11. Baader Helvea Swiss Equities Conference 2015 - Presenting companies likely to cope well with currency pressures over time
Despite recent volatility in Swiss capital markets, the participating Swiss companies remain optimistic about their longer-term prospects. This was the conclusion from the 11th Baader Helvea Swiss Equities Conference in Bad Ragaz/Switzerland, which ended today. At the two-day conference 53 companies presented their strategies at roughly 250 investors from 17 countries. The conference is an established event with Swiss companies.
The conference kicked off yesterday with lively discussions about the impacts the surprise abandoning of the EUR/CHF currency peg by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) will have on corporate profitability. The presenting managers overall stayed optimistic that the longer-term growth prospects would stay clearly positive. The focus on profitable niches, ongoing portfolio adjustments, efforts to reduce the cyclicality of their business and continued cost control were cited by many companies as factors that will allow them to deliver earnings growth despite the challenging environment.
Even though headwinds have increased over the short term, Swiss companies expressed their confidence to benefit from an uptick in global economic prospects expected for later this year. From a bottom-up perspective, product innovation, technological advantages, the scope for further efficiency gains plus the historically proven ability to cope well with difficult situations should provide Swiss companies with fresh impetus over time.
"We are delighted that the conference continues to grow in the second year that Helvea has been part of the Baader Bank Group and that it remains an attractive platform for companies and investors. This is an impressive indication that the combined businesses are performing well", states Oliver Riedel, CEO Helvea. "Helvea has excellent contacts with Swiss companies and a broad international network of investors, which has been further expanded by Baader Bank".
The next Baader Helvea Swiss Equities Conference will take place in early January 2016 - once again in Bad Ragaz.