LIFFE makes a pre-tax profit of £11.2m for the first half to 30 June 2000 compared to a loss of £8.3m for the same period in 1999; Earnings per share were 68.3 pence (after an exceptional credit of 39.6 pence) compared to a loss of 50.6 pence for the first half of 1999.
LIFFE announced a pre-tax profit of £11.2m in the first half of 2000 compared to a loss of £8.3m for the same period in 1999.
Brian Williamson, LIFFE's Chairman said: "Earlier this year, the Annual Report and Accounts indicated that we hoped the Exchange would return to profitability in the current year. This has now been achieved in the first half.
"Our commitment to deliver value to our customers, our commitment to innovation and financial discipline, has led to these improved results. We intend to maintain the momentum at a time of significant change in our industry. We are now embarked on the development of our recently announced technology business, which we believe will bring further benefit to customers and shareholders.
"These encouraging and profitable results are in contrast to the previous two years of losses. We will continue to drive down operating costs of our core business and develop the business into new markets."
Hugh Freedberg, LIFFE's Chief Executive added: "These results reflect our determination to deliver value to our shareholders by meeting our customers' needs efficiently and by driving down our operating costs. We are enthusiastic about the opportunities of enhancing the potential of our assets, in particular LIFFE CONNECT™ - LIFFE's electronic trading platform - with its global distribution, for the benefit of customers and shareholders."
