The latest version of the Code
Website of the Government Commission German Corporate Governance Code
1. | Softing AG (hereinafter: the Company) will comply with the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code, as amended on February 7, 2017, with the following exceptions: | |
| a. | The Executive Board’s duties to inform and report to the Supervisory Board are not specified in greater detail (Section 3.4 para 1 sentence 3 of the Code). |
| b. | The Company currently has not agreed a deductible for the D&O insurance taken out on behalf of the members of its Supervisory Board (Section 3.8 para 3 of the Code). |
| c. | The Company does not maintain Declarations of Compliance with the German Corporate Governance Code at its website for five years (Section 3.10 sentence 3 of the Code). |
| d. | No consideration was given to the relationship between the remuneration of senior management and the staff overall, when determining the remuneration for the Executive Board (Section 4.2.2 para 2 sent. 3 of the Code) |
| e. | Variable remuneration components with a multiple-year, forward-looking assessment basis (Section 4.2.3 para 2 sent. 3 of the Code) |
| f. | Diversity in the Executive Board (Section 5.1.2 para 1 sent. 2 of the Code) |
| g. | The Supervisory Board has not set up any committees (Sections 5.3.1, 5.3.2, 5.3.3 of the Code). |
| h. | No age limit has been specified for members of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board (Section 5.1.2 para 2 sent. 3 and Section 5.4.1 para 2 of the Code). |
| i. | Specification of concrete objectives regarding the composition of the Supervisory Board and preparation of a profile of skills and expertise (Section 5.4.1 para 2, 3 and 4 of the Code). Since the Supervisory Board accordingly does not set specific targets regarding its composition and does not prepare a profile of skills and expertise, either, the recommendations in Section 5.4.1 para 3 can not be followed. For this reason, the Company also cannot follow the recommendations in Section 5.4.1 para 4, according to which proposals by the Supervisory Board to the General Meeting shall take these targets into account, while simultaneously aiming at fulfilling the overall profile of required skills and expertise of the Supervisory Board. The implementation status can therefore not be published in the Corporate Governance Report, either. |
| j. | Performance-related remuneration shall be linked to sustainable growth of the company (Section 5.4.6 para 2 sent. 2 of the Code) |
| k. | The Supervisory Board does not discuss quarterly or half-yearly financial reports with the Executive Board prior to publication (Section 7.1.2 sent. 2 of the Code). |
2. | Since the publication of its most recent Declaration of Compliance in December 2017, Softing AG has generally been in compliance with the recommendations contained in the German Corporate Governance Code as amended on February 7, 2017. The Company has not observed the following recommendations: Section 3.4 para 1 sentence 3; Section 3.8 para 3; Section 3.10, sentence 3; Section 4.1.3 sentence 2; Section 4.2.2 para 2 sentence 3; Section 4.2.3 para 2 sentence 3; Section 5.1.2 para 1 sentence 2; Section 5.3.1; Section 5.3.2; Section 5.3.3; Section 5.1.2 para 2 sentence 3; Section 5.4.1 paras 2, 3 and 4; Section 5.4.6 para 2 sentence 2; and Section 7.1.2 sentence 2. Please see the explanations under no. 1 for the reasons for not observing the recommendations of the Code stated under no. 2. | |
Haar, Germany, December 2018
The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board of Softing AG