31.05.2020, 6838 Zeichen

Themis Bioscience: Themis, Austrian company focused on vaccines and immune-modulation therapies for infectious diseases and cancer and MSD (trademark of Merck & Co., Inc.,) announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which MSD, through a subsidiary, will acquire privately-held Themis. The planned acquisition builds upon an ongoing collaboration between the two companies to develop vaccine candidates using the measles virus vector platform, and is expected to accelerate the development of Themis’ COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The vaccine candidate is in pre-clinical development, and clinical studies are planned to start later in 2020. Under terms of the agreement, MSD, through a subsidiary, will acquire all outstanding shares of Themis in exchange for an undisclosed cash payment. Upon completion of the deal Themis will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of MSD. “This acquisition by MSD, a global leader in vaccine development, reflects Themis’ success in applying our versatile immune-modulation platform that builds on the original discoveries from the Institut Pasteur,” said Erich Tauber, chief executive officer, Themis. “We are excited for the next phase of our relationship with MSD and in the near term look forward to focusing resources toward the development and global scale-up of our candidate SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.”

Andritz: International technology Group Andritz has received the PAC (Provisional Acceptance Certificate) from Volga Pulp and Paper Mill in Balakhna, Nizhnij Novgorod Region, Russia, for rebuild of the existing groundwood reject line as a TMP (Thermo-Mechanical Pulping) line. Due to the corona crisis, the complete start-up work was handled remotely in order to avoid any health and safety risks.
Andritz: weekly performance: 9.90%

Marinomed: Marinomed Biotech AG, a globally active biopharmaceutical company based in Vienna, reported a strong rise in demand for Carragelose® products in the first quarter of 2020. The company was able to increase sales by 35% to Euro 1.01 mn in the first quarter of 2020. The operating result (EBIT) improved to Euro -1.41 mn. As planned, the quarterly result was negative at Euro -1.57 mn, after Euro -3.24 mn in the prior-year period. Marinomed is currently working on the collection of clinical data on the effectiveness of Carragelose® on the SARS-CoV-2 virus in cooperation with the Medical University of Vienna. "We have good chances to play a role in the global race for effective countermeasures with a Carragelose® inhalation solution. Our product would have the great advantage that it could not only be used for viral pneumonia against the new corona virus, but also for pneumonia caused by other viruses. There is a great medical need for the treatment of viral pneumonia", explains CEO Andreas Grassauer. "To meet the high demand, we are working intensively with our partners to expand our production capacities", says CEO Andreas Grassauer. Marinomed was able to further pursue research and development on the Marinosolv® platform in the first quarter of 2020. Preclinical results were consistently positive and led to a broadening of the pipeline.
Marinomed Biotech: weekly performance: -5.53%

UBM: Real estate developer UBM is looking back on an exceptional first quarter of 2020. Total output rose to Euro 86.3 mn (1Q19: Euro 71.6 mn), EBT up from Euro 7.9 mn to Euro 39.3 mn fueled by the transaction-based revaluation of current real estate projects. Net profit went up from Euro 5.9 mn to Euro 22.9 mn. The company reported a strong financial position at the end of the first quarter of 2020: Equity is close to the half-billion mark at Euro 483.3 mn, at the end of March, UBM had cash of nearly Euro 190 mn at its disposal. UBM is consequently preparing for all possible scenarios and has set clear priorities for the current development pipeline. No new acquisitions are currently planned, and projects will only be realised if there is financing and investor demand. The pipeline focus has clearly shifted to the residential asset class, which now represents 50% of the adjusted focus pipeline. The office asset class comprises almost 20% of the pipeline with two flagship projects: the QBC 1&2 in Vienna and the FAZ Tower in Frankfurt. The share of the hotel asset class was reduced to 30% in a first step. From today’s perspective, earnings in 2020 are expected to be significantly lower than the 2019 record year, and the effects of the pandemic will still be clearly visible in 2021, from the current point of view. “We can now only run on sight. A developer can always generate earnings – during a boom through top prices on sales and in a crisis through favourably-priced acquisitions. Our current objective is to manage the transition in the best possible way“, says CEO Thomas G. Winkler.
UBM: weekly performance: 2.72%

S Immo: Real estate company S Immo looks back on a successful first quarter of 2020 in operating terms, despite the impacts suffered since the middle of March due to the Covid-19 crisis. Rental income rose by around 10% in annual comparison to Euro 31.1 mn, the FFO I – a key figure for operating performance – advanced by 27.8% to Euro 13.8 mn. At the same time, the results on property valuation turned negative to reach minus Euro 31.5 mn in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic (Q1 2019: plus Euro 9.9 mn). All in all, the company saw a loss for the period of Euro 21.4 mn as of 31 March 2020 (Q1 2019: profit for the period of Euro 15.1 mn). CEO Ernst Vejdovszky commented: “In March we were particularly affected in the second half of the month, hotels and retail were hit the hardest in April. May was by no means a pleasure, but we are seeing more positive signs, the gradual easing of lockdown measures, and a glimmer of hope on the horizon. In addition, residential properties (which make up close to 30% of our portfolio) have suffered little adverse impact and may even be able to profit from the general uncertainty in the coming months. The capital increase we conducted at the beginning of 2020 has also provided us with a very comfortable cash buffer, which makes us optimistic about 2021.” Friedrich Wachernig, member of the Management Board adds: “We have a high-quality portfolio at established sites, an eminently qualified team, and a very stable equity and liquidity basis – in part thanks to the capital increase in January 2020. This enables us to continue working successfully in the current challenging environment and to focus already on 2021. This crisis will give rise to opportunities, and we have the strength, the expertise, and also the means with very high cash and cash equivalents of over EUR 230m to seize these opportunities at the right time".
S Immo: weekly performance: 6.92%

(From the 21st Austria weekly https://www.boerse-social.com/21staustria (26/05/2020)

Christian Drastil: Wiener Börse Plausch

Börsepeople im Podcast S12/10: Robert Halver

Bildnachweis

Aktien auf dem Radar:Immofinanz, Addiko Bank, Wienerberger, Flughafen Wien, S Immo, DO&CO, EVN, Erste Group, Semperit, Pierer Mobility, UBM, Cleen Energy, Frequentis, Gurktaler AG Stamm, Mayr-Melnhof, RBI, Warimpex, Zumtobel, SW Umwelttechnik, Oberbank AG Stamm, Agrana, Amag, CA Immo, Kapsch TrafficCom, OMV, Österreichische Post, Strabag, Telekom Austria, Uniqa, VIG, SAP.

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