Gedeon Richter Media A twenty-five-year long success story: Richter shares were first listed 25 years ago
A twenty-five-year long success story: Richter shares were first listed 25 years ago
22/11/2019
Gedeon Richter Plc's shares were listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange twenty-five years ago, on 9 November 1994, which was commemorated by a solemn ring of the bell at the stock exchange marking the start of trading. Since then, the price of the company's shares has risen by forty-four times, which is a unique success story for both the Hungarian stock exchange and the Hungarian national economy. Over the past two and a half decades, the company has grown into an innovative multinational company that, by making history in its industry, was able to introduce a proprietary product to the US market through its partner, which has since been extremely successful. In addition, the company has become a global player in the field of women's healthcare and recently entered the fastest growing segment of the pharmaceutical industry, the biologics market, with its proprietary product.

Two and a half decades ago, on 9 November 1994, the shares of Gedeon Richter Plc were listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange at an introductory price of HUF 1,330, which is equal to HUF 133 following the share split at 1:10 in 2013. Since its listing, the company's shares have grown to become the stock with the third largest weight on the BUX index, and Richter's current valuation is HUF 1,100 billion. Since 1994, the company's share price has risen 44-fold and its dividend per share has grown 16.7-fold (100 forints). Richter has paid a total of HUF 232.5 billion in dividends on its ordinary shares to this date.

The past 25 years of Richter have been a success story not only for institutional and private investors, but also for its role played in the national economy. Its sales revenue has grown by 21 times since 1994, reaching HUF 445.5 billion in 2018. After-tax profit increased by 8.6 times to HUF 36.2 billion in 2018. Richter has also seen a significant increase in the number its of employees: in 2018, the company employed 12,667 people compared to 4,500 in 1994.

"Richter has come a long way since its listing: from a regional manufacturer, it has become a Hungarian-based multinational company with sales in about 100 countries, subsidiaries in nearly 50 countries and manufacturing facilities in 5 countries outside Hungary. With consistent implementation of our specialty pharma strategy, we now boast one of the largest R&D centres in Central and Eastern Europe and one of the most significant gynaecological portfolios globally. All these results are largely due to our presence on the stock market, which, on the one hand, made it possible to raise capital and, on the other hand, dictated a high level of transparency based on stringent reporting requirements, resulting in increased and consistent pressure on performance," said Erik Bogsch, Chairman of Gedeon Richter Plc on the occasion of the 25th anniversary.

"Being listed on the stock market makes it clear that the key task of Richter's top management, executives and all employees is to increase shareholder value. We are committed to delivering high value-added and high-quality specialty products to the market, in line with the goals set out in our renewed strategy to continually improve our profitability and meet our shareholders' expectations. We hope that this will further strengthen the trust of both foreign and domestic shareholders, whose stakes have increased from slightly over 6% to over 11% in the last two years," noted Gábor Orbán, CEO of Gedeon Richter Plc.

"Every single ring of the bell marking the start of trading is a major event in the life of the Budapest Stock Exchange, but today is especially important to us, as we can rarely celebrate such a milestone as Gedeon Richter's 25th anniversary of listing on our stock exchange. It is no coincidence that the two organisations have been working together successfully for a quarter of a century, as key principles such as competitiveness, development of innovative products and boosting the national economy are embraced by both the BSE and Richter. The company's shares, which have one of the largest weights in the BUX basket, have always been a safe investment for Hungarian households; in addition, its performance and dynamic development have set an example for every current and future stock issuer," said Richárd Végh, CEO of the Budapest Stock Exchange.

 

Richter at Budapest Stock Exchange

  • Listing date: 9 November 1994
  • Listing price: HUF 1,330 (adjusted for the 2013 stock split: HUF 133)
  • Current share price (as at 21 November 2019): HUF 5,930
  • Capitalization (as at 21 November 2019): HUF 1,105.2 billion
  • Free float: 74.75%
  • BUX-membership: since 20 November 1998
  • Current weighting in BUX Index: 21.25% – third highest-weighting security
  • MSCI Hungary index member: from 2 January 1995 to 2 December 2012, readmitted to the index on 27 November 2013
  • Turnover (in 2018): HUF 527.8 billion; 97 million shares; 249,180 deals
  • Daily average turnover (in 2018): 397,357 shares; HUF 2,163.3 million
  • Growth in share price since listing: 44-fold increase
  • Total dividend per share since listing over original nominal value (HUF 1,000): HUF 12,530, over nominal value after stock split: HUF 1,253
  • Maximum price: HUF 7,296 on 19 June 2017 (adjusted for stock split: HUF 72,960)
  • Shares traded since listing: 3,070,012,800

 

Further information:

Zsuzsa Beke
Head of Public Relations and Public Affairs
Gedeon Richter Plc

Phone: 36 1 431 4888

Email: zs.beke@richter.hu