Trading Statement
London Stock Exchange Group PLC
12 July 2006
12 July 2006
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP plc
TRADING STATEMENT
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2006
Unless otherwise stated, all figures referenced below refer to the three months
ended 30 June 2006 and the corresponding period last year.
Performance for the three months ended 30 June 2006 ('Q1') reached a new record,
with revenues increasing by 25 per cent to £84.3 million (2005: £67.7 million).
Good cost control contributed to operating margin improvement. Revenue growth
was driven in particular by record trading volumes on the Exchange's electronic
order book and further growth in the number of terminals taking Exchange data:
• Average daily number of SETS bargains increased 69 per cent to 332,000 and
average daily value traded rose 74 per cent to £6.6 billion
• Professional terminals were 89,000 - up 6,000 on June 2005 and 1,000 since
March 2006
Commenting on the first quarter and outlook, Clara Furse, Chief Executive, said:
'The Exchange has delivered a record performance in the first quarter,
increasing revenue by 25 per cent. This excellent result was driven by record
trading levels on SETS, reflecting not just increased trading in particularly
active markets over the past few weeks but, more fundamentally, the secular
change in equity trading over the past year. The continuation of very good
trading underlines the value arising from our unique strategic position and our
confidence in the step-change in our growth prospects.'
Issuer Services
Issuer Services performed well in the first quarter against a very strong
comparable period last year, with revenue up one per cent to £14.4 million
(2005: £14.3 million). New issues on the Main Market and AIM started the
quarter well though activity was dampened on both markets later in the period.
In Q1 there were 138 new issues on the Exchange's markets (2005: 184). Given a
backdrop of heightened secondary market volatility, activity on the Main Market
remained good with 23 new issues (2005: 37) raising £1.7 billion (2005: £3.0
billion). AIM, our international market for smaller, growing companies,
performed well with a total of 115 new issues compared to 147 in the record
corresponding period last year. Income from annual fees rose during the period,
mainly as a result of an increased number of companies on the Exchange's markets
over the past year. At 30 June 2006, a total of 3,193 companies were traded on
our markets (2005: 2,994) including 1,549 on AIM (2005: 1,240).
Income from RNS also increased, contributing £2.5 million to turnover (2005:
£2.0 million) as the number of company announcements increased during the
period. RNS retained a 76 per cent share of announcements in Q1.
Broker Services
Broker Services delivered a record performance with revenue reaching a quarterly
record of £40.4 million, an increase of 49 per cent over the same period last
year (2005: £27.1 million). The total number of equity bargains increased 40
per cent to 27.1 million (2005: 19.4 million), a daily average of 445,000 (2005:
308,000). Total value of shares traded rose 33 per cent to £1.6 trillion (2005:
£1.2 trillion).
Once again, the principal driver of growth was trading on the SETS electronic
order book, which increased 69 per cent to 332,000 bargains per day (2005:
196,000) while the average daily value of shares traded increased 74 per cent to
£6.6 billion (2005: £3.8 billion). The average size of a SETS bargain increased
to £20,000 (2005: £19,000) with a yield per SETS bargain of approximately £1.44
during the period. Growth continued in trading on SETSmm, the hybrid electronic
order book, with an average 70,000 bargains per day during the quarter (2005:
27,000). Trading on SETS in the first quarter accounted for 72 per cent of
total Broker Services income.
Q1 accounted for 19 of the 20 busiest days ever on SETS and on 23 May more than
500,000 bargains were recorded on SETS for the first time. As noted previously,
this strong performance reflects a structural shift in trading, due mainly to
the increased use of algorithmic trading, direct market access and
derivatives-based business originating in the UK over the counter market. The
69 per cent growth in volume on SETS achieved in Q1 is well ahead of the growth
rate required to achieve the targeted doubling of SETS volumes from 2005 to
2008, set out in February of this year.
The daily average number of UK off book bargains was 47,000 (2005: 45,000) while
the daily average number of international bargains for the period was 66,000
(2005: 67,000).
Information Services
Information Services showed good growth, with revenue up 14 per cent to £25.5
million (2005: £22.4 million). The increase mainly reflects growth in terminal
numbers over the corresponding period last year, together with increased
contributions from Proquote and SEDOL.
The total number of terminals receiving real time Exchange data at the end of Q1
was 107,000 (31 March 2006: 104,000; 30 June 2005: 96,000) of which
approximately 89,000 were attributable to the higher yield professional user
base (31 March 2006: 88,000; 30 June 2005: 83,000).
Proquote continues to make progress, with the number of screens rising to 3,100
(30 June 2005: 2,800). SEDOL, the Exchange's service providing unique
identification for a range of global tradable instruments, also performed well
during the period.
Derivatives Services
Derivatives Services' revenue rose ten per cent to £2.2 million (2005:
£2.0million). EDX London performed very well with 8.5 million contracts traded
(2005: 5.0 million).
Capital restructuring
On 26 May 2006 payments were made to shareholders, completing the process of
returning £510m to shareholders that commenced in March 2006. The Exchange has
subsequently commenced a share buyback programme, purchasing shares with a value
totalling approximately £15 million at an average price of £10.73 by 30 June
2006, reducing the number of shares in issue from 216,037,479 to 214,638,942.
On 7 July 2006 the Exchange successfully completed a £250 million 5.875% bond
issue, due 2016, to refinance existing borrowings.
Further information is available from:
London Stock Exchange John Wallace - Media 020 7797 1222
Paul Froud - Investor Relations 020 7797 3322
Finsbury James Murgatroyd 020 7251 3801
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP plc
Summary Revenue - Three months ended 30 June 2006
Revenue Three months ended
30 June
2006 2005
£m £m
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Continuing operations
Issuer services 14.4 14.3
Broker services 40.4 27.1
Information services 25.5 22.4
Derivatives services 2.2 2.0
Other income 1.8 1.9
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Total Revenue 84.3 67.7
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This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange