ICAP plc, the world’s largest interdealer broker, saw strong growth in revenue, profit and adjusted EPS during the six months ending in September.
Overall revenue rose by 22 percent to 542.8 million with electronic revenue increasing by 75 percent to 86 million helped by the acquisition of EBS. On an underlying basis revenue and operating profit both grew by 11 percent. The Group’s operating profit margin grew to 22 percent from 21 percent in the six month period. The Group continues to invest in people and technology, particularly the upgrade to the Group’s electronic broking platforms. The Group remains highly cash generative with a strong balance sheet. An interim dividend per ICAP share of 3.0p will be paid on 23 February 2007.
“ICAP enjoyed an encouraging start to the financial year with particularly active markets in the first three months, notably during May,” says Michael Spencer, the Group Chief Executive Officer of ICAP. “Overall activity levels during the seasonally slower summer months were better than the previous year and volumes in September maintained this trend. Underlying market growth in the interdealer market has been increasing and we have benefited from that growth.”