Cookie baker Lotus Bakeries and shipping company Euronav are entering the Bel20 stock exchange index. Telecom operator Proximus and Aperam, producer of stainless steel, disappear from the star index. This was reported by stock exchange operator Euronext.
The Bel20 is a basket of shares of the twenty largest and most traded listed companies in our country. These shares are selected by stock exchange operator Euronext.
Euronext makes some changes during the annual review. Cookie baker Lotus Bakeries and shipping company Euronav are now included in the Bel20, while telecom operator Proximus and steel producer Aperam are excluded.
Strikingly, due to the disappearance of Proximus, there is no longer a telecom company in the Bel20. In 2022, Telenet, which has since been delisted, disappeared from the star index. It is no surprise that Lotus is now included in the list: the cookie baker has already been mentioned several times as a possible member.
Lotus CEO: “Happy and proud”
The CEO of cookie baker Lotus Bakeries, Jan Boone, reacts “happy and proud” now that his company is included in the Bel20.
In Lembeke they had expected to be included in the star index, and were also quite confident after their own figures. “But it’s still nice to see it in black and white,” says Boone. “You notice that it is alive. I have already received a lot of congratulations.”
A seat in the Bel20 means “extra image” for Lotus Bakeries, both domestically and internationally, says the CEO. “Still a moment to be proud, and a reward for the past years.”
In 2023, the caramelized biscuit maker achieved a turnover of more than one billion euros for the first time, good for a net profit of 129.3 million euros.
Game rules adjusted
After a consultation, Euronext will also tinker with the rules surrounding the ‘free float’ criteria for the Bel20. The thresholds for the so-called turnover rate at which shares change hands will be lowered in the future in order to remain in the Bel20 on the one hand and to enter it on the other. This used to be a barrier to the entry of Lotus Bakeries: after all, those shares did not change hands often enough.
The changes will take effect after the closing bell on Friday, March 15. Monday, March 18 is the first trading day with the new composition of the Bel20.
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