In February trading activity at the Riga Stock Exchange was considerably higher than in January, total trading volume amounting to EUR 58.8 million. Debt trading dominated heavily, the turnover reaching EUR 55.71 million, while equity trading was EUR 3.09 million. The top three equities in terms of trading volume were Grindeks with EUR 1.24 million, Latvijas balzams with EUR 0.72 million and Ventspils nafta with EUR 0.41 million. Latvijas Gaze with EUR 348.25 million continued to be the top company in terms of capitalisation, to be followed by Ventspils nafta with EUR 116.2 million.
During February the main price gainers were Olainfarm with 30%, Latvijas kugnieciba with 18.18% and Ventspils nafta with 12.9%; Liepajas metalurgs, Latvijas balzams and Grindeks also gained in price. Kaija lost 8.7% of its previous month's close value, and Ditton 7.69%.
Equity market capitalisation at the end of February stood at EUR 697.97 million (a 4.2% increase since end of January). Total debt market value was EUR 516.14 million. Dow Jones Riga Stock Exchange index has increased by 5.72% since the end of January; the increase since the beginning of the year is 6.36%.
The RSE has summarised the member activity in 2002. Hansabanka has been the most active trading member, generating 30.4% of the market trading volume. Hansabanka with 47.08% and Latvijas krajbanka 45.03% were the most active in equity trading segment, while Hipoteku banka was the leader in debt trading (35.27%). The rating has been done only considering the central market trades and do not include auctions, block trades and reported trades. The RSE had 13 trading members at the end of 2002.
Tallinn
Stock Exchange turnover was stable to higher in February amounting to EUR 16 mln while TALSE index fell by 1.75% during the month. The month was characterised by 2002 financial results announcements by listed corporates.
Consolidated revenues of the Eesti Telekom Group amounted to EUR 296 mln in 2002, showing an annual increase of 8%. The company said that mobile communication was the main growth area. The net profit was EUR 66 mln, or EUR 0.48 per share (2001 respectively EUR 50 mln and EUR 0.36).
Net profit of Hansabank Group was EUR 119.8 mln in 2002, which gives the bank the annual growth of 11%. The bank said that successful launch of the funded pension reform in Estonia and Latvia as well as the completion of restructuring of the Lithuanian subsidiary Hansa-LTB were one of the highlights for the year. Falling interest rates led to strong growth in lending; at the same time decreased the rate of savings.
Several companies announced plans to pay out dividends: Hansapank EUR 0.38 per share, Saku Brewery EUR 0.32, Norma EUR 0.32, Harju Elekter EUR 0.13 and Tallinna Kaubamaja EUR 0.06 per share.
Norma applied holiday with partial pay and terminated 60 job contracts in relation to continuously low season in the Russian vehicle industry which has an influence to the work and sales volumes of the Estonian company.
The total volume of funded pension funds stood at EUR 15 mln at the end of February, a growth of 36% since the beginning of the year.
Vilnius
During the month under review nearly all listed companies published financial figures for the year ended 31 December 2002. In 2002, producers of alcoholic beverages, undergoing preparation for privatisation, operated profitably, with an exception of Anyksciu Vynas. In general, dairy companies reported negative financial results, only Zemaitijos Pienas earned profit. Lietuvos Telekomas earnings fell below forecasts and market expectations. However, 2002 was a successful year for furniture and paper producers. Overall, 32 companies out of 42 reporting issuers posted profits. Few companies have announced their plans to pay dividends yet: Vilniaus Vingis EUR 0.36 per share, Snaige EUR 3.48.
On 25 February, Utenos Trikotazas registered a reduction of its share capital to EUR 5.74 million. Bankas Snoras and Siauliu Bankas announced about their intentions to increase share capital. Alytaus Tekstile also intends to propose shareholders raising the authorised capital through a new issue of shares.
In February positive capital market news boosted prices of listed shares. The stocks of Alytaus Tekstile, Mazeikiu Nafta, and Snaige were best performers on the market as their prices advanced most. Three companies attracted the bulk of order book trading: Vilniaus Vingis (EUR 0.56 million), Snaige (EUR 0.42 million) and Lietuvos Telekomas (EUR 257.9 thousand). Investors were also interested in securities of alcohol producers and shipping companies slated for privatisation.
These trends led to a growth of all the Stock Exchange indices. The cap-weighted indices, LITIN and LITIN-G, went up by 3% and 5% accordingly, along with the index of 10 most actively traded stocks, LITIN-10, surging by 5%. Nonetheless, the total securities turnover fell by 44% on a month-on-month basis, amounting to EUR 22.5 million.
