The Spanish exchanges benefited from another astonishing year in the Spanish capital markets, with profits up 18% on 2003 to EUR69.2, according to Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME).
“The year 2004 has been a positive one for BME, whose strength and attractiveness have consolidated notably. The good performance of financial markets as well as the development of new products and services and cost cutting carried out by the Company, has helped it post significant growth in all its markets”, said Antonio Zoido during BME’s General Shareholders Meeting.
“In 2004 Bolsas y Mercados Españoles’ consolidated pre tax profit came in at EUR 104.9 million and net profit was EUR 69.2 million, 18% up on 2003”, said Antonio Zoido, chairman of the Board of Directors.
Net profit in the first quarter 2005 exceeded EUR 24.5 million, 16% up on the same period last year. The figure equals that posted by Borsa Italiana for the whole year 2004.
With regard to the European securities industry, Zoido said it is being reshaped as a group of competing companies and stressed how favourably BME compares with other stock market operators. BME is among the most profitable markets in the world, ahead of Nasdaq (EUR 9.1 million), New York Stock Exchange (EUR 21.7 million), Borsa Italiana (EUR 25.4 million) and OM (EUR 30.2 million) and behind such major stock operators as Deutsche Börse (EUR 266,1 million) and Euronext (EUR149.7 million).
In January BME paid a EUR 18.9 million dividend charged against income in 2004, that is EUR 0.226 gross per share. The accounts carried out by the Board in March include a proposal for payment of a complementary dividend payment of the same amount. This leaves total payment per ordinary dividend of EUR 37.8 million, 16% up on 2003.
The chairman of BME proposed to the General Meeting that a payment of a new extraordinary EUR 50 million dividend be paid and charged against issue premium reserves, that is EUR 0.5980 per share, which equals the extraordinary dividend payment made in 2004.
In this respect, the Finance Director stated that the total amount of capital distributed since the creation of the Company amounts to almost EUR 157 million, 34% of the capital plus the issue premium.
According to Zoido, the events that have taken place in the industry stress the complexity of the consolidation process and the need to act with caution. In this regard, BME takes a positive view of any operation in the industry that is in the interests of investors and market participants and is watching closely all initiatives taken in this direction. However, BME has adopted a prudent stand in respect of the latest merger moves in the sector, given the track record of failed attempts to merge market operators.