Icap revenue up on e-trade
ICAP, the interdealer broker, said yesterday revenue increased nine per cent to £867m in the first half of the year on the back of its electronic and post trade units.
The broker said pre-tax profit also rose by two per cent to £183m and it raised its interim dividend by three per cent to 5.27p.
Icap said growth was driven by a rebound in its electronic brokerage business, where revenue was up 24 per cent to £151m, having declined last year, following September’s launch of its electronic euro interest rate swap platform. Icap said close to €110bn of contracts had been transacted and more than 1,000 trades.
Its post-trade service also saw revenue increase 30 per cent to £90m.
Icap’s traditional voice brokerage business remains its largest, with revenue of £596m, but its two per cent growth rate was overshadowed by the smaller units.
Trading activity on Icap’s main foreign exchange system EBS and its bond platform Brokertec was up 26 per cent on the previous year to £750.3bn.
MIchael Spencer, Icap’s chief executive, said the broker was looking to grow its post-trade services business, which supports clients’ middle and back-office requirements.
He added: “Icap has performed well during the six months and we have continued to make significant progress towards our strategic goals, including the launch of the electronic euro interest rate swaps platform with market maker support. During a period of generally quieter markets Icap has delivered good revenue and earnings growth driven primarily by our strong electronic broking franchise.”