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VIPsight

Corporate Governance – portrayed in the individual cultural and legal framework, from the standpoint of equity capital.

VIPsight is a dynamic photo archive, sorted by nations and dates, by and for those interested in CG from all over the world.

VIPsight offers, every month:
transparent and independent current information / comments / facts and figures on corporate governance locally and internationally,

  • written by local CG experts,
  • selected and structured by the Club of Florence,
  • financed by its initiator VIP and other sponsors with a background of “Equity and Advisory” interests.
     

VIPsight International


Article Index

 

VIPsight - July 2014

 

COMPANIES

 

 

Probable claims for Rhön-Klinikum

 

The Rhön-Klinikum general shareholders’ meeting, substantially hostage to the dissatisfaction of a group of small shareholders, voted en bloc (99.35%) to buy back shares worth 1.7 thousand million Euros. This is the approach that Rhön intends adopting to distribute most of the revenue deriving from the sale of 40 clinics –worth 3 thousand million Euros overall – to Fresenius. Furthermore, Martin Sieber has announced his intention of using 800 million Euros to reduce the company’s indebtedness. Some 200 million Euros will be invested notes the company. The chain of clinics will need to prepare to deal with the claims for nullification deriving from the contradictions minuted. Alternatively the funds could be distributed in cash among the shareholders as a dividend. The shareholders are also unhappy with the proposed appointment of Ludwig Georg Braun  to the Supervisory Board because of the conflict of interest stemming from B. Braun Melsungen being supplier of medical products to Rhön-Klinikum.  Only 74.14% voted in favour of appointing the patriarchal figure to the Supervisory Board. Its holding of approximately 18% makes B. Braun Melsungen Rhön’s largest shareholder even including Eugen Münch, the man who founded the group of clinics, and his wife. Other blocks of shares are held by Fresenius and the Asklepios group.

 

Deutsche Beteiligungs AG

The critical situation in the Ukraine, the strain being felt by the currencies of the BRIC nations and the dip in growth forecasts are all factors that run counter to the well-being of SDax-listed Deutsche Beteiligungs AG. This year’s second quarter results post an EBIT that has plummeted to less than half the value of the corresponding period of the previous year and now stands at 5.7 million Euros.

According to management, the reason for this lies mainly in the group’s holdings in companies that are not traded on the stock exchange, notwithstanding the normalcy of their share price oscillation. In any case the board of directors is bracing itself for a lower group result for financial year 2013-14 than the previous year.

 

Deutsche Beteiligungs AG invests in SMEs. At the end of April its portfolio contained 20 participations most of which were in machine -tool and plant manufacturers.

 

 

Adler Mode: Surfing the wave of democracy

Prime Standard-listed Adler Modemärkte AG has opted for expansion with an additional 100 new sales points to be added to the existing 140, principallyl in the medium and large size towns and cities in Germany. Sights are also being set on German speaking markets abroad. The brand is designed with the over 45s in mind, a segment in continual growth in our ageing society. The first quarter results give rise to optimism; the shops generated a turnover of 113 million Euros, an increase of 8.4 percent over last year. There is, however, a deficit, which this year, though is 20 percent down on last year’s. For just under a year the majority ownership of the company has been in the hands of the Steinmann apparel group and the financial investment concern Equinox. There have been times in the past when the company seemed to have lost its way, and the share price suffered as a consequence. Three years ago the issue price was 10 Euros, at the end of 2011 it had fallen to 3.90 Euros. Today it is higher than the issue price.

 

 

Nanofocus AG: disappointing turnover and results

The turnover and results for 2013 of Nanofocus AG, producer of technology for measuring 3-D surface areas, are disappointing. Turnover is down from the previous year’s 8.94 million Euros to 8.18 million in 2013. The profit of 0.15 million Euros is now a loss of 1.4 million. The Entry standard-listed company is counting on a turnover for 2014 of  11 million Euros and, optimistically, an envisaged profit of 0.33 million Euros. The grounds for optimism are a healthy order book; at the end of 2013, orders stood at 9.51 million Euros.