Shares

Marel is the second largest company listed on Nasdaq Iceland by market capitalization. The market value at year-end 2022 was EUR 2.5 billion, compared to EUR 4.6 billion at year-end 2021.

Since listing on Nasdaq Iceland and dual listing on Euronext Amsterdam in 2019, Marel has attracted a diversified international shareholder base, and broadened its analyst coverage. In August 2022, the US investment bank Jefferies initiated equity research coverage on Marel, thereby becoming the eighth firm to actively track and publish opinions on Marel and its stock.

The challenging environment of global markets weighed on the development of Marel’s shares in 2022. Despite a gradual recovery from the pandemic, Marel’s operational and financial performance in 2022 were affected by supply chain disruption and inflation at high levels resulting in inefficiencies in manufacturing and aftermarket, and higher costs associated with timely delivery.

These factors put pressure on Marel’s shares in the first half of the year, but improved slightly in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter. Marel’s shares declined by 43.9% in ISK on Nasdaq Iceland and by 45.8% in EUR on Euronext Amsterdam.

Marel trades under the ticker MAREL and ISIN IS0000000388 on both Nasdaq Iceland and Euronext Amsterdam. However, the company’s shares are not traded exclusively on the two stock exchanges. With the dual listing on Euronext Amsterdam, trading in Marel’s shares has become more fragmented, with a significant proportion of trading outside of regulated markets resulting in low liquidity for Marel’s shares on Euronext Amsterdam.

Eyrir Invest is Marel’s largest shareholder, holding 24.7% or 190,366,838 shares, followed by the Icelandic Pension Fund of Commerce (LIVE), Gildi Pension fund and LSR Pension Fund, which also had reported shareholdings above 5% in Marel at year-end 2022. Eyrir Invest has been a principal shareholder in Marel since 2005.

All Marel shares listed on Euronext Amsterdam, including shares transferred from Nasdaq Iceland to Euronext Amsterdam, are held in custody on behalf of Euroclear. No single shareholder holding shares only in EUR currently exceeds the threshold of 5% of total share capital.

Shareholders who hold shares in Marel on Nasdaq Iceland and Euronext Amsterdam have identical rights, including voting rights and rights to dividends. As of year-end 2022, 257.7 million shares or 33.4% of Marel’s total issued shares were listed on Euronext Amsterdam. The free float as of year-end 2022 was 75.3%.

As of 31 December 2022, Marel’s authorized share capital was ISK 771,007,916, represented by 771,007,916 shares issued, each assigned one vote with a nominal value of ISK 1.00, and 752,714,522 shares outstanding with 18,293,394 shares held by the company as treasury shares, or 2.4% of issued shares.

As one of the 15 Icelandic securities, in September 2022 Marel was included in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (FTSE GEIS), following Iceland’s recognition as a Secondary Emerging Market by global index provider FTSE Russell.

In 2021, international indexing company MSCI reclassified Iceland from Standalone Markets to Frontier Markets, and subsequently Marel was added to the MSCI’s Frontier Markets Index series. Icelandic stocks have been incorporated in MSCI’s indexes since 2018, when it was the first inclusion of Icelandic stocks since 2008 and since the lifting of capital controls in March 2017.

Marel is also included in the Nordic Large Cap segment of the Nasdaq OMX and is part of the OMXI10, an index that consists of the 10 most actively traded companies on Nasdaq Iceland. Since 2019, Marel has also been included in the VINX Benchmark Index by Nasdaq OMX Nordic.

Marel has agreements with Kvika Banki and Íslandsbanki for market making in its shares on Nasdaq Iceland, and with ABN AMRO – ODDO BHF and Kepler Cheuvreux on Euronext Amsterdam. The purpose of these agreements is to facilitate trading to improve liquidity and enhance transparent price formation in the company’s shares on both stock exchanges.

Earnings per share (EPS), calculated by dividing the net profit attributable to shareholders by the weighted average number of outstanding shares issued, were EUR 7.78 cents in 2022, compared to EUR 12.85 in 2021.

Earnings per share was impacted by one-offs e.g., cost of 5% headcount reduction, Stranda Prolog insolvency, higher level of investments and Wenger PPA in 2022.

Marel’s management targets basic earnings per share to grow faster than revenues, resulting in profitable growth.

Ahead of the AGM on 22 March 2023, Marel’s Board of Directors has proposed that a dividend of EUR 1.56 cents per share be paid for the operational year 2022 (2021: EUR 5.12 cents per share), corresponding to 20% of net results attributable to Shareholders of the Company for the year 2022. The estimated total dividend payment will be around EUR 11.7 million for the operational year 2022, compared to EUR 38.7 million in 2021.

The proposed dividend is in line with Marel’s dividend policy disclosed at Marel’s AGM in March 2011. Dividend or share buyback is targeted at 20-40% of the net result and excess capital is to be used to stimulate growth and value creation.

At year-end 2022, Marel was the second largest company listed on Nasdaq Iceland by market capitalization.

As of year-end 2022, 513.3 million or 66.6% of Marel’s shares were listed on Nasdaq Iceland. Marel’s share price decreased by 43.9% during 2022. At year-end 2022, Marel’s share price was ISK 490, compared to ISK 874 at the end of 2021. Marel’s average end-ofday spread for 2022 was 0.87% (2021: 0.86%).

Marel’s shares were among the most actively traded on Nasdaq Iceland in 2022. Shares in Marel were traded 13,561 times in 2022 (2021: 7,850 times) for a total market value of EUR 963.9 million (2021: EUR 798.6 million), which corresponds to a velocity rate of 29.6% (2021: 17.6%).

Marel’s share price on Euronext Amsterdam decreased by 45.8% during 2022. At year-end 2022, Marel’s share price was EUR 3.22, compared to EUR 5.94 at year-end 2021.

The market value of the company at year-end 2022 was EUR 2.5 billion, compared to EUR 4.6 billion at year-end 2021, a decrease of EUR 2.1 billion.

Shares in Marel on Euronext Amsterdam were traded 19,769 times in 2022 (2021: 20,253 times) for a total market value of EUR 50.5 million (2021: EUR 64.1 million), which corresponds to a velocity rate of 1.5%.

As of year-end 2022, 257.7 million or 33.4% of Marel shares were listed on Euronext Amsterdam.