German solar thermal developer Solar Millennium says the hiring of Deloitte this week and the abrupt resignation of its newly appointed CEO the week before are not “directly” related.
In an email response to questions sent by G.E.R. earlier this week, spokesman Alexander Jacobsen writes that “there are no direct relations” between former CEO Utz Claassen’s sudden departure and the Deloitte-led audit, which will review the company’s 2009 -2010 financial statements and those going all the way back to the 2004 – 2005 period. He adds: “The plan to propose mandating Deloitte for the audit of the financial statement… had already been considered for some time,”– see below the fold for the full Q&A.
Jacobsen says the company’s is in a solid financial situation, adding that the recent sale of its stakes in the Andasol 1, 2 and 3 solar power plants in Spain, should net it about €100 million ($133 million).
On Wednesday, in a bid to cap what’s been a tumultuous two weeks, Solar Millennium promoted Chief Financial Officer Thomas Mayer as CEO.
Earlier this week Robert Schramm, an analyst at Commerzbank, told BusinessWeek/Bloomberg that investors would be in wait-and-see mode until Deloitte completes the audit.
Claassen resigned after only 75 days on the job. He headed Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW), the German power utility, from 2003 to 2007.
Q&A
Is the recent departure of Utz Claassen and the hiring of Deloitte related?
There is no direct relation. The plan to propose mandating Deloitte for the audit of the financial statement 2009/2010 to Solar Millennium’s AGM has already been considered for some time. The decision for an extraordinary appraisal of the financial statements since 2004 is based on the intent of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board to completely dispel all doubt and any questions regarding the consolidation practices of Solar Millennium, which were especially brought up by a certain magazine several times in last few months.
Did Mr. Claassen resign out of concern for the company’s financial health?
No, the company has a solid financial basis. The successful sale of stakes in the Andasol 1, 2 and 3 solar power plants to external investors and the distribution of the Andasol Fund is expected to lead to (and has already partially lead to) an additional liquidity inflow of more than EUR 100 million across the different reporting periods. For further details please see also our consolidated balance sheet, p.84 in the annual report 2008/2009. Prof. Claassen stated that he will not reveal his reasons to the public. We respect his decision.
Do you expect Deloitte to issue a positive report?
We are open to any results of the accountant´s opinion. However, Solar Millennium has published voluntarily annual reports over the last years, which have been audited by external accountant firms. Deloitte is to furnish an additional external opinion on the company´s consolidation practice.