Investor relations

Verbund pursues an active and open communication policy vis-à-vis the capital market. We provide all members of the financial community – regardless of whether they are analysts, institutional investors or small-scale investors – with all our information at the same time.

Regular meetings with analysts and investors within the framework of publishing the annual and halfyearly results formed the basis of our investor relations activities. At these meetings, the participants received detailed information relating to the current figures and discussions were held on the group’s strategic orientation for the coming years.

A further accent was placed on the publication of the annual and interim reports. These are now available on the Internet [External link] parallel to the publication of the ad hoc news. Compared to the printed reports, the online version offers a large number of additional, user-friendly functions such as a fulltext search across several reports. This facility is being extended on an ongoing basis.

Further focal points included participation in a number of investor events in Europe and the United States as well as the organization of an event of our own for small-scale shareholders at the power plant Freudenau. Providing analysts, institutional investors, small-scale investors and journalists with a constant stream of information on strategy and results rounded off our investor relations activities.

The following domestic and international investment banks publish regular corporate analyses on Verbund: BA/CA, BNP Paribas, CDC IXIS, Deutsche Bank, Erste Bank, Merrill Lynch, Raiffeisen Centrobank. In addition, the rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's publish corporate analyses on our company.

For this reason, investor relations activities that focus on sustainability were further enhanced. Verbund has been represented on the FTSE4Good-Index since 2001. This index comprises companies that special sustainability criteria. Prior to acceptance into the FTSE4Good-Index, the company is examined with regard to exemplary performance in the fields of environment, social affairs, stakeholder relationships and human rights. Certain industrial sectors (e.g. the tobacco or armament industry) are not allowed to participate in this index. These criteria are monitored on an annual basis by means of comprehensive screening process. Owing to this strict selection process, only three Austrian companies are now listed in this index; Verbund is one of these companies.

The roadshow in Switzerland, which has now become a traditional event, marked the end of a successful year. This particular show was dedicated to the issue of sustainability and attracted a great interest.

Investors now attach greater significance to sustainability criteria when selecting their investments. They firmly believe that this concept will generate higher earnings in the long term. The sustainable investment market is steadily developing into a worldwide growth market. Index providers now calculate their own sustainability indices (e.g. Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, FTSE4Good-Index). Moreover, numerous financial service providers have floated sustainability funds for institutional and private investors. In the last few years, Verbund successfully positioned itself as a sustainable company. Sustainability is an issue that is steadily growing in significance and, accordingly, analysts and investors attach great value to Verbund’s pronounced orientation towards low-priced, environmentally-friendly generation from renewable hydropower.

SHARE PRICE DEVELOPMENT 1994–2003