LSE powers ahead after slow trading

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) yesterday revealed that it had shrugged off slower trading during the middle of the year to report profit growth for the first half.

By The Newsroom

Published 18th Nov 2010, 19:33 BST

Updated 18th Nov 2010, 19:34 BST

The stock exchange, which owns both the UK and Italian stock exchanges, as well as smaller bonds and derivatives markets, said its profit for the six months to the end of September was up 26 per cent to 100.2m, from 79.4m last year.

Revenue rose 1 per cent to 318.4m compared to 314m last year.

Revenue in the UK exchange's main capital markets business was down 10 per cent to 136.9m for the six months, but the LSE's numbers were buoyed by growth in its listings and post-trade units.

"This was a good first half-performance, with the uplift in earnings reflecting contributions from our increasingly diversified international exchange business," said Xavier Rolet, the LSE's chief executive.

He said the LSE expected to make further progress in the second half of the year.