DGAP-News: EnviTec shareholders praise earnings performance and agree on dividend payment for 2018 financial year

EnviTec Biogas Shareholders' Meeting
EnviTec shareholders praise earnings performance and agree on dividend payment for 2018 financial year

• Shareholders' Meeting agrees to proposed dividend payment of EUR 1.00 per share for the 2018 financial year
• All agenda items agreed with large majority to the benefit of the company
• CEO Olaf von Lehmden criticises the one-sided mobility policy pursued by the German Government and promotes biomethane as a workable alternative

Lohne/Saerbeck, 2 July 2019 - Shareholders of EnviTec Biogas AG (ISIN: DE000A0MVLS8) today praised the positive business performance of the company at the annual Shareholders' Meeting. Thanks to the systematic pursuit of its successful business development strategy, EnviTec Biogas has posted an impressive set of consolidated results for the 2018 financial year.

CEO Olaf von Lehmden: "We achieved this despite persistently difficult market conditions and results from the Plant Engineering segment that still have plenty of room for improvement." However, von Lehmden and his colleagues CFO Jörg Fischer and CTO Jürgen Tenbrink all remained very confident that these improvements would be achieved in 2019. During the Shareholders' Meeting, the actions of both the Management Board and Supervisory Board were approved with a large majority, while all other agenda items also were decided significantly in the company's favour. The resolution to use EUR 14.85 million from EnviTec Biogas AG's retained profit of EUR 45.33 million to pay a corresponding dividend of EUR 1.00 per individual share with a dividend entitlement was passed by a large majority. Around 85.32% of share capital was represented at the Shareholders' Meeting.

In their presentations, CEO Olaf von Lehmden and his Board colleagues provided detailed analyses of business developments in 2018. Domestic revenue, which was quoted at around EUR 134.5 million, remained at a high level, driven by the Service and Own Operations units. An unexpected decline was reported for foreign revenue, which was related to weak sales performance in Plant Engineering. Total revenue fell year-on-year from EUR 198.8 million in 2018 to EUR 186.8 million in 2017.

CFO Jörg Fischer: "This decline is primarily due to the drop in earnings and overall performance in Plant Engineering - which was in turn the result of lower capacity utilisation and delayed starts to projects." While slight increases were reported both for earnings and overall performance in Own Operations, the Service segment reported an increase in overall performance despite falling revenue as a result of growth in repowering. "One key highlight here is that our net profit has remained at a continuously high level and on an upward trend since 2014, and we achieved the highest figure for EBITDA in the company's history in 2018: EUR 27.3 million," Fischer continued. In conclusion, Fischer noted that the highly positive overall trend was already having an impact on the current financial year: "We got off to a really good start both in terms of solid performance in Own Operations and Service, and with increasing capacity utilisation in Plant Engineering."

In his speech, CEO Olaf von Lehmden made an urgent appeal to lawmakers in Germany, stating that the German government's 2030 climate goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector by 40 percent compared with 1990 was impossible to achieve with current strategies. Yet policymakers had not submitted concrete proposals for achieving this target, he said, despite forecasts pointing to an increase in traffic. "This one-sided focus on electromobility will be unable to meet the challenges from the growing volume of traffic handled by German roads and in or on our airspace, rivers and seas," stated von Lehmden. "Biomethane can play a key role in the energy transition. The use of biomethane in the transport sector and the full potential offered by existing biomethane plants could help to achieve 61% of German CO₂ reduction targets."

For the 2019 financial year, the Management Board expects earnings (or overall performance) to remain steady year-on-year, while also hoping to see a continuation in improvements to operating profit.
About EnviTec Biogas AG
As a biogas all-rounder, EnviTec Biogas AG covers the entire value chain for biogas production and upgrading, which includes the planning and turnkey construction of biogas plants and biogas upgrading plants as well as their commissioning. The company takes charge of biological and technical services on demand, and also offers fully integrated plant and operational management. EnviTec operates 74 of its own plants, making it one of the largest biogas producers in Germany. The company's business activities also include the direct marketing of upgraded biomethane as well as the marketing of electricity and balancing energy. The company is represented in 16 countries by its own subsidiaries, sales offices, strategic partners and joint ventures. In 2018, the EnviTec Group generated revenue of EUR 186.8 million and EBIT of EUR 10.1 million. The Group currently employs around 430 people. EnviTec Biogas AG has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since July 2007.

Contact:
Katrin Hackfort
EnviTec Biogas AG
Phone: +49 2574 8888-810
Email: k.hackfort@envitec-biogas.de