logo-loader

TMX Group edges higher as Q1 net improves 23%

Published: 10:26 09 May 2014 EDT

share_price350_536ce60fbc496

TMX Group Ltd. (TSE:X), the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, edged higher in morning trading after reporting a 23 percent increase in first-quarter profit, beating analysts' expectations, helped by a pickup in trading volumes.

Shares were up 0.1 percent at $58.19 at 9:56 a.m. in Toronto.

Net income rose to C$46.4 million, or 86 Canadian cents per share, for the three months ended March 31, from C$37.8 million, or 70 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier, the Toronto, Ontario-based firm said in a statement today.

On an adjusted basis, excluding acquisition and integration costs, earnings were $1.05 a share.

Revenue rose 6 percent to C$182.1 million.

Analysts, on average, expected $1.02 a share on revenue of $189 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

The company said higher trading and clearing volumes were complemented by cost savings and lower financing costs after restructuring its long-term debt last year.

TMX Group said it was keeping its dividend payout steady at 40 cents per share.

The company is bracing for the arrival of Aequitas Innovations Inc, an upstart competitor seeking to win over institutional investors with an aggressive stance against high-frequency trading.

TMX Group has said high-frequency trading accounts for 15 percent to 20 percent of all TMX trades and had narrowed spreads and added liquidity.

"We are extremely pleased with the company’s operating performance this past quarter across all of our businesses," outgoing TMX Chief Executive Thomas Kloet said in the statement. "In particular there was evidence of some turnaround in market activity, which translated into increased additional financings on Toronto Stock Exchange as well as higher cash, Canadian derivatives and energy markets trading and clearing volumes."

A group of Canadian financial institutions bought TMX Group in September 2012 and combined it with the smaller Alpha stock exchange and the trading clearinghouse Canadian Depository for Securities Ltd (CDS).

“The integration of TMX Group Inc., CDS and Alpha is now largely complete. The success of these activities is now also becoming evident in our financial performance,” said Kloet, who is set to retire at the end of August.

Along with the Toronto bourse, the company also owns the Montreal derivatives exchange and the small-cap TSX Venture Exchange, where listings are heavily weighted toward the resource sector.

 

 

Coniagas Battery Metals secures new key ground with focus on...

Coniagas Battery Metals (TSX-V:COS) CEO Frank Basa joined Steve Darling from Proactive to announce the company's strategic acquisition of key ground near SOQUEM’s Cardinal Property, located 80 km southeast of Chibougamau, Quebec. This acquisition underscores Coniagas’ commitment to capitalizing...

20 minutes ago