VIPsight - May 2013

COMPANIES

Resistance to Klatten

Christian Strenger has put a counter-motion to the Annual General Meeting of SGL Carbon against discharging the Supervisory Board. The corporate-governance expert complained that the Board had not informed fully about Susanne Klatten’s role and potential conflicts of interest. The deputy Supervisory Board chairman has around a 28 per cent stake in SGL through Skion. Together with her ​​brother and her mother she also has 46.7 per cent of BMW. The Bavarian automakers in turn hold 15.72 per cent of the SGL shares. Both companies also have a joint subsidiary, of great significance for both. The 50-year-old also sits on the Supervisory Board of BMW, and her brother Stefan Quandt even on the Bureau. Strenger finds it unrealistic that Klatten can keep the interests of both companies sufficiently apart. SGL rejects the allegations. In the past business year no conflicts of interest had arisen.

Carl Zeiss Meditec: Ophthalmology depresses sales

The TecDax company Carl Zeiss Meditec AG had to accept a decline of five percent in the first half of the year in the ophthalmology segment. The second-largest segment shrank in sales from around 185 million to around 175 million euros. However, new orders offer hope for improvement by the end of the business year in September.

On the other hand, the microsurgery division has developed positively. The strongest division of the medical group increased its sales by six percent to about 207 million euros. In the eye-surgery segment too, the Company based in Jena recorded positive figures. It has increased its sales there by about three per cent to around 442 million euros. The company owes the positive figures for the first quarter of 2013 to the Asian and North American markets. Carl Zeiss Meditec will present the complete semi-annual report in May.

Constantin Medien: debt restructuring with bond

In April, Constantin Medien AG placed an SME loan, a bond with a volume of 65 million euros, in the Entry Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Due to high demand, the company stopped the subscription period again on the issue date. The paper has a maturity of five years - the annual interest rate is seven percent.

With the proceeds the Bavarian media group aims to pay off liabilities and also expand its portfolio. On the road to greater profitability Constantin has made good progress over the past year by its own account, and has recorded a sales increase of twelve percent. Already in 2010, the company, from Ismaning near Munich, had issued a bond, but placed privately with a coupon of nine percent. The international media company is primarily focused on the areas of sport, film and event marketing. The Group is involved in the Swiss media company Highlight Communications AG and is owner of the television and Internet radio station Sport 1.

Bauer: fall despite growth

Although the construction equipment manufacturer Bauer AG achieved a good result in fiscal 2012, analysts are disappointed by the SDax company: earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell, despite an increase in total Group revenues, from around 82 million euros to 71 million euros. All the same, at the end of the financial year the civil-engineering specialist had a backlog of 785 million euros, almost five percent above the previous year.

In 2013, Bauer expects only moderate growth in total group revenues and EBIT, to 85 million euros. This is due, the company says, to risks and volatile markets in the construction business as well as the reluctance of machine customers to invest.

Nanogate: coating success pays for the first time

The Entry Standard company Nanogate AG will pay its shareholders a dividend for the first time. Now that the provider of high-performance surfaces has increased its total sales for the third time in a row, the company plans a dividend of 10 cents per share. The General Meeting in June will decide on the proposal.

The coating specialist recently reported sales growth of around 15 percent: earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) even multiplied from around one million euros to nearly 3 million euros. While the Group's earnings per share in 2011 was still negative, in 2012 it was at 10 cents. For 2013 Nanogate expects a stable operating profit: turnover should increase due to strong demand, despite losses from investments.

Biotest: Hessians on the road to success

A turnover of over 500 million euros and a doubling of the share value – that's how analysts see SDax-listed Biotest AG by 2014. It is mainly investments in the U.S. that are to take the biological health products provider forward. Most recently, the drug Bivigam developed by Biotest – to treat immune deficiencies – received its marketing authorization. Experts believe it will bring a revival of the previously weak U.S. business, and expect additional sales of 100 million euros over the next two years. Further gains from the sale of human albumin to China are in view. The Hessian company's distribution agreement with Wanbang Biopharma should additionally bring in some 30 to 40 million euros in sales by 2014.

As a further ace in the hole the product Cytotec is being traded: it works against cytomegalovirus and should ensure strong sales growth from 2015. Moreover, the market for immunoglobulins (antibodies) grows each year by an estimated seven percent. These substances are the Hessians' core business and should according to latest findings act against Alzheimer's, which would open up enormous opportunities for growth.