- Equity turnover rose to over €199 billion
- Ten new companies admitted to market, including nine IEX entrants
- Three new international firms joined the Exchange
- Turnover in Government Bonds totaled €52 billion – a 39% increase on 2006
The value of equities traded on the Irish Stock Exchange [ISE] during 2007 totaled €199 billion – a rise of 54% on the 2006 figure [€129 billion]. Average daily turnover for 2007 was €784 million, strongly ahead of the 2006 average of €511 million.
The latter half of 2007 was a period of particular turbulence in world financial markets. Following three years in which the ISEQ outperformed many world benchmark indices, 2007 saw it decline by 26%. This followed a strong start in early 2007 where the ISEQ overall reached its lifetime high of 10,041 [21st February 2007]. However, fundamental concerns in global markets arising from fears of recession as well as the uncertainty associated with sub-prime lending and its consequential impact on interbank liquidity and asset valuation had an impact on all indices, and also on the ISEQ. Concern about the outlook for the Irish economy and, therefore, Irish companies, was also a factor in the volatility in share prices on the ISE.
A number of factors drove the increase in trading volumes. These included the attractiveness of the Exchange’s electronic trading platform both technically and on price and its ability to continue to gather order flow from new sources, both of these are part of the strategic focus of the Exchange for some time. The increased market volatility during the year also had an impact. The actual number of transactions in equities being undertaken on the market during 2007 increased to over 1.7 million transactions. This represented a 92% increase compared to the previous year [901,000]. It demonstrates the depth of liquidity provided by the Irish Stock Exchange in the market for Irish securities. The ISE remains the dominant pool of liquidity for those stocks.
Companies admitted to trading during 2007 raised more than €6.6 billion on the market during the year, a 79% increase on 2006. Ten new companies were admitted to trading on the Exchange in 2007. There was one addition to the Main Market, Smurfit Kappa Group plc, which raised €4.1 billion and nine companies1 joined the Irish Enterprise Exchange (IEX). These IEX entrants covered a variety of industry sectors -pharmaceuticals, technology, food, software and investment and included two Northern Ireland companies. The new IEX companies raised €689 million in aggregate on IEX. There were 30 companies on the IEX market at the year end.
In 2007, 984 new debt issuers listed on the Exchange and it remains dominant in this area among European exchanges. The flow of new issues slowed in quarter four, with 166 debt issues, in that quarter. This slacker performance reflects the uncertainties in global financial markets. Despite this there was a 27% increase in the amount of new debt tranches listed in 2007. The total number of tranches listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, from both new and existing programmes, has increased by 47% when compared to 2006. Notable issuers in quarter four include AIB Mortgage Bank, Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank Aktiengesellschaft, GP Investments Limited, Schering-Plough Corporation, Banco Prosper S.A. and Suntrust Bank.
Investment fund listings saw a robust end to 2007 with 154 new funds/sub-funds listing in the fourth quarter. The Exchange continues to be the leader globally in the listing of investment funds with 10,200 such securities listed as of end December 2007. This year overall was a positive year for the Exchanges’s investment funds business with the number of new funds and sub-funds listing up 11% on 2006 (including umbrella funds the increase is 20%).
The new listings include offerings by PowerShares Global Funds Ireland Plc, Aegon Investment Company (Ireland) plc, Investec Global Strategy Fund and Lyxor.
Three new firms became members of the ISE in 2007. ING Bank joined as a primary dealer in Government bonds in April and UBS Limited and UBS AG as equity and clearing members respectively in November. The current number of ISE Member firms is 32.
Turnover in Government bonds for 2007 totalled €52 billion, a 39% increase on the €37 billion traded in 2006. In October 2007 the National Treasury Management Agency issued a 4.50% Treasury Bond 2018 raising €6 billion.
Assets under management in the ISEQ® 20 Exchange Traded Fund increased 37% from €50.1 million to €68.5 in 2007. In 2007 35.8 million ETF shares were traded with an aggregate value of €607 million.
In November 2007 the Exchange launched a radical new pricing structure providing significant cost savings and incentives for firms trading in securities admitted to trading on the ISE. This, in the last two months of 2007, has encouraged further trading volume growth on the Exchange’s electronic trading platform, ISE Xetra. The new pricing structure is a key element of the ISE’s strategic response to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and positions the Exchange as one of the most price-competitive, transparent and efficient exchange operators in Europe.
Commenting on the Exchange’s performance, Deirdre Somers, CEO, stated: “Even with the difficult market conditions of recent months, 2007 has been a successful year for the ISE and we will continue to work with both domestic and international players in providing innovative market solutions in a time of significant flux in the markets.”
1 Total Produce plc, Fyffes Plc, Zamano plc, Boundary Capital plc, Origin Enterprises plc, First Derivatives plc, Andor Technology plc, TVC Holdings plc, Merrion Pharmaceuticals plc
| KEY METRICS – 2007 | Equities | Government Bonds | ||||
| Q4 2007 | 2007 | 2006 | Q4 2007 | 2007 | 2006 | |
| Turnover Total €m | 45,790 | 199,173 | 129,246 | 21,032 | 51,994 | 37,457 |
| Turnover Daily Average €m | 715 | 784 | 511 | 329 | 205 | 148 |
| Transactions Total | 560,246 | 1,725,874 | 900,900 | |||
| Transactions Daily Average | 8,754 | 6,795 | 3,561 | |||
| Market Capitalisation €m | 93,494 | 119,291 | 31,190 | 32,413 | ||
| Market Capitalisation (Change % ) | -11% | -22% | 0% | -4% | ||
| Money Raised €m | 367 | 6,619 | 3,700 | 5,959 | 5,959 | 1,440 |
| Number of Instruments | 81 | 77 | 11 | 11 | ||
| ISEQ | Overall | Financial | General | Small Cap | ITEQ | ISEQ20 |
| 9408 | 16864 | 6545 | 4202 | 467 | 1486 | |
| 7884 | 12898 | 5888 | 3816 | 524 | 1230 | |
| 6934 | 10886 | 5351 | 3387 | 590 | 1069 | |
| Change % 2007 | -26% | -35% | -18% | -19% | 26% | -28% |
| Change % 2007 | -12% | -16% | -9% | -11% | 13% | -13% |
| INVESTMENT FUNDS * | Funds | Sub-Funds | Fund-Classes |
| Number of Investment Funds 31-Dec-2007 | 1,918 | 2,575 | 10,210 |
| Newly Listed 2007 Investment Funds | 311 | 449 | 3,732 |
| Newly Listed Investment Funds Q4 | 59 | 119 | 842 |
| SPECIALIST DEBT SECURITIES ** | Programmes | Non-Programmes | Tranches |
| Number of Specialist Debt Securities 31-Dec-2007 | 614 | 3,253 | 24,273 |
| Newly Listed Specialist Debt Securities 2007 | 135 | 849 | 1,386 |
| Newly Listed Specialist Debt Securities Q4 | 34 | 132 | 10,012 |
*Investment Fund totals include umbrella funds
**The figure for Programmes and non Programmes represent the number of individual issuers during a period. Any such issuer may have issued a number of securities during the relevant period which are counted within the figure for tranches.
