Centrosolar post EBITDA loss

Consolidated revenue came to around EUR 96 million (previous year EUR 186 million). The insolvent subsidiary Centrosolar AG, Hamburg, and its subsidiaries including Centrosolar Sonnenstromfabrik GmbH, Wismar, were included in the Consolidated Financial Statements up until October 18, 2013 (date of filing for insolvency). These subsidiaries previously constituted the largest division. However the continuation of Centrosolar Group AG under the intended insolvency plan depends not on the insolvent subsidiaries, but on the activities of the continuing operations. These comprise substantially the systems supplier in North America, Centrosolar America, Inc., the mounting systems supplier Renusol GmbH, and Centrosolar Grundstücksverwaltungs GmbH. According to provisional calculations Centrosolar America and Renusol together achieved revenue of just under EUR 29 million in the past financial year (previous year EUR 41 million). The EBITDA loss for these two business operations amounted to approx. EUR 12.0 to 12.5 million (prior-year loss EUR 2.0 million). This figure included approx. EUR 7.2 million in write-downs of loans to insolvent parts of the group. Other costs and write-downs of inventories totalling around EUR 3.5 to 4.0 million are to be regarded as non-recurrent. The intended insolvency plan of Centrosolar Group AG, the key features of which were announced on February 27, 2014, envisages continuing operations with a slimmed-down holding company and the subsidiary Centrosolar America, Inc. In a second scenario, Renusol GmbH could additionally be included in the continuation concept. The latter can be resolved with the approval of the creditors’ committee if it should not prove possible to sell this company at an acceptable price. If the plan is successfully implemented, Centrosolar expects in either continuation scenario to yield a balanced operating result for 2014 after the costs of completing the insolvency have been stripped out. According to the insolvency plan being sought, all creditors are to be satisfied on the one hand from the sales proceeds for the parts of the group to be disposed of, and on the other hand through the transfer of shares. The first step in bringing about a decision involved calling an initial meeting of bond creditors on March 18, 2014. The minimum requirement at this meeting is for 50 % of the outstanding bond capital to attend, but only around 37 % registered. This meeting has therefore not achieved a quorum. A second bond creditors’ meeting is therefore now being convened for Monday, April 14, 2014. The minimum attendance threshold for that meeting is only 25 % of the outstanding bond capital. Of the registrations received by the deadline, 99.3% had already issued voting instructions in writing. Of those creditors, 99.8 % had in turn voted in favour of the resolution being put forward. It envisages authorising the joint representative of the bond creditors to vote in favour of a conversion of the bond into shares in the company at the creditors’ meeting required under insolvency law, to be held in May 2014.