-Supervisory Board ascertains breaches of duty by former Management Board
-Supervisory Board lodges claim for damages
-Recommendation to AGM in June 2009 not to approve the actions of the former Management Board members
Hamburg, 21 April 2009 –The Supervisory Board of Conergy AG has ascertained various breaches of duty by the former Management Board following a comprehensive investigation that was commissioned by the Supervisory Board.As a result, the Supervisory Board of the solar energy company decided at a meeting on 20 April 2009 to lodge claims for damages against the company's former Management Board members.At the same time, the Supervisory Board will be recommending that the shareholders at the company's AGM in June 2009 refuse to approve the actions of the Management Board responsible for the 2007 fiscal year which was led by Hans-Martin Rüter.
The Supervisory Board took these steps in the interests of the company and its shareholders, as poor business practice and breaches of duty had placed the Conergy Group in a situation which posed a risk to its survival.
The Supervisory Board will begin settlement negotiations with the former Management Board members concerned immediately. Should these negotiations fail, the Supervisory Board will take legal action for damages.
Conergy AG got caught up in a severe financial crisis at the end of the fiscal year 2007 and has suffered a total net loss of approximately EUR 500m over the past five quarters until end of 2008, essentially through a process of resolving poor decisions made in the past. For instance, accounting mistakes have been rectified and numerous loss-making companies outside of the core area of activity which had recently been acquired or set up have been sold off or closed down, in some cases at a high loss.This was particularly the case for the production activities in the wind sector.In addition, approximately 1,000 employees have been laid off.Many of these past mistakes are still placing a burden on the company today.One such example is the supply contract concluded by the former Management Board with the US firm MEMC, which was vastly inflated in terms of price and volume, and which the solar company incorporated into its 2008 financial statements but is now seeking to terminate.The company has been through a massive process of reorganisation and reorientation since January 2008 in order to become profitable once more.
About Conergy
Since its founding in 1998, Hamburg-based Conergy AG has sold more than a gigawatt in renewable energy, making it one of the biggest European suppliers of solar energy and other renewable energies, and a world leader in solar system integration. Of the one gigawatt in renewable energies, Conergy has installed more than 400 megawatts in its major projects. Of the total one gigawatt, 200 megawatts fall to its wind energy park projects and 800 to its globally marketed solar modules. According to the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) this is just under a fifth of the entire installed photovoltaic output in Germany. Calculative one in ten modules worldwide was produced, sold or installed by Conergy.
Listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2005, the group pursues a global growth strategy, The company now produces, installs and designs solar power systems and wind turbines in around 15 countries. The Conergy Group is represented with its own branches on four continents. |