Corporate
Twenty years of trading on Nasdaq OMX Iceland
27 Jun 2012
29 June, marks 20 years since Marel listed its shares on the Icelandic securities market. Marel has grown and developed steadily since then and is now the largest company listed on Nasdaq OMX Iceland by market value. Marel’s shareholders number around 2,200 today, almost tenfold the number since the company was listed, when there were 242 shareholders at year-end 1992.
Marel started out in the late seventies and was formally established in 1983. The total revenue in 1983 amounted to 20 million ISK (around 127,000 EUR at today’s rates), whereas in 2011 it amounted to EUR 668 million (around 105 billion ISK).Thus the company has grown 5,600-fold, which is equivalent to 35% annual growth in ISK. Marel has more than 4,000 employees around the world. Marel has manufacturing facilities in 16 locations worldwide, offices and subsidiaries in some 30 countries, and operates a network of more than 100 agents and distributors.
Theo Hoen, CEO of Marel: “Listing the company’s shares in 1992 was a significant step, and the market has served Marel well during these 20 years. We now have more than 2,200 shareholders, some of whom have supported the company from the beginning. When the company went public, Marel had operations in Canada and the US, and now we have operations all over the globe. Excellent employees and our emphasis on innovation have driven vigorous internal growth, but the stock exchange listing was pivotal for us to gain access to capital to finance takeovers of good, solid companies. We are very grateful for the continued trust the market has shown us.”
Marel traces its history back to a research project at the University in Iceland where a team of engineers developed a computerised scale for the Icelandic fishing industry. The scales increased efficiency for fish processing both onshore and offshore. Although Marel’s range of products has grown considerably since then, Marel’s main goal remains the same: to add value and improve efficiency for the company’s customers. Marel now provides sophisticated equipment for many of the world’s largest food processors in poultry, fish, meat and further processing.
Marel has updated its investor relations website to include information on the company’s development, with videos and graphs charting revenue and employee numbers.
For further information:
Helga Björk Eiriksdóttir
Investor & Public Relations Manager
E-mail: helga.eiriksdottir@marel.com
Tel. +354 853 8543