MBB SE, Nesemeier, Christof

The year 2016 was without a doubt the best year in the five-year history of MBB. We were ourselves surprised by how much the positive developments in the individual holdings accumulated and accelerated again in the fourth quarter. We grew by 31 percent to 332 million euros and increased earnings per share by 20 percent to 2.16 euros. If you also adjust for the one-time effect we had because we had to make a provision for the stock option program due to the extreme stock market rise, we would have even achieved earnings of 2.36 euros, which would have been an earnings growth of 7.40 percent. Moreover, you can also look at how this result and revenue contribution were achieved organically. If you exclude the acquisition of Aumann in 2015, revenue and earnings grew by double-digit percentages. So we are very satisfied with the year 2016.

Aumann is a globally leading provider of innovative special machines and production lines with a focus on electromobility. In our view, Aumann has a unique winding technology for manufacturing electric motors and combines this with decades of automation experience in the automotive industry. This combination arises from the capabilities of the manufacturing technology acquired in 2012 and the acquisition of Baumann in 2015, which are now bundled in Aumann AG, with complementary capabilities. Through this bundling, we now offer a unique proposition for our customers. I am personally convinced that the electric motor, either as a fully electric variant or as a hybrid variant, will prevail in passenger cars, and that this will lead to very strong growth from which we can also benefit. If you consider that this development is still in its infancy but already led to 28% organic growth in our companies in 2016, then you might recognize the potential we expect from this development.

The IPO of Aumann is, from MBB's perspective, both for the company and for the best of all alternatives or options we have. On the one hand, the capital increase or a possible capital increase can finance strong growth of the company in the short to medium term, and in the long term, via access to the capital market, this growth can be financed. For MBB, meanwhile, the IPO offers the opportunity to reduce the dominance that Aumann has in our portfolio and to obtain additional financial resources that we can then invest in our own growth. If this step succeeds, then I believe it is revolutionary for both companies. It gives MBB the opportunity to become a relaxed and very long-term-oriented bank without having to concentrate all our resources on this one company. I would summarize it as the best form. We are planning an IPO in the first half of 2017, and with the announcement of this goal and the selection of the banks - Berenberg Bank and Hauck & Aufhäuser - two important steps have been taken. Everything else will emerge now, and at this point I cannot report anything more concrete. We will publish it immediately as soon as further steps are taken.

ETF, CT, and Formpolster grew by double digits, while Franke and Oboe were in the single-digit range. DTS, after years of substantial and sustainable investments, finally achieved a turnaround in revenue and earnings in 2016: revenue grew by 25 percent, and EBITDA-level earnings even by over 50 percent. Kritiker, on the other hand, was able to benefit greatly from the growing online mattress sales segment and achieved revenue growth of 17 percent. Finally, Denic reported that it grew by over 9% to 50 million euros, and it also announced further positive growth based on recent orders.

We have started very well into the year 2017, and the companies have made sustainable investments in recent years, hired new employees, and trained them, preparing them for further growth. I am actually convinced that the year 2017 will seamlessly follow the very successful year 2016.

In MBB's history, acquisitions have undoubtedly been a very significant value driver over the 21 years. Accordingly, we have a team that is permanently searching for new holdings. And since we are currently in a situation where it is still very early, the probability that we will also see additions in 2017 is very high. However, at the moment, I must fairly say, we are first focusing on a successful IPO of Aumann.