The Verbund Share

International stock market situation

In spite of the increase in the base bank rates in the USA and the deteriorating growth rates, the stock markets quickly recovered from the correction phase at the beginning of the year and continued to display positive development. The negative impulses created by the rising oil prices, the continued stability of the Euro and the renewed inflation fears resulted in most stock markets displaying a horizontal movement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Index was up 2.2 %; the more broad-based Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index dropped 2.6 % and the technology exchange NASDAQ deteriorated by 8.1 %. In Europe, the DJ Euro STOXX 50 improved by 3.5 % and the Deutsche Aktienindex (DAX) was up 2.2 %. The Austrian Traded Index (ATX), the index that comprises the largest Austrian stocks, improved by 8.3 % and even reached a new record high at 2,804 points. DJ STOXX Utilities, the index of the major European utility stocks and an important benchmark for Verbund, was up 3.2 %.

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Share price development

After an excellent performance in the previous year (77.0 %), the Verbund share started into the 2005 stock market year at € 164.0 and, following the publication of the best results in the company’s history, recorded a new record high of € 186.8 on 17 February 2005. On conclusion of the successful roadshow to present the annual results in London, Frankfurt and Zurich, the investment banks upgraded their price targets for the Verbund share to over € 200/share. This reflects the high level of acceptance for the Verbund strategy and the group’s excellent positioning in the international capital market.

Mid-February marked the beginning of an international correction phase in the utilities area. The Verbund share was also adversely affected and closed the quarter at € 175.00. In spite of this, the share achieved a positive performance of 6.8 % since the beginning of the year. Consequently, the Verbund share has continued to develop well ahead of the DJ STOXX Utilities index.

Sales and market capitalisation

Stock exchange turnover in Verbund shares reached € 255.0 million. On average, 24,322 shares were traded every day. As of 31 March 2005, Verbund had the fifth highest valuation of all companies listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. The total value of the company derived from its market capitalization amounted to € 5,393.5 million; its weighting at the ATX was 3.9 %.