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- Revenue in the first half reached €182.7 million.
- The efficiency ratio in the first six months was 27.1%, ranking among the best in the international financial scenario.
- Equity trades in July increased by 11.8% to 3.36 million. The figure for the first seven months came in at 22 million.
- Futures and Options trading in July reached 8.1 million contracts, up 206% from a year earlier.
- Corporate Debt trading to the end of July passed the €1 trillion mark, exceeding the figure for the entire year 2007.
- Operating Costs in the first half came in at €49.5 million from €46 million in the same period the previous year.
- Earnings per share stand at €1.23.
Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) recorded a net profit of €103.1 million in the first half of 2008, exceeding the record set the previous year, at €102.9 million and marking the best half-yearly results ever posted in the history of the company. The volume of trades in Equities during the first half of the year increased by 7.2%, Futures and Options trading soared by 85% from the previous year to 40 million contracts and Corporate Debt trading shot up by 68% to €909.13 bn. These figures reflect the strength of the BME model in such complex and sensitive scenario as the present one.
Revenue in the first half came in at €182.7 million. The company’s diversified business model has brought year on year growth in the Information (+19.5%), Derivatives (+3.9%), IT & Consulting (+14.1%) and Fixed Income (7.1% up) business areas, offsetting the impact on global revenues of lower trading volumes in the equity and settlement business, compared with the high levels reached in 2007.
With regard to BME’s key indicators, in the first half the efficiency ratio, which values the expenses incurred in each revenue source, stood at 27.1% while return on equity came in at 42.6% at the end of the six-month period. At these levels, BME remains one of the most representative companies in terms of efficiency and profitability.
Operating costs in the first half increased to €49.5 million from €46 million in the same period the previous year.
Earnings per share for the first half totalled €1.23, the same as the figure for the first six months of 2007.
In the first half of 2008 BME paid out €212.5 million in dividends, more than double the figure posted for the same period the previous year. As stated during its Annual General Meeting, the company’s goal is to maintain the current pay-out policy, thanks to which BME ranks as the company with one of the highest pay-out figures among companies listed on the Spanish stock market and among its sector peers worldwide.
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