DGAP-News

STRATEC reports substantial growth in 2016 - Seite 3

The Group continued to receive numerous milestone payments for development services. These projects and the subsequent market launches will drive the growth planned for the years ahead.

These earnings figures have been adjusted to exclude one-off items resulting from transaction and restructuring activities, associated financing and tax expenses, tax effects relating to restructuring expenses, and one-off items resulting from the tax audit for the 2009 to 2013 assessment periods.

Financial forecast

The existing forecast remains valid and STRATEC plans to provide an update upon the publication of its Half-yearly Financial Report on July 25, 2017.

Dividend proposal

Given STRATEC's positive business performance in 2016, its persistently strong earnings performance, and its positive long-term outlook, the Board of Management and Supervisory Board of STRATEC Biomedical AG will propose the distribution of a dividend of EUR 0.77 per share for the 2016 financial year for approval by the Annual General Meeting on June 14, 2017. This would represent an increase of 2.7% on the previous year when the dividend payment was EUR 0.75 per share.

Subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting, shareholders can therefore expect to benefit from the thirteenth consecutive increase in the dividend since payment of the first dividend in 2004. STRATEC always strives to maintain its continuity-based dividend policy. As the Group continues to focus on internal and external growth opportunities, it may deviate temporarily from this approach. Such opportunities may result from larger-scale acquisitions or from the need to provide potential advance financing for major projects.

Development in personnel

Including personnel hired from a temporary employment agency and trainees, the STRATEC Group had a total of 976 employees as of December 31, 2016 (previous year: 583). The majority of this increase was due to the acquisitions made in 2016.

To facilitate further growth through expansion, the Group enlarged production capacities at its Swiss location with an extension completed in 2016. Building work on a new development center at the Romanian location began in late 2015 and this was occupied in the second half of 2016. Diatron is also set to move into a further building in the first half of the current year.