Merck 2014 Annual Report Download - page 45

40 TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS → Company Shares
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
– 5
– 10
– 15
– 20
JAN.→FEB.→
MARCH→ APR.→MAY→JUNE→JULY→AUG.→SEPT.→OCT.→NOV.→DEC.→
Share price high 11 / 27 / 2014 → €80.40
Share price low 4 / 15 / 2014 → €56.55
COMPANY SHARES
AT A GLANCE
In 2014, the share price of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, rose
by 20 %, thus outperforming the
DAX® by 18percentage points.
The shares were around 7percentage points stronger than
the rel-
evant pharmaceutical industry index and also outperformed the
relevant chemical industry index by nearly 17 percentage points.
They reached an annual high of €80.40 at the end of November
2014, also marking a new all-time high. On December30, 2014,
they closed only marginally lower at €78.42.
After a period of weakness in the first half of 2014, in which
the share price sank by 3 % in absolute terms and showed a weaker
development than the relevant comparative indices, a noticeable
improvement could be seen at the beginning of the second half
of the year. Continuously good business figures that met or even
exceeded the expectations of market participants, a successful
Investor & Analyst Day of the Biopharmaceuticals division on
September 18, 2014, and the announcements of the acquisition of
Sigma-Aldrich on September 22 and of the collaboration with
Pfizer in immuno-oncology on November 17 were welcomed by
analysts and investors, leading to a new all-time share price high
at the end of November.
The average daily trading volume increased noticeably by 36 %,
from about 469,000 in 2013 to a good 639,000 shares. The North
America region continued to dominate and its share increased in
comparison with the previous year to around 47 % (2013: 43 %).
By investor type, GARP (growth at reasonable price) and value
investors dominated, as in the previous year. At the end of 2014,
the top five investors held around 39 % of the free float (2013:
36 %).
On June 30, 2014, the 1: 2 share split became effective. The
price and number of the shares of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany,
were adjusted accordingly. On May 9, 2014, the Annual General
Meeting resolved to redivide the share capital of Merck KGaA,
Darmstadt, Germany, so that one existing company no-par value
share with a pro rata amount of the share capital of €2.60 is to be
divided into two no-par value shares with a pro rata amount of
the share capital of €1.30 each (share split).
COMPANY SHARES →
SHARE PRICE DEVELOPMENT FROM JANUARY 1, 2014 TO DECEMBER 31, 2014
in %
Source: Bloomberg (closing rates)
• Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
• DAX Index
• MSCI European Pharma Index
• Dow Jones European Chemical Index