FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The SDax suffered a loss of 27.35 percent in the 2022 stock market year, ending trading at 11,925.70 points. High inflation, hefty interest rate hikes by central banks, the war in Ukraine and the burdens on the global economy from China's strict Corona policy weighed. However, China recently made a U-turn on Corona restrictions and is gradually opening up. In addition, there were some signs of easing with regard to inflation. Since the low for the year of just under 10,103 points in October, the small cap index had recovered by 18 percent by the end of the year. An overview of the biggest SDax winners and losers of the year:

1. PNE AG +152.66 percent - The project developer specializing in wind farms is benefiting from the high demand for renewable energies and increased energy prices. The company aims to quadruple its operating profit by 2027. In addition, Photon Management GmbH, which is controlled by US investment bank Morgan Stanley, announced at the end of October that it intends to sell its stake. This also provided a boost to the share price, because if the stake were to go to an acquirer, the latter would have to submit a voluntary public takeover offer or a mandatory offer to acquire all remaining PNE shares. The 40 percent share package is apparently attracting interest from both financial investors and strategically interested buyers, as the Bloomberg news agency reported in early December, citing people familiar with the matter.

2. SMA Solar +78.84 percent - The solar technology manufacturer is also benefiting from the boom in renewable energies. In addition, the supply situation with important components, which had been problematic for a long time, increasingly eased towards the end of the year. For this reason and due to the strong order situation, the company raised its annual targets at the end of October.

3. Hensoldt +76.52 percent - The increase in defense budgets of Western countries as a result of Russia's attack on Ukraine is driving business for the defense electronics manufacturer. As recently as mid-December, the radar specialist became even more optimistic. The first budget increases and orders from the special assets of the German armed forces are expected in 2023, which is why faster growth in order intake and an increase in core sales are anticipated, it said. In this context, order intake was expected to grow faster than revenue through 2025. Hensoldt management also expressed confidence beyond 2025.

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68th Flatexdegiro -68.75 percent - After a sevenfold increase in the price from the end of 2018 to mid-2021, it turned south, and in 2022 the downward slide continued. The temporary end of the stock market boom in the wake of the Ukraine war, the burdens on the global economy caused by the strict Chinese Corona policy and high inflation put the online broker. Many of the young customers in particular, who had discovered stock trading for themselves during the Corona boom and had basically not yet experienced a negative phase on the stock market, probably became more cautious or turned their backs on the stock market again. Management had to cut its annual targets. And then the German financial supervisory authority Bafin also subjected the company to a special audit and found deficiencies in the organization and corporate governance. The broker responded to the criticism by expanding its board. Investors remained unsettled.

69. Varta -80.31 percent - In the economically uncertain times of recent months, consumers also held back on buying electronics such as wireless headphones, in which Varta's lithium-ion button cells are installed. This was compounded by higher prices for raw materials and energy, which actually pushed the battery manufacturer into the red in the third quarter. But delays in customer projects in the usually profitable microbattery business and concerns about battery competition, for example in Apple's AirPods Pro, also weighed. The company is countering this with savings. For example, a new factory building for the larger round cell V4Drive for e-cars will only be continued after binding customer commitments. V4Drive was actually a great source of hope. The consequence of the share price losses: In December, Varta was relegated to the second-tier index.

70. Hypoport -80.94 percent - Between the end of 2016 and the end of 2020, the share price of the financial services provider, which also specializes in real estate loans, had increased by more than 560 percent - driven by the real estate boom in the low interest rate environment. By 2021, however, the share price had already stagnated on balance - investors were concerned about the consequences of rising inflation. In 2022, the European Central Bank responded to the sharp rise in inflation with significant interest rate hikes. This made buying apartments and houses more expensive for prospective buyers. At the same time, the willingness of real estate sellers to meet their price expectations, which had risen sharply during the zero interest rate phase, decreased. The private real estate market collapsed and with it Hypoport's loan brokerage business./mis/la/jha