- Cash revenue [1], driven by dividends from the investment in Solvay amounted to € 112.1 million compared to € 107.3 million in 2016
| € million | 1st half of 2016 | 1st half of 2017 |
| Dividend per Solvay share - January (in €) | 1.3600 [2] | 1.3200 |
| Number of Solvay shares held by Solvac (in millions) | 32.5 | 32.5 |
| Dividend Solvay cash in January (in millions €) (a) | 44.2 [3] | 42.9 |
| Dividend per Solvay share - May (in €) | 1.9400 | 2.1300 |
| Number of Solvay shares held by Solvac (in millions) | 32.5 | 32.5 |
| Dividend Solvay cash in May (in millions €) (b) | 63.1 | 69.2 |
| Cash revenue (a) + (b) 1 | 107.3 | 112.1 |
| Cash income 1 | 104.5 | 109.3 |
Solvac holds 30.71% in Solvay as of the end of June 2017 (same as of the end of December 2016).
Provided that the statutory financial statements (see 3 below) permit it, it is based on the cash income (€ 109.3 million) after covering costs (mainly interest expenses), that the Board of Directors determines the amount of dividends proposed to be distributed by Solvac.
- The Board of Directors approved today the consolidated financial statements of Solvac on 30 June 2017. These financial statements were subject to a limited review by the Auditor. They are presented according to IFRS standards as adopted in the European Union.
| € million | 1st half of 2016 | 1st half of 2017 |
| Investment result according to the equity method | 63 | 193 |
| Operational expenses | -1 | -1 |
| Net debt expenses | -2 | -2 |
| Net income | 60 | 190 |
| Net income per share (€) [4] | 2.8 | 8.9 |
On 30 June 2017 Solvac recorded a consolidated net income of € 190 million (€ 8.9 per share) compared to € 60 million (€ 2.8 per share) for the same period in 2016, as a result of the change of Solvay's result according to the equity method.
- The Board of Directors announces the figures of the statutory financial statements for Solvac SA (Belgian GAAP) for the first half of 2017:
| € million | 1st half of 2016 | 1st half of 2017 |
| Financial result | 61.0 | 67.1 |
| Operating result | -0.7 | -0.7 |
| Income before taxes | 60.3 | 66.4 |
| Income after taxes | 60.3 | 66.4 |
Profit after taxes is € 66.4 million, up 10.1 % compared to the previous year (€ 60.3 million), following the increase of the balance of the dividend paid by Solvay.
- In accordance with the dividend distribution policy of the company, the Board of Directors decided to set the first interim dividend at € 2.88 gross, an amount corresponding to 60% of the total dividend of the previous year.
The net dividend amounts to 2.016 €.
This first interim dividend will be paid August 25, 2017.
This will lead to a gross distribution of € 61.6 million.
The Solvac shares will trade ex-dividend on Euronext Brussels, from August 10, 2017.
The second interim dividend, which will be decided by the Board, will be released on 13 December 2017 and paid on 28 December 2017.
In line with its policy of distributing virtually all the Solvay dividends and given the latter's decision to increase its dividend ex. 2016 by 4.5%, the Board should resolve in December to bring the total dividend ex. 2017 from € 4.80 gross to € 5.02 gross per share, an increase of 4.6% in line with that of Solvay. Such a distribution would result in an outflow of cash of € 107.3 million in 2017.
The second interim dividend should settle at € 2.14 gross per share or € 1.498 net per share.
NOTES
- Financial statements
Deloitte conducted a limited review of the situation at six months ending on 30 June 2017.
Auditor report on review of the consolidated interim financial information for the six-month period ended 30 June 2017
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 2017, 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 8.
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 € 3,466 m and the consolidated income statement shows a consolidated profit (group share) for the period then ended of € 190 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, 1 August 2017
The statutory auditor
DELOITTE Bedrijfsrevisoren / Reviseurs d'Entreprises
BV o.v.v.e. CVBA / SC s.f.d. SCRL
Represented by Michel Denayer
- 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). There is no change as at 30 June 207 in the risk identification compared to 31 December 2016.
- Solvac shares
| December 2016 | June 2017 | ||
| Number of shares outstanding at end of period | 21,375,033 | 21,375,033 | |
| Average number of shares for calculating results per share according to IFRS | 21,375,033 | 21,375,033 | |
| Average number of shares for calculating diluted results per share according to IFRS | 21,375,033 | 21,375,033 |
- 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:
- 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 statutory financial statements and consolidated financial statements of Solvac;
- the interim report includes a fair review of the important events during the first six months of the 2017 financial year and their impact on the condensed financial statements.
- the main risks and uncertainties for the remaining months of the 2017 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 2017: Payment of the first interim dividend for the 2017 financial year
- 13 December 2017: 6:00 p.m. "Second interim dividend" press release
- 28 December 2017: Payment of the second interim dividend for the 2017 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
[1] Solvac uses certain non-IFRS performance indicators that are defined here:
- Cash revenue refers to income received during the period. It is defined as the cash flow obtained by the payment of dividends received from Solvay.
- Cash income means the cash revenue reduced by the interest charges and other income and expenses (financial/operational). It is on the basis of this indicator that the Board of Directors determines the amounts proposed for distribution by Solvac.
[2] Paid on shares held in 2015 before the capital increase.
[3] As a reminder, in accordance with accounting principles, 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 revenue, due to the fact that it was implicitly included in the acquisition value. This represents an amount of EUR 9.4 million that is not included in financial income, but in the 2016 cash revenue.
[4] The net income per share and the net diluted income per share are identical. The average weighted number of shares used for the calculation per share is 21,375,033 in June 2017 and in June 2016.
