The Brussels Stock Exchange continued to decline on Friday, with the Bel20 index falling an additional 0.60% to 4,420.51 points.
Fifteen out of the twenty stocks that are part of the index ended lower.
In the broader market, bpost dropped more than a quarter of its value after publishing a disappointing annual report.
The biggest daily loss among the index shares was for argenx, which fell 2.32% to €597.20.
Ackermans & van Haaren decreased by 1.16% to €195.80. The holding company managed to increase its net profit from €399.2 million to a record €459.9 million, thanks to strong results from participations in DEME, Delen Private Bank, and Bank Van Breda. The dividend for shareholders rose to €3.80 per share.
On the broader market, bpost plummeted by 26.83% to €1.52. Despite a 1.6% increase in revenue to €4.3 billion last year, the net profit of €64.8 million turned into a loss of €209.2 million due to significant write-downs on its US operations. Shareholders will not receive a dividend.
What’s Cooking? slipped 1.41% to €105.00. The prepared meals producer saw its revenue rise by 9.4% last year to €403.5 million. Its net profit soared from €7.7 million to €20.6 million. Shareholders will receive a €10 dividend: an extraordinary dividend of €5.50 in June and a regular dividend of €4.50 in early July, with the extraordinary dividend stemming from the sale of the company’s charcuterie division.
Shurgard dropped by 0.99% to €34.95. The self-storage rental company achieved a net current profit of €1.71 per share last year.
The biggest gain among the elite stocks was for Elia, which rose by 1.52% to €63.65.
On the second tier, Atenor climbed 3.80% to €3.15.
Proximus increased by 2.21% to end at €6.01. The telecom group improved its revenue by 6.4% last year to €6.4 billion, while its net profit rose by 27.8% to €456 million. Shareholders will receive a dividend of €0.60, with the same amount projected for the current year.
Texaf increased by 1.82% to €33.60. The company, active in Congo, saw its revenue rise from €29.3 million to €32.3 million last year, but its net profit dropped from €11.6 million to €7.4 million. Shareholders will receive a dividend of €1.76.
Inclusio went up by 0.69% to €14.50. The company, which invests its assets in social real estate, lifted its operating result by 16.3% last year to €11.4 million. Shareholders can expect a dividend of €0.82 per share.
Bekaert edged up by 0.12% to €34.62. The wire technology group saw its revenue drop by 8.6% last year to €4 billion, with its net profit decreasing from €254.6 million to €238.9 million. Shareholders will receive a dividend of €1.90. The company also announced plans to sell its steel wire activities in South America.
