Author: Assistenz cometis AG

March 29, 2019 | SMT Scharf AG reports double-digit revenue and earnings growth

SMT Scharf AG (WKN 575198, ISIN DE0005751986), one of the world’s leading suppliers of customised transport solutions and logistics systems for underground mining, achieved significant revenue and earnings growth in the 2018 fiscal year, according to final figures. SMT Scharf reported marked consolidated revenue growth of 35.9% to EUR 70.8 million in the year under review (2017: EUR 52.1 million). At the same time, the company achieved an operating result (EBIT) of EUR 5.3 million (2017: EUR 4.5 million), which corresponds to an increase of 16.5%. SMT Scharf improved its consolidated net profit for the year by EUR 0.6 million year-on-year to EUR 4.6 million (2017: EUR 4.0 million).

March 28, 2019 | Manz AG: Continued Profitable Growth Expected for 2019

• Preliminary figures for the 2018 fiscal year confirmed: 296.9 million euros revenue with a positive EBIT without special effects
• Comprehensive measures for sustainably improving profitability significantly increased earnings in 2018
• 2019: revenue growth between 10 % – 14 % and EBIT margin in the low single digits expected

Remuneration policy: fund companies increasingly criticise

Walter Becker acknowledges the corporate governance activities of Allianz Global Investors (AGI) under the heading “Every second compensation rejected”. In three quarters of the Annual General Meetings, the AGI voted against at least one item on the agenda.

Negatives ! Transaction costs in the retail business

In the FTFM of 11 March Chris Flood illuminates some style blossoms and collateral damages of the current MiFID regulation. According to MiFID, the fund companies must now also state transaction costs. It is well known that this is difficult in the case of bid-ask spreads.

Numerous banks have so far not heard the bell ringing

On 20 March 2019, the “Handelsblatt” highlighted the consequences of MiFID for the research landscape. The number of analysts is declining. In future, small and mid caps will have to pay the costs of research themselves.

Energy turnaround: Less ideology and more efficiency required

Claus Döring takes a look at the plans from Berlin and Brussels on Green Finance. Döring writes: “A great climate law does not yet exist, but at least the federal government has let known that it wants to make Germany a leading sustainable finance location.