The voestalpine AG share has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since October 1995; shortly thereafter (December 1995), it was listed on the ATX. After the 1:4 share split in August 2006, the initial offering price of EUR 20.71 corresponds to a share price of EUR 5.18, which equals a total increase in value (without dividends) of 516% as of the end of March 2014. Including the distributed dividends, this period saw a total shareholder return of 743%. Since its IPO, voestalpine AG has therefore created sustainable value not only for its customers and employees, but for its shareholders as well.
As a result of the Group’s consistent focus on high-quality niche products for high-end customer segments, it has been successful in considerably limiting its dependence on the “classic” steel cycle. This sound business model with a broad diversification of products according to both regions and industries has contributed to reducing the overall dependence on the economy, i.e., cyclicality, even over the course of a number of years. The Group’s leading market position in all of the major business segments is based on innovative product solutions involving steel as the basic material as well as its technology and quality leadership due to its strong focus on research and development.
The long-term growth prospects of the voestalpine Group are primarily directed toward the mobility and energy sectors with a definite growth focus outside of Europe and the objective of increasing revenue to as much as EUR 20 billion by 2020. The investments required to achieve this goal will not adversely affect the dividend policies of voestalpine AG, which project a sustainable, four percent interest rate on the average share price of the respective business year, provided that economic conditions have again returned to normal. Since the IPO in 1995, dividends have been distributed to shareholders continuously without any interruptions, including in turbulent economic times. Despite the past crisis years, the average dividend return for the business years 1996 to 2013/14 is just slightly under this 4 percent mark at 3.8% (note: including the proposed dividend for the business year 2013/14).
