Cliq Digital AG / DE000A35JS40
20.02.2024 - 14:30:07CLIQ Digital announces to return capital to shareholders in 2024 by means of a share buyback programme of up to €13 million and not by distribution of dividends
| Cliq Digital AG / Key word(s): Share Buyback 20.02.2024 / 14:30 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. CLIQ Digital resolved to buy back shares beginning as soon as possible with a volume of up to €13 million Management and Supervisory Boards will propose to the Annual General Meeting not to distribute a dividend in 2024 DÜSSELDORF, 20 February 2024 – Today, CLIQ Digital AG’s Management Board and Supervisory Board resolved to initiate a share buyback programme and not to pay a dividend from the Company’s 2023 balance sheet profit. The share buyback will return capital to CLIQ Digital’s shareholders of up to €13 million (excluding incidental acquisition costs) – this corresponds to 43% of the Group’s operating cash flow in 2023. The programme is scheduled to begin as soon as possible and be completed within twelve months. Up to 646,871 of the Company’s shares may be repurchased over the stock exchange in accordance with the authorisation granted by the general shareholders meeting on 14 April 2022. The shares bought back shall be used to subsequently reduce CLIQ Digital’s capital through cancellation and/or to meet CLIQ Digital’s obligations arising from stock option plans. Rationale CLIQ Digital’s shares have been strongly affected by market volatility and are viewed by many financial experts as significantly undervalued. The objective of this new approach is to boost shareholder value and at the same time this form of capital return can be more tax-efficient than a dividend distribution for many shareholders. Therefore, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board will both propose to the Annual General Meeting scheduled for 4 April 2024 to not distribute a dividend from the Company's balance sheet profit for the financial year 2023 (2023: dividend amount of approx. €11.6 million or €1.79 per share). Going forward, the Company will decide an annual basis to which extent and in which form capital will be returned to shareholders in the following years. Modus operandi The share buyback will take place via the stock exchange in Xetra trading of Deutsche Börse AG and will be carried out in accordance with the safe harbour rules of Article 5 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014) in conjunction with the provisions of the Delegated Regulation of the EU Commission (Regulation (EU) 2016/1052). The buyback will be exercised independently and without the influence of CLIQ Digital by an investment bank commissioned by CLIQ Digital, which shall make the decisions on the timing and amount of the individual order placements. The share buyback programme can be terminated or suspended and resumed at any time within the acquisition period in compliance with legal provisions. CLIQ Digital will publish regular updates on the progress of the share buyback programme on its website https://cliqdigital.com/investors. Management statement “Consistently returning capital to shareholders is a priority at CLIQ Digital and reflects our financial discipline. The share buyback programme is testament to our conviction in CLIQ Digital’s operational strength and the objectives of our growth strategy,” said Ben Bos, member of the Management Board. “Thanks to our strong balance sheet, we are able to finance the share buyback programme through current liquidity as well as future operating cash flow.” Contacts Investor Relations: Sebastian McCoskrie, s.mccoskrie@cliqdigital.com, +49 151 52043659 Media Relations: Daniela Münster, daniela.muenster@h-advisors.global, +49 174 3358111 Financial calendar
20.02.2024 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.eqs-news.com |
| Language: | English |
| Company: | Cliq Digital AG |
| Grünstraße 8 | |
| 40212 Düsseldorf | |
| Germany | |
| E-mail: | s.mccoskrie@cliqdigital.com |
| Internet: | www.cliqdigital.com |
| ISIN: | DE000A35JS40 |
| WKN: | A35JS4 |
| Indices: | Scale 30 |
| Listed: | Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt (Scale), Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange |
| EQS News ID: | 1841161 |
| End of News | EQS News Service |
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