On 16 April 2014, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange held its annual general meeting to present its financial results and the highlights of its activities in 2013.
2013 Financial Results
At the end of 2013, consolidated revenues at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange amounted to 40.69 million euros. Consolidated net profit for the year totalled 8.18 million euros, an increase of 16% compared to 2012.
The shareholders approved the accounts for 2013 and resolved to pay a gross dividend of 50 euros per share for the year, an amount that remains unchanged from the previous year.
Activity Report
In the field of listings, 8,317 new securities from 750 issuers were listed on the two markets operated by the Luxembourg Stock Exchange – the European regulated market and the Euro MTF – against 8,121 in 2012, an increase of 2.41%.
Significant new listings included the following issues:
- Two loans from the Luxembourg State
- A bond issue of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM)
- The first project bond supported by the European Investment Bank (EIB) as part of its project bond initiative
- Eight new Dim Sum issues, bonds which are denominated in renminbi and aimed at investors outside China.
Concerning equity issues, noteworthy new listings included:
- An issue of shares from German chemicals Evonik Industries AG
- The listing of the shares of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, a leading European media company
- An issue of Global Depositary Shares from Taiwanese company Asustek Computer Inc.
Secondary market activity in 2013 saw a trading volume of 481 million euros (+6.2 %). Bond trading represented three quarters of the total volume.
Currently there are more than 1,800 securities in continuous trading, including 600 investment funds. Continuous trading, which is driven by market makers, plays an important role in transparency and market liquidity.
Development of the Activities of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange continued to invest in supporting the investment fund sector and to intensify its international development.
On 7 June 2013, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange launched Fundsquare, a market infrastructure for investment funds that provides services aimed at improving cross-border distribution of funds:
- Order routing services offering maximum standardization and allowing a substantial reduction in costs for users
- Services for the collection and dissemination of fund information
- Regulatory reporting services via the e-file.lu platform.
A memorandum of understanding was signed on 18 September 2013 with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. As part of this agreement, the two exchanges have agreed to strengthen their ties to optimize the exchange of information and to co-operate closely on the development and trading of financial instruments. In addition, the two exchanges are considering joint support initiatives including the development of small and medium enterprises and growth markets.
Lastly, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange carried out various work in 2013 to prepare its move to its new headquarters at 35A Boulevard Joseph II, which took place on 20 January 2014.
Composition of the Board of Directors
During the annual general meeting, the co-optation of Véronique de la Bachelerie, Jonathan Grosvenor, Frédéric Perard and Carlo Thelen as members of the board of directors was ratified, completing the terms of their respective predecessors and that of Frédéric Genet who resigned.
Furthermore, the annual general meeting renewed the appointments to the board for a term of three years of Jean-François Abadie, Pierre Ahlborn, Pierre Cimino, Jonathan Grosvenor, Frédéric Perard and Carlo Thelen, whose mandates expired at the time of the annual general meeting.
In addition, the annual general meeting appointed Gianfranco Pizzutto as director for a term of three years.
