Listed companies, along with banks, saw a profit explosion in 2023, as they achieved net profits of 10.34 billion euros, up 12.8% compared to 2022.
The listed companies achieved the second-best performance after the all-time record set in 2007 with a profit of 11.3 billion euros.
In fact, this performance comes with a lower turnover, mainly a result of the energy sector which expectedly returned to normal values after the outperformance of 2022 due to the energy crisis.
Refineries’ strong performance
Metals returned to normal profit margins. But for negative inventory valuation differences, refineries would have posted a new all-time record, but that doesn’t mean their results weren’t strong for a second year in a row.
Dividends over 3.3 billion euros
For the first time since 2009, the market saw dividends exceeding 3.3 billion euros while the number of companies that seamlessly distributed dividends exceeds 40. The sectors that shaped the final result include banks, which are gradually strengthening their organic effect, as well as the energy and refining companies.
And individually, however, there are cases that took advantage of the dynamics of tourism (Autohellas, Motodynamics, Aegean, PPA) to record the best performance in their history.
Investment boom
The explosion of profitability is also due to the fact that a series of important investments took place that were not made in the previous decade – due to the problems faced by the Greek economy – and began to pay off in 2022, after a two-year period of problems due to the pandemic. This is also reflected in the course of GDP, as a positive correlation between profitability and GDP is observed globally and over time.
According to the annual results presented by “Naftemporiki”, the annual turnover of the 153 listed companies in 2023 amounted to 103.826 billion euros, compared to 109.221 billion euros which was the corresponding performance in 2022.
At the same time, operating profit (EBITDA) in the past financial year reached 14.298 billion euros, recording an increase of 6.5%, compared to 2022, when EBITDA was formed at 13.430 billion euros.
Strong performance
Aegean Airlines, Titan, Cenergy, Sarantis, Jumbo, Mytilineos, El.Venizelos, Autohellas showed strong performance accompanied by dividends amid prospects of doing even better in 2024. Based on this performance, the Athens stock exchange maintains a good valuation earnings ratio (below 9x) improving both upside margin and dividend yields.
