Banks, insurers and asset managers are under pressure to boost efficiency and comply with new regulations following the financial crisis. The upheaval has fuelled demand for trading, workflow and compliance software from Fidessa (FDSA): adjust for currency movements and both sales and operating profit climbed 4 per cent in the reported period.
Revenue climbed 9 per cent at floating currencies to £147m in the key sell-side division, as sales of equity-trading tools and derivatives-focused offerings climbed 6 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. One coup was the sale of a platform to ABN AMRO, allowing the Dutch bank to offer its customers low-latency access to more than 110 different markets worldwide.
Sales in the buy-side segment climbed 5 per cent to £11.3m, as investment managers were lured by product upgrades that make it easier to manage their portfolios and meet compliance requirements. Management has also lined up several major software releases ahead of the rollout of European regulations codified in Mifid II.
Fidessa continues to eye fixed income as a potential extension to its asset coverage. Broker Numis bumped up its forecasts; it now expects pre-tax profit of £43.9m this calendar year, giving EPS of 82p (from £39.1m and 77.9p in 2015).
| FIDESSA (FDSA) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 2,548p | MARKET VALUE: | £981m | |
| TOUCH: | 2,548-2,554p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,656p | LOW: 1,696p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.6%† | PE RATIO: | 31 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 387p* | NET CASH: | £66.9m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 146 | 19.4 | 38.0 | 13.1 |
| 2016 | 158 | 22.2 | 41.4 | 14.3 |
| % change | +9 | +15 | +9 | +9 |
Ex-div: 18 Aug Payment: 14 Sep *Includes intangible assets of £89.3m, or 232p a share †Excludes special dividend of 45p a share, paid in June 2016 | ||||
