- Vienna Stock Exchange thriving despite regulatory burden and fierce competition
- Profit on ordinary activities up 10.4%; revenues increase by 2.25%
- Announces plans for new SME market segments: "direct market" & "direct market plus"
(Vienna) The Vienna Stock Exchange has posted an increase in the 2017 financial result thanks to its new strategy to diversify revenue streams, and despite increasing regulatory costs. New strategic initiatives that yielded fruit include the extension of the quotation and the global marketing of Austrian stocks and exchange services. The Swiss joint venture with LIMEYARD launched new index products today. New crypto-indices are disseminated to 250 of Vienna Stock Exchange's data vending customers in 68 countries worldwide.
"The Vienna Stock Exchange has undergone an incredibly positive transformation process. The newly launched international market segment has been well received by Austrian investors," said Heimo Scheuch, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Wiener Börse AG and its holding CEESEG AG. "As shareholders, we support the repositioning and the forward-looking and innovative initiatives of the Vienna Stock Exchange. We are interested in a sustainable and long-term positioning."
Christoph Boschan, CEO of Wiener Börse AG and its holding CEESEG AG, added: "Vienna Stock Exchange has a strong USP as an international operator. Consequently, market participants see it as the go-to platform for Austrian stock trading on a daily basis. The improved results, as well as new customers such as record IPO issuer BAWAG and the Zagreb Stock Exchange, who trusts us with the operation of their trading system, prove that this is working. We have achieved these good results in a particularly tough context of regulatory challenges and IT system changeovers."
Review: New strategic positioning bears first fruit
In the financial year 2017, Wiener Börse AG posted a profit on ordinary activities (POA) of EUR 28.07 million. This is an increase of 10.4% versus 2016, which – adjusted for extraordinary effects that did not result from business operations such as the reversal of provisions – amounted to EUR 25.44 million. The result for 2017 includes income from a special dividend. Without this effect, Wiener Börse AG still exceeded the adjusted 2016 POA by 6.1%. Revenues stood at EUR 48.9 million in 2017, up 2.3% yoy. The main driver was the dynamic turnover in stock trading, which increased by one-fifth to EUR 66.1 billion in the financial year 2017. (2016: EUR 55.7 billion) Wiener Börse AG's equity adjusted for special effects was EUR 39,0 million on 31 December 2017. (2016: EUR 37.3 million). The net profit for 2017 was EUR 21.6 million (adjusted: EUR 20.5 million), after an adjusted net profit in 2016 of EUR 19.9 million.
The parent of the Vienna Stock Exchange, CEESEG AG, which also includes the Prague Stock Exchange, can also look back on a good business year 2017. Consolidated net profit of CEESEG remained steady at EUR 33.87 million (2016: EUR 33.86 million). The Group's total assets were EUR 154 million versus EUR 156 million in 2016.
At the annual general meetings of Wiener Börse AG and CEESEG AG in mid-June a resolution was passed regarding changes on the Supervisory Board: Kurt Svoboda (Uniqa AG) is replacing Hannes Bogner (Uniqa AG) as new member of the supervisory body of Wiener Börse AG and CEESEG AG.
Outlook: New impulses created by a more attractive market segmentation
The Austrian government has promised to restore access to the Third Market for Austrian companies by the end of the year. In preparation for this, the Vienna Stock Exchange presents plans for two new market segments: "direct market" and "direct market plus". Young companies and Austrian SMEs thus have an opportunity for development on the Austrian capital market. With this new offer, the Vienna Stock Exchange has picked up the international trend of direct listings with attractive fees, a rapid start of trading and reduced complexity.
"This can be a first step towards growth and raising fresh capital for many companies. We are very pleased that the new government is creating a positive capital market climate," explained Christoph Boschan.
Austria must make better use of its financial market potential to create more wealth for Austrians
A study currently being prepared by research institute ECONOMICA highlights the potential of the Austrian capital market. Increasing the market capitalization of listed domestic stocks permanently from 34% to 44% of GDP would help to improve the economic growth rate by 10%.
"Austria needs to do more to exploit its potential for delivering prosperity every year. More than EUR 6bn of potential additional GDP could be tapped via the capital market – double the Austrian budget for universities in 2018: The government has a large set of macroeconomic tools at its disposal to leverage this potential. From fiscal policy measures to developing private pension provisions, more financial literacy as well as privatization" said Christoph Boschan.
In the past ten years, Austria lost potential additional GDP amounting to EUR 6.27 billion, according to the study. This would be an additional EUR 2.98 billion in income for the gainfully employed and EUR 2.65 billion more tax revenues for the state; furthermore EUR 2.49 billion additional income for the self-employed and companies as well as EUR 1.57 billion more for investment spending by companies (overlapping subsets, e.g. income from gainful employment also contains taxes).
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.
Exclusion of Liability
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and forecasts that are based on assumptions current made at the time of publication of this press release. We do not assume any liability for these forward-looking statements materializing. Furthermore, we would like to explicitly point out that this press release cannot serve as a basis for investment decisions and may not be construed as a solicitation to buy or a recommendation to invest by Wiener Börse AG. No liability is assumed for the information given in this press release.
