- Record-high sales revenue of PLN 403.8 million
- Record-high EBITDA of PLN 224.6 million
- Net profit of PLN 151.4 million
- Increase of operating expenses by 15.1% to PLN 208.5 million
- Cost/income (C/I) ratio at 51.6%
- Dividend payment of PLN 100.7 million (PLN 2.40 per share)
The GPW Group’s financial results in 2020 were among the best in its 30-year history. The GPW Group generated record-high sales revenue of PLN 403.8 million, record-high EBITDA of PLN 224.6 million, and a net profit of PLN 151.4 million, one of the highest ever. Operating expenses in 2020 stood at PLN 208.5 million while the cost/income (C/I) ratio was 51.6%.
In Q4 2020, the GPW Group generated sales revenue of PLN 115.9 million, EBITDA of PLN 64.4 million and a net profit of PLN 46.7 million. Operating expenses stood at PLN 57.6 million while the C/I ratio was 49.7%.
“It is my fourth time to present the GPW Group’s annual results and the third time to announce that the net profit exceeded PLN 150 million. That symbolic mark was never crossed before. The year 2020 was very special for our business development, as well. We generated more than PLN 400 million revenue for the first time ever. Revenue growth was particularly strong in the areas covered by the strategy #GPW2022,” said Marek Dietl, President of the GPW Management Board.
The year 2020 will be remembered as a time of economic and social turbulence unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the GPW Group grew dynamically in 2020. The equity EOB turnover value on GPW increased by 55.3% year on year to a record-high PLN 297.3 billion. The equity EOB turnover value on NewConnect was also historically high at PLN 14.7 billion, an increase of 925.3% year on year.
Seven companies were newly listed on the Main Market (including two transfers from NewConnect) and fourteen companies were newly listed on NewConnect in 2020. GPW consolidated its position of a regional hub for gaming companies. The highlight of the year was the IPO of Allegro, record-breaking in GPW’s history, worth PLN 10.6 billion (including the exercised option of additional allotment of 15% of shares). Individual investors made a come-back in 2020. The number of investment accounts reported by KDPW increased by nearly 85 thousand as at 31 December 2020, representing an increase of 6.8% year on year, the highest increase since 2010 both in nominal numbers and as a percentage.
Turnover in electricity and natural gas on the exchange increased in 2020. The annual turnover was historically high on both markets. Turnover in electricity increased by a high 6.2% from 228.9 TWh to 243.2 TWh. Turnover in gas increased by 3.4% from 146.1 TWh to 151.1 TWh.
The GPW Group’s potential is corroborated by the dividend paid to the shareholders every year since GPW went public. The company has paid close to PLN 895 million in dividend since 2010. PLN 100.7 million dividend was paid in August 2020, representing PLN 2.40 per share, equal to 93.2% of the consolidated net profit of 2019 (adjusted for the share of profit of associates). Last year’s dividend yield of 5.53% was among the highest in the European exchange industry.
Implementation of the strategy #GPW2022
In 2020, the Group implemented a range of initiatives under the strategy #GPW2022. To diversify our revenue streams and expand the value chain, we decided to open the Food and Agricultural Commodity Market (RTRS) which offers trade in wheat, rye, and maize.
GPW Ventures and KOWR signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the KOWR Ventures Fund in a development project leveraging innovative solutions for agriculture, the food and agricultural industry, and rural areas in Poland.
In 2020, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority authorised GPW Benchmark as an administrator of interest-rate benchmarks including the critical benchmark WIBOR. The PFSA decision completes the administrative process for the WIBID and WIBOR Reference Rates provided by GPW Benchmark. With the authorisation, GPW Benchmark is in a position to expand its offer of interest-rate benchmarks.
GPW Tech, the technology arm of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, was very active in 2020. The company started preparations for commercialisation of two IT products: the GRC system (Governance, Risk, Compliance), which automates compliance management, and the TCA Tool, an application supporting the analysis of market micro and macrostructure and the quality of order execution on the exchange. The architecture of the new Trading System was completed in 2020 in the biggest IT project of the GPW Group. The new Trading System will eventually replace the legacy systems of the GPW Group companies. The technology milestones of 2020 included advanced work on GPW Data, a development project of an innovative system based on artificial intelligence (AI), as well as work on the Private Market platform.
The Technology Development Support Programme addressed to brokers continued in 2020. Twelve new companies joined the 39 participants of the Analytical Coverage Support Programme (PWPA) in July 2020. The PWPA initiative was broadly consulted with capital market institutions.
The GPW Growth Academy was active in 2020 despite the pandemic. It supports the development of small and mid-sized companies and promotes capital market tools.
Development initiatives in 2020 included a new project dedicated to ESG competences. The project will develop single guidelines for ESG reporting by public companies.
As a part of international initiatives enhancing regional co-operation, GPW hosted the Three Seas Exchanges Conference which brought together CEOs of CEE exchanges.
“The launch of new products and services during the pandemic is a major challenge. I wish to thank everyone on the GPW Group team for their dedication in pursuit of the strategy #GPW2022. Despite all the engagement of our team, some of the strategic initiatives are delayed. The challenging circumstances notwithstanding, we remain committed to our ambitious projects and continue to implement them step by step. The key milestones include the sale of the first proprietary technology solutions provided by GPW Tech,” said Marek Dietl, President of the GPW Management Board.
Presentation of the financial results of the GPW Group for Q4 2020 and for 2020
Net profit
The net profit of the GPW Group was PLN 46.7 million in Q4 2020 vs. PLN 11.2 million in Q4 2019 and PLN 32.0 million in Q3 2020. The Group’s annual net profit was PLN 151.4 million in 2020 vs. PLN 119.3 million in 2019. The year-on-year increase of the net profit was due to higher sales revenue on the financial market (+38.4% YoY) combined with a decrease of revenue on the commodity market (-3.7%) and an increase of operating expenses (+15.1% YoY). The net profit of 2019 included provisions of PLN 15.5 million set up against potential VAT payable of the subsidiary IRGiT (charged to financial expenses). The net profit of 2020 included provisions against IRGiT’s potential payable at PLN 11.4 million.
FINANCIAL MARKET
Revenue from the financial market
The sales revenue from the financial market stood at PLN 78.6 million in Q4 2020 vs. PLN 43.6 million in Q4 2019 and PLN 58.0 million in Q3 2020. The revenue from the financial market contributed 67.8% of the total sales revenue of the GPW Group vs. 54.4% in Q4 2019 and 64.7% in Q3 2020. The annual sales revenue from the financial market was PLN 256.0 million in 2020 vs. PLN 185.0 million in 2019. The sales revenue from the financial market contributed 63.4% of the total sales revenue of the GPW Group in 2020 vs. 55.0% in 2019. The revenue from the financial market includes trading revenue, listing revenue, and revenue from information services. The GPW Group’s consolidated revenue was PLN 403.8 million in 2020 vs. PLN 336.1 million in 2019.
ü Trading revenue on the financial market
The trading revenue on the financial market was PLN 59.6 million in Q4 2020 vs. PLN 27.1 million in Q4 2019 and PLN 40.2 million in Q3 2020. The annual trading revenue on the financial market was PLN 185.3 million in 2020 vs. PLN 117.5 million in 2019. The year-on-year increase in the annual revenue on the financial market was mainly driven by the increase of EOB turnover on the Main Market and on NewConnect by 55.3% YoY and 925.3% YoY, respectively. The revenue was also driven by an increase of derivatives turnover: the total turnover (EOB and block trades) increased by 64.6% YoY in 2020.
ü Listing revenue
The GPW Group’s listing revenue on the financial market was PLN 5.2 million in Q4 2020 vs. PLN 4.3 million in Q4 2019 and PLN 5.0 million in Q3 2020. The annual listing revenue represented 4.8% of the GPW Group’s total revenue and stood at PLN 19.3 million in 2020 vs. PLN 19.6 million in 2019. Listing revenue includes annual listing fees, fees for introduction, and other fees. As such, the revenue is mainly a function of IPO/SPO activity, the number of issuers, and company capitalisation. There were 21 new listings on GPW’s markets in 2020 (including two transfers from NewConnect to the Main Market) vs. 22 new listings in 2019. The total IPO value on both equity markets was PLN 9.6 billion in 2020 (vs. PLN 76 million in 2019). The value of SPOs was PLN 4.7 billion (vs. PLN 8.1 billion in 2019). The total capitalisation of domestic and foreign companies on GPW’s two equity markets stood at PLN 1,089 billion as at 31 December 2020 vs. PLN 1,114 billion as at 31 December 2019.
ü Information services
The revenue from information services was record-high at PLN 13.8 million in Q4 2020 vs. PLN 12.2 million in Q4 2019 and PLN 12.9 million in Q3 2020. The annual revenue from information services was record-high for another consecutive year and stood at PLN 51.4 million vs. PLN 47.9 million in 2019, accounting for 12.7% of the GPW Group’s total sales revenues. The GPW Group acquired four new data vendors (GPW, BondSpot, WIBOR data) and four new processed data clients (GPW and WIBOR data) in 2020. The number of data subscribers increased dynamically across all investor categories in 2020.
COMMODITY MARKET
Revenue from the commodity market
The sales revenue on the commodity market was PLN 36.6 million in Q4 2020, an increase of 1.7% year on year and 23.9% quarter on quarter. It contributed 31.5% of the Group’s total revenues in Q4 2020. The annual revenue from the commodity market was PLN 144.3 million in 2020, representing a decrease of 3.7% year on year and contributing 35.8% of the Group’s total sales revenues. The revenue from the commodity market includes trading revenue, revenue from operation of the register of certificates of origin, and revenue from clearing.
ü Trading revenue on the commodity market
The trading revenue on the commodity market stood at PLN 18.1 million in Q4 2020, representing a decrease of 1.2% year on year and an increase of 13.9% quarter on quarter. The annual trading revenue on the commodity market was PLN 72.3 million in 2020, representing a decrease of 3.8%. The revenue from trade in electricity was PLN 5.3 million in Q4 2020, an increase of 8.0% year on year and 26.9% quarter on quarter. The annual revenue from trade in electricity was PLN 18.9 million in 2020, an increase of 15.9% year on year. The revenue from trade in gas was PLN 12.7 million in 2020, up by 4.3% year on year. The revenue from trade in gas in Q4 2020 increased by 0.6% year on year and 18.6% quarter on quarter and stood at PLN 3.4 million. The revenue from trade in property rights of certificates of origin decreased by 20.5% year on year to PLN 27.2 million in 2020. The revenue from trade in property rights of certificates of origin stood at PLN 6.1 million in Q4 2020, representing a decrease of 9.7% year on year and an increase of 9.5% quarter on quarter. The decrease in the revenue from trade in property rights was due to the expiration of cogeneration certificates at the end of 2018 and their total cancellation by 30 June 2019. The Group’s revenue from other fees paid by commodity market participants stood at PLN 13.5 million in 2020 vs. PLN 12.5 million in 2019, i.e., it increased by 8.2% year on year. The amount of other fees paid by commodity market participants depends mainly on the activity of IRGiT Members, in particular the number of transactions. There were 79 members of the Commodity Exchange Market (RTG) as at 31 December 2020, 7 Exchange Members on the Financial Instruments Market (RIF), and 49 OTF Members (Organised Trading Facility).
ü Operation of the Register of Certificates of Origin
The revenue from the operation of the Register of Certificates of Origin was PLN 5.5 million in Q4 2020, representing an increase of 8.7% year on year and 43.5% quarter on quarter. The annual revenue from the operation of the Register of Certificates of Origin was PLN 24.3 million in 2020, a decrease of 12.5% year on year. The decrease in the revenue from the operation of the Register of Certificates of Origin was driven mainly by a decrease of revenue from cogeneration certificates as the scheme was closed down on 30 June 2019.
ü Clearing
The revenue from clearing was PLN 12.7 million in Q4 2020, representing an increase of 2.6% year on year and 31.6% quarter on quarter. The Group’s annual revenue from clearing was PLN 46.8 million in 2020, an increase of 1.1% year on year. The revenue depends on turnover volumes on the markets operated by TGE.
Operating expenses
Operating expenses of the GPW Group stood at PLN 57.6 million in Q4 2020 vs. PLN 47.4 million in Q4 2019, representing an increase of 21.5% year on year and 15.6% quarter on quarter. The annual operating expenses were PLN 208.5 million in 2020 vs. PLN 181.1 million in 2019, an increase of 15.1% year on year. The C/I ratio decreased to 51.6% in 2020 vs. 53.9% in 2019.
ü The increase of operating expenses in 2020 was mainly driven by an increase of the fee due to PFSA by PLN 7.1 million i.e. 105.5%.
ü The Group’s salaries and other employee costs increased by 22.9% i.e. PLN 17.8 million year on year to PLN 95.6 million.
ü External service charges increased by 7.1% i.e. PLN 3.5 million year on year and stood at PLN 51.9 million.
Share of profit of entities measured by the equity method
The GPW Group’s share of profit of entities measured by the equity method was PLN 4.8 million in Q4 2020 vs. PLN 1.9 million in Q4 2019. The GPW Group’s annual share of profit was PLN 15.7 million in 2020 vs. PLN 11.3 million in 2019, an increase if 39.8% year on year. The share of profit of entities measured by the equity method was mainly driven by the earnings of the KDPW Group. KDPW’s profit attributable to GPW was PLN 15.3 million in 2020 vs. PLN 11.4 million in 2019.
