EQS-Adhoc

Cham Paper Group Holding AG: Full year 2016 - Progress in all areas - Seite 3

Balance sheet remains strong

The Cham Paper Group still has a healthy balance sheet. Concentrating production in Italy enabled inventories to be cut by 20%, reducing total assets and liabilities. The investment made in the conversion of the workshop building in Cham increased the value of the Group's tangible fixed assets by nearly 4%. The equity ratio amounted to 55.4% at the end of the year (end of 2015: 50.6%) and the Group held cash and cash equivalents totalling CHF 42 million. The site in Cham is currently still valued at acquisition cost.

Increased dividend

The Cham Paper Group's healthy operating profit means that it can propose a higher payout to its shareholders. The intention is to increase the dividend from CHF 3 (2015) to CHF 4 per share, once again to be paid in the form of a distribution from capital reserves, which will be tax-free for private investors. The Board of Directors will also propose to the General Meeting of Shareholders that all its members be re-elected.

Positive outlook across all divisions

The Board of Directors and the Executive Board believe that the Group has a bright future. The paper division will be in a position to generate additional growth over the next few years. Leveraging potential efficiency and productivity gains should ensure that profitability remains at between 5 and 12% of EBIT margin over the long term, i.e. within the target range previously announced. The real estate division will be implementing the first phase of its construction project in 2017, which will deliver a significant increase in rental income from 2020 onwards.

Annual Report 2016

The complete annual report (in German) is available on our website in the Investor Relations section (see «Financial Reports») or directly under the following link:
http://ir.champaper.ch/cgi-bin/show.ssp?id=310&companyName=champaper&l ...

Key Figures