Vienna Stock Exchange Prize 2022 Back on Stage Again
This year, for the first time, the Vienna Stock Exchange Award went to the Styrian printed circuit board manufacturer AT&S. Second and third place went to the oil and gas group OMV and the building materials manufacturer Wienerberger. The prize was awarded for the 15th time.
HBMF Magnus Brunner, AT&S (l.), CSO Peter Schneider (m.) and Vienna Stock Exchange CEO Christoph Boschan (r.). / Picture: © Credit Wiener Börse AG/APA-Fotoservice/Martin Lusser
The "Wiener Börse Prize" was awarded for the first time in 2008 and currently comprises 5 categories: ATX Prize, Mid Cap Prize, Corporate Bond Prize, Journalist Prize as well as Sustainability Prize.
The Vienna Stock Exchange Prize is jointly awarded by Aktienforum, APA-Finance, Cercle Investor Relations Austria (C.I.R.A.), Austrian Control Bank (OeKB), Austrian National Bank (OeNB), Austrian Association for Financial Analysis and Asset Management (ÖVFA) with CFA Society Austria, Association of Austrian Investment Fund Management Companies (VÖIG), VÖNIX Advisory Board, Vienna Stock Exchange, Austrian Federal Chamber of Commerce (WKO) and Certificate Forum Austria (ZFA).
According to the Vienna Stock Exchange, 12 companies are honored with 13 awards at the Vienna Stock Exchange Prize in a festive atmosphere. After two years in a small circle because of the Covid regulations, finally "the most important award of the Austrian capital market was again presented in front of a high-ranking audience at a festive event."
The CEO of the Vienna Stock Exchange, Christoph Boschan, stated in his speech that it is great to "welcome the broad financial market community in the audience again" and to honor companies of the Austrian capital market. Boschan stated, "The listed companies are Austria's flagships in the global competition and the Vienna Stock Exchange Award recognizes the outstanding developments."
According to the Vienna Stock Exchange, Independent expert juries consisting of analysts from the ÖVFA (ATX, Mid Cap and Corporate Bond Award), financial journalists coordinated by APA-Finance (Journalist Award) and the VÖNIX Advisory Board (Sustainability Award) decided the winners. Board members of the listed companies accept the awards in five categories.
Grand Prize: ATX Prize for AT&S
The Vienna Stock Exchange Award went to the Styrian printed circuit board manufacturer AT&S.
"AT&S impressed with its ongoing reporting, comprehensive IR activities, experienced management, and maximum points for quantitative factors such as share price performance and liquidity," says Friedrich Mostböck, President of the ÖVFA, commenting on first place in the assessment.
This was the first time that AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG had won the top ATX award, having already come third in this category last year. The other two places in the ATX Prize went to OMV AG and Wienerberger AG.
Peter Schneider, CSO of AT&S, is delighted with the award: "In recent years AT&S has established itself as a global technology leader for printed circuit boards and substrates. In addition to our outstanding employees, we see our stock market listing in particular as the cornerstone of our healthy corporate growth. Market presence is crucial for our continued success and therefore we would like to express our sincere thanks to the Austrian capital market community. Awards such as the Vienna Stock Exchange Prize encourage us to continue on our path."
AT & S, short for Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft, is a leading global manufacturer of printed circuit boards. AT&S is a major supplier to the mobile communications, automotive electronics, industrial electronics and medical technology sectors. The Group is headquartered in Leoben in Styria. AT&S currently operates two production sites for printed circuit boards in Austria (Leoben, Fehring, Klagenfurt) and runs further printed circuit board plants in India (Nanjangud near Mysuru), China (Shanghai, Chongqing) and South Korea (Ansan near Seoul). In addition, there are numerous sales offices worldwide in Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Taiwan and the USA.
Other prizes
In the Sustainability category, Agrana-Beteiligungs AG (Consumer), BKS Bank AG (Financials), and UBM Development AG (Industrials) received the Vienna Stock Exchange Award in 2022. They are part of the VÖNIX universe and were therefore evaluated for the Sustainability Award.
The VÖNIX VBV-Austrian Sustainability Index is the sustainability benchmark of the Austrian stock market. "What was an initial spark with the VÖNIX in 2005 is now lived practice - especially with this year's winners of the VÖNIX Sustainability Award. The companies scored with outstanding sustainability performance in their sector and thus achieved the best scoring or the greatest increase in points," Andreas Zakostelsky, as Chairman, explained the choice on behalf of the VÖNIX Advisory Board.
The Journalist Award went to Erste Group Bank AG, which distinguished itself through particularly professional press relations. This was the third time in a row that the company scored points with the jury of experts, consisting of leading journalists from the financial and business departments. Second and third place in this category went to VERBUND AG and Flughafen Wien AG.
The Corporate Bond Award went to VERBUND AG for, among other things, immediate publication of relevant corporate events, a seamless flow of information, green finance, sustainable orientation and the existence of a rating.
In the Mid Cap segment, Frequentis AG won the first place. Palfinger AG and AMAG Austria Metall AG also convinced the expert jury in the mid-cap category.