Pergo Writes Down Value Of Its Witex Shares

Trelleborg, Sweden, June 16--The Pergo Board of Directors has decided to make a complete write down of the value of its shareholding of 25.1 percent in Witex. This is due to the preliminary bankruptcy of Witex AG. Due to liquidity problems during the spring, Witex AG has through its own petition been declared in preliminary bankruptcy in Germany. The company will until further notice be run by an administrator, appointed by a German court of law. The administrator will investigate possible alternative solutions for the company. The book value of the Witex shares amounted to SEK 135 million as of March 31. The write-down amounts to approximately SEK 130 million after the second quarter’s result from participation in associated company Witex has been considered. The equity ratio of Pergo, which amounted to 69% as of March 31, will be negatively influenced with about 2% following the write-down. Besides the write-down of shares, the result for the second quarter is estimated to be negatively influenced by costs of more than SEK 20 million, connected to the acquisition process of Witex. This will, in aggregate, affect the Pergo result with slightly more than SEK -155 million for the second quarter, of which about SEK -150 million is non-recurring.