. Delayed production start-up in the new Bavarian factory at Degernpoint and weak market conditions are blamed as management resets its sights downward forecasting earnings of between 165 and 170 million Euros instead of the initial 165 to 175 million. Delay in the new factory start-up in September meant that fewer vehicles than expected were produced for a European market already sluggish. Income from the German market between January and September even dropped two percent compared to last year

Recovery of the Chinese market, however, should favour the demand for Jungheinrich in Asia.. Business in the USA is also expected to show substantial growth.

Jungheinrich is upbeat about its prospects for 2014, confident of an upswing in the worldwide economy and expects that a number of strategically placed investment initiatives will pay off and create the conditions for riding high on the market’s renewed buoyancy.

Hess: Scandal much worse.

The scandal surrounding the accounts of lighting manufacturer Hess AG is looming even larger than thought. Up to now, the sum mentioned for the fraud was set in excess of 26 million Euros. The receivers, however, now put the figure at over 45 million. The webpage of Hess AG, until last year a stock-market listed company, now features an exhaustive auditor’s report giving minute details of all the fraudulent entries prior to the IPO.

According to this source, the total value of the false invoices was approximately 26 million Euros, to which, says the auditor, must be added to current business in which the self same machinery was bought and sold a number of times within the group with the profit posted on Hess AG’s accounts. Furthermore, the losses that were to be expected from transactions with subsidiary companies were not posted properly.

The two members of the Board of Managenìment, Christoph Hess and Peter Ziegler continue to deny the charges. The company receiver Volker Grube has decided to sue the two former Board members for damages as soon as the receivership period is over.  In his experience, years will go by before a sentence is handed down. The lighting company was listed in Autumn 2012 with some 36 million Euros; four months later, it was obliged to declare bankruptcy in the stock exchange. after publishing fraudulent accounts

SGL: following in same-name footsteps

SGL Carbon SE,  MDax listed manufacturer of carbon products has appointed Jürgen Köhler to succeed Robert Koehler who has chaired the Board of Directors for many years. After twenty years Koehler senior is retiring from his post as CEO for reasons of age. He is considered one of Germany’s top managers for the length of time serving the same company. Jürgen Köhler was appointed to the Board of Directors in June 2013 after having covered a series of management positions since 2002. His task is to continue to implement and develop  company strategy.

Simultaneously, it was decided to reduce the Board of Directors from five members to three. Theodore H. Breyer left the Board last October, he too for reasons of age, and Armin Bruch has reached agreement with the company to resign also.

From next year, the Board of Directors will be composed of the Chair, Jürgen Köhler, CFO Jürgen Muth and Gerd Wingefeld.