Audi 2006 Annual Report Download - page 129

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Whereas most stock markets made a lively start to 2006, they experienced a sharp slump in
the second and third quarters. This bear market was driven in particular by growing fears of
higher interest and inflation rates, rising raw materials prices and political instability in the
Middle East. Following a phase of stabilisation, international stock markets recovered to
reach new record highs towards the end of the year. This positive development was under-
pinned by robust global economic growth, healthy financial performances in the corporate
sector and interest rates remaining low compared with the long-term average. The German
Share Index (DAX) mirrored the development of international stock markets. It initially
touched a year-low of 5,243.71 points in June 2006 after having started the year on 5,410.24
points. It then rallied to close the year on 6,596.92 points. The Prime Automobile, the sector
index for German automotive shares, likewise finished 2006 with high growth rates. It closed
the year on 569.60 points, having gained 24 percent overall in the course of the year, which
it had started on 459.22 points.
The development in the AUDI AG share price represented an impressive gain in value. The
shares started 2006 on EUR 308. After an initial sideways shift lasting until mid-way through
the year, they soared to a record-high of EUR 587 in the second half. They closed 2006 on
EUR 540, having gained in value by 75 percent. The past financial year was the first occasion
on which AUDI AG shares were included in the studies of leading analysts. The decidedly
successful progress of the Audi Group and the anticipated future successes fuelled by
Strategy 2015 resulted in the securities being emphatically recommended as a “buy”. This
recommendation naturally also had a positive influence on the price of Audi shares.
There exists a control and profit transfer agreement between AUDI AG and Volkswagen AG,
which controls around 99 percent of the share capital of the former. Instead of a dividend
payment, the outside shareholders receive a compensatory payment. The level of this pay-
ment is equivalent to the dividend paid on one Volkswagen AG ordinary share for the same
financial year, as will be determined by the Annual General Meeting on April 19, 2007.
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(ISIN: DE0006757008, German Securities Identification Number (WKN): 675700)
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