Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders,
Stock prices and indices worldwide have fallen very sharply in the last two weeks. Our shares were also not spared the general pandemic panic on the market and have been trading at the level of the end of 2018 for several days now. We regret that our shareholders have to experience this development.
The Management Board has of course been observing social and economic developments very closely for several weeks now and regularly assesses the resulting risks. On the basis of this risk assessment, suitable measures are initiated if necessary, even at short notice. At an early stage, the Executive Board has introduced precautionary measures at the sites and in the companies to minimize the risk of infection in the workplace for employees.
In general, the financial situation and operating prospects of the 3U Group remain good.
Last year, the liquidity position of the 3U Group was significantly expanded. The current cash and cash equivalents of around EUR 20 million provide a very good buffer for surviving the current corona crisis unscathed. All credit liabilities in the 3U Group are long-term and are limited exclusively to project financing in the renewable energy sector. Accordingly, we assume that we will only have to utilise this buffer to a relatively small extent, if at all. This is because the business models in the 3U Group continue to operate profitably to the greatest possible extent.
In the telephony segment, business development is currently being positively influenced by increased network utilisation. Against this background, we have currently even expanded the capacity of our Next Generation Network technology.
The cloud-based ERP platform weclapp meets the currently increased demand for location-independent operational readiness. One of its distinguishing features is that it can be operated from any electronic communication device and is therefore particularly suitable for work in the home office.
Our business in the Renewable Energies segment is in no way dependent on economic factors or supply chains. Because of the exceptionally good wind yield in the first months of 2020, we expect this segment to close our first quarter with record power generation earnings.
And we do not see any decline in demand in the e-commerce segment either. On the contrary, we are currently recording a slight increase in demand here as well; our products are used by customers exclusively at home. It remains to be seen to what extent the supply chain from our suppliers will stay in good order.
As things stand today, we confirm the positive outlook we gave you on March 4, 2020. This also applies to our announcement that the Management Board and Supervisory Board will probably propose to the Annual General Meeting to pay a dividend of EUR 0.04 per share.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information. Keep well.
Warmest Greetings
the Management Board of 3U HOLDING AG
Further information:
Dr. Joachim Fleïng
Investor Relations
3U HOLDING AG
Tel.: +49 6421 999-1200
Fax.: +49 6421 999-1222
E-Mail: ir@3u.net
About 3U:
3U HOLDING AG (www.3u.net) has its headquarters in Marburg, Germany, and was founded in 1997. It is the operating management and investment holding company at the head of the 3U Group. It acquires, operates and sells companies in the three segments of ITC (Information and Telecommunications Technology), Renewable Energies and SHAC (Sanitary, Heating and Air Conditioning Technology). The 3U Group has successful and profitable business models based on megatrends in all three segments. It continues to expand its business activities dynamically, particularly in its strongest growth areas of cloud computing and online trading, in which it is striving to achieve leading positions in the market. 3U HOLDING AG’s shares are traded on XETRA, Tradegate and on the German regional stock exchanges (ISIN: DE0005167902; identifier: UUU).
