Ascom switches from IFRS to Swiss GAAP FER

October 8, 2015

The Board of Ascom Holding AG has decided to change the accounting standard for the preparation of the consolidated accounts of the Ascom Group to Swiss GAAP FER, effective for the current financial year as per 1 January 2015. The shares of Ascom Holding AG remain listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and continue to be included to the Swiss Performance Index (SPI).

In recent years, the application of IFRS has become more complex, more prescriptive, and evolving disclosure requirements are increasingly difficult to justify by shareholder needs. In contrast, Swiss GAAP FER takes a more pragmatic approach that meets all the needs of medium-sized international companies such as Ascom and those of its stakeholders. Since 2009, 35 Swiss SIX listed companies have switched from IFRS to Swiss GAAP FER. Accordingly, Swiss GAAP FER has established itself as a widely recognized and accepted alternative standard in Switzerland.

Ascom will apply Swiss GAAP FER effective in the current financial year as per 1 January 2015. The Company is committed to a high reporting quality and transparency of disclosure in its half-year and annual reports going forward, to support investors to understand the business drivers and the operational performance of Ascom. Ascom will largely retain current accounting and disclosure policies, with key exceptions in two areas, namely the accounting for goodwill and defined benefit pension plans.

The Group has elected to offset goodwill against equity, while continuing the current accounting for intangibles assets. For the Group's defined benefit pension plans, Ascom will convert to the static determination of employers' pension obligations as permitted by Swiss GAAP FER, reducing the volatility in equity and the need to carry out costly actuarial valuations as required by IFRS.

With the publication of the results for the financial year 2015, Ascom will present restated 2014 financial results as if the conversion to Swiss GAAP FER had occurred as of 1 January 2014. The future capacity of Ascom Holding AG to pay dividends is in no way impacted by the accounting standard conversion of Ascom Group.

The shares of Ascom Holding AG remain listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and continue to be included to the Swiss Performance Index (SPI). With the conversion to Swiss GAAP FER, Ascom shares will be traded according to the Swiss Reporting Standard. Following the decision of the Board of Directors of Ascom Holding AG, an application to change the regulatory standard will be filed with the SIX Swiss Exchange

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This document does not constitute an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell any securities. This document is not being issued in the United States of America or the United Kingdom and should not be distributed in any jurisdiction in a manner where such distribution would not comply with regulatory requirements. In particular, this document may not be distributed into the United States, to United States persons or to publications with a general circulation in the United States. In addition, the securities of Ascom have not been and will not be registered in any jurisdiction outside Switzerland. The securities of Ascom may not be offered, sold or delivered and no solicitation to purchase such securities may be made within the United States or to U.S. persons absent an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the United States securities laws or within any other jurisdiction and in a manner where such offer, sale, delivery or solicitation might not be in compliance with regulatory requirements (including the United Kingdom).

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