Q1-3 2024 Marked By Record-High Equity Turnover On GPW

The Warsaw Stock Exchange Group generated sales revenue at a high PLN 112.1 million in Q3 2024, a year-on-year increase of 5.7%. The Group’s EBITDA increased by 7.2% year on year to PLN 42.5 million in Q3 2024 and the net profit attributable to the equity holders of the parent entity reached PLN 42.0 million, a year-on-year increase of 5.7%. The growth rate of expenses was lower than the growth rate of revenue for a second consecutive quarter, which improved the profit margins. The Group’s expenses increased by only 3.9% year on year in Q3 2024.

• PLN 250.4 billion – record-high EOB turnover value in Q1-3 2024 (27.8% YoY)
• PLN 1.32 billion - average daily equity turnover value in Q1-3 2024 (27.1% YoY)
• PLN 351.1 million – GPW Group sales revenue in Q1-3 2024 (6.7% YoY)
• PLN 121.8 million - EBITDA in Q1-3 2024 adjusted for a one-off [1] (2.8% YoY)
• PLN 114.7 million - net profit in Q1-3 2024 adjusted for a one-off (3.1% YoY)

Growing turnover and liquidity

The Warsaw Stock Exchange maintained its position among the top European markets in Q3 2024. According to the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE), GPW reported EOB equity turnover growth of 35% year on year, one of the best results in Europe. GPW ranked second among European exchanges by velocity with a ratio of 37.2%.

GPW Main Market EOB turnover reached PLN 79.3 billion in Q3 2024, a 29% increase year on year. The average daily EOB equity turnover value was PLN 1.22 billion, an increase of 27% year on year. Investors remained very active in October, when average daily GPW Main Market equity turnover value was PLN 1.25 billion.

GPW Main Market EOB equity turnover value reached a record high of PLN 250.4 billion in January-September 2024, an increase of 27.8% year on year, representing the best first nine months of the year in the history of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

“The growing turnover and high liquidity in Q3 confirm that the Warsaw Stock Exchange is an important capital market in Europe. Our performance is the result of the strong equity market and improving cost control. A highlight of recent weeks was the new listing of the Żabka Group: the fourth largest IPO in the history of GPW and the fourth largest IPO in Europe this year. We expect that this new listing will encourage other companies to be floated on the stock exchange in Warsaw, and that another significant IPO will take place later this year,” said Tomasz Bardziłowski, President of the Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Record-high revenue

The Warsaw Stock Exchange Group’s revenue reached a record-high level of PLN 351.1 million in Q1-3 2024, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%. The GPW Group’s EBITDA was PLN 116.0 million in Q1-3 2024, down 2.1% year on year. Net profit attributable to the equity holders of the parent entity reached PLN 108.9 million in Q1-3 2024, down 2.2% year on year. EBITDA adjusted for a one-off event increased by 2.8% year on year to PLN 121.8 million in Q1-3 2024, and net profit attributable to the equity holders of the parent entity adjusted for the one-off increased by 3.1% to PLN 114.7 million.

In Q3 2024 alone, the GPW Group’s revenue amounted to PLN 112.1 million, an increase of 5.7% year on year. Revenue from the financial market increased by 9.3% year on year to PLN 71.8 million, while revenue from the commodity market increased by 1.6% year on year to PLN 36.2 million. Revenue from information services on the financial and commodity markets increased by 13.9% to PLN 16.7 million.

The Group’s operating expenses grew at a lower rate than revenue for a second consecutive quarter. Expenses increased by 3.9% year on year to PLN 77.5 million in Q3 2024. The reduced growth rate of expenses was the result of strict control over external service charges.

The GPW Group’s EBITDA amounted to PLN 42.5 million in Q3 2024, an increase of 7.2% year on year. Net profit attributable to the equity holders of the parent entity increased by 5.7% year on year to PLN 42.0 million in Q3 2024.

“We are proud of the performance of the GPW Group in Q3. The solid growth of revenue is a result of favourable conditions on the domestic equity market and growing sales of information services, combined with stable revenue in the commodity segment and continued control over expenses. The growth rate of expenses remained below the growth rate of revenue for the second quarter in a row, which improves our profit margins,” said Marcin Rulnicki, Member of the Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Product development

The Warsaw Stock Exchange is consistently expanding its range of financial instruments to better address the diverse needs of investors. Tracker structured certificates based on the EURO STOXX 50 Net Return and STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas Net Return stock indices were newly listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in Q3 2024. Tracker certificates are investment products which track and replicate the behaviour of the underlying at a ratio of 1:1. These instruments are dedicated primarily to investors with a long investment horizon.

Nine new stocks from the New York stock exchanges Nasdaq and NYSE have been listed on GlobalConnect since July, including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, JP Morgan Chase, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, and Visa. GlobalConnect currently lists 25 stocks, including 10 US stocks. Foreign stocks are traded on GPW in Polish zloty.

In July, GPW Benchmark started to publish three new stock market indices: WIGind, WIGmed, and WIG.MS-ECM. WIGind (WIGindustry) includes industrial companies other than energy and mining companies. WIGmed (WIGmedicine) includes medical operators, such as hospitals, clinics, manufacturers of drugs, medical equipment and supplies, and biotechnology companies. WIGind and WIGmed, together with the existing WIGtechTR, form a sub-family of cross-sector indices. The family of macro-sector indices, which includes WIG.MS-BAS, WIG.MS-FIN, and WIG.GAMES5, expanded in July with the new index WIG.MS-ECM. WIG.MS-ECM includes five of the most liquid e-commerce stocks: Allegro, Asbis, Dino, Eurocash, and Pepco.

August 2024 was a record-breaking month in the history of ETFs listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The ETF turnover value reached an all-time high of PLN 167 million. Two new ETFs have been available on GPW since September: BETA ETF Nasdaq-100 3x lev and BETA ETF Nasdaq-100 2x short. These are leveraged instruments dedicated primarily to active investors.

GPW WATS budget update

The Exchange Management Board decided to update the GPW WATS budget. The planned budget for the production of WATS version V1 supporting the GPW and BondSpot markets is now PLN 133.9 million. The production of version V2 for the BondSpot All2All market by the end of 2025 and the analysis of version V3 for derivatives trade in H2 2025 are currently valued at PLN 19 million.

“The updated budget will ensure the completion of the production process and the implementation of the system in accordance with the precise, detailed terms of reference. It also covers the design and production, on the basis of WATS, of a new platform for the BondSpot All2All market, whose framework is currently being discussed, and the start of the analysis of version V3. Updating the budget at the final stage of the project allows for very precise planning of the necessary capital expenditure,” said Sławomir Panasiuk, Vice-President of the Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

The scheduled date for the production launch of the new system is 10 November 2025. The decision was taken by the GPW Management Board in July on the recommendation of the GPW WATS Implementation Committee, which plays a key role in overseeing and coordinating all aspects of the implementation of the new system.

15 years of Catalyst

Catalyst, the specialised market for corporate, municipal, and government bonds, celebrated its 15th anniversary in September 2024. Since its launch in 2009, Catalyst has become a key platform for Polish companies and local governments, enabling them to raise capital, while it offers investors a wide range of debt instruments.

Catalyst now lists 693 series of bonds denominated in PLN issued by 137 entities and 44 series of bonds in EUR issued by 16 entities. The total value of bonds listed on Catalyst exceeds PLN 1.3 trillion. In September, KGHM introduced its debt instruments on Catalyst. The PLN 1 billion series C bond issue was one of the largest corporate bond issues introduced on Catalyst in recent years.

Appointment of the Issuer Council

In September, the Warsaw Stock Exchange appointed the Issuer Council, a platform for dialogue between issuers, investors, and regulators. Its mission is to improve market efficiency and to promote long-term development strategies of Polish companies by sharing knowledge and experience with the Exchange’s governing bodies. The Council’s activities focus on three key areas: improving transparency, promoting the capital market, and building investor confidence. The Council will actively initiate changes to support the development and stability of the market, and its members will be ambassadors of these positive efforts, shaping the future of the capital market in Poland.

Promotion of investor education

The Parkiet Challenge competition co-organised by GPW and the newspaper Gazeta Giełdy i Inwestorów Parkiet has made a comeback to the Warsaw trading floor. The sixth edition of the competition is a unique opportunity for all those who want to improve their knowledge of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and test their investment skills. The Parkiet Challenge offers a chance to gain hands-on experience in the world of investing, using virtual money and based on genuine market valuations. The main part of the competition will last until 22 November and the grand finale will be held on 4 December at GPW’s headquarters. Dozens of thousands of participants have taken part in previous editions of the competition.

The first-ever summer investment competition in the history of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, “Holidays on the Stock Exchange”, organised in cooperation with the editors of Bankier.pl, attracted a record number of participants. More than 6,000 people took part in the competition, concluding almost 100,000 virtual transactions worth nearly PLN 108 million.

In October, the GPW Foundation opened registration for the 23rd edition of the Online School Exchange Game (SIGG) addressed to students of secondary schools and senior grades of primary schools. This educational project aims to educate young people in the capital markets, spark interest in the stock exchange and, above all, in opportunities for investment and long-term savings. The SIGG enables young people to learn about investing in a practical way, providing a valuable addition to Business and Management classes. More than 25,000 school students and over 1,200 teachers have registered to participate in this year’s SIGG. Registration for the 23rd edition of the Online School Exchange Game is open until 11 November.