Adidas 2002 Annual Report Download - page 27

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HIGH TRADING ACTIVITY CONTINUES /// In 2002,
about 78 million adidas-Salomon shares were traded
on German stock exchanges including the electronic
trading system Xetra. The average daily trading volume
was 307,000 shares. To increase overall trading efficiency
and in response to the low trading volume in Paris, we
decided to discontinue our Euronext listing. Effective
March 19, 2003, the adidas-Salomon share will be
traded exclusively on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
and the other eight regional exchanges in Germany.
adidas-Salomon also has an unsponsored ADR program
in the USA according to Rule 144A, which is limited to
qualified institutional investors.
MEMBERSHIP IN HIGH-QUALITY INDICES /// The adidas-
Salomon share is included in a variety of indices which
act as indicators for the development of the respective
markets and regions. Most importantly, as one of the
30 largest exchange-listed companies in Germany, our
share is included in the DAX-30, Germany’s premiere
stock index. At the end of 2002, our share was ranked
number 18 and 21 in the DAX-30 respectively, as reported
by Deutsche Börse, according to the two key criteria,
market capitalization and 12-month average turnover.
Our share is also a member of the Dow Jones STOXX ,
the Dow Jones EURO STOXX and the MSCI World index as
well as their corresponding sector indices. This shows
that adidas-Salomon is represented in high-quality
indices around the world. In addition, the adidas-
Salomon share is also included in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Group Index and the FTSE4Good Europe
Index. This is evidence of our successful efforts to com-
bine strong financial performance with the commitment
to environmental sustainability, a positive relationship
with our stakeholders and dedication to supporting
human rights (see Sustainability).
SHARE PRICE STABLE IN VOLATILE MARKETS /// After
strong 2001 share price performance (+28%), profit-
taking characterized the adidas-Salomon share price
development at the beginning of 2002. Share price
improvements in March through May were driven by
strong retailer and consumer response to the Group’s
new technologies as well as short-lived indicators of
improving US consumer confidence. As a result, the
share price reached a 33-month high at the end of May.
However, accounting scandals in the USA and Germany,
as well as disappointing quarterly results within the
sporting goods industry, led to investor skepticism
towards the stock market in general and the industry
in particular. This resulted in a dip in the stock price in
June and July. These declines were partially offset by
increases at the beginning of August, which were mainly
due to strong second quarter results released by adidas-
Salomon. Profit warnings from competitors and athletic
specialty retailers in the USA as well as the shutdown
of the ports on the US West Coast and concerns about
possible military action in Iraq put further pressure on
the stock markets. This led to substantial deterioration
of all leading indicators as well as the adidas-Salomon
share. In October, we experienced the year-low share
price at € 64.28. In the last two months of the year, the
share price grew strongly. Positive third quarter results
as well as an interest rate reduction in Europe and
continued appreciation of the euro all helped drive our
share price to € 82.30 on December 30.
WEEKLY SHARE PRICE DEVELOPMENT1)
120
100
80
60
40
Dec. 31, 2001 Dec. 31, 2002
adidas-Salomon 1) Index: December 31, 2001 = 100
DAX-30
MSCI World Textiles, Apparel and Luxury Goods