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London Stock Exchange Group plc (the "Exchange") today reports results for the six months ended 30 September 2008.
Financial Highlights:
- Revenue up 70 per cent to £345.5 million; a five per cent increase on a pro forma basis (flat at constant currency) assuming Borsa Italiana had been acquired on 1 April 2007
- Operating profit before amortisation of purchased intangibles and exceptionals up 57 per cent to £179.9 million; five per cent pro forma growth (flat in constant currency)
- Profit before tax up 30 per cent to £127 million
- Basic EPS of 30.3 pence, and adjusted basic EPS up ten per cent to 39.3 pence
- Interim dividend per share up five per cent to 8.4 pence per share
Financial Structure:
- Strong net cash flow from operating activities of £145.4 million – up from £87.3 million last year
- £700 million of committed borrowing facilities through to 2012 or beyond compared to £624 million drawn debt
Operational Highlights:
- SETS volumes continued to grow, increasing 33 per cent to 739,000 trades per day. SETS value traded declined two per cent, a resilient performance set against an average 12 per cent fall in the FTSE 100 compared to the prior period. Trading at Borsa Italiana was eight per cent lower at 262,000 trades per day
- London is the leading international listing venue with 21 international IPOs on our markets, and a total 114 new issues in London and Italy
- Demand for the Group's real time data remained strong with 112,000 professional users of LSE information, up 8,000 over last year and unchanged since the start of the financial year; and in Italy professional terminals were up 7,000 on last year to 161,000, and level with the number six months ago
- Italian cash equities market successfully migrated to TradElect in early November; overall integration programme is ahead of plan, with expected cost synergies up 20 per cent to at least £24 million
Commenting on the six months, Clara Furse, Chief Executive said:
"The Exchange has delivered good results, with adjusted basic earnings per share increasing by ten per cent against a backdrop of challenging markets.
"This performance underlines the quality and resilience of our business, illustrating our critical capital raising and price forming role as a well regulated market with an exceptionally strong international brand. We are busy developing a number of new services and products as well as the opportunities arising from our merger with Borsa Italiana. Integration synergies are increasing and being achieved at a faster rate, with a 20 per cent uplift in cost savings to at least £24 million. Activity on the Exchange will continue to reflect more difficult and uncertain market conditions. However, we are well positioned and financially strong, ready to serve our increasingly international market community."
Chris Gibson-Smith, Chairman of the Exchange, said:
"The business has performed well in what are very challenging times for financial markets. We remain focused on providing increasingly efficient markets and services for all of our users.
"We have announced a five per cent increase in interim dividend, recognising both the good first half financial performance and the Board's belief that it is appropriate to remain conservative at this interim stage, with market conditions remaining difficult."
View the full announcement (PDF, 129KB)
Presentation - Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September 2008
