Revenue was up 90 per cent at London Stock Exchange (LSE). If it seems like there is an errant zero on that figure, you are bang on the money: take out the contribution from the for-sale Russell Investment Management business, and revenue was up 9 per cent for continuing operations, the numbers for which we have presented here.
Management is not for turning when it comes to selling this non-core business, but is defensive about how long it is taking to do so, citing a list of bidders from four continents. Expect more on that front in due course. Regardless, it is continuing to benefit from the index business left behind - Russell Indexes provided £70m in revenue, fuelling the 45 per cent growth in the information services division's turnover to £261m. There is now a whopping $389bn (£251bn) in exchange traded funds that are indexed to a Russell or FTSE-branded benchmark. Unavista, a repository to which investors can report over-the-counter derivatives trades for regulatory purposes, also grew its revenue.
Which is just as well, as trading was reasonably flat elsewhere. Capital markets added little revenue as less money was raised on the primary market, while post-trade services through its LCH.Clearnet segment were hit by the loss of clearing for the London Metal Exchange.
Analysts at Numis Securities expect pre-tax profit of £543m for the full year and EPS of 104p, up from £478m and 102p in 2014.
| LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE (LSE) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 2,615p | MARKET VALUE: | £9.1bn | |
| TOUCH: | 2,613-2,615p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,725p | LOW: 1,676p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.9% | PE RATIO: | 44 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 714p* | NET DEBT: | 33% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014** | 607 | 169 | 40.5 | 9.7 |
| 2015 | 663 | 176 | 43.4 | 10.8 |
| % change | +9 | +4 | +7 | +11 |
Ex-div: 27 Aug Payment: 22 Sep *Includes £3.6bn of intangible assets, or 1,035p a share **Pro-forma figures Dividend per share is for half year to September 2014 | ||||
