Solvac SA : Interim gross dividend 2016 at € 2.70

 1.         Cash inflow, driven by dividends from the investment in Solvay amounted to € 107.3 million compared to € 87.0 million in 2015

(1) In accordance with accounting regulations, the dividend on the 6,932,858 shares acquired in December 2015 and January 2016 was recorded as a deduction of the purchase price, and not as financial income, due to the fact that was implicitly included in the acquisition value.  This is an amount of € 9.4 million that is not taken into account in the financial income.

(2)  Non adjusted figures for rights issue

(3) "Cash income" means the cash inflow reduced by the interest charges and other income and expenses (financial/operational)

Solvac holds 30.71% in Solvay as of the end of June 2016 (was 30.33% at the end of December 2015). This comes from the purchase on the stock exchange of 395,555 Solvay shares at the average price of € 89.38 between 4 January 2016 and 15 January 2016.

Provided that the financial statements (see 3 below) permit it, it is based on the cash result (€ 104.5 million) after covering costs (mainly interest expenses), that the Board of Directors determines the amount of dividends proposed to be distributed by Solvac.

2. The Board of Directors approved today the consolidated financial statements of Solvac on 30 June 2016. These financial statements were subject to a limited review by the Auditor. They are presented according to IFRS standards.

On 30 June 2016 Solvac recorded a consolidated net income of € 60 million (€ 2.8 per share) compared to € 79 million (€ 5.2 per share) for the same period in 2015, as a result of the change of Solvay's result according to the equity method.

3. The Board of Directors announces the figures of the financial statements for Solvac SA for the first half of 2016:

Profit after taxes is € 60.3 million, up 19.4 % compared to the previous year (€ 50.5 million), following the increase of the number of shares owned in Solvay (went from 25.6 on June 30, 2015 to 32.5 on June 30, 2016).

4. In accordance with the dividend distribution policy of the company, the Board of Directors decided to propose the first interim dividend at € 2.70 gross, an amount corresponding to 60% of the adjusted total dividend of the previous year.  The dividend of Solvac in 2015 amounted to 5.015 € gross per share, or 4.50 € after adjusting for a factor of 0.90 following Solvac's rights issue on December 22, 2015.

The net dividend amounts to 1.971€.

This first interim dividend will be paid August 25, 2016.

This will lead to a gross distribution of € 57.7 million.

The Solvac shares will trade ex-dividend on Euronext Brussels, from August 8, 2015.

The second interim dividend, which will be decided by the Board, will be released on 14 December 2016 and paid on 27 December 2016.

In line with its policy of distributing virtually all the Solvay dividends and given the latter's decision to increase its adjusted dividend ex. 2015 by 3.3%, the Board should resolve in December to bring the total dividend ex. 2016 from € 4.50 gross after adjustment for the capital increase (or € 5.015 gross without adjustment) to € 4.80 gross per share, an increase of 6.6%, double that of Solvay. Such a distribution would result in a slightly negative retention and thus an outflow of cash that would be drawn on the amount of € 9.4 million collected in cash and not recognized in financial income (see point 1).

The second interim dividend should settle at € 2.10 gross per share or € 1.533 net per share.
NOTES

1. Financial statements

Deloitte conducted a limited review of the situation at six months ending on 30 June 2016.

Auditor report on review of the consolidated interim financial information for the six-month period ended 30 June 2016

To the board of directors

In the context of our appointment as the company's statutory auditor, we report to you on the consolidated interim financial information. This consolidated interim financial information comprises the consolidated statement of financial position as at 30 June 2016, the consolidated income statement, the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the consolidated statement of changes in equity and the consolidated statement of cash flows for the period of six months then ended, as well as selective notes 1 to 7.

Report on the consolidated interim financial information

We have reviewed the consolidated interim financial information of Solvac SA/NV ("the company"), prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standard IAS 34 - Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the European Union.

The consolidated statement of financial position shows total assets of € 3,226 m and the consolidated income statement shows a consolidated profit (group share) for the period then ended of € 60 m.

The board of directors of the company is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the consolidated interim financial information in accordance with IAS 34 - Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the European Union. Our responsibility is to express a conclusion on this consolidated interim financial information based on our review.

Scope of review

We conducted our review of the consolidated interim financial information in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements (ISRE) 2410 - Review of interim financial information performed by the independent auditor of the entity. A review of interim financial information consists of making inquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. A review is substantially less in scope than an audit performed in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion on the consolidated interim financial information.

Conclusion

Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the consolidated interim financial information of Solvac SA/NV has not been prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with IAS 34 - Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the European Union.

Diegem, 29 July 2016

The statutory auditor

DELOITTE Bedrijfsrevisoren / Reviseurs d'Entreprises

BV o.v.v.e. CVBA / SC s.f.d. SCRL

Represented by Michel Denayer

2. Content

This press release contains regulated information and is prepared in accordance with the IAS 34 standard.

The analysis of risk management is presented in the annual report, available on the Internet (www.solvac.be)

3. Solvac shares

4. Statement of the persons accountable

Mr JP. Delwart, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Mr B. de Laguiche, Managing Director of Solvac, represent that to their knowledge:

1. the condensed financial statements, prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, the financial position and the results in the financial statements and consolidated financial statements of Solvac;
2. the interim report includes a fair review of the important events during the first six months of the 2016 financial year and their impact on the condensed financial statements.
3. the main risks and uncertainties for the remaining months of the 2016 financial year are consistent with the assessment presented in the "Risk Management and Internal Control" section of Solvac's annual report and reflect the current economic and financial environment.

Key financial reporting dates

• 25 August  2016: Payment of the first interim dividend for the 2016 financial year
• 14 December 2016: 6:00 p.m. "Second interim dividend" press release
• 27 December 2016: Payment of the second interim dividend for the 2016 financial year.

For more information, please contact:

SOLVAC S.A.

Investor Relations

Rue des Champs Elysées, 43 - 1050 Brussels

Tel.: 32/2/639 66 30

Fax: 32/2/639 66 31

Email: Investor.relations@solvac.be

Dit persbericht is ook in het Nederlands beschikbaar - Ce communiqué de presse est également disponible en français