Mathias Hlubek, CFO of Deutsche Börse AG, said: "In particular, the positive developments in the Clearstream and Xetra segments enabled us to close the first quarter with a record result. The recovery of equity markets is benefiting the securities custody business, cash market trading, and the settlement of on and off-exchange transactions. The increasing profitability of the Group is once again testimony to the advantages of our business model, which makes optimum use of economies of scale."
Segment reporting once again shows Clearstream as the strongest performer, recording revenues of €146.0 million (Q1/2003: €131.5 million). Revenues were driven mainly by an increase in proceeds from securities settlement and custody. This result represents the strongest growth recorded by Clearstream since its integration into Deutsche Börse Group. EBIT in the Clearstream segment rose by 24 percent to €31.1 million (Q1/ 2003: €25.1 million), with costs remaining stable.
Revenues in the Eurex segment also increased in the first quarter of this year, rising from €104.4 million in Q1/2003 to €106.9 million in Q1/2004. EBIT reached € 53.5 million compared with €62.9 million in the same quarter last year. Due to investments in the Eurex US derivatives exchange, and it's operating cost, profits were lower year-on-year.
Revenues in the Xetra segment rose by 42 percent to € 65.2 million (Q1/2003: €45.9 million). EBIT recorded above-average growth, climbing from €4.4 million in Q1/2003 to €33.8 million. This is due to the 16 percent increase in the number of transactions executed on the pan-European trading system Xetra, and the increase of approximately 51 percent in the number of transactions executed on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
This means that the investments made in fiscal years 2002 and 2003 relating, among other things, to the introduction of the Central Counterparty for the cash market (ECCP) in April, have paid off.
In the Information Technology segment, externally generated revenues fell to €31.8 million (Q1/2003: € 35.2 million), while EBIT reached €16.9 million (Q1/2003: €24.4 million). The company secured a large volume of new business in Q1/2004, in particular with Deutsche WertpapierService Bank AG (dwpbank), European Energy Exchange AG (EEX) and in the form of project contracts at a number of banks.
Due to the difficult market environment in the market data business, the Information Services segment generated slightly less revenue than in Q1/2003 at € 29.2 million (Q1/2003: €33.5 million). EBIT for Q1/2004 totaled €10.2 million (Q1/2003: €12.9 million).
