BME closes the year with 24 new companies and increases in stock market revaluation, shareholder remuneration and financing

17 December, 2024

The IBEX 35® advanced by 15.2% up to the end of November and is one of the best indices of the year in Europe, after five consecutive semesters of growth
Spanish listed companies increased shareholder remuneration by 25% to 34,655 million euros, reaching an all-time high if share redemptions are added
The Spanish stock market ranks tenth in the world in new financing flows, with 9.3 billion euros, 97% more than last year
There are 222 live issues of green, social and sustainable bonds in BME's markets

BME today presented the 2024 market report, a year of growth, as highlighted by Juan Flames, CEO of BME, and Javier Hernani, Executive Board Member of BME and SIX. With data up to the end of November, the year was marked by the addition of 24 companies to the markets managed by BME (21 in BME Growth and BME Scaleup and three in Bolsa). The year also saw growth in shareholder remuneration for listed companies, corporate financing channeled through the financial markets, equity trading volumes and the main activities in the post-trading area.

In the first eleven months of the year, Spanish listed companies increased shareholder remuneration by 25% to 34.6 billion euros. Share redemptions also increased, to 13.5 billion euros, so that if both shareholder remuneration formulas (dividends and share redemptions) are taken into account, shareholder remuneration exceeds 48.2 billion euros, an increase of 11%, reaching a new all-time high.

The Spanish stock market ranked tenth in the world in new financing flows in 2024, with 9,854 million dollars (9.3 billion euros), according to data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). This represents a growth of 97% compared to last year, driven mainly by IPOs. These included Puig, which was the world's largest in the first half of the year, followed by Inmocemento and Cox. In addition, BME Growth and BME Scaleup have attracted 21 small and medium-sized companies from different sectors, 23 if we add the two that have joined so far in December and which are not yet included in the report, prepared with data at the end of November.

In the first eleven months of the year, 294.2 billion euros worth of shares were traded on BME's platforms, 6% more than in the same period of the previous year. This is the first rise in the annual amount traded in shares since 2015. The Ibex 35® was once again one of the best performers in Europe, with an increase of 15.2% through November, and now has five consecutive semesters of growth.

2024 was also a good year for the Spanish stock market in terms of capital increases. 6,062 million euros were raised, up 32%.

In fixed income, there was a 5.3% increase in the volume of issues and admissions to the MARF, reaching 14.4 billion euros. In addition, 60 new green, social and sustainable issues were admitted for trading on the fixed-income markets and platforms managed by BME up to November, for an amount of close to 86.2 billion euros, bringing the total number of issues of this type in BME's markets to 222 at the end of November.

In financial derivatives, the volume of derivatives on dividend payments increased fivefold. Also noteworthy was the 50% growth in IBEX 35® options and the 46% increase in the volume traded in Electricity Futures contracts.

The various post-trading areas also recorded increases, such as the 4% growth in average daily cash cleared in equities, the 32% rise in trading in xRolling FX contracts and the 3% increase in instructions from stock market operations settled in Iberclear.

One of the biggest debates this year has been the move to the D+1 settlement cycle, which has taken place this year in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Argentina, and will be implemented in Europe in 2027. Ahead of this milestone, BME has launched a new process that allows transactions such as IPOs or accelerated capital increases to be settled on D+1, thereby reducing risks and costs. The first to follow this procedure was the Cox IPO.

Juan Flames, CEO of BME, explains that “despite the difficulties and uncertainties, 2024 has been a year of growth for the Spanish financial markets, with the arrival of new companies, an increase in corporate financing and a rise in shareholder remuneration, among other factors. We are working to ensure that 2025 is once again a good year in which more companies of all sectors and sizes make the leap to the capital markets, which are the ones that offer them more visibility, reputation and recurring access to financing.”