(Bloomberg) — German Bitcoin miner Northern Data AG is considering a proposal to buy back shares in a program valued in the tens of millions of euros, according to people familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — German Bitcoin miner Northern Data AG is considering a proposal to buy back shares in a program valued in the tens of millions of euros, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Frankfurt-based company may introduce the share repurchase plan at its annual shareholder meeting in October, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
A spokesman for Northern Data declined to comment.
Shares in Northern Data rose about 3.8% to 22.60 euros in Frankfurt trading at 10:14 a.m. on Tuesday, a rebound after the company late Monday said that its auditor KPMG has approved its accounts for 2021 following a delay.
Uncertainty around Northern Data’s annual report weighed on the company’s shares after it disclosed last month that KPMG was taking longer than expected to complete the audit. The company had faced a similar delay with its 2020 report.
Northern Data’s stock is down about 70% year-to-date, in step with the plunge in cryptocurrencies. For this year, the firm said it expects higher revenue and declining profit, with pressures on the value of cryptocurrencies offsetting higher production.
The value of many digital currencies dropped this year, sinking along with equities that were pushed down as central bankers worldwide tighten monetary policy.
In-line with the wider industry, Northern Data said it expects operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or operating Ebitda, to drop to between 40 million euros ($40 million) and 75 million euros this year, down from almost 90 million euros in 2021.
The firm said it also took a 65.9 million-euro hit on mining assets it acquired in 2021, a similar step to US rivals Core Scientific Inc., Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. and Riot Blockchain Inc., which booked impairments on the value of their crypto holdings.
Because the firm is bringing additional mining capacities online, Northern Data expects revenue to rise to as much as 250 million euros this year, up from around 190 million euros last year. The figure stood at 150 million euros in the first six months this year, the upper end of its previously guided range.
Northern Data has been expanding mining capacities by purchasing new hardware and buying rivals Bitfield and Decentric.
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