Tweet

Annual General Meeting of SMA Solar Technology AG Approves Dividend Payout of?0.60 per Share

SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/FWB: S92) shareholders granted full discharge to the Managing Board and Supervisory Board for the fiscal year 2012 with a clear majority of over 99 percent at today-s 2013 Annual General Meeting in Kassel. The remaining items on the agenda were also passed with a large majority. More than 450 shareholders attended the 2013 Annual General Meeting of SMA Solar Technology AG, and 87 percent of those with voting rights were present. The Annual General Meeting followed the suggestion of the Managing Board and Supervisory Board and approved the payout of a dividend of ?0.60 per qualifying bearer share for the fiscal year 2012 (2011: ?1.30 per share).
“SMA stands by its long-term dividend policy, even in difficult times. With a payout ratio of 27.7 percent based on consolidated net profit, we are within our target shareholder participation of 20 to 40 percent. The predominant portion of the generated profit will remain in the company. This is appropriate, since SMA, as a technology company, invests considerable resources in research and development – in other words, in the future,” explains SMA Chief Executive Officer Pierre-Pascal Urbon. The SMA group generated sales of ?1.5 billion in 2012 and an operating profit (EBIT) of ?102 million. The SMA Managing Board predicts sales of ?0.9 billion to ?1.3 billion and a break-even result in the best scenario for 2013. The Managing Board cannot exclude the possibility of a loss. The dividends for the fiscal year 2012 will be paid out through the depository banks starting on May 24, 2013.
Ullrich Meßmer resigned from his position as a member of the Supervisory Board at SMA after the Annual General Meeting. His colleague Oliver Dietzel is to succeed him, subject to the approval of the District Court Kassel. Oliver Dietzel is the authorized representative of IG Metall in North Hesse and would carry out his position as a member of the SMA Supervisory Board as a part of his operative responsibilities in the region. Further employee representatives on the 12-person SMA Supervisory Board, which represents shareholders and employees equally, are Dr. Günther Häckl, Johannes Häde, Alexander Naujoks, Joachim Schlosser and Mirko Zeidler. Shareholder representatives include, as before, Günther Cramer (Chairman), Peter Drews, Dr. Erik Ehrentraut (Deputy Chairman), Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, Prof. (em.) Dr.-Ing. Werner Kleinkauf and Reiner Wettlaufer.
The speech and presentation given by the Managing Board at the Annual General Meeting along with further information can be found on the Internet at www.sma.de/en/investor-relations/annual-general-meeting.
Disclaimer:
This press release serves only as information and does not constitute an offer or invitation to subscribe for, acquire, hold or sell any securities of SMA Solar Technology AG (the “Company”) or any present or future subsidiary of the Company (together with the Company, the “SMA Group”) nor should it form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the Company or any member of the SMA Group or commitment whatsoever. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
This press release can contain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented statements are statements which do not describe facts of the past. They also include statements about our assumptions and expectations. These statements are based on plans, estimations and forecasts which the Managing Board of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA or company) has available at this time. Future-oriented statements are therefore only valid on the day on which they are made. Future-oriented statements by nature contain risks and elements of uncertainty. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors can lead to considerable differences between the actual results, the financial position, the development or the performance of the corporation and the estimates given here. These factors include those which SMA has discussed in published reports. These reports are available on the SMA website at www.SMA.de. The company accepts no obligation whatsoever to update these future-oriented statements or to adjust them to future events or developments.

The SMA Group generated sales of ?1.5 billion in 2012 and is the global market leader for solar inverters, a key component of all PV plants and, as an energy management group, offers innovative key technologies for future power supply structures. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented internationally in 21 countries. The Group employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. SMA-s broad product portfolio includes a compatible inverter for every type of module on the market and for all plant sizes. The product range includes both inverters for photovoltaic plants connected to the grid as well as inverters for off-grid systems. SMA is therefore able to provide ideal technical inverter solutions for all plant sizes and types. Since 2008, the Group-s parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and also in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards for excellence as an employer and achieved first place in the nationwide “Great Place to Work®” competition in 2011 and 2012 and fourth place in 2013.