LSE first quarter revenue drops by eight per cent

THE LONDON Stock Exchange Group (LSE) yesterday said that weak trading cut first-quarter revenues by eight per cent, beating forecasts, but highlighting the challenge facing new chief executive Xavier Rolet.

At his first quarterly trading update since taking over at the exchange, Rolet confirmed that he will continue to cut costs and introduce new tariffs as he struggles to bring the group through challenging market conditions.

The group, which also runs the Milan bourse, made revenues of £161.9m in the three months to end-June, versus £176.3m in the same period last year.

Capital-markets revenues increased by three per cent to £37.5m since the last quarter, despite dropping 20 per cent on a year-on-year basis.