Austrian property investor Immofinanz said on Thursday it has decided not to pay out dividends for the 2007/08 financial year. In September the company passed a resolution determining a dividend of EUR 0.40 per share, but the company's new chief executive Thomas Kleibl opted a month later for the cancellation of the dividend in a bid to consolidate the company's business.
Austrian property investor Immofinanz said on Thursday it has decided not to pay out dividends for the 2007/08 financial year. In September the company passed a resolution determining a dividend of EUR 0.40 per share, but the company's new chief executive Thomas Kleibl opted a month later for the cancellation of the dividend in a bid to consolidate the company's business.
'I came to the conclusion that the resolution passed by the general meeting can only be void, as it must have been apparent at the time that the global economic environment could have a negative impact on Immofinanz, and that no improvement of the global situation was in sight,' explained Thomas Kleibl. 'According to the Austrian Stock Corporation Act, dividend payouts should not have been agreed at such a time with respect to securing the financial power of the company and the protection of creditors.'
Immofinanz chief executive Karl Petrikovics stepped down at the beginning of October after the Austrian firm revealed a first-quarter loss of EUR 191 mln following a sharp devaluation of the portfolio owned by its CEE subsidiary Immoeast.
