- Vienna Stock Exchange's operating income up 17% in 2014
- Steady increase in trading volume
- New members elected to Supervisory Board
(Vienna) The Vienna Stock Exchange reported strong earnings for 2014 at today's Annual General Meeting. The operating profit increased to EUR 18.1 million – up 17.3% (2013: EUR 15.5 million), mainly driven by the steadily increasing trading volume. The average monthly trading volume in 2014 was EUR 3.98 billion, which was also an improvement versus the previous year (2013: EUR 3.2 billion). The total trading volume rose by 23% to EUR 47.5 billion (2013: EUR 38.5 billion).
Birgit Kuras and Michael Buhl, management board members of Wiener Börse AG are very confident that this upward trend will continue this year. "Trading volumes on the Vienna Stock Exchange have been on the rise for some time now. The trend continues this year, with average monthly trading volumes having reached EUR 5 billion in 2015, which is 25% higher than the previous year. In March we saw the most intense trading activity since August 2011."
Public offerings to raise capital on the Vienna Stock Exchange have reached their highest level since 2007. Capital increases generated an inflow of fresh capital totaling EUR 3.96 billion (2013: EUR 1.56 billion), whereof EUR 2.78 billion were raised by Raiffeisen Bank International and around EUR 1 billion by Telekom Austria. The public offering of the aviation components supplier FACC raised approximately EUR 194 million. The volume of newly listed corporate bonds was EUR 7.2 billion, which marks an all-time high. The ATX closed the year 2014 at a minus of 15.2% versus 2013. This year, the ATX recovered almost 18% by 17 June, making it one of the best-performing indices in Europe.
"Despite the geopolitical turmoil of the previous year, which weighed the ATX down, we are very pleased about the development of the Vienna Stock Exchange. The public offerings carried out in 2014 reflect the growing interest of international investors in the Vienna Stock Exchange and in domestic stocks," said Birgit Kuras and Michael Buhl.
The equity capital of the Vienna Stock Exchange as of 31 December 2104 was EUR 30.9 million (2013: EUR 29.1 million). Total assets amounted to EUR 52.9 million following EUR 49.3 million in the previous year. Gain in total assets was EUR 13.7 million, compared to a gain of EUR 12.1 million in the year 2013. Wiener Börse AG had 92 employees as of 31 December 2014 (80 full-time equivalents).
Steady performance of CEE Stock Exchange Croup (CEESEG AG)
The parent company of the Vienna Stock Exchange, the holding CEESEG AG, which also holds stakes in the exchanges of Prague, Budapest and Ljubljana, reported positive results for the business year 2014. The operating income of the CEESEG increased slightly to EUR 28.6 million (2013: EUR 27 million). The consolidated total assets amounted to EUR 191.0 million, following EUR 184.1 million in 2013. As of 31 December 2014, the stock exchange group employed a total of 231 staff. "Although there was no significant upturn in the economies of Central and Eastern Europe in the past year, we defended our position as the largest stock exchange group in Central and Eastern Europe and were able to keep our earnings stable," explained the management board members of CEESEG, Michael Buhl and Petr Koblic.
The biggest source of revenue within the exchange group is the Vienna Stock Exchange, followed by the Prague Stock Exchange Group and the exchanges of Budapest and Ljubljana. The group's strategic positioning is currently being reviewed. Among other things, a potential sale of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange is being analysed, for which several expressions of interest were registered in spring. A decision in this context is planned for the summer.
Changes to the Supervisory Board
At today's annual general meeting of Wiener Börse AG and CEESEG AG, the following resolutions on changes to the supervisory board were passed: Stefan Dörfler (Erste Bank) and Wilhelm Celeda (Raiffeisen Centrobank) have joined as new members of the supervisory body of Wiener Börse AG and CEESEG AG. They succeed Franz Hochstrasser and Michael Spiss who as of today are no longer members of the supervisory board. Willibald Cernko (Bank Austria) will continue to serve as chairman of the supervisory board.
About the Vienna Stock Exchange
The Vienna Stock Exchange is a 100% subsidiary of the CEE Stock Exchange Group (CEESEG) which also includes the stock exchanges of Budapest, Ljubljana and Prague. The CEE Stock Exchange Group is the largest stock exchange group in the region. In addition to the four stock exchanges, CEESEG operates three commodity exchanges and holds stakes in five clearing systems (CCPs) and two central securities depositories (CSDs). CEESEG makes access and trading on the local markets simpler with the aim of improving liquidity. The CEESEG stock exchanges cooperate with 12 exchanges in Central and Eastern Europe and are globally recognized for their unique CEE know-how.