Corporate | 24 July 2012 14:00

EnviTec Biogas AG: 2012 Annual General Meeting

EnviTec Biogas AG / Key word(s): AGM/EGM

24.07.2012 / 14:00

CORPORATE NEWS

EnviTec Biogas AG: 2012 Annual General Meeting
Growth driven by international expansion, own plant operation and technological developments

Lohne, 24 July 2012 – 'After the record year 2011, our international expansion, own plant operation activities and technological developments will be our main growth drivers.' This is how CEO Olaf von Lehmden summarised the strategic positioning of EnviTec Biogas AG at today's Annual General Meeting. The global biogas market continues to offer the company sufficient potential for solid revenues and earnings.

At the 2012 Annual General Meeting around 85 percent of the equity was represented. The shareholders approved all items on the agenda. The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board were released from liability for the past financial year by a majority of over 99 percent. In addition, the shareholders re-elected Bernard Ellmann, Hans-Joachim Jung and Michael Böging to the Supervisory Board for another 5 years.

At the beginning of the shareholders' meeting, the Executive Board provided a look back at 2011. It was an exceptional year for the company, which clearly defended its leadership in the construction of biogas plants, as reflected in a 17 percent market share in Germany. EnviTec Biogas boosted its 2011 Group revenues by 64.8 percent to a record EUR 243.9 million, benefiting from the fact that investments were brought forward in anticipation of the amendment of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act. Consolidated net income for the year climbed from EUR 2.3 million to EUR 7.6 million. 'We will invest the profits in the highly profitable Own Plant Construction segment, which is characterised by good planning certainty,' said CFO Jörg Fischer. 'We want to continue growing after 2012, which will be a year of transition and see ourselves adjust to the new legal framework.' The company clearly has the means to finance this growth, as reflected in equity capital of EUR 183.9 million and a solid equity ratio of 59.5 percent.

Germany: Gas feeding and repowering
After several strong years, the German market has entered a phase of maturity. High potential is offered by gas upgrading, where the feed-in target of six billion cubic metres of biomethane defined in the German Gas Grid Access by the year 2020 has been reached at a rate of only eight percent so far. EnviTec Biogas sees itself in a good position to exploit this potential in the coming years. EnviTec's membrane technology is a technically advanced feed-in process, and the company has excellent references in the large plant segment and benefits from extensive practical operating experience gained by its Own Plant Operation segment over many years. The first plant featuring the new membrane technology is already under construction. Just like gas upgrading, repowering will also gain importance going forward. 'Our customers are very interested in increasing the efficiency of older biogas plants with the help of modern components. We expect incoming orders in this segment to total 10 million euros this year,' said Chief Technology Officer Jürgen Tenbrink.

A promising future in existing and new markets outside Germany
The future of the biogas industry – and of EnviTec Biogas – lies outside Germany. International orders today already account for 57 percent of the order book. At present, Italy is the most important foreign market. The company also focuses on the UK, France and the Czech Republic. Markets offering interesting prospects include the USA, Mexico, Chile, Russia as well as South-East Asia. In Russia, for instance, EnviTec is carrying out feasibility studies and planning the first pilot projects in cooperation with a strong local project developer. 'To be successful in foreign markets, you need to be able to respond quickly to changing conditions. In the meantime, we have aligned our plant construction capacities and trained our employees accordingly,' said Roel Slotmann, EnviTec Board member in charge of global distribution.

Own Plant Operation segment to grow in Germany and abroad
Having doubled the production capacity of the Own Plant Operation segment to 42 megawatts (MW) in 2011, the company intends to further expand its installed base of own plants. 2012 will see the first EnviTec-operated plants go online in Italy, where some 7 megawatts are at the project development stage. Some of these plants are already under construction. Own plants with a total electrical output of at least 10 MW are to be built in 2012, which would increase the Own Plant Construction segment's capacity to a minimum of 52 MW by the end of 2012.

Outlook: Forecast for 2012 confirmed
The Executive Board concluded its report by confirming the forecast for the full year 2012, which will be a year of transition for the company. The company projects growing revenues in the Own Plant Operation and Service segments. The decline in the Plant Construction segment's domestic sales revenues will partly be offset by revenues generated abroad. The operating result should again be clearly positive. The sales and earnings forecasts will be put in more concrete terms as the year progresses.

About EnviTec Biogas AG
EnviTec Biogas AG covers the entire value chain for the production of biogas, including the planning and turnkey construction of biogas plants as well as their commissioning. The company takes charge of biological and technical services on demand and also offers full plant and operational management. In addition, EnviTec also operates its own biogas plants. In 2011 EnviTec Biogas established EnviTec Energy GmbH & Co. KG and its 100% subsidiary EnviTec Stromkontor GmbH & Co. KG, expanding its business operations into the direct marketing of upgraded biomethane as well as the marketing of green electricity and balancing energy. Today, EnviTec Biogas AG is represented in 15 countries throughout Europe, as well as in India and the USA. In 2011 EnviTec generated revenues of EUR 243.9 million and an EBIT of EUR 10.8 million. The EnviTec Group currently has 470 employees. EnviTec has been listed on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since July 2007.

Press contact:
Katrin Selzer
EnviTec Biogas AG
Tel: +49 25 74 88 88 – 810
E-mail: k.selzer@envitec-biogas.de

Investor Relations:
Olaf Brandes
EnviTec Biogas AG
Tel: +49 44 42 8016 – 8130
E-mail: ir@envitec-biogas.de

End of Corporate News

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Language:	English
Company:	EnviTec Biogas AG
	Industriering 10a
	49393 Lohne
	Germany
Phone:	+49 (0) 44 42 – 80 65 0
Fax:	+49 (0) 44 42 – 80 65 103
E-mail:	info@envitec-biogas.de
Internet:	www.envitec-biogas.de
ISIN:	DE000A0MVLS8
WKN:	A0MVLS
Listed:	Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart

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178928  24.07.2012