Group revenue at £736 million was marginally (1%) down on the prior year
Operating profit at £153 million was 6% higher than the prior year reflecting the benefit of the continuing cost reduction programme
Group operating profit margin increased by 2ppt to 21% (H1 2012/13 - 19%)
Profit before tax ("PBT") of £139 million was 1% higher than the prior year
EPS (adjusted basic)up 5% to 16.2p; statutory EPS (basic) down 62% to 3.0p principally driven by settlement payments and associated legal fees in connection with the Libor-related investigations
Interim dividend payment to shareholders 6.60p per share (H1 2012/13 - 6.60p per share)
Successful launch of ICAP's Swap Execution Facility ("SEF") and the commercial launch of EBS Direct
Michael Spencer, Group Chief Executive Officer, said: "We have made good progress despite the subdued market conditions over the summer and uncertainty created by the implementation of new financial markets regulations in the US. 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.
"The launch of our SEF in October 2013 was an important milestone and early signs are promising. We are working closely with our customers to help them through the transition to this new trading environment and are pleased with the positive feedback we have received so far. We have also strengthened the management team through the appointment of Laurent Paulhac as CEO of ICAP's SEF.
"ICAP's portfolio of post trade assets continues to lead the market in offering innovative pre and post trade solutions to meet the new regulatory requirements. The number of customers using triResolve, TriOptima's reconciliation service, has more than doubled during the past year to over 500. Traiana's new real time service for monitoring and managing pre and post trade credit across trading venues, CreditLink, has become the market leading solution for pre-trade screening of transactions on SEFs.
The service is now supported by 15 Future Commission Merchants ("FCM") and is connected to or being implemented to a wide range of SEFs and designated contracts markets.
"EBS Direct, our new relationship-based disclosed liquidity service, has now moved into full commercial operation. It is seeing steady growth in volumes and we already have more than 325 customers signed up. I am particularly pleased with the performance of BrokerTec which has increased its market share following last year's technology upgrade and has seen a 10% increase in volumes to $633 billion per day.
"The cost effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation remains a key priority. At the same time, we are investing in our risk and compliance systems and processes and the training and development of our people. Capital expenditure has increased by £18 million to £30 million in the first six months of this year as we build new electronic and post trade solutions to serve our customers' changing needs as the regulatory environment evolves."
