Deutsche Börse successfully concluded two major strategic projects in fiscal year 2003. Clearstream International has now been fully integrated into Deutsche Börse Group, and the Central Counterparty (CCP) has been introduced for the cash market. "Both of these projects have enabled us to boost the efficiency and security of our securities trading in Europe for our customers, and, at the same time, have provided us with new opportunities for growth", said Mathias Hlubek. Deutsche Börse plans to further develop its OTC business and use the Central Counterparty for the clearing of OTC-traded bonds. Furthermore, Deutsche Börse Group has increased its access to the US capital market with the launch of the derivatives exchange Eurex US in February.
The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse will propose to the 2004 Annual General Meeting that The Lord Peter Levene of Portsoken and Alessandro Profumo be elected to the supervisory board of Deutsche Börse. The Lord Peter Levene is Chairman of the Council of Lloyd's, Alessandro Profumo is Chief Executive Officer of UniCredito Italiano. The Lord Peter Levene and Alessandro Profumo are following Sandra J. Jaffee, Executive Vice President, Citibank and Harold Hörauf, personally liable partner HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt.
The Supervisory Board and the Executive Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting that the dividend for fiscal year 2003 be increased by 25 percent to €0.55 per share. This will put Deutsche Börse's distribution ratio at 25 percent, corresponding to a total distribution to shareholders of €61.5 million. The intention, according to Hlubek, is to increase the dividend even further for 2004, provided that the company meets its growth targets. Since its IPO in February 2001, Deutsche Börse has consistently increased its dividend by more than 20 percent each year. Since Deutsche Börse's initial listing, its shares have outperformed the DAX by 70 percent.
