.jpg)
- The GPW group’s new strategy focuses on three pillars of growth: trading, data and technology, and new business models
- The GPW Group plans to achieve average annual revenues of PLN 498 million and average annual EBITDA of PLN 215 million in 2023-2027
- Revenue in 2027 will increase by PLN 157 million vs. 2023, of which PLN 101 million is attributable to new strategic initiatives
The GPW Management Board, acting with the approval of the Exchange Supervisory Board, presented the framework of the GPW Group’s new strategy on 25 May 2023. The 2023-2027 strategy focuses on three pillars of the Group’s growth: trading, data and technology, and new business models. The GPW Group plans to achieve average annual revenues of PLN 498 million and average annual EBITDA of PLN 215 million in 2023-2027. Revenue in 2027 will increase by PLN 157 million vs. 2023, of which PLN 101 million is attributable to new strategic initiatives.
“Under GPW’s previous strategy, core business and new initiatives were of equal importance. According to the new strategy, it is 80 percent core business and 20 percent new business lines. We maintain a strong focus on our core business but in a completely new perspective. We will redefine it and develop it with new initiatives,” said Marek Dietl, President of the GPW Management Board, during the conference. “We remain active in mergers and acquisitions. We are looking at technology companies, firms related to the capital market, cyber security, and the stock market industry. However, it is important to note that there are only few such entities. Our success with the Armenia Securities Exchange encourages us to rely on our own efforts. Every such process provides valuable expertise and expands the knowledge of the team,” added Mr Dietl.
With individual investors in mind, GPW plans among others to develop derivatives on the commodity and financial markets and to introduce new products on the markets it is developing: GlobalConnect, ETFs, ETCs, ETNs, etc. GPW plans to make available useful data, including iXBRL structured company reports, ESG reporting and sustainable finance indices, as well as products dedicated for traders. Important goals of the new strategy include the launch of a market in tokenised non-financial assets, the GPW crowdfunding platform, and the Warsaw Integrated Digital Exchange. On the technological front, the Warsaw Stock Exchange plans to further develop its solutions, including the proprietary trading system WATS, the TCA Tool application for analysing market micro- and macro-structure, GPW STORK (for market abuse detection), and the GPW Cloud.
“An important part of our new strategy is the development of data products and services. The data that investors and capital market players use at the moment is limited to post-session processed market data. However, we realise that a lot can be done in this area and we want to address it in the new strategic horizon. We believe that this will be of great help to investors and analysts in cutting the time necessary to prepare data for analysis,” said Izabela Olszewska, Member of the GPW Management Board.
In the context of issuers, GPW will continue to support them in investor relations as well as ESG-related activities. This will take place under the umbrella of the GPW Group ESG Strategy 2025: “Together for Sustainable Development”. The new initiatives include the Knowledge Exchange Forum, which will serve participants of the Polish capital market as a complement to the current knowledge transfer infrastructure.
“We have implemented the ESG strategy for our Group and are training employees in all pillars of environmental, employee, and corporate governance factors. We are preparing operational plans and an integrated report,” said Monika Gorgoń, Member of the GPW Management Board. “We have successfully implemented the GRC (governance, risk, compliance) system, which has helped us organise our processes and link them to legal regulations. We have created a database of internal and external regulations and a compliance map. We have linked all this to controls and risk management in this area. The system is now available for commercialisation,” added Ms Gorgoń.
Between 2023 and 2027, the GPW Group will continue to transform its operating model to gradually improve cost efficiency. In the next five years, approximately 40% of the GPW Group’s average annual revenues will be recurring revenues independent of the turnover in financial instruments, including among others information services and regular fees paid by issuers. This will improve the company’s financial security and the predictability of its results.
“According to the new strategy, our EBIDTA margin will be 50 percent in 2027. This is a really high and impressive EBIDTA margin reported by top market leaders. Our average margin over the five-year period will also be high at 35 percent,” said Adam Młodkowski, Member of the GPW Management Board. “Strategic initiatives not only generate revenue but also help us increase efficiency. These are very profitable initiatives. In the last year of the strategy, they will account for a significant 30 percent of earnings. The main growth drivers will be the development of the core trading platforms and new data products and services.”
Within the timeframe of the Strategy 2023-2027, it is the intention of the GPW Management Board to recommend to the General Meeting dividend payments in line with the profitability and financial capacity of GPW, in the range of 60-80% of the consolidated net profit of the GPW Group for each financial year. According to the Strategy, the GPW Group will keep up its acquisition potential. In the absence of acquisitions, the Management Board may recommend to the General Meeting a dividend payout higher than 60-80%.
A detailed description of the strategic initiatives for 2023-2027 is included in the presentation available on the GPW website.
***
The Warsaw Stock Exchange Group (GPW Group) operates trading platforms for shares, Treasury and corporate bonds, derivatives, electricity and gas, and provides indices and benchmarks including WIBOR and WIBID. The index agent FTSE Russell classifies the Polish capital market as a Developed Market since 2018. The markets operated by the GPW Group are the biggest in Central and Eastern Europe. For more information, visit www.gpw.pl
