Letter from the Chairman of the GPW Supervisory Board
Chairman of the Exchange Supervisory Board
Dear Sir or Madam, Dear Shareholder, Dear Investor,
We will remember 2020 as a year of economic and social turbulence unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also a year of rebirth of the capital markets. Once again, the exchange is a key source of capital for the economy, which has particular relevance in those difficult times. In this context, “anti-COVID” bonds in record-breaking value were newly listed on GPW’s market Catalyst. All funds raised went towards the government programme of financial support for businesses affected by the pandemic.
On the financial market, 2020 was one of the best years in the thirty-year history of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW), driven by high turnover, growing activity of individual investors which was the highest in a decade, historic IPOs (the IPO of Allegro.eu was the second biggest in Europe and the ninth biggest globally), record-breaking turnover on the regulated market and NewConnect, and the total value of IPOs.
The total value of IPOs on the Main Market and NewConnect reached PLN 9.6 billion in 2020 vs. PLN 75.9 million in 2019 and was the highest since 2010 and almost six times higher than the average value of IPOs in the last decade.
The best proof of GPW’s stability is the dividend paid to the shareholders in accordance with GPW’s dividend policy every year since the company went public. The company has paid close to PLN 895 million dividend to shareholders since 2010. GPW’s 2020 Annual General Meeting decided to pay PLN 100.7 million dividend, equal to PLN 2.40 per share and accounting for 93.2% of the consolidated net profit of GPW for 2019 (adjusted for the share of profit of associates). The dividend yield of 5.53% was one of the highest in the European exchange industry.
Those were the 2020 milestones in GPW. It was also a busy year for the Exchange Supervisory Board. GPW’s Annual General Meeting on 22 June 2020 elected seven members of the Exchange Supervisory Board for a new three-year term starting on 23 June 2020. I was appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board in July. We held nine meetings in 2020. We actively discussed the Company’s standing with the Management Board in the context of the difficult pandemic conditions. The Supervisory Board decided to make donations to institutions and units actively fighting COVID-19. In addition to decisions issued at meetings, the Exchange Supervisory Board passed 17 resolutions by means of direct remote communication. Acting within its powers, following a procedure completed by the Audit Committee, the Exchange Supervisory Board decided to appoint KPMG Audyt sp. z o.o. sp. k. as the audit firm to audit the separate financial statements of GPW and the consolidated financial statements of the GPW Group for 2021-2023.
The Exchange navigated smoothly through 2020. Despite the pandemic, the Exchange ensured business continuity and safe trading for investors. I wish to thank the GPW Management Board and all employees of the GPW Group. Your determination, professionalism and unusual engagement made it possible for investors to trade on the market. I extend a special thank you to the Exchange Supervisory Board of the former term, led by Jakub Modrzejewski. Poland’s capital market is without a doubt a developed market operating under European and global standards. I am certain that it will remain a reliable source of capital for the economy in 2021. With the highly motivated GPW Management Board supported by the Exchange Supervisory Board of a new term, GPW is poised to consolidate its position as the financial leader in Central and Eastern Europe and the Three Seas Region.
With best regards,
Dominik Kaczmarski, Chairman of the Exchange Supervisory Board