TOP NEWS: London Stock Exchange hikes dividend, promises more buybacks

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London Stock Exchange Group PLC on Thursday increased its payouts to shareholders, despite mixed financial results for the first half of 2023.

LSEG shares were down 3.3% at 8,010.00 pence early Thursday in London.

In addition to operating the London Stock Exchange, LSEG provides post-trade services, financial data, and stock indices.

It said pretax profit in the six months that ended June 30 fell by 18% to £662 million from £803 million a year before. However, adjusted earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation grew by 4.1% to £1.87 billion from £1.80 billion, despite a narrowed adjusted Ebitda margin of 46.9% from 50.4%.

Total income including recoveries rose by 12% to £4.18 billion from £3.74 billion. At constant currency, growth was 7.8%. Organic income growth was 6.4%.

LSEG raised its dividend by 13% to 35.7p from 31.7p. Having completed a £400 million share buyback in the first half, the company said it expects to complete up to £750 million in buybacks by April 2024.

‘Data & Analytics is growing faster than it has for many years, with the ongoing improvements to our offering and strengthened customer relationships increasingly reflected in financial performance. Post Trade once again demonstrated the critical role it plays in helping customers manage risk in uncertain markets, delivering outstanding growth,’ said Chief Executive David Schwimmer.

Looking ahead, LSEG improved its 2023 outlook for constant currency growth in total income excluding recoveries to the upper end of its previous 6% to 8% guidance range. It said all other 2023 targets are reaffirmed, including an adjusted Ebitda margin of about 48%

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