In June 2022, CROBEX declined by 3.2%, ending the month at 2,012.13 points.
The total equity turnover on the Zagreb Stock Exchange amounted to EUR 18.6m (HRK 143.3m), which represents a decrease of 16.9% MoM, and 50.2% YoY. This would also mean that during the month, the average daily turnover amounted to EUR 931.3k (HRK 7.16m).
If we were to exclude the block transactions from this turnover, then the total turnover amounted to EUR 16.9m (HRK 129.7m) which is an increase of 5.2% YoY, but a decrease of 18% MoM. Taking a look at the top 10 most traded stocks, they had a turnover of EUR 11.9m (HRK 91.9m), which would account for 64.2% of the total turnover. Breaking this down further, Valamar Riviera had the highest turnover, at HRK 17.4m (or 12.2%), followed by Atlantska Plovidba with 12.7m (or 8.8%), Span with 8.4%, HT with 8.2%, and Ericsson NT, with 6.4%. This would also mean that the top 5 most traded companies accounted for 44.1% of the total turnover on the exchange.
Meanwhile, the largest index on the ZSE, CROBEX, decreased by 3.2% during the month and ended it at 2,012.13 points. At the same time, CROBEX10 decreased by 3.6% and ended the month at 1,192.25 points.
Looking at the CROBEX10 constituents’ performance during the month, Valamar Riviera is the only company to record an increase, at 2.8%. On the flip side, Atlantska Plovidba declined by 11.6%, Ericsson NT by 6.5%, AD Plastik by 6.3%, Adris (pref.) declined by 6.2%, Atlantic Grupa and Končar both declined by 5.4%, while Arena Hospitality Group declined by 5.3%. Considering the current situation in the world today, with strong inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions, as well as the anticipated increase in interest rates to combat said inflation, there is a lot of uncertainty in the equity market, which is leading to an increased sell-off.
Performance of CROBEX10 constituents YTD and in June 2022 (%)
As the end of June marks the end of the 1st half of 2022, we also took a quick look at the performance of the CROBEX10 constituents during this period. The story is quite similar, with 8 out of 10 companies recording a decline. Only Atlantska Plovidba (+25.5%) and Valamar Riviera (+0.9%) recorded YTD increases, which in Atlantska Plovidba’s case can be attributed to the strong business results the company posted in Q1 2022, as well as the increased demand for shipping after major COVID-19 restrictions liftoffs since the beginning of the year.
On the other hand, AD Plastik recorded by far the largest decrease of 46.5%, as the company was already experiencing difficult times due to the semiconductor shortage which affected the automotive industry in which the company operates, which was only intensified by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as AD Plastik had app. 27% of sales in Russia in 2021, which was severely affected by the sanctions following the invasion. Following them, we have Arena Hospitality Group with -16.7%, Podravka with -6.6%, and Atlantic Grupa, with -6.5%.
At the end of May 2022, the total loans of Croatian financial institutions equaled HRK 294.7bn, representing an increase of 7.43% YoY, and 0.82% MoM.
The Croatian National Bank (HNB) has published a monthly report on the changes recorded by the Croatian financial institutions. In the report, we can see that as of the end of May 2022, the total loans of all financial institutions amounted to HRK 294.7bn, which is an increase of 0.82% MoM, and 7.43% YoY.
Looking at the household loans, which are the largest segment of the loans, increased by 5.2% YoY (or HRK 4.56bn), and 0.97% (or HRK 1.39bn) MoM. At the same time, corporate loans grew by 11.2% YoY (or HRK 11.2bn), and 1.98% (or HRK 1.85bn) MoM, and amounted to HRK 95.5bn.
Corporate and household loans growth rate (YoY, %)
In total, loans issued to households at the end of May amounted to HRK 145.1bn. The increase was primarily driven by the housing loans, which grew by HRK 6.1bn YoY (or 9.48%), and HRK 1.1bn (or 1.61%) MoM. Housing loans are also the largest segment of the household loans, at app. 48.4%, representing an increase of 1.9 p.p. YoY, and 0.31 p.p. MoM. On the other hand, the 2nd largest category of household loans, consumer loans (which account for 37.24% of the total household loans), increased by 0.28% (or HRK 149.8m) MoM, and HRK 1.42bn (or 2.7%) YoY.
Moving on, the 3rd largest category of household loans, other loans, increased by 0.23% MoM (or HRK 21.3m) and 1.06% YoY (or HRK 96.3m). In the 4th largest category of household loans, overdrafts on transaction accounts, we can see a growth of 1.36% (or HRK 88.6m) MoM, and 2.48% (or HRK 156.7m) YoY.
With the current inflationary pressures, the situation in Ukraine, and the expected increase of interest rates by the ECB , one would expect more cautiousness regarding the loans taken by the clients. But it seems that up until this point, there is an ever-increasing number of loans issued. This could mean that even though all of those challenges are present, the sentiment is still somewhat positive.
Composition of Croatian loans to households (HRKm)