PPC's entry into the certification market was unanimously decided by the company's shareholders at yesterday's Extraordinary General Meeting, during which it was also decided to cancel the repurchase of 12.7 million Treasury shares.

CANCELLATION OF SHARE BUY-BACK

The shareholders of PPC unanimously approved the cancellation of the buy-back of 12,730,000 of the company's own shares with a nominal value of €2.48, under the buy-back programmes implemented since June 2022. It is noted that these shares represent 3.33% of PPC's share capital. This increases the percentage of shareholders, with the State's share from 34.12% today to 35%.

PPC INSPECTRA

In addition, it was also unanimously decided to spin off the Laboratories, Certification & Inspection Division and contribute it to a new wholly owned subsidiary, PPC INSPECTRA. To date, this division has been part of PPC's Laboratories, Certification and Inspection Division (LCI). The company, which has been operating since 1972, provides testing services for materials and equipment of PPC's units, as well as for third-party customers. However, the expansion of DEPE into new products and activities is deemed necessary as the de-lignification and interconnection of the islands significantly reduce the market needs for a part of the services in which it is active.

FASTER EXPANSION OF ICI

Thus, the objective of this move is to expand ICI's activities more rapidly and to penetrate more effectively the Testing, Inspection & Certification (TIC) market for which there is a high demand. Thus, PPC aims to make PPC INSPECTRA a TIC provider of choice, offering the full range of services required by customers in this market (one-stop shop). In this context, acquisitions of other similar businesses are also being considered. In addition, the spin-off and the autonomous operation of PPECC are expected to facilitate the approval of PPECC's application for accreditation by the National Accreditation System (NAS) as an Accreditation Body.