13th Feb 2017 09:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - Trading software and services company Fidessa Group PLC said Monday its international spread provided stability against political uncertainty in 2016, as its profit and revenue rose.
FTSE 250-lsited Fidessa said its customers had seen a period of "exceptional change and uncertainty" in 2016, highlighting the UK's vote to leave the European Union and Donald Trump's election as US president.
However, Fidessa said new levels of business activity "generally remained high", while the Brexit vote and the resulting depreciation in sterling boosted its profit and revenue figures. During 2016, 73% of Fidessa's revenue was denominated in foreign currencies, 57% in US dollars.
Fidessa reported a pretax profit of GBP48.8 million for 2016, up from GBP39.1 million in 2015. This was a 25% rise, but only 1% when calculated in constant currencies.
Revenue increased to GBP331.9 million from GBP295.5 million year-on-year, up 12%, or 3.0% in constant currencies.
Shares in Fidessa were up 3.2% at 2,476.00 pence Monday morning, among the top performers in the FTSE 250 index.
Fidessa said revenue for its sell-side business rose by 13% to GBP308.9 million from GBP273.6 million. Buy-side revenue grew 5.0% to GBP23.1 million from GBP21.9 million. Fidessa noted it saw a 4.0% headwind to revenue from consolidation and closures across its customer base, which it expects to reduce in 2017.
Fidessa proposed a final dividend per share of 28.20 pence, up from 25.40p the prior year, and a special dividend per share of 50.00p, up from 45.00p the prior year. This brings its total dividend for the year to 92.50p, up 11% from 2015.
The company said it is looking at expanding its asset class coverage further, highlighting the rates segment of the fixed income market.
Fidessa also said it is also developing its programme for the expected update to the European Union's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive in 2018, assuming it willy apply to all firms in the UK "regardless of the outcome of the Brexit negotiations", with a number of "major software releases" planned for 2017.
"Overall, we continue to believe that we are well positioned to benefit from the opportunities that will arise in the markets as a result of regulatory and structural change. Furthermore, with over 60% of our revenue derived from outside of Europe, and over 70% in non-sterling currencies, we remain well positioned to benefit from any continued weakness in sterling, providing further support for our strong cash generation and dividend policy," said Chris Aspinwall, chief executive of Fidessa.
"We expect that 2017 constant currency revenue growth will be around the levels that we have seen during 2016, with further headline gains if sterling remains weak," added Aspinwall.
By Adam Clark; [email protected]
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