Meyer Burger mostly vindicated in SIX Swiss Exchange sanction proceedings: Board of Arbitration rectifies ruling by SIX Sanctions Commission

Meyer Burger Technology AG (SIX Swiss Exchange: MBTN) reported the effects of the closure of former subsidiary Diamond Materials Tech Inc. (DMT) in accordance with the relevant provisions of Swiss GAAP FER in the appropriate period in the 2016 consolidated financial statement.This was decided by the Board of Arbitration of SIX Swiss Exchange in its ruling dated January 20, 2020 (delivered on 28 January 2020), which rectifies the corresponding decision by the Sanctions Commission of SIX Swiss Exchange AG dated October 8, 2018, which had come to the opposite conclusion. Furthermore, the Board of Arbitration ruled that the booking of the effects of the closure of DMT should have been reported in the ordinary result and not in the extraordinary result of the 2016 annual financial statement, and imposed a penalty of CHF 10’000 representing a sizable reduction compared to the sanction decision of CHF 100’000 on the company for this deficiency.

SIX Swiss Exchange AG had filed a sanction request against Meyer Burger in June 2018 (cf. media release from SIX Exchange Regulation dated June 13, 2018), accusing the company of – contrary to the provisions of Swiss GAAP FER – not reporting the effects of the closure of DMT (cf. media release from Meyer Burger dated March 1, 2017) in the appropriate period, i.e. already in the 2016 consolidated financial statements rather than in the 2017 annual financial statements, and of incorrectly presenting these effects as an extraordinary result. These accusations were disputed by Meyer Burger. Further deficiencies that had originally been alleged by SIX Swiss Exchange in its media release dated June 13, 2018 to exist in the company’s 2016 annual financial statements and 2017 half-year financial statements were not further pursued in the proceedings.

The Board of Arbitration stated that the relevant Swiss GAAP FER provisions for the recognition of the consequences of closing DMT in the ordinary or extraordinary result were vaguely formulated and may cause a certain degree of confusion.

With the arbitration ruling, the majority of the costs of the sanction and arbitration proceedings were imposed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Meyer Burger is examining whether and in what way the ruling of the arbitration court should be taken into account in the 2019 annual financial statements.

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