The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has changed its year-end from March to December, but it has helpfully provided comparative figures for the 2014 and 2013 calendar years. These showed that adjusted operating profits last year rose 16 per cent to £558m, while adjusted EPS grew by 7 per cent to 103p.
Organic growth of 8 per cent was supplemented by various acquisitions, most notably the £1.6bn purchase of US index specialist Frank Russell in December. In that month alone Russell contributed revenue of £10m.
Buoyant equity markets accounted for much of the improvement in underlying trading. A total of 219 new listings were registered in London and Italy, making last year the busiest for IPOs since 2007. Transaction levels were also higher on the LSE's pan-European trading platform, Turquoise, where the average value of daily trades grew by 42 per cent.
At LCH.Clearnet, the group's multinational clearing house, over-the-counter revenues grew by a third to £138m as more members joined the platform. Revenues from fixed income and commodities were also higher, partly offset by a fall in derivatives income after the termination of a contract with the London futures market (Liffe).
Analysts at Numis are forecasting pre-tax profits for the coming year of £546m and EPS of 106.5p.
| LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE (LSE) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 2,407p | MARKET VALUE: | £8.4bn | |
| TOUCH: | 2,406-2,408p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,553p | LOW: 1,617 p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.9%** | PE RATIO: | 43 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 728p# | NET DEBT: | 19% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p)* | Dividend per share (p)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 0.62 | 238 | 50.6 | 24.2 |
| 2012 | 0.68 | 640 | 175.4 | 25.6 |
| 2013 | 0.73 | 299 | 72.3 | 26.7 |
| 31 Dec | ||||
| 2013 | 0.97 | 262 | 64.2 | 28.4 |
| 2014 | 1.28 | 278 | 56.5 | 22.5** |
| % change | +32 | +6 | +12 | - |
Ex-div: 7 May Payment: 2 Jun #Includes intangible assets of £4.49bn or 1,295p a share. *Prior years adjusted for 3-for-11 rights issue in Sep 2014 **Equivalent to 75% of the payment that would have been paid for 12 months | ||||
