13th Nov 2013 14:29
LONDON (Alliance News) - ICAP PLC Wednesday said it expects its pretax profit for the full-year to be marginally ahead of last year, as the interdealer broker reported a small decline in half-year revenue in line with the guidance it issued towards the end of September.
Shares in the interdealer broker were up 5.2% at 395.80 pence on Wednesday morning.
ICAP, which makes money by matching buyers and sellers of financial products, including derivatives and bonds, said it made a GBP40 million pretax profit for the six months to September 30, compared with GBP68 million reported for the corresponding period last year. Revenue was down 1.3% to GBP736 million, as ICAP said it expected in a September 25 trading statement.
ICAP said it expects full-year profit before tax, which was reported at GBP66 million last year, to be marginally ahead of the prior year, as long as market conditions do not "materially change."
"Notwithstanding the decline in revenue and the continued investment in the business, our operating margin has improved, demonstrating the positive impact of the cost saving initiatives implemented across the group," Chief Executive Michael Spencer said in a statement.
In a conference call, Group General Counsel Duncan Wales said ICAP has no reason to believe any of its staff are connected to the alleged foreign exchange market manipulation being investigated by regulators in the US, UK, Switzerland and Japan.
ICAP retained its interim dividend at 6.60 pence per share.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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