London Stock Exchange Group sees income increase after Refinitiv deal completes
The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) posted a small increase in income for a first quarter in which it finally completed the acquisition of data firm Refinitiv.
Total income at the firm was up 3.9 per cent at £1.8bn for the period, while gross profit climbed 4.0 per cent on a constant currency basis to £1.5bn.
The growth was driven by its Data & Analytics and Capital Markets, LSEG said.
It added that it had already made savings of around £40m from its new merger with Refinitiv, a $27bn deal which gives the bourse a significant footing in the information market.
However, the mega-merger has not been without its controversies. Last month LSEG said it would cost more than expected and lead to job cuts.
That has brought the role and salary of chief executive David Schwimmer into focus ahead of today’s AGM.
Shareholder advisory group ISS yesterday said that stockholders should vote against a planned 25 per cent pay rise for Schwimmer due to the extra costs of the deal.
“As such, despite the strategic and financial benefits expected from the transaction, the appropriateness and timing of the proposed salary increase do not appear sufficiently merited,” it said in a note.
Schwimmer was paid a total of £6.9m last year, up from £2.5m in 2019. Commenting on today’s results, he said:
“LSEG has delivered good results in the first quarter, with strong underlying performance across all divisions.
“Following the completion of the acquisition of Refinitiv, we are executing on our integration plans to deliver the long-term strategic and financial benefits of the transaction; we are making good progress on our synergies and have already realised £40 million of run-rate cost savings.
“We have also begun to implement a number of programmes to deliver product enhancements and offer additional data and services for our customers as we execute on our growth ambitions.”
The firm also said that the divestment of the Borsa Italiana group was proceeding well and would complete in the second quarter.