The SIX Swiss Exchange Sanction Commission has fined LifeWatch AG CHF 100,000 for breaches of the rules on ad hoc publicity.
According to the provisions on ad hoc publicity, an issuer must inform the market of any potentially price- sensitive facts arising in the course of its business activities as soon as it itself becomes aware of the main points of such information. If the company has issued any public forecasts in relation to financial information, it must correct these by means of an ad hoc notice as soon as it is aware that its financial results are likely to significantly deviate from the forecasts. In such a case, the company must issue a so called profit warning.
As the net profit for the financial year 2013, which LifeWatch AG had forecasted via ad hoc notice, deviated significantly from the effectively disclosed net profit for the financial year 2013, the company must have issued a profit warning. As LifeWatchAG did not comply with this obligation, the rules on ad hoc publicity are violated. At the same time the Sanction Commission decided that LifeWatch AG had not breached the rules regarding the publication of the annual report 2013 and the annual financial statement 2013.
Furthermore, the Sanction Commission decided that LifeWatch AG had violated the rules on ad hoc publicity once more by removing an ad hoc notice prematurely from its website: According to the provisions on ad hoc publicity, ad hoc notices must remain available on the issuer’s website for a period of two years.
For these two breaches of the rules on ad hoc publicity, the Sanction Commission has fined LifeWatch AG CHF 100,000. In considering the sanction, the Sanction Commission has taken into account the gravity of the breach, the degree of fault and the sensitivity of LifeWatch AG to a penalty, and the fact that no other sanctions have been imposed on the company in the preceding three years.
