EANS-News: Balda AG / Balda AG is preparing for payment of a special dividend, an acquisition and a positive EBIT in 2011

17.03.2011
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Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer/originator is solely
responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Bad Oeynhausen (euro adhoc) – Balda AG is preparing for payment of a special
dividend, an acquisition and a positive EBIT in 2011

Sole board member Rainer Mohr is optimistic about the 2011 financial year

Bad Oeynhausen, 17 March 2011. Sole board member Rainer Mohr emphasised that
the 2010 financial year had been an up-and-down year for the Balda Group. The
Group did not achieve its goals in terms of sales or EBIT. However, the holding
in the touchscreen manufacturer TPK has achieved a very high value since its
initial public offering at the end of October 2010. ‘We are preparing for the
payment of a special dividend from the proceeds of the sale of shares in TPK in
due course,’ Mohr explained at Balda AG´s Balance Sheet Press Conference. The
sole board member also reaffirmed the intention to make an acquisition in the
Medical segment and his confidence of a slightly positive EBIT in 2011.

The significant growth in the value of the TPK holding also had a positive
impact on the Group´s annual financial statements. The negative Group EBIT of
8.7 million euros, and after exceptionals minus 37.4 million euros, turned into
a positive EBT of 93.3 million euros (previous year: 47.3 million euros). The
reason for this is the revaluation of the TPK holding as a financial
instrument, which had a positive impact in the past financial year of around
125 million euros on the Group´s earnings statement.

Dividends from proceeds of sale of TPK holding
Mohr stressed that Balda management is currently working intensively on making
a dividend payout possible. This also includes the offsetting in the 2010
balance sheet of the balance sheet loss of 57.7 million euros with the net
profit and an allocation from the release of capital reserves, which resulted
in a balance sheet profit of 184.9 million euros.

Mohr pointed out that the sale of around 36 million TPK shares is subject to
lock-up periods to the end of April for 50 percent and to the end of October
2011 for the remaining 50 percent. In order to guarantee the success of a
planned convertible bond by TPK, it is currently being investigated whether
Balda and other shareholders could support an extension of the lock-up period.
Such a package would also have to be placed carefully on the market to avoid a
negative effect on the price. ‘The value of Balda´s holding in TPK was around
650 million euros at the close of the Taiwan Stock Exchange on 16 March,’
explained Mohr. The anticipated level of taxation on the amount to be paid out
is currently being examined thoroughly. As the law stands, Mohr believes that
it is possible that a dividend can be paid out in 2012. ‘We will do everything
to meet the expectations of our shareholders,’ stated Mohr.

Optimism for 2011
Mohr is confident about the current financial year and believes that Balda will
solve the difficulties of the loss-making MobileCom segment. The Electronic
Products segment will return to profit in 2011 and the Medical segment will
achieve sales and profit growth in double figures, he stated. Mohr was also
optimistic about the envisaged acquisition in the Medical segment. ‘We are past
the phase of exploratory discussions,’ stressed Balda´s CEO.

***

Company Profile Balda AG
The Balda Group develops and produces complete plastic assemblies, electronic
products and products for the medical industry. The customers of Balda are
leaders in business from the mobile, entertainment and electronic
communications as well as pharmaceutical and medical technology markets. The
group has an international position with product sites in China, Malaysia and
Germany. A subsidiary in the United States serves North American customers in
product design and development. As part of a shareholding in a leading
manufacturer of touch screens in China, Balda participates in the dynamic touch
screen displays
market.

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Further inquiry note: Balda AG, Clas Röhl, Tel: (05734) 922 – 2728, Fax:
(05734) 922 – 2604, E-Mail: croehl@balda.de, Internet: www.balda.de

* * *

This corporate news announcement contains forward-looking statements, which are
based on the current expectations of Balda´s management. They therefore contain
a range of risks and uncertainties because they relate to future events and
depend on circumstances that will occur in the future, such as, for example,
developments in the mobile communications industry, changes in technology and
the ability to timely and successfully develop new products and various other
factors. Balda will neither revise these forward-looking statements nor correct
them in the event of any unexpected development, unless there is a legal
obligation to do so. This corporate news announcement represents neither an
offer to buy shares nor an invitation to submit an offer to buy shares in the
United States or any other country. The shares in Balda AG (the ‘shares’) may
not be offered or sold
in the United States or to or for the account of U.S. persons (as defined in
Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, in its current version (the
‘Securities Act’)), unless they are registered or are exempt from registration
under the Securities Act. The shares have not been and will not be registered
under the
Securities Act.

Further inquiry note:
Clas Röhl
Tel.: +49 (0) 5734 922-2728
croehl@balda.de

company: Balda AG
Bergkirchener Str. 228
D-32549 Bad Oeynhausen
phone: +49 (0) 5734 9 22-0
FAX: +49 (0) 5734 922-2747
mail: info@balda.de
WWW: www.balda.de
sector: Semiconductors & active components
ISIN: DE0005215107
indexes: CDAX, Prime All Share
stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Berlin,
Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, München
language: English