DGAP-News

GRENKE AG: GRENKE informs about exonerating statements and points of criticism of BaFin's special auditor - Seite 6

Earnings forecast for fiscal year 2020

GRENKE expects an after-tax result in the upper double-digit million range for fiscal year 2020. The balance sheet equity ratio as of December 31, 2020 was around 16 percent. The company has net liquidity of EUR 1,290 million as of February 22, 2021.

Sebastian Hirsch, CFO of GRENKE AG, said, "We have been turned upside down. We have changed many things and we will implement further improvements. What remains is substance, profitability and a strong equity base."

Outlook

The time-consuming audits in particular were the primary cause for significant delays and the reason it has not yet been possible to set a corporate calendar for 2021.

The audit opinion with regard to the consolidated financial statements is expected in the second quarter of 2021. KPMG will report the final results of the audit as of December 31, 2020 in the audit report and in the auditor's opinion.

The Board of Directors remains in very close and constructive contact with the auditing company KPMG for the normal audit of the annual financial statements and with the other auditing companies in the context of the ongoing special audits. Isabel Rösler, who has been a member of the Board of Directors since January 2021, is responsible for coordination with BaFin and monitors the implementation of the measures decided on the basis of the audit results. On the Supervisory Board, Jens Rönnberg has assumed this role as interim Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, who joined GRENKE in November 2019.

Disclaimer:
This document is a non-binding convenience translation of the German original. In the
event of any conflict or inconsistency between the English translation and the German
original, the German original shall prevail.

For further information, please contact:
GRENKE AG
Team Investor Relations
Neuer Markt 2
76532 Baden-Baden
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.grenke.com

Press contact
Stefan Wichmann
Executive Communications Consulting
Alfred-Bierwirth-Weg 2
D-53572 Unkel (near Bonn)
Phone: [phone]