Ariel Hasson, CEO of Kardan NV: “2016 has been a transition year for Kardan, in which we met important milestones. The Company was able to complete two important transactions. In the first half of the year we completed the sale of the remaining 25% of KWIG for a net consideration of approximately $ 27.7 million. In the third quarter we successfully completed the sale of our 100% subsidiary TBIF, the holding company of our banking and retail lending activities, for a total consideration of € 82 million.

With these transactions, we generated a substantial cash flow enabling us to early repay the next repayment of debentures. We have completed our 2017 principle repayment obligations already in 2016, ahead of schedule, allowing us time to further optimize assets and maximize proceeds from selling assets which will be used for the next repayment in February 2018.

We have witnessed considerable operational improvements in both our Real Estate Asia business and our Water Infrastructure business. We see positive developments in Galleria Dalian shopping mall, with an increased opening rate of 67% and a clear increase in footfall. Following the completion of several large projects, Tahal saw lower sales in 2016, however the continued drive for efficiency resulted in a further reduction of overhead costs. Moreover, the win of a 7 year large scale agricultural project in Angola in the third quarter more than doubled the backlog of Tahal, allowing Tahal to continue and strengthen its future profitability.

On the other hand, the high interest expense, both in our real estate division and on the holding level, and the volatility in exchange rates contributed negatively to the net result. Overall this resulted in a € 31.3 million net loss for the full year 2016.

Our focus remains on generating liquidity to meet our repayment obligation, while strengthening the performance of our operating subsidiaries. The early repayments of the debentures have put us in the position to continue to strengthen our assets. We believe that our actions are placing us on track for securing the repayment of our February 2018 obligations. Nevertheless, our ongoing efforts to secure the required funds take further time to materialize. As a consequence, the Company financial statements include an emphasis of matter regarding a going concern. We will continue to do the utmost to divest assets in a manner that will allow us to maximize value and proceeds, in the interest of all of Kardan’s stakeholders.”

Highlights Q4 + FY 2016:
Kardan N.V.
· Q4 2016: € 22.1 mn net loss to equity holders (Q4 2015: net loss of € 18.1 mn)
· 12M 2016: € 31.3 mn net loss to equity holders (2015: net loss of € 22.9 mn)
· Both Q4 2016 and 12M 2016 were heavily impacted by high financing expenses and foreign exchange effects


Real Estate
· Q4 2016: € 4.4 mn net loss, impacted by the negative fair value adjustment (€ 2.6 mn) of Galleria Dalian (Q4 2015: € 4.0 mn loss)
· 12M 2016: € 15.2 mn net loss, mainly due to increased financing expenses (2015: € 8.9 mn profit, including a € 20.9 mn revaluation gain of Galleria Dalian)


Water Infrastructure
· Q4 2016: € 1.1 mn loss (Q4 2015: € 1.3 mn net profit)
· 12M 2016: € 0.9 mn net profit (2015: € 21.5 mn net profit including € 20.1 mn gain on the sale of KWIG)

Other
· Heavy financing expenses of €35.7 million on the debentures, including €13.9 million, mainly resulting from the NIS/EURO revaluation
· The sale of TBIF (banking and retail lending activities) was completed in August 2016, generating a profit of € 15.2 million

tijd 09.42
Kardan EUR 0,139 -1,2ct vol. 291.000