London Stock Exchange Group (LON: LSEG) reported a total income of £7.74 billion (including recoveries), which was 18.5 percent higher than the previous year, and without recoveries, it jumped 19.6 percent. The figure came in slightly stronger than the market expectations.
Solid Revenue of LSEG
Revenue from the data analytics services of the group grew by 20.5 percent bringing £4.9 billion, while capital markets and post-trade jumped 12.6 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively.
"LSEG has had a strong year, successfully integrating Refinitiv and significantly improving its performance, while also delivering strong results in our Capital Markets and Post Trade businesses. The resilience of our business model and the quality of our earnings, diversified by customer, geography, product, and asset class, and over 70% subscription-based, are becoming increasingly clear," said LSEG's CEO, David Schwimmer.
The stock exchange reported an operating profit of £1.4 billion, which is an increase of 33.1 percent from the previous year. The pre-tax profits came in a 38.8 percent higher at £1.2 billion. Also, basic earnings per share for the period jumped by 65.3 percent.
The adjusted EBITDA of the group at the end of the year came in at 19.6 percent higher at £3.5 billion with an unchanged margin of 47.8 percent. The adjusted operating profit increased by 19.5 percent to £2.7 billion, whereas the adjusted EPS uptick was 16.7 percent.
"Our strategy is working," Schwimmer added.
"We are an increasingly important strategic partner to customers across the financial markets value chain, and that is translating into growth. We continue to invest in new products and services and have completed four highly complementary acquisitions to further strengthen our offer."
An Extensive Distribution Plan
Moreover, the Board of LSEG approved the distribution of £567 million as dividends. The LSEG shareholders will receive 107 pence per share as a final dividend, which is an increase of 12.6 percent.
On top of that, the group is considering a £750 million direct share buyback program for repurchasing shares held by the Blackstone/Thomson Reuters consortium, from which LSEG bought Refinitiv for $27 billion in January 2021. The buyback is expected to complete by April 2024.
As a part of an ongoing £750 million buyback program, LSEG has already spent £300 million and expects to close it by July 2023.
"In addition to our existing share buyback, we are today announcing plans to seek shareholder approval for a buyback directed towards the Blackstone/Thomson Reuters consortium's stake, which will benefit all shareholders," Schwimmer said.
