Transactions in the equity market showed a decline of around 2% from the first quarter of 2004 which saw the highest number of transactions ever.
The increasing level of activity in the Fixed Income Markets business from 2004 has continued into 2005. Quoted issues of bonds and short-term debt instruments numbered 857 (817) at the end of the first quarter. Oslo Børs plans to open an alternative marketplace for listing bonds and short-term debt instruments to supplement the existing fixed income market. The number of derivative contracts traded in the first quarter of 2005 showed a reduction of some 26% from the equivalent quarter in 2004. However the level of activity was very high from time to time, and a new daily record was set on 4 March when 92,891 contracts were traded.
The number of terminals with access to market data from Oslo Børs was some 2% higher at the close of the quarter than at the end of 2004, and around 3% higher than for the same period last year.
First quarter revenues totalled NOK 79.0 (71.0) million. The largest year-on-year increase came from equity trading, but the fixed income area also showed an increase. The derivatives area was slightly down on the first quarter of 2004, which was an unusually busy quarter compared to the rest of the year. Revenues from sales of market data were boosted by the increase seen since the second quarter of last year in the number of distributors of real time information and the number of terminals with access to fundamental data.
The sale of shares in the Copenhagen Stock Exchange generated a gain of NOK 6.2 million, which was credited to financial income in the profit and loss account. This gain is not subject to tax. Financial items also include dividend from VPS Holding ASA with MNOK 2.6. First quarter operating expenses amounted to NOK 42.0 (41.9) million. Oslo Børs does not expect any significant change in its overall operating costs in 2005.
