Owning EADS shares in 2003
EADS share price trends in 2003
EADS shares performed strongly in 2003, rising by 91% from €9.85 to €18.85 and outperforming all major European and American indices as well as the shares of our competitors.
In the early months, pending the Iraq War, equity markets faced an uncertain environment and focused more on geopolitical issues than on economic fundamentals or corporate news. As a result, on 10th March 2003, the share price recorded an all-time low of €6.50.
Over the weeks to the end of May, the shares recovered, though volatility remained high due to market uncertainty triggered by the conflict in Iraq, a weak global economic climate and the effects of the SARS outbreak.
At the end of May, sentiment on the Group changed. This was partly due to the ending of the war, the containment of the SARS virus and a more favourable Euro/ US Dollar exchange rate – but also to a newsflow on EADS which included the signing of the A400M contract and positive developments in our Space Division. In subsequent months, there were important commercial wins at Airbus and export successes for the Eurofighter, Tiger and NH90. Increasingly encouraging economic data and company news helped positive sentiment, despite the increasing strength of the Euro towards the end of the year.
The weight of Anglo-Saxon investors significantly increased during the year. Another noticeable feature of 2003 was the increased level of interest and investment from ‘growth’ and ‘momentum’ investors.
The EADS Board of Directors will recommend to the Annual General Meeting called for 6th May 2004 a cash distribution of a €0.40 (gross amount) per share with respect to the year 2003.
