Mutares SE Deep Dive | Turnaround Strategy, Value Creation & Investor FAQs

Well, the restructuring approach is we identify risks. We value risks. We have a plan, a very structured plan to approach those risks and we want to turn them around into a better company. And our main approach is here on the pure operational side. So we have our people on the ground, as of today roughly 160, and with those 160 people we not only as I said identify and value the risk, we also solve them, and this is basically the main approach we have to overcome the challenges moving from restructuring to market dynamics.

I think we have to see it here from two sides. So one side is our portfolio itself as the question goes. So our portfolio is very balanced. So we have an early cycle segment which is the automotive segment. We have a late cycle segment which is the engineering technology segment. We have a segment infrastructure and a defense which is also a more late cycle segment and we have a goods and service segment which is a non-cyclical segment. So basically we have a quite good balance in the segments when one segment is suffering as early cycle or late cycle the other one is then in a still good phase. So overall we have a balance which is also causing a risk mitigation. That's one view. Second view, acquisition side and sell side, exit side. So obviously in economical fluctuations whenever there is uncertainty whenever there is depression in a kind of a market that's a perfect moment to buy for us a perfect moment for the buy side. Whenever there is a boom phase or whenever there is a lot of demand in the market then it's a good moment to exit. So also there we have opportunities on both sides, buy sides and sell side when the market economics fluctuate.

So we have a base dividend of €2 per share which we have exercised in the past years and there can be a top up in terms of success and I think this is the main driver so we are very confident with the €2 per year that's why we have given out the guidance and on the other hand there is a potential performance dividend and the performance dividend is driven by success as the only one.

We have three sources, three sources of value, three sources of cash which are the same. So one is I spoke before on the 160 operational consultants we have. So we charge consulting fee. So this is our first main income. So we charge our portfolio companies consulting income, consulting fees which generates consulting income. Secondly, once we have turned out our companies and make them stable and put them towards the harvesting toward the exit, we ask them to dividend. We are always 100% shareholder of our assets. So the dividend distribution of our operational portfolio company is the second source of income. And then the third source of income is obviously the exit proceeds when we sell a company. So those are the three main incomes and also the three only incomes.