Svarīgākie notikumi un sasniegumi
Moody’s on December 16, 2022 reaffirmed Altum’s long-term credit rating at Baa1 with a stable outlook, the same as affirmed in March 2019. The baseline credit assessment was also reaffirmed at baa3, along with short-term rating of P-2. Altum originally received a Baa1 long-term credit rating from Moody’s in 2017, which is one of the highest ratings among Latvian capital companies. The high rating enables Altum to better pursue its long-term strategy of raising funds by being a regular capital market participant and issuing bonds.
Altum was awarded 3rd place in the Nasdaq Baltic Awards 2023 nomination “Best Investor Relations in the Baltics among Bond Issuers”. To be awarded, the Nasdaq Baltic listed companies were judged on their achievements in transparency, investor relations and good corporate governance practices. Moreover, the companies’ trading activity was assessed, taking into account market analysts and investors’ assessments.
Altum is one of the few state owned companies to have issued a bond. Participation in the stock exchange is also an advantage for employers and international funds, which entrust Altum to make significant investments for the Latvian economy to grow. The aim of the award is to highlight the companies with the best investor relations and share price growth on the exchange, as well as to honour the best performance of the exchange members and other significant events of the year that significantly influenced the development of the Baltic capital market. The Baltic Stock Exchanges companies and members are evaluated by local and international experts in corporate governance and investor relations.
In September 2022, Altum received the Latvian Corporate Governance Award 2022 in the nomination “Risk Management Strategist”, demonstrating Altum’s ability to successfully identify, assess, manage and control potential risks, events or situations, showing confidence in achieving the Company’s strategic objectives as well as successfully launching the priority medium-term strategy – sustainable financing and integration of ESG considerations into credit risk management and business processes. The award was created to strengthen the practical implementation of the Latvian Corporate Governance Code in Latvian companies, promoting the efficiency and long-term value growth of companies, as well as to reveal examples of good practice in the implementation of the Code. The competition was organised by the Corporate Governance Advisory Board, which brings together private and public sector experts in the field of corporate governance: the Ministry of Justice, the Financial and Capital Market Commission, Nasdaq Riga, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance, Alphinox Quality, Walless, Cobalt, Baiba Strupiša law firm and law firm Eversheds Sutherland Bitāns.
For the fourth year running, Altum participated in the Sustainability Index organised by the Institute for Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, which assesses a Company’s sustainability according to international requirements in all areas of corporate social responsibility, and in 2022, for the second consecutive year, the company received the high Platinum category award. The Sustainability Index score is one of the visible manifestations of the invisible day-to-day work that companies are doing to uphold the principles of corporate sustainability and responsibility, balancing the interests of shareholders, employees, customers, the environment, business partners and others with the conditions for sustainable performance, thereby becoming the leaders of tomorrow.
ALTUM received Nasdaq Baltic Award 2019 in the nomination “Stock Exchange Event of the Year” in Latvia. The “Stock Exchange Event of the Year” award is presented to events in each of the Baltic countries that have contributed the most to the development of the capital market. ALTUM successfully debuted on the stock exchange by issuing bonds that were oversubscribed by 6.5 times. ALTUM was also nominated for the Best Investor Relations by a Bond Market Newcomer award, making it to TOP3 together with Lietuvos Energija and Estonia’s Inbank.
In April 2022, the Society Integration Foundation, implementing the national programme “Family Friendly Workplace”, recognised Altum as an employer that cares for promoting family well-being and creating favourable conditions for the interaction of family and work life. The aim of the programme is to promote the development of a culture in Latvia that is empathetic, humane and understanding, while offering tools to assess the existing working environment.
In 2023, ALTUM received high acclaim for its fair and equitable approach to determining compensation. In the “Fair Pay 2023” study conducted by the compensation research and management consulting firm Figure Baltic Advisory (formerly known as “Fontes”), ALTUM obtained the second place in the category of small and medium-sized enterprises. Several aspects were evaluated when analyzing companies: internal fairness (compensation for equivalent or similar-value positions within the company), external fairness (company-paid compensation relative to similar positions in the labor market), and social fairness (the gap between male and female compensation for equivalent positions).