In May 2024, the total equity turnover on ZSE further grew by 18.7% MoM and as much as 66.2% YoY. At the same time, the main index on the exchange, CROBEX, remained flat on a MoM basis and amounted to 2,806.07 points.

During May 2024, the equity turnover on the Zagreb Stock Exchange, ZSE, picked up a further pace, both on an MoM and YoY basis. As such, during the month, the total equity turnover amounted to EUR 28.9m, further increasing by 18.7% MoM, and noting a strong 66.2% YoY growth. Furthermore, equity block turnover amounted to EUR 7.8m. Excluding the block trades, the total equity turnover during the month amounted to just over EUR 21m. As such, the average daily turnover also picked up, amounting to EUR 1.3m during May.

Monthly equity turnover on ZSE (January 2022 – May 2024)

Source: ZSE, InterCapital Research

In terms of the most traded stocks, HT leads the way at EUR 3.4m, or 11.7% of the total equity turnover. Following HT, there are Croatia Osiguranje [pref.] and Adris (pref.), both with EUR 2.7m, or 9.5% and 9.2% of total equity turnover, respectively. Ericsson NT is to follow at EUR 2.2m, or 7.5%, Valamar Riviera, at EUR 2m, or 7%, and ZABA at EUR 1.2m, or 4.3% of total turnover on ZSE. Together, the top 5 most traded stocks made up 44.9% of the total equity turnover during May, while the top 10 most traded stocks made up 66.3%. This is in sharp contrast to the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, where trading is concentrated to a high degree in the first 5, and especially the first 10 most traded stocks. Of course, given the difference in the number of listed companies on ZSE/LJSE, this is to be expected.

Turning our attention to the performance of the specific Croatian blue chips, during May, the largest increase was recorded by Atlantska Plovidba with an increase of as much as 16.5% MoM, closely followed by Span with 15.5% MoM growth. However, we note that Span experienced only a “correction” on the market so far, as the price plunged overall by 7.4% on a YTD basis. The majority of the remaining CROBEX10 constituents noted a MoM share price development in the range of -1% to 1%. Končar Group experienced relatively the biggest share price decrease of 6.7%. However, this is barely a correction in the nature of the Group noting a 35.8% YTD return overall.

Performance of selected Croatian companies (May 2024, MoM, %)

Source: Bloomberg, InterCapital Research

Moving on to the YTD performance, out of the 10 observed stocks, 6 recorded increases. Leading the way once again is Končar Group, which grew by a significant 35.8% YTD, followed by HPB at 21.9%, HT at 9.9%, Ericsson NT at 6.5%, Valamar Riviera at 5.9% and Adris (pref.), at 5.7%. On the flip side, Span recorded a 7.4% decrease, while Atlantic’s share price decreased by 5.3%.

Performance of selected Croatian companies (YTD, %)

Source: Bloomberg, InterCapital Research