The continued focus on costs enabled Euronext expenses to increase by only €9.2m (+2.9%). This includes the €12.0m of legal and advisory costs linked to the LSE project.
As a result of the upswing in market trend in the second quarter, the half-year EBITA margin reached 30.4%. The year-todate EBITA amounted to €140.1m, down from €150.7m in H1 2004.
The 1st half 2005 net profit was up 23.0% from €80.0m in 2004 to €98.4m (As of January 1,2005, the IFRS rules terminated the amortization of goodwill). This rise, combined with the effect of the share buy-backs effected in 2004, engendered a 31.8% growth of the diluted EPS, to €0.87.
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