voestalpine AG VS. THE ATX AND INTERNATIONAL INDICES
Changes compared to March 31, 2024, in %
While the performance of the voestalpine share was largely characterized by a stable trend in the first quarter of 2024/25, it subsequently weakened. The trend only reversed towards the end of the reporting period on September 30, 2024. Share price performance in the first half of the current business year was determined less by company-specific developments and more by macroeconomic and geopolitical trends.
While American indices reached record levels in the meantime, the environment for economically sensitive equities in Europe was challenging due to difficult economic conditions. Although the European Central Bank heralded the expected reduction in the key interest rate in June 2024, this move did not lead to any significant price increases for industrial stocks. Weak leading indicators in Europe weighed on sentiment. Forecasts for economic development in Germany in particular showed no signs of an upward trend. Despite voestalpine’s robust earnings situation in the first quarter of 2024/25, the share price therefore remained in a sideways movement.
At the beginning of August 2024, there were significant setbacks on the international stock markets across the board. In addition to an interest rate hike by the Japanese central bank, this was triggered above all by fears of an economic slowdown in the United States. Weak labor market data in the U.S. increased investor nervousness and led to strong selling pressure in the short term. Following discussions in the U.S. over the Northern summer that the Federal Reserve was acting too hesitantly, the U.S. central bank also made its first interest rate cuts in September 2024.
The support measures for the Chinese economy at the end of September were well received on the international capital markets. In this environment, the voestalpine share recorded gains. At the end of the first half of 2024/25, the share price stood at EUR 23.38. This represents a decline of 10.1% compared to the share price at the beginning of the business year. The benchmark indices ATX, STOXX Index (Europe), and the Dow Jones Industrial Index recorded slight gains in the same period.
GREEN CORPORATE BOND 2024
In the Northern fall of 2024, voestalpine AG successfully issued its first green corporate bond in the amount of EUR 500 million. The bond, which has a term of five years and a coupon of 3.75%, was also subscribed by private investors. 100% of the proceeds from the issue will be used to finance sustainable voestalpine projects, such as greentec steel. The value date and start of trading of the green voestalpine bond (ISIN AT0000A3FA05) was October 3, 2024. The basis for this bond is the Green Financing Framework, which voestalpine published in June 2024. The Green Financing Framework was reviewed by the ESG rating and research agency Moody’s as part of a second party opinion and given a top rating (“very good”).