EQS-Adhoc: VARTA AG: VARTA postpones publication of annual financial reports for fiscal year 2023

VARTA AG, Ellwangen, ISIN: DE000A0TGJ55 

 
Publication of inside information pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 

VARTA postpones publication of annual financial reports for fiscal year 2023

Ellwangen, 15. March 2024

The Executive Board of VARTA AG (the "Company") today decided to postpone the publication of the Company's consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2023 and the Company's annual financial statements (together, the "Financial Reports") scheduled for March 28, 2024 until a date to be determined probably after April 30, 2024 due to the consequences of the cyberattack announced on February 13, 2024.

The cyber attack on part of the company's IT systems announced on February 13, 2024 and the shutdown of the IT systems by the company as a security measure have, among other things, led to an unplanned delay in the finalization of the financial reports and the completion of the audit of the financial reports. The reason for this is that access to the financial information and business documents required for the finalization and audit of the financial reports has not been possible or has only possible to a very limited extent. This is largely still the case at the moment. Although the company has now regained partial access to its IT systems and has restarted large parts of its production, there are still significant impairments that make it considerably more difficult for the auditors to finalize the financial reports and complete their audit. As a result, the original schedule for the publication of the financial reports cannot be maintained and, potentially, it is not possible for the company to publish audited financial reports for the 2023 financial year by April 30, 2024.

The company is continuing to work intensively on the gradual restart of the systems and is in close coordination with its auditor in order to provide it with the business documents and information required for the audit. The company will announce an expected new date for the publication of the financial reports for the 2023 financial year in the near future.

Due to the postponement of the publication of the financial reports, the Annual General Meeting cannot take place on May 23, 2024 as planned. A new date will be announced as soon as it is foreseeable when the financial reports will be published.