13th Jul 2005 07:00
ICAP PLC13 July 2005 ICAP trading update at AGM for the three months ended 30 June 2005 Michael Spencer, Group Chief Executive of ICAP plc, the world's largest voiceand electronic interdealer broker, will make the following comments at today'sAnnual General Meeting. "ICAP has enjoyed a very encouraging start to the year in both our electronicand voice broking businesses. Activity levels in the wholesale financial marketsin fixed income securities and OTC derivatives during the first three months ofour financial year have been noticeably higher than the much quieter conditionsexperienced during the same period last year. Despite flatter yield curves, there has been continuing volatility in interestrates, particularly in the medium and longer term markets. Lower 10 year yieldsin US Treasuries have reignited the mortgage market. In the credit markets,credit derivatives have been particularly busy but after a period when creditspreads widened following the downgrades in the Autos sector, spreads havetightened again - reducing trading volumes in many corporate bond sectors. Foreign exchange markets have also been busy. The dollar has strengthenedsignificantly in recent weeks and is now well above the average rate during thelast financial year of £1=$1.85. If it remains at current levels the averagerate will fall and have a beneficial effect on our profits which are reported insterling. Forecasts by analysts appear to have successfully anticipated these more activemarkets." 13 July 2005 Note: The current forecasts of ICAP plc pre-tax profits referred to in thisannouncement are based on forecasts of profit before tax, exceptional items andgoodwill amortisation provided by six equity analysts. The consensus of thoseforecasts for the year to March 2006 is £194 million. Enquiries ICAP plcMichael Spencer Group Chief Executive (44) 20 7050 7400Mike Sheard Director of Corporate Affairs (44) 20 7050 7103 The Maitland ConsultancyNeil Bennett (44) 20 7379 5151 About ICAP ICAP is the world's largest voice and electronic interdealer broker with a dailyaverage transaction volume in excess of $1 trillion, 50% of which is electronic.The Group is active in the wholesale market for OTC derivatives, fixed incomesecurities, money market products, foreign exchange, energy, credit and equityderivatives. Please go to www.icap.com for more information. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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