¢ Market Comment
Banks in the spotlight: Upbeat momentum continued at a stronger pace on Thursday with the main indices of the Athens Stock Exchange moving steadily in positive territory, with the final auctions adding their own positive touch to the upward trend and, at the close of trading, main index reached a new 16-year high (next highest close on 11/01/2010 at 2315.31 points) and bank index at a new 122-month high (the next highest close was on 18/11/2015 at 2713.4 points).
General index closed at 2,204.24 points, adding 1.87% to Wednesday’s 2,163.88 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 2.07%, ending at 5,580.15 points, though mid-caps contracted 0.69%. The banks index jumped 4.07%, as Piraeus jumped 6.04%, Eurobank soared 5.17%, National grabbed 4.98%, Optima improved 1.57%, Alpha earned 1.32% and Bank of Cyprus climbed 0.70%. In total 59 stocks obtained gains, 47 sustained losses and 16 remained unchanged. Turnover amounted to 660.3 million euros, down from Wednesday’s €820.2mn.
Profit taking is in the cards today, considerable short-term gains may tempt traders to cash in yet rotation in buying interest may limit downside on the back of supportive news-flow.
¢ In the Spotlight
Greece/Inflation: FY25 inflation averaged close to 3%, in line with the Bank of Greece’s revised forecasts, with food and services posting the strongest increases. Both the government and the central bank expect inflation to ease in 2026, projecting 2.2% and 2.6%, respectively.
Titan: Titan America announced its agreement to acquire Keystone Cement Company, a Pennsylvania-based cement manufacturer, from the Fortaleza, Uniland, and Tritadura groups. This acquisition significantly expands Titan America’s presence in the Mid-Atlantic region and aims to achieve operational and commercial synergies with its existing Essex Cement and Roanoke Cement operations. Key highlights of the transaction include:
§ Keystone operates an efficient cement kiln with a production capacity of 990,000 short tons per year.
§ The company possesses substantial mineral assets that could support over 50 years of cement production.
§ Its strategic location caters to a 6.2 million short ton per year market across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Ohio.
§ Keystone also supplies construction aggregates and has notable dolomite reserves for future growth.
§ The acquisition is expected to unlock significant value through enhanced logistics and commercial synergies, as well as opportunities for utilizing alternative fuels.
The total transaction price is $310 million, approximately $313 per short ton of clinker production capacity, funded through cash and financing. The acquisition is pending regulatory approval and other customary conditions.
Note that Titan Cement Group produces roughly 27 million metric tons of cement and cementitious materials annually through its global operations, with production facilities in about 10 countries and presence in more than 15 markets worldwide.
Jumbo: EGM on February 4 to approve FY:25 interim dividend distribution €0.50/share (gross) or a total amount of €67.2mn. Ex-dividend date March 23. Dividend record date March 24. Payment March 30. The company announced FY:25 top line sales growth reached 7.22%, close to our FY:25 projection of +8%, despite supply chain disruptions in Greece and globally affecting December sales growth (+4.14%). Road network blockades affected, according to the company’s announcement, not only the domestic distribution of goods but also the flow of exports to neighboring countries. In Greece, December sales advanced 6% bringing FY:25 growth rate at 9%. In Cyprus, December was up 5% with annual growth rate shaping at 8%. Bulgaria December sales accelerated 8% with FY:25 rate settling at +5%. Finally, Romania came in flat in December (-0.1%) with FY ratio at 4%. Regarding 2026 expansion plans, jumbo will mainly focus on its partnership with FOX group aiming in launching 5 to 6 stores in Israel and 3 in Canada. In the other operating countries, Jumbo, when not expanding network through new openings, focuses on the strategic acquisition of existing leased properties in order to reduce OPEX, optimize utilization rate in real estate assets and maximize capital returns for shareholders. In 2025 the company purchased 3 leased stores in Greece with ownership of existing network reaching 70%.
Top pick for 2026 with Outperform rating and TP €39.
CrediaBank: The Bank will release their FY25 results on March 5th, followed by Q1 2026 results on May 21st and the Annual General Meeting on July 9th with the Board intending to propose no dividend for FY25.
OPAP: Shareholders at OPAP’s Extraordinary General Meeting approved all key resolutions required to advance the cross-border merger and related corporate restructuring as part of the proposed business combination with Allwyn. These approvals covered the company split, transformation plan, associated corporate actions, and amendments to the articles of association necessary to implement the transaction. Shareholder participation reached 80.19%, representing 287,564,394 shares.
Under agenda Item 5, concerning the exit right linked to the approval of the cross-border conversion, 80.33% of votes (231,008,219 shares) were cast in favor, 17.44% (50,154,474 shares) against, and 2.23% (6,401,701 shares) abstained. Completion of the transaction remains conditional on shareholders who voted against the cross-border conversion and validly exercise their cash exit right accounting for no more than 5% of OPAP’s total share capital—a requirement that may be jointly waived by Allwyn and OPAP. In this context, the Boards of Allwyn and OPAP aim to keep cash redemptions as low as possible, facilitating a deeper strengthening of OPAP’s long-standing partnership with Allwyn and KKCG through the exchange of OPAP interests for an equity stake in Allwyn.
The cross-border conversion is expected to be completed within approximately three months of the EGM. Shareholders who exercise the exit right will receive cash compensation within one month of the conversion becoming effective. During this period, the affected shares will be non-tradable and will not qualify for the €0.80 dividend.
If the 5% threshold is waived and assuming that all shareholders who voted against the conversion (17.44%) exercise their exit right, the resulting cash outflow could reach up to €955 million which in turn will increase Net debt of the group accordingly. It remains to be seen whether the boards of OPAP and Allwyn will ultimately proceed with the proposed business combination.
IPTO Holdings: On December 31, 2025 the decision of R.A.E.W.W., dated July 24 2025, was published in the Government Gazette, by which the Charges for the Use of the Hellenic Electricity Transmission System (HETS) was adjusted, in order to recover the cost of the projects implemented by the IPTO Group, with the new unit prices to be applied on the first day of the second month following the publication of the aforementioned decision in the Government Gazette. The required revenue of the Operator for 2025 was approved and amounts to €411.1mn. Reportedly the group may issue a €300m bond.
Fourlis: The company announced the activation of stock option exercises, covering a total of 1,332,700 rights at an exercise price of €1.00.
Cairo Mezz: Cairo No.3 Finance DAC has entered into a loan portfolio sale agreement dated 31 December 2025, under which it will sell a portion of its loan portfolio consisting mainly of secured non performing corporate loans with a total claim of €5.699bn. Following the transaction, the remaining portfolio amounts to approximately €740m. Completion is expected around 9 February, subject to conditions precedent. The net sale proceeds will be treated as Collections and allocated according to the Priority of Payments, including distributions to Class A Notes, at the next interest payment date following the relevant collection period.
Tzirakian: The company has reached an agreement with Piraeus Bank and DoValue on a new four-year debt-repayment program featuring low instalments, favorable interest terms and a balloon payment at maturity. The deal extends repayment of roughly 5mn of debt, shifting obligations from short-term to long-term and improving liquidity. A similar agreement with NBG is expected by end of February, further strengthening the company’s financial position.
¢ Buybacks
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