The MCH Group has today, 20 March, published its 2017 Annual Report and confirms the result announced on 16 February 2018. Christian Jecker reports....
Consolidated operating income (sales) in the 2017 financial year went up by 12 per cent over the previous year to CHF 493.3m. Group profit prior to the special measures is CHF 10.0m. Due to extraordinary depreciation of CHF -102.3m required for a value adjustment to the exhibition halls in Basel, and special provisions totalling CHF -17.7m for structural and organisational optimisations in the national exhibition and event business, a loss of CHF -110.0m has resulted.
The total assets as per 31 December 2017 are CHF 688.2m with an equity ratio pf 34.0 per cent. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the business year total CHF 115.9m.
The MCH Group is expecting the 2018 financial year to be a difficult one once again, since further declines are to be expected in the national exhibition and event business and further development costs will be incurred. These cannot yet be offset by the special measures for 2017 and the acquisitional and organic growth initiatives taken in 2017 and 2018 (MC2, Masterpiece London and Grand Basel, among others).
For 2018, the group is expecting a result in the single-digit million range for ordinary business activity.
Motions to the General Meeting
The board of directors will propose to the General Meeting of 4 May 2018 that no dividend be paid. In addition, the board of directors will propose to the General Meeting that Marco Gadola, Dr. Karin Lenzlinger Diedenhofen, Jean-Philippe Rochat, Dr. Ulrich Vischer and Andreas Widmer be elected for a further term of office of one year as members of the board of directors.
The Board will similarly propose to the General Meeting that Dr. Ulrich Vischer be confirmed in office as chairman of the board of directors for a further year.
Strengthening of 'Live Marketing Solutions'
In continuing to implement the corporate strategy of diversification, internationalisation and digitisation, the MCH Group is intending to further strengthen its 'Live Marketing Solutions' division in 2018, among other things. The MCH Group is already able to offer locally and globally operating customers individual services in all the key markets – Europe, USA, Asia and the Middle East – and in all the different areas of live marketing today.
In the current financial year, the competences and range of services offered in the field of strategy and conception are to be further expanded so as to be able to anticipate and satisfy the market developments and customer requirements to an even better extent and offer customers holistic solutions. The development of the 'Agency of the Future' is to be supported by structural and organisational optimisations.
It is planned to simplify the corporate structure of the companies based in Switzerland and align the brand architecture. In addition, various units are to be locally united.
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