The Ibex 35 opened the trading session on Tuesday with a slight drop of 0.22%, pushing the benchmark index to 10,115.9 points as investors weighed a day crowded with corporate results and notable business moves across Spain.
Rovi released before the Madrid exchange opened that its net profit for 2023 reached 170.3 million euros, down 15% from the near-200 million earned in 2022.
The pharmaceutical company also announced plans to propose to its general meeting of shareholders a dividend charged to 2023 earnings and previous years, amounting to 1.1037 euros per share. This payout corresponds to roughly 35% of the year’s attributed profit.
Naturgy reported a net profit of 1,986 million euros in 2023, up 20.4% from 1,649 million the prior year, supported by investments that climbed to 2,944 million euros, a rise of 53%.
In another move, Prosegur Cash’s board has agreed to propose at the annual general meeting, scheduled for April 24 in the first call, a dividend charged to voluntary reserves of 0.0404 euros gross per share, representing a maximum total cash distribution of almost 60 million euros.
Prosegur Cash also announced to the CNMV the resignation of Pedro Guerrero from his role as non-executive director of the company, which also affects his positions as vice-chairman of the board and as a member of the sustainability, corporate governance, appointments, and remuneration committee.
Meanwhile, Grifols’ board decided to appoint Nacho Abia as chief executive officer and as a new director through co-option.
In the early hours of trading, the biggest gains within the Ibex 35 were posted by Indra, Grifols, Cellnex, and Fluidra, advancing 0.68%, 0.68%, 0.58%, and 0.50% respectively. The soft performers included Rovi, down 6.29%, Logista, down 5.90% pressured by the ex-dividend effect, and Meliá Hotels, down 1.43%.
Across Europe, the major stock markets opened higher on Tuesday: Milan rose 0.11%, London and Frankfurt gained 0.06% each, and Paris edged up by 0.02%.
Oil prices moved higher at the open of the European session, with Brent crude, the benchmark for the region, up about 0.27% to around 81.89 dollars per barrel, while U.S. WTI traded near 77.81 dollars, up by roughly 0.30%.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro strengthened to about 1.0854 dollars. On the debt front, Spain’s 10-year government bond yield rose to 3.314%.