BUX Index Fell on Rising Turnover This Week

The stock index of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) declined on the week, closing at 66,169.03 points on Friday, down 94.15 points or 0.14% from a week earlier, MTI reported Sunday morning along with a brief analysis of the week’s trading.

The weekly turnover of the stock market was HUF 70.39 billion, up from HUF 48.91 billion the previous week, with leading stocks performing mixed.

In its weekly summary sent to MTI, Equilor Investment Plc. recalled that the Hungarian central bank cut interest rates by 100 basis points at its meeting on Tuesday. The central bank said monetary policy room for maneuver has widened in recent weeks, but the March inflation report will be of key importance in determining the pace of rate cuts in the second quarter of 2024.

Richter released its fourth-quarter report last year on Thursday, with the company reporting above-consensus revenue and profit after tax, but gross profit and operating profit also slightly below expectations. Revenue of HUF 203.2 billion exceeded analyst consensus by 4%, while gross profit of HUF 130 billion and operating profit of HUF 45 billion were 3% and 2% below expectations, respectively. Net profit after tax of HUF 36.4 billion, on the other hand, significantly exceeded consensus by 27%.

There was also a target premium on Richter shares. HSBC raised its 12-month target price on the drugmaker from 9,500 forints to 10,300 forints, with a recommendation to hold.

OTP bought its own shares. 28,856 shares were bought in Wednesday's trading at an average price of HUF 17,180. In Thursday's trading, 33,600 shares were bought at an average price of HUF 17,380. Autonomous Research raised its 12-month target price on OTP from HUF 20,500 to HUF 21,058, with the recommendation still an overperform.

There was also a target increase on Mol shares, with Santander Biuro Maklerski raising their 12-month target price on the stock from HUF 3,200 to HUF 3,500, with the recommendation improved from Neutral to Overperform.

In its commentary, Equilor pointed out that AutoWallis also published its figures for the last quarter of last year; with total sales of more than HUF 366 billion in 2023, EBITDA of HUF 19.7 billion and net profit of HUF 9.8 billion were achieved. The company stressed that growth was supported by organic growth as well as acquisitions, mainly in services. Partnerships were entered into with several Chinese brands, including BYD and MG. AutoWallis' share price has risen by almost 40% in the last year.

4iG has also seen a significant increase in sales and EBITDA in a year, both on a quarterly and annual basis. The acquisition of Vodafone, which the company closed at the end of January last year, has played a significant role in this expansion. However, due to depreciation and amortization, 4iG posted a loss of more than HUF 13 billion in the fourth quarter last year, while EBIT for the full year was positive at HUF 22.1 billion. The financial result for the full year last year and for the fourth quarter showed a substantial minus, resulting in a negative profit before tax and net profit. However, with a loss of HUF 32 billion for 2023, adjusted profit after tax is in surplus by more than HUF six billion.

Opus successfully completed its share buyback auction. The company received bids of almost HUF 2 billion, which is in line with the pre-announced amount. A total of 4,560,984 shares were repurchased at an average price of HUF 438.5, with the highest price level accepted being HUF 450.

Among the leading shares, Magyar Telekom performed the best this week. The telecoms company's share price rose by 1.20%, closing at HUF 843 on Friday, ending the week with a turnover of HUF 2.75 billion.

OTP gained 0.14%. The stock ended Friday's trading at HUF 17 425, with a weekly turnover of HUF 45.06 billion.

The price of Mol fell by 0.20%, with a weekly turnover of HUF 6.28 billion, closing Friday at HUF 2,926.

Richter closed Friday at HUF 9625, down 1.03%, with weekly turnover of more than HUF 11.69 billion.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares closed the week at 5,732.97 points, up 15.36 points or 0.27% on the previous week.