Talenthouse AG — Earnings Release 2010

Jun 15, 2010

News Details

Ad-hoc | 15 June 2010 06:51

Detailed information regarding New Value’s 2009/2010 year-end financial statements

NEW VALUE AG / Final Results

15.06.2010 06:51

Dissemination of a Adhoc News, transmitted by
DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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New Value celebrates 10-year anniversary

Fiscal year 2009/2010: successful sale of 3S/Meyer Burger, new investment
in cleantech company and eight subsequent fundings

New Value AG (SIX: NEWN), the investment company specialized in the
cleantech and health industries, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in
2010. Over the past decade, New Value has set the standard in the Swiss
private equity market, providing young, promising growth firms with capital
and management support. New Value portfolio companies have created over
valuable 500 jobs in the last 10 years. The biggest success story was that
of 3S Industries, a pioneer in the solar industry, which last fiscal year
merged with Meyer Burger Technology and became one of the top players in
the solar industry.
For the 2009/2010 fiscal year ended March 31, 2010, New Value posted a net
profit of CHF 10.0 million (previous year: CHF -13.9 Mio.). As of March 31,
2010, net asset value (NAV) in the reporting period had risen 11.5% to CHF
24.27 per share (previous year: CHF 21.76). The Board of Directors is
taking steps to reduce the discount between the share price and the NAV.

In a significant milestone in the reporting period, New Value sold its
holdings in Meyer Burger/3S Industries after the two pioneering solar
industry firms merged in January 2010. The merger was seen by New Value as
the culmination of its many years of work in helping establish the company
and of its role as a growth financier for 3S. At the time of sale, New
Value's private equity investment in 3S Industries had risen 14 times over
its original value. Finally, in March 2010 New Value invested in cleantech
company ZWS Zukunftsorientierte Wärme Systeme GmbH of Neukirchen-Vluyn,
Germany. ZWS is a provider of complete, renewable-energy-based modern
building services such as heating, photovoltaic and rainwater harvesting
systems.

New products and new business areas
In 2009/2010, despite the challenging economic environment, New Value
helped portfolio companies improve their performance through active
management support and eight additional financing rounds totaling CHF 8.7
million. Even in times of economic and financial crisis, New Value has
proven itself as a reliable equity capital partner. Overall in the
reporting period, New Value portfolio companies met important operational
goals and strengthened their market positions.
These included Silentsoft SA, which successfully expanded into new market
segments such as waste management and green building. Silentsoft also
concurrently expanded its M2M product range and developed remote-controlled
water and gas systems with built-in alarm functions. In late 2009, Swiss
Medical Solution AG launched U-Lab(R) in Switzerland, Germany and Italy
with the help of local distribution partners. CE certification for the
second application of U-Lab(R) Diapers (diaper application) is expected in
mid-2010. Finally, FotoDesk SA introduced the first-ever online photo book
featuring a sharing function that allows multiple users to easily edit and
order copies of a photo book at the same time. Downloading photo book
software to the desktop is no longer necessary. On October 30, 2009,
FotoDesk opened its first gallery in Basel.

Strong financial results allow for par value payout or stock buy-back
program
Income from investments and loans increased significantly as a result of
the sale of shares in Meyer Burger to CHF 26.8 million (previous year: CHF
6.7 million). Realized profits from the sale of 3S/Meyer Burger shares
totaled CHF 19.9 million. Expenses from investments and loans equaled CHF
13.7 million (previous year: CHF 17.7 million). These consisted of
unrealized losses from valuation adjustments. The largest positions were
value adjustments to Bogar in the amount of CHF 5.47 million (consisting of
value adjustments to stock holdings by CHF -6.65 million and to the
convertible loan by CHF +1.18 million) followed by adjustments to Idiag of
CHF 2.26 million (consisting of value adjustments to stock holdings of CHF
-3.62 million and to the convertible loan by CHF +1.36 million). After a
jump in revenue during the previous year, Bogar sales fell below
expectations in the reporting period. At Idiag, a focus on sales of
internally produced products along with a challenging market environment
led to a decline in sales.
Operating expenses decreased slightly to CHF 2.71 million (previous year:
CHF 2.85 million), including CHF 1.44 million in investment consultant fees
(previous year: CHF 1.75 million). These remained unchanged at 0.5% of
audited NAV per quarter, but dropped in absolute terms due to the previous
year's lower NAV, which served as a basis for the calculation.
Based on the overriding goal of limiting the company's discount between the
share price and the net asset value (NAV) as well as to allow shareholders
to share in the success of the 3S Industries investment, at the general
meeting of shareholders on July 8, the Board of Directors will grant
investors the choice of a par value payout in the amount of CHF 1.60 per
share (CHF 0.80 as a special distribution and CHF 0.80 as an ordinary
distribution) or a share buyback program of up to 10% of the capital stock.

Portfolio expansion with a focus on cleantech and health
In the future, New Value will further focus its portfolio on the cleantech
and health industries, two of this century's largest economic and societal
trends. In both industries, innovation is in urgent demand. Based on the
expertise acquired and the networks established over the last 10 years, New
Value firmly believes in its ability to be instrumental in the success of
young cleantech and healthcare companies. Its recently announced new
investment in cleantech firm ZWS Zukunftsorientierte Wärme Systeme GmbH is
a first step in this direction. New Value is also in advanced talks with
other companies and hopes to complete additional investments in the coming
months. In the medium term, New Value plans to double its investment volume
to around CHF 150 million.

Additional information on New Value
New Value is the pioneer in long-term, direct investments in young Swiss
growth companies. New Value is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and invests
directly in private, up-and-coming companies with above-average market and
growth potential in Switzerland and neighboring countries. As an investment
company, New Value supports innovative business models with venture capital
and accompanies them all the way to market success. Its portfolio comprises
companies of various degrees of maturity, from the market introduction
phase to their establishment as medium-sized operations with stable
profits. The portfolio includes companies in the cleantech and health
industries. New Value is committed to sustainability and places great
emphasis on selecting portfolio companies with ethical business concepts
and good corporate governance. EPS Value Plus AG, Zurich, has served as the
company's investment manager since its founding.

Kontakt:
Marcel Rogenmoser

15.06.2010 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media Release distributed by DGAP.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

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Language: English
Company: NEW VALUE AG
Bodmerstrasse 9
8027 Zürich
Schweiz
Phone: +41-43-344 38 38
Fax: +41-43-344 38 39
E-mail: info@newvalue.ch
Internet: www.newvalue.ch
ISIN: CH0010819867
Swiss Security Number: 552932
Listed: Freiverkehr in Berlin, München, Düsseldorf,
Stuttgart; Open Market in Frankfurt; Foreign
Exchange(s) SIX

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