- Austrian leading index ATX gained 19.77% including dividends
- Broad positioning ensures stability in a challenging environment
- Last trading day 2019: 30 December; early closing auction at 14:15
(Vienna) The Vienna Stock Exchange looks back on a strong year for new IPOs. Three companies make their debut in the top segment "prime market": Marinomed Biotech (1 Feb 2019), Frequentis (14 May 2019) and Addiko Bank (12 July 2019). The standard market welcomed back RHI Magnesita in March. The Austrian leading index ATX recorded double-digit growth. At the same time, trading volumes suffered a setback throughout Europe, but remained stable at the 5-year average in Vienna.
"The great thing about an IPO is that it simultaneously provides financing, enormous visibility and assures a professional company organisation. Companies can also arrange their succession via an IPO", says Christoph Boschan, CEO of the Vienna Stock Exchange. "As a company, we were able to compensate for the lower trading income by growth in other business areas, so that we achieved our annual planning exactly."
Clear strategy largely compensates for challenging environment
Across Europe, stock exchanges suffered from Brexit and increasing regulation. Accordingly, trading volumes declined slightly in 2019. From January to October, the London Stock Exchange lost -18.1%, Deutsche Börse -13.3% and Euronext -8.9% of its equity turnover. As of 13 December, equity turnover at the Vienna Stock Exchange declined by -11.5% to EUR 59.90 bn (versus EUR 67.69 bn in 2018). The most active trading days in 2019 were the Triple Witching Days on 15 March (EUR 968 million), 21 June (EUR 953 million) and 29 September (EUR 702 million).
The growth of Vienna Stock Exchange in the areas of IT services, market data and debt-listing compensated for the decline in turnover. In 2019, the trading infrastructure was modernized with a comprehensive system update. The alignment of the trading calendar with international standards (public holiday trading) generated additional trading turnover of EUR 807 million. The trading year 2019 will end on 30 December with an early closing auction at 14:15. For the first time the trading calendar 2020 foresees 253 trading days.
ATX posts double-digit plus in 2019 – There is no alternative to equities in sight for 2020
The Austrian leading index ATX, including dividends, stood at +19.77% as of 13 December (excluding dividends +15.38%). With a price gain of +63% since the beginning of the year, Warimpex Finanz- und Beteiligungs AG is the best performing stock on the prime market, followed by S Immo AG (+53.4%), Wienerberger AG (+49%), Marinomed Biotech AG (+38.7%) and UBM Development AG (+37.1%). The most actively traded Austrian stocks were Erste Group Bank AG with EUR 11.63 bn, followed by OMV AG with EUR 7.93 bn and voestalpine AG with EUR 7.01 bn. Raiffeisen Bank International AG (EUR 5.21 bn) and Andritz AG (EUR 4.57 bn) ranked fourth and fifth respectively. The market capitalisation of companies listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange amounted to EUR 118.32 bn on 13 December.
The Vienna Stock Exchange will consistently pursue its strategic initiatives in 2020. "For growth and employment, the government should quickly pick up where work unfortunately had to be interrupted for far too long: consistent corporate income and capital gains tax reform, as well as economic education for everyone. We need more inclusion, not just a small financial elite, but all Austrians should be enabled to participate in the success of the companies," says Christoph Boschan, CEO of the stock exchange. "As far as the stock exchange is concerned, we will do everything we can to continue to supply the Austrian financial market with the best infrastructure."
Infographics for download
Video on the strong IPO year 2019
About the Vienna Stock Exchange
The Vienna Stock Exchange is the only securities exchange in Austria. It features a modern infrastructure and supplies market data and relevant information. It offers Austrian companies maximum visibility, high liquidity and utmost transparency. Investors can rely on the smooth and efficient execution of exchange trades. The Vienna Stock Exchange operates a central market datafeed for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and is well established as an expert for the calculation of indices with a reference to the region. Wiener Börse AG, together with its holding company, CEESEG, cooperates with over ten exchanges in CEE and is globally recognized for this unique know-how.
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