August 04, 2016
Announcement of interim results for the 6 months ended 30 June 2016
Unless otherwise stated, all figures below refer to continuing operations1 for the six months ended 30 June 2016. Comparative figures are for continuing operations for the six months ended 30 June 2015 (H1 2015).
- Continued good financial performance with growth across all core business areas - in particular, in Information Services, including strong results at FTSE Russell, in Capital Markets and at LCH
Revenue up 9% to £721.9 million (H1 2015: £663.0 million); total income up 11% to £785.8 million (H1 2015: £705.9 million) - Adjusted operating profit2 up 9% at £333.3 million (H1 2015: £305.7 million) as operating expenses remained well controlled while continuing to invest in growth opportunities; operating profit of £199.0 million (H1 2015: £210.5 million)
- Profit after tax of £114.5 million (H1 2015: £130.8 million) which included non-recurring merger related expenses; and, after accounting for the previously announced tax effects of the Russell IM sale , becomes a loss after tax of £15.9million on a reported basis including discontinued operations (H1 2015: £165.1 million)
- Adjusted EPS2 up 16% at 57.7 pence (H1 2015: 49.9 pence); basic EPS down 18% to 27.4 pence (H1 2015: 33.4 pence)
- Interim dividend increased 11.1% to 12.0 pence per share (H1 2015: 10.8 pence per share) in line with our stated dividend policy
- Strong balance sheet position with leverage reduced to 1.3 x net debt:EBITDA
Strategic highlights
- Merger with Deutsche Börse, announced in March 2016, making good progress - shareholder approvals achieved in July and work underway on regulatory consents
- Sale of Russell Investment Management successfully completed on schedule, for gross proceeds of US$1,150 million – resulting in an implied multiple of 18x EBITDA (pre synergies) for the retained, high growth Russell Indices business, now integrated with FTSE
- New products and services announced during the period, including LCH Spider, a new rates portfolio margining service, ELITE Club Deal, an online private placement platform for SMEs, and CurveGlobal, a derivative trading venture which is expected to launch in Q3 2016
- The Group is well positioned, as a diversified open access market infrastructure business, to navigate political and macroeconomic changes in the period ahead
Commenting on performance for the period, Xavier Rolet, Group Chief Executive, said:
“The Group has delivered another good financial performance, with growth across all of our core business areas. In particular, FTSE Russell has performed well and LCH has made further good progress in its OTC clearing services. Our Capital Markets businesses have also performed well in a period marked by volatile market conditions.
“The Group is well diversified both by business activity and by geography, with operations in the UK, continental Europe, United States and Asia. By successfully operating a full range of open access market infrastructure services, we are well positioned to navigate political and macroeconomic changes.
“During the period, we announced our all share merger with Deutsche Börse, to create a global markets infrastructure group, anchored in Europe, with substantial revenue and cost synergies benefitting our customers and shareholders. We are delighted to have achieved shareholder approvals and are now focused on securing regulatory consents.”
1 continuing operations exclude businesses sold, primarily being Russell Investment Management and Proquote
2 before amortisation of purchased intangible assets, goodwill impairment and non-recurring items
Organic growth is calculated in respect of businesses owned for at least 6 months in either period and so excludes Exactpro, XTF, Proquote and Russell Investment Management. The Group’s principal foreign exchange exposure arises from translating our European based Euro and US based USD reporting businesses into Sterling.
Further information is available from:
| London Stock Exchange Group plc |
Gavin Sullivan/Ramesh Chhabra – Media Paul Froud – Investor Relations |
+44 (0) 20 7797 1222 +44 (0) 20 7797 3322 |
|---|
Additional information on London Stock Exchange Group can be found at www.lseg.com
Further information
The Group will host a conference call of its Interim Results for analysts and institutional shareholders today at 09:00am. On the call will be Xavier Rolet (CEO), David Warren (CFO) and Paul Froud (Head of Investor Relations).
To access the Telephone conference call dial 0800 953 1289 or +44 (0) 203 009 5710
Conference ID: 5637 5879
For further information, please call the Group’s Investor Relations team on +44 (0) 20 7797 3322.
About LSEG
LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) is a leading global financial markets infrastructure and data provider, playing a vital social and economic role in the world’s financial system.
With our open approach, trusted expertise and global scale, we enable the sustainable growth and stability of our customers and their communities. We are dedicated partners with extensive experience, deep knowledge and a worldwide presence in data and analytics; indices; capital formation; and trade execution, clearing and risk management across multiple asset classes.
LSEG is headquartered in the United Kingdom, with significant operations in over 60 countries across EMEA, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. We employ 25,000 people globally, more than half located in Asia Pacific. LSEG’s ticker symbol is LSEG.