In February 2024, the total equity turnover on the LJSE increased by as much as 61.2% MoM, and increased 77.7% YoY. During the same period, the SBITOP recorded a solid 6.2% increase MoM, ending at 1,406.50 points.

Ljubljana Stock Exchange, LJSE, published its latest monthly trading activity report, for the month of February 2024. According to the report, the total equity turnover on LJSE amounted to EUR 41.1m, representing an increase of 61.2% MoM, and a 77.7% YoY increase. In terms of the average daily turnover, it amounted to just below EUR 2m during February. Moving on, SBITOP recorded a solid increase of 6.2% MoM and ended at 1,406.50 points. Meanwhile, SBITOP TR ended the month at 1,899.80 points, with a 6.7% MoM increase.

Monthly equity turnover on LJSE (January 2022 – February 2024, EURm)

Source: LJSE, InterCapital Research

In terms of the most traded stocks, leading the way is Krka with a turnover of EUR 13.7m, representing 33.4% of the total equity turnover. NLB closely follows at 12.4m or 30.2% of the total, Cinkarna Celje at EUR 5.3m, or 13%, and Petrol, at EUR 2.9m, or 7.2%. Finally, there is Zavarovalnica Triglav, at EUR 1.9m (or 4.7% of the total). This would also mean that the top 5 most traded stocks accounted for 88.4% of the total equity turnover, while the top 10 stocks accounted for as much as 99.8% of the total, which is in line with historical shares of total equity turnover in Slovenia.

Moving on to the performance of the SBITOP constituents during February, 8 out of 9 companies recorded an increase, while only Cinkarna Celje recorded a negative return. The biggest gain was recorded by NLB with a double-digit increase of 12.9%. NLB’s share price grew on the back of strong FY 2023 results. However, NLB did not only surprise with results, but also the increase in dividend guidance. After already firmly communicating EUR 5.5 per share, the company announced that it intends to increase the dividend payment in 2024 to EUR 11 per share, while also upgrading 2025 outlook. NLB is followed by Petrol at 10.2%. Sava Re’s share price grew by 6.1%, while Telekom Slovenije is to follow with 4.7% gain and Krka at 3.4%. On the other hand, Equinox noted a flat MoM development. Further, taking a YTD development, SBITOP noted a double-digit increase of 12.2%, mainly driven by NLB’s YTD growth of 23.5%, Petrol at 15.9% and Krka’s 9.1% increase.

Performance of SBITOP constituents (February 2024, MoM, %)

Source: Bloomberg, InterCapital Research