At the current share price, the dividend yield is 3.8%.

Earlier this morning, NLB Group published the convocation to the GSM according to which the Management and the Supervisory Board proposed a dividend distribution of EUR 50m. This translates into a dividend of EUR 2.5 per share, indicating a dividend yield of 3.8% per share.

We note that the ex-date is 24 June, while dividends shall be paid on 28 June 2022 to the persons who are registered as the shareholders of NLB with the Central Securities Clearing Corporation on the day that is 5 working days after the day of the General Meeting that adopted this resolution (27 June 2022, Cut-Off Day). The dividend is subject to approval at the GSM which will be held on 20 June 2022.

We note that the Company has published its 2022 outlook in 2021 FY results where it expects to pay out EUR 100m as a dividend that is subject to legal remedies against the adopted Swiss francs law and its potential impact on the capital position.

The Bank is aware of the importance of dividend payments as the chosen method of returning capital to owners, so it intends to continue to communicate planned dividend payments in a clear, reasoned, and timely manner. The proposed change in the frequency of pay-outs does not in any way alter the Bank’s intention to pay out EUR 100m 2022, at the same time allowing corporate actions to be adjusted to market conditions at a given time.

NLB Management Board and NLB Supervisory Board propose to the General Meeting the payment of dividends of EUR 50m. In addition, the shareholders shall decide on the payment of the remaining EUR 50m at a new General Meeting, presumably in the last quarter of 2022. The planned EUR 100m for dividend payment from the profit generated in 2021 is not included in the capital base and the payment will not affect the NLB Group capital ratios.

NLB Dividend Per Share (EUR) and Dividend Yield (%) (2019 – 2022)

After the announcement, Atlantic Grupa’s share price increased by 3.14%.

Atlantic Grupa proposed HRK 50 DPS yesterday, as well as announced the share split, in which 1 current share will be split into 4 new shares. After the news, the Company’s share price grew by 3.14%, ending the trading day at HRK 1,640. To read more about this news, click here.

Atlantic Grupa share price, (HRK, 2022 YTD)

The Company also recorded a strong turnover during the day, at HRK 1.54m. Compared to the developments in the US equity market, which after the FOMC meeting that announced a 50 bp increase to yields, with 2 more 50 bp increases in June and July, S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite declined by -3.56% and -4.99%, respectively. This continues the general trend of decline in the US market, with S&P500 and Nasdaq declining by -13% and -21.3% YTD, respectively. The decline marks one of the worst Q1 quarters in the indices’ recent history.

S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite Performance, (2022, YTD)

In April 2022, SBITOP decreased by -2.82%, ending the month at 1,171.97 points.

The Ljubljana Stock Exchange has published its latest trading activity report for April 2022. In the report, we can see that the total equity turnover (including block transactions), amounted to EUR 27.9m. This represents a decrease of 25.7% YoY, and 61.5% MoM. This would amount to an avg. daily turnover of EUR 1.47m. The decreases can be attributed to two things: firstly, to the fact that in the same period of 2021, the economic recovery and relaxation of COVID-19 related measures began. At the same time, March 2022 recorded a lot of trading and volatility due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

If we were to take out block trades, the total equity turnover in April amounted to EUR 26.04m. Of that, 47.9% (or EUR 12.5m) was made by Krka, followed by NLB with 21.5% (or EUR 5.6m), Petrol, with 8.7% (or EUR 2.3m), Triglav with 7.7% (or EUR 2m), and Cinkarna Celje with 5.1% (or EUR 1.3m). This would mean that the top 5 most traded companies had 90.9% of the total turnover on the stock exchange. If we were to look at the top 10 most traded stocks, that percentage would jump to 99.5% of the total turnover.

Looking over to the performance of the Slovenian blue chips during the month, only 3 out of 10 experienced a positive return. Firstly, we have Cinkarna Celje, which grew by 3.6%, followed by Triglav with 1.5%, and Telekom Slovenije, with 1.21%. On the other hand, Krka decreased by -6.46%, NLB decreased by -6%, Unior decreased by
-2.9%, while Luka Koper decreased by -1.6% MoM. The remaining companies all hoovered between +/- 1%. Lastly, SBITOP index decreased by -2.8%, ending the month at 1,171.97 points.

Performance of SBITOP constituents in April 2022 (%)

April 2022 was marked by a relative slowdown on the stock exchange, as the shocks sent across the equity markets after the Russian invasion of Ukraine calmed down slightly. The reduction in turnover can also be attributed to the general uncertainty on the market right now, as inflation continues rising and ECB is yet to make a decision on how exactly will they deal with that inflation.