Corporate | 3 June 2015 15:34

INDUS Annual Shareholders’ Meeting decides dividend raise

INDUS Holding AG / Key word(s): AGM/EGM

2015-06-03 / 15:34

INDUS Annual Shareholders’ Meeting decides dividend raise

– Businesses performing according to plan in the first five months of the year
– Raguse GmbH joins Medical Engineering segment

Bergisch Gladbach, 3 June 2015 – Based on its performance during the first five months of the year, INDUS Holding AG is bullish about the company’s future prospects. Speaking at today’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in Cologne, CEO Jürgen Abromeit explained the business situation and confirmed management’s guidance for 2015. “We had a very promising start to the year and will continue to grow in 2015. We are planning to invest another approximately EUR 50 million in acquisitions alone,” Abromeit said. In the subsequent general debate, the Board of Management emphasised that, even with competition in the M&A market appreciably stiffened, INDUS had access to a sufficient number of acquisition targets. “We are never under pressure to sign a deal – we can and will always be selective,” Abromeit said.

Pace of growth maintained in 2015
The strategy for 2015 revolves around continued portfolio expansion through acquisitions and further internationalisation of the group. During the year to date INDUS has acquired a production facility in Saxony and NEA International, a Dutch manufacturer of orthotic devices, for its subsidiary OFA Bamberg, thereby maintaining its declared focus on the Medical Engineering/Life Science Segment. Over the past two years a total of twelve companies were integrated into the Group. As for the current year, INDUS plans to raise sales to EUR 1.3 billion and targets an operating profit between EUR 125 and 130 million.

Shareholders endorse all items on the agenda
The proposals made by the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board were approved by a vast majority of the shareholders. This included a year-on-year dividend raise to EUR 1.20 per share. The total payout amounts to EUR 29.3 million, which is equivalent to a payout ratio of 46%. Moreover, the Board of Management was again authorised to purchase and use company shares by 2 June 2020. The shareholders also agreed with the proposal of the INDUS Supervisory Board, to appoint Carl Martin Welcker, Managing Partner of Alfred H. Schütte KG, Cologne, for a second term of office as a member of the Supervisory Board.

Another medical technology company acquired
As part of its growth strategy, INDUS has agreed to acquire a 60% stake in Raguse Gesellschaft für medizinische Produkte mbH Ascheberg, a company specialising in drapes, isolation gowns and other medical products. To differentiate itself from its competitors, Raguse also offers complete operating theatre kits configured in accordance with the lead surgeon’s wishes, an interesting, high-margin niche in the market. Raguse is active in a growth market. In Germany alone, the number of operations rose by just under 25% between 2005 and 2013. An aging population and advances in medical technology suggest a further rise in the number of surgical procedures. The company was founded in 1980 and reported sales of approximately EUR 11 million for 2014. Company founder and managing director Joachim Raguse will stay on as managing shareholder, retaining a 40% stake in the company.

Contact:
Regina Wolter
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Phone +49 2204 4000 70
E-Mail wolter@indus.de

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Language:	English
Company:	INDUS Holding AG
	Kölner Straße 32
	51429 Bergisch Gladbach
	Germany
Phone:	+49 (0)2204 40 00-0
Fax:	+49 (0)2204 40 00-20
E-mail:	indus@indus.de
Internet:	www.indus.de
ISIN:	DE0006200108
WKN:	620010
Listed:	Regulated Market in Dusseldorf, Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart

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