The Brussels Stock Exchange experienced a slight decline on Friday, with the Bel20 index falling by 0.17% to 4,609.47 points, although most attention was on Proximus, which suffered a drop of almost 10% in the wider market.
Within the index shares, WDP saw the largest daily loss, dropping 3.23% to a closing price of €20.40. Despite this, the logistics real estate investor’s net current profit rose from €156.1 million to €171.2 million in the first half of the year, with an expected annual dividend of €1.23 per share. However, the occupancy rate of its property portfolio decreased slightly.
Umicore followed with a loss of 3.09%, closing at €14.75.
ING faced a minor decline of 0.22%, ending at €20.20, after receiving approval to increase its share in wealth management firm Van Lanschot Kempen by 17.6%, bringing its total stake to 20.3%.
Cofinimmo dropped by 0.13% to €76.10. The real estate investor’s core activities’ net profit increased by 2.1% in the first half to €122 million, confirming that the fund remains on track to distribute a €5.20 dividend per share for the year.
Proximus fell sharply by 9.45% to €7.43 in the wider market. Its revenue declined by 3.4% to €1.5 billion in the second quarter, although net profit soared from €91 million to €178 million. Investors were concerned about significant declines in revenue and profitability in the company’s foreign operations, prompting a downward revision of its 2025 earnings forecast.
Avantium decreased by 4.92% to €14.31. The bio-based plastics producer is set to raise €10 million through the Invest-NL public investment fund, meeting its short-term liquidity needs.
On the gainers’ side, Elia led the index with an increase of 2.28% to €103.40. The electricity grid operator’s revenue rose by 9.3% to €2.1 billion in the first half, with net profit jumping from €218.8 million to €325.6 million.
Among smaller stocks, Fountain climbed 7.14% to €1.50.
Orange Belgium rose by 0.56% to 17.85 euros after securing an agreement with Proximus to collaborate on deploying a fibre-optic network in Wallonia.
