L111/36 Official Journal of the European Union 15.4.2014 COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) No 382/2014 of 7 March 2014 supplementing Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for publication of supplements to the prospectus (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading and amending Direct- ive 2001/34/EC ("), and in particular Article 16(3) thereof, Whereas: (1)  Directive 2003/71/EC harmonises requirements for the drawing up, approval and distribution of the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market situated or operating within a Member State. (2)  Directive 2003/71/EC also requires publication of supplements to the prospectus mentioning every significant new factor, material mistake or inaccuracy relating to the information included in the prospectus which is capable of affecting the assessment of the securities and which arises or is noted between the time when the prospectus is approved and the final closing of the offer to the public or, as the case may be, the time when trading on a regulated market begins, whichever occurs later. (3)  The provision of full information concerning the securities and the issuers of securities promotes the protection of investors. A supplement should therefore include all material information relating to the specific situations that triggered the supplement and that must be included in the prospectus in accordance with Direct- ive 2003/71/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 809/2004 (3. (4)  In order to ensure consistent harmonisation, to specify the requirements laid down in Directive 2003/71/EC and to take account of technical developments on financial markets, it is necessary to specify situations where publi- cation of supplements to the prospectus is required. (5) It is not possible to identify all the situations in which a supplement to the prospectus is required as this may depend on the issuer and securities involved. Therefore, it is appropriate to specify the minimum situations where a supplement is required. (6)  Annual audited financial statements play a crucial role for investors when making investment decisions. In order to ensure that investors base their investment decisions on the most recent financial information, it is necessary to publish a supplement incorporating new annual audited financial statements of issuers of equity securities and issuers of underlying shares in the case of depository receipts published after the approval of the prospectus. (7)  In order to take account of the ability of profit forecasts and profit estimates to influence an investment decision, issuers of equity securities and issuers of underlying shares in the case of depository receipts should publish a supplement containing any amendments to implicit or explicit figures constituting profit forecasts or profit esti- mates already included in the prospectus. () OJL345,31.12.2003, p. 64. (*) Commission Regulation (EC) No 809/2004 of 29 April 2004 implementing Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards information contained in prospectuses as well as the format, incorporation by reference and publication of such prospectuses and dissemination of advertisements (O] L 149, 30.4.2004, p. 1).