Icap profits fall in year of low trade volatility
INTERDEALER broker Icap yesterday posted falls in profits and revenue, after a year of decreased volatility and stricter capital requirements.
Icap, which matches buyers and sellers of bonds, swaps and currencies, said that full-year trading pre-tax profit fell 15.5 per cent, as it coped with a transformed market environment across many of its businesses, primarily its global broking unit.
The firm, which has focused its operations on electronic trading and post-trade services, after undergoing extensive corporate restructuring, said profit before tax for the full-year ended 31 March was £229m, compared with £271m a year earlier.
Revenue fell seven per cent to £1.27bn, and the company said it would pay a final dividend of 15.4p, bringing its full-year dividend to 22p per share.
Icap, which saw a boost in the second half of the year from European quantitative easing and speculation over the timing of the US rates hike, said it was “mildly optimistic” for 2015, as traders wait for the Federal Reserve to make its move. A rates rise is expected between June and December.