EnviTec Biogas 2020 Shareholders' Meeting: Management Board looks back on the successful 2019 fiscal year and raises its annual forecast

• Shareholders' Meeting agrees to proposed dividend payment of EUR 1.00 per share for the 2019 fiscal year
• All agenda items agreed with large majority to the benefit of the company
• CEO Olaf von Lehmden appreciates changes to the German Building Energy Act concerning the use of biomethane

Lohne/Saerbeck, 7 July 2020 - Shareholders of EnviTec Biogas AG (ISIN: DE000A0MVLS8), attending today's annual Shareholders' Meeting - and the first to be streamed exclusively online - praised the Company's positive business performance. In 2019, EnviTec Biogas systematically developed and expanded its business to achieve a very positive set of consolidated results. CEO Olaf von Lehmden: "Above all, this is thanks to the know-how of our employees, our flexibility and our readiness to strike out along new paths, weigh up new opportunities and make the most of the chances that we are offered."

Together with Board colleagues CFO Jörg Fischer and CTO Jürgen Tenbrink, von Lehmden has every confidence that the Company will continue to maintain its position as the leading integrated biogas all-rounder in 2020, despite the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
At the Shareholders' Meeting, all shareholders voted on all agenda items favoured management decisions.

The resolution to once again use EUR 14.85 million from EnviTec Biogas AG's retained profit of EUR 36.1 million to pay a corresponding dividend of EUR 1.00 per individual share with a dividend entitlement was passed by a large majority. A total of 85.39% of share capital was represented by participation at the Shareholders' Meeting.

In their presentation, the Management Board provided a detailed analysis of business developments in 2019. Driven by the Services and In-House Operations divisions, domestic sales were similar to the previous year at EUR 137.3 million. International sales rose significantly, however, which was a direct effect of sales trends in Plant Engineering. Overall, sales rose from EUR 187 million in 2018 to EUR 214 million in 2019. Total output rose from EUR 192 million to EUR 203 million.

CFO Jörg Fischer: "For the most part, this growth is attributable to increasing sales coupled with increased total output from Plant Engineering, which was associated with higher capacity utilisation in this division." In Services, both sales and total output increased, while revenues decreased in Own Operations: this was largely attributable to a price effect in the energy sector but did not have any effect on results. Fischer: "It is notable that we once again achieved the highest EBITDA in the company's history in 2019, and have now maintained consistently high performance with a positive earnings trend since 2014." For the current 2020 fiscal year, the Management Board revised its outlook upwards and now expects to see a moderate increase in total output and EBT of at least EUR 12.5 million.

Positive changes to the Building Energy Act

In his speech, Olaf von Lehmden appreciated the amendment to the Germany Building Energy Act (GEG). "This is the first important step towards the climate-friendly supply of heat with biomethane and a success for our industry," the CEO said. Von Lehmden also welcomed what he sees as an end to the arbitrary technological discrimination against biomethane as a renewable energy source, whose use in condensing boilers can now also be recognised as fulfilling usage obligations for renewable fuels. The CEO pointed out how EnviTec has championed the technology-neutral use of biomethane for many years in CHP technology applications and condensing boilers, as both technologies contribute usefully to better climate protection in the heating sector while also having a positive social footprint. "The first positive signal that we are seeing here is the lowering of primary energy factors for the use of biomethane in CHP applications to 0.5 and to 0.7 for use in condensing boilers," von Lehmden went on to explain. These changes, he said, make the use of the green gas biomethane more attractive for consumers, enabling them to heat their homes with a 'clear climate conscience' and thereby actively contribute to lowering greenhouse gas emissions in the heating sector.

About EnviTec Biogas AG
Based in Lohne and Saerbeck, Germany, EnviTec Biogas AG covers the entire value chain for the production of biogas, including the planning and turnkey construction of biogas plants and biogas upgrading 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 expanded its business operations into the direct marketing of upgraded biomethane as well as the marketing of green electricity and balancing energy. With a presence in 16 countries worldwide, EnviTec Biogas AG is represented by its own companies, sales offices, strategic partners and joint ventures. In 2019, the EnviTec Group generated revenue of EUR 213.6 million and EBIT of EUR 10.3 million. The Group currently employs 433 people worldwide. EnviTec Biogas has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since July 2007.
 

Contact:
Katrin Hackfort
EnviTec Biogas AG
Tel: +49 2574 8888-810
Email: [email protected]