COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT
The following is a company announcement issued by AST Group p.l.c. (the “Company”) bearing company
registration number C 66811, in terms of the rules of Prospects MTF, a market regulated as a multi-lateral
trading facility and operated by the Malta Stock Exchange.
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QUOTE
Approval and Publication of Audited Financial Statements
The Company hereby announces that during the meeting of its Board of Directors held on Friday, 18th June
2020, the Directors considered and approved the Company’s Audited Financial Statements for the financial year ended 31st December 2020. Copies of the Company’s Audited Financial Statements for the financial year ended 31st December 2020 are attached to this announcement and are also available for viewing and download on the following link on the Company’s website: https://astgroupplc.com/news/category/financial-reports/.
The Board of Directors recommended to the Annual General Meeting of the Company that no dividend be
declared.
The Board of Directors note that a material variance resulted between 2020 projections that were published
in the Company Admission Document dated 4 December 2017, and actual results registered for the
financial year ending 31 December 2020. The net loss for the year under review amounted to €1.1 million,
which is €1.4 lower than the projected profit of €0.3 million contained in the latest set of projections that
were published by way of an Annex to the Company’s Admission Document issued in December 2017.
This negative variance in the AST Group’s Income statement is mainly driven by lower margins generated
during the period as well as higher depreciation costs incurred by the Group.
2020 was a challenging year given that the COVID-19 pandemic hit worldwide, a fact which was not anticipated when the projections in the Company Admission Document were drawn up. Despite the pandemic, the Group introduced a new product line in its animal feed business – corn and barley – which enabled the Group to exceed its revenue target of €17.4 million by €1.4 million. However, to establish itself in this market combined with higher freight costs, the Group also incurred significantly higher direct costs resulting in significantly lower margins. Consequently, the Group reported a gross loss of €0.4 million compared to the previously projected gross profit of €1.2 million.
Furthermore, in this past year, the Group carried out a revaluation exercise which led to a €0.5 million increase in the value of the vessel, from €1.6 million in the previous projections to €2.1 million. This in turn
led to an increase in depreciation costs by €0.1 million.
Despite the loss registered in 2020, the Group’s confidence is strengthened by the marked improvement registered by the Group in the first five months of 2021. The Directors are confident that through the new product introduced in 2020, the Group is now in a better position to take advantage of new opportunities and will increasingly see a positive performance from the Company. The Company further announces that its annual general meeting was also held on the 18th June 2021 and at which:
ORDINARY RESOLUTIONS
1. the Company’s Annual Report and Audited Financial statements for the financial year ended 31St
December 2020 were approved;
2. Horwath Malta were re-appointed as auditors of the Company and to the Directors were authorized
to fix their remuneration; and
3. the Directors were re-appointed in accordance with the Articles of Association of the Company.
UNQUOTE
Dr. Katia Cachia
Company Secretary
18th June 2021
