[Stockholm, 30 March 2020] - Series production during January and February remained strong and stable, providing 5.4% year-on-year growth. Sampling Cup shipments were also up during the first two months of the year, 8% ahead of the full-year 2019 pace. However, during the second-half of March, the development of the COVID-19 corona virus resulted in shutdowns at several of our foundry customers and automotive end-users. The duration of these shutdowns, and the uncertainty of the ramp-up when production resumes, has made the economic outlook difficult to assess.
As a result of the current uncertainty, the Board has decided to postpone the publication of the Annual Report and the convening of the AGM. The Annual Report will now be published on 19 May 2020. The AGM Notice will be published on 20 May 2020 and the AGM will be held at 15:00 on Tuesday 23 June 2020. It remains the Board's intention to convene a physical meeting at the premises of IVA, Grev Turegatan 16, Stockholm.
SinterCast has a strong cash position, with SEK 39.3 million in liquidity on 29 February (SEK 32.9 million on 31 December 2019) and no loans. The Board judges that the postponements will improve the economic visibility, enabling the Board to take an informed approach to the dividend proposal. Further guidance on the dividend proposal will be published on 15 May.
Since 2011, SinterCast has distributed SEK 154.7 million to its shareholders, exceeding the free cashflow of SEK 148.3 million generated during the period. The postponement of the Annual Report and the AGM does not signal a change in the company's dividend policy or in the Board's longstanding pro-active approach to dividends.
This information was distributed by Cision http://www.cisionwire.se/