Add back one-off adjustments and amortisation and the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) operating profit rose 1 per cent at the half-year stage to £217.2m. But without a £64.8m revenue contribution from the FTSE franchise, acquired from Pearson, the picture would have been worse, with ongoing financial uncertainty having hit principal trading hard. That leaves few near-term catalysts ahead to drive a share price re-rating.
Fee income from primary listings fell 17 per cent to £33.7m as new issues slumped 69 per cent to just 12. Secondary markets were hit just as badly, with income there down 23 per cent at £40.1m as new issues fell on the Alternative Investment Market by 26 per cent to 43. Derivatives also came under the cosh, with contracts traded in Turquoise and IDEM sliding 32 per cent to 33.8m. Without the FTSE contribution, revenue from Information Services would have been 1 per cent lower at £81.1m.
Post trade services, which is the group's Italian-based clearing, settlement and custody business, offered some respite with total income there up 6 per cent at £112.7m, while technology services pushed revenue ahead 3 per cent to £25.6m.
Broker Numis Securities expects pre-tax profit of £389.7m for the full year, giving EPS of 99.1p (from £401.1m and 100.8p in 2012).
| LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE (LSE) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 925p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.51bn | |
| TOUCH: | 923-926p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,110p | LOW: 751p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.1% | PE RATIO: | 5 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 514p* | NET DEBT: | 32% | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 387 | 180 | 43.1 | 9.30 |
| 2012 | 424 | 165 | 43.0 | 9.70 |
| % change | +10 | -8 | -0 | +4 |
Ex-div: 5 Dec Payment: 7 Jan *Includes intangible assets of £2.02bn, or 744p a share | ||||
