SWX Swiss Exchange: ESEC - Minor Violation Of Ad Hoc Publicity Provisions

The Disciplinary Commission of the SWX Swiss Exchange has issued a reprimand to ESEC Holding AG as the result of a minor violation of the provisions governing ad hoc publicity. At its annual general meeting of shareholders held on 14 May 2001, ESEC announced the expectation that its revenues for 2001 would likely come in roughly 50% below the previous year's level. Then at an employee informational session held on 4 July 2001, ESEC revealed monthly bookings that in April through June amounted to only about one-third of those received in the prior months, which for their part had declined to only a fraction of the level of bookings recorded in the past. The employees were informed that measures would be announced on 9 July aimed at enabling ESEC to withstand the decline in demand without outside assistance. This orientation was tantamount to a correction of the revenue expectations announced on 15 May and, as such, should have taken place simultaneously with the orientation of the general public. However, the company informed the latter only on 9 July about the decline in revenues to 30-40% of prior-year levels. Article 72 of the Listing Rules obligates issuers to comply with the principle of equal treatment in the dissemination of potentially price-relevant information. That applies to a correction of revenue expectations from 50% down to 30-40% of those recorded in the previous year. Direct or indirect information pertaining to such a correction may not be made known in advance to employees of a listed company. The issuer involved must ensure that dissemination takes place simultaneously for all interested parties. The level of culpability in this instance has been deemed to be minor, in particular due to the fact that ESEC otherwise pursues an information concept that embraces ad hoc publicity.