Euronext publishes Q1 2024 results

Strong start of the year with record topline driven by strong organic growth of Euronext’s diversified business model.  

Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris – 14 May 2024 – Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, today publishes its results for the first quarter 2024.

• Q1 2024 revenue and income was up +8.0% at €401.9 million:

• Strong performance of non-volume related revenue representing 58% of total revenue and income (stable compared to Q1 2023) and covering 155% of underlying operating expenses, excluding D&A^[1] (vs. 141% in Q1 2023):
  • • Custody and Settlement revenue grew to €67.8 million (+6.0%), driven by growing assets under custody, higher issuance activities and continued expansion of the services business;
    • Advanced Data Services revenue grew to €59.4 million (+5.5%), driven by dynamic non-professional usage, continued demand for fixed-income and power trading data and continued demand for analytic products;
    • Listing revenue grew to €57.7 million (+5.5%), driven by the strong performance of Euronext Corporate Services and dynamic debt listing activity.  Euronext sustained its leading position for equity listing in Europe, recording 45% of new equity listings with 10 listings, and as the leading venue for debt listing globally;
    • Technology Solutions reported €26.7 million of revenue (-3.3%).
• Clearing revenue grew to €37.0 million (+23.1%), thanks to the additional business captured by  Euronext Clearing following its expansion for European equities on 27 November 2023 and dynamic commodities clearing revenue, despite softer financial derivatives clearing volumes. Net treasury income for Euronext Clearing was €11.7 million (+57.0%).
• Trading revenue grew to €138.4 million (+7.4%),  driven by record results in fixed income (€35.2 million, +34.5%) and power trading (€12.2 million, +23.7%). This strong performance was achieved despite the softer environment for cash trading (€70.6 million, -1.6%) and derivatives trading (€13.4 million,                   -10.2%) .
• Underlying operating expenses excluding D&A¹ were €150.7 million (-2.0%), thanks to continued cost control and some positive one-off releases.
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ was €251.3 million (+15.0%) and adjusted EBITDA margin was 62.5% (+3.8 pts).
• Adjusted net income¹ was €164.2 million (+11.7%) and adjusted EPS was €1.58 (+15.0%).
• Reported net income was €139.7 million (+44.8%), reflecting the positive base effect of the €36.0 million pre-tax non-underlying provision related to the termination fee of the clearing agreement in Q1 2023.
• Net debt to reported EBITDA was at 1.7x at the end of March 2024 and net debt to adjusted EBITDA at 1.6x. S&P rating was upgraded in May 2024 to BBB+ Positive Outlook.
• Key figures for the first quarter of 2024:

• Last year of the Borsa Italiana Group integration:
• €79.0 million of cumulated run-rate annual EBITDA synergies were achieved at end of March 2024.
  €5.0 million run-rate annual EBITDA synergies were delivered in Q1 2024.
• €105.8 million cumulated implementation costs were incurred since the acquisition of the Borsa Italiana Group, of which €3.0  million were incurred during Q1 2024.
• Euronext completed the migration of Italian derivatives trading to Optiq®, the third and final phase in the migration process of Borsa Italiana's markets onto Euronext’s state-of-the-art, proprietary trading platform Optiq® on 25 March 2024. This migration was the last in the ambitious integration plan of Italian markets onto the Euronext single trading platform, and was completed less than three years after the acquisition of the Borsa Italiana Group.
   
• Acquisition of GRSS:

Euronext announced on 29 March 2024 that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 75% of the share capital of Global Rate Set Systems (GRSS).

GRSS is a leading and highly respected provider of services to benchmark administrators. GRSS is a mission-critical service provider to the benchmark administrators that notably produce three of Europe’s critical interest rate benchmarks: EURIBOR®, STIBOR® and NIBOR®.

The acquisition of GRSS contributes to the growth of Euronext’s fixed and subscription-based revenue. This acquisition further diversifies and strengthens Euronext’s index franchise, positioning the Group as a leading player for calculating and administrating Interbank Offered Rate (IBOR) indices. In partnership with GRSS management and its founder, Euronext aims to reinforce the positioning of GRSS to become the go-to provider in the contributed data and indices space, leveraging on Euronext’s global leadership and recognition.

• Continued innovation in trading with the successful launch of Euronext Mid-Point Match offering dark, mid-point and sweep functionalities:

In April 2024, Euronext announced the successful launch of Euronext Mid-Point Match across all its European markets, its advanced suite of dark, mid-point and sweep functionalities embedded within Euronext's Central Order Book. These enhancements allow trading members and buy-side firms to trade at the real mid-point, without incurring implicit latency costs, to access increased liquidity, while tapping into Euronext’s unique pool of liquidity fostered by local brokers and investors.

• Stéphane Boujnah, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managing Board of Euronext, said:

“In the first quarter of 2024, Euronext reached record revenue and income of €401.9 million. Strong organic growth in our non-volume related businesses, combined with record quarter in fixed income and power trading and double-digit growth in our post-trade activities, drove the Group revenue's growth to +8.0%.

Combined with our trademark cost discipline in an inflationary environment, this record performance led to a +15.0% increase in adjusted EBITDA, to €251.3 million, and to a 62.5% adjusted EBITDA margin.

Our reported net profit grew +44.8% to €139.7 million as a result of this strong performance and of the positive base effect of the provision related to the termination fee of the clearing agreement in Q1 2023. Adjusted net profit grew +11.7% to €164.2 million, and adjusted EPS reached €1.58, representing a +15.0% increase from last year.

We continued to work on the delivery of our ‘Growth for Impact 2024’ strategic plan and we reached €79 million of cumulated run-rate EBITDA synergies in relation with the acquisition of the Borsa Italiana Group at the end of the first quarter of 2024. We have successfully completed in March the migration of Italian derivatives trading to Optiq®, the third and final phase in the migration process of Borsa Italiana's markets onto Euronext’s proprietary trading platform. The final step of the integration will be delivered in the third quarter of 2024 when we will expand the operations of Euronext Clearing to Euronext European listed derivatives to complete our presence on the entire trading value chain. This milestone will be the final step to reaching the targeted €115 million of run-rate EBITDA synergies by the end of 2024.

We strengthened and broadened our data and indices offering with the acquisition of Global Rate Set Systems (GRSS). GRSS is a leading provider of services to benchmark administrators and has a strong track record of continued revenue growth and high-quality service. We are glad to welcome the GRSS teams, to work together to take GRSS to the next step and further globally expand Euronext’s index capabilities. Meanwhile we continue to work actively on the preparation of our 2024 Capital Market Day that will be take place on 8 November 2024 in Paris.”

Q1 2024 financial performance

Share count differs between the two periods

• Q1 2024 revenue and income

In Q1 2024, Euronext’s revenue and income amounted to €401.9 million, up +8.0% compared to Q1 2023, driven by the strong performance of post-trade activities, resulting from the positive contribution of the Euronext Clearing European expansion at the end of November 2023, record performance in fixed income and power trading, as well as solid organic growth in non-volume related businesses.

On a like-for-like basis and at constant currencies, Euronext revenue and income was up +8.5% in Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023. 

Non-volume related revenue accounted for 58% of Group revenue in Q1 2024, stable compared to Q1 2023, reflecting continued strong performance of non-volume-related revenue and strong growth in fixed income and power trading as well volume-related clearing activity. The underlying operating expenses excluding D&A coverage by non-volume related revenue ratio was at 155% in Q1 2024, compared to 141% in Q1 2023.

• Q1 2024 adjusted EBITDA

Underlying operational expenses excluding depreciation and amortisation decreased by -2.0% to €150.7 million, reflecting continued cost discipline in an inflationary environment and the release of some costs provisions. On a like-for-like basis, underlying operational expenses excluding depreciation and amortisation decreased by -1.6% compared to Q1 2023.

Consequently, adjusted EBITDA for the quarter totalled €251.3 million, up +15.0% compared to Q1 2023. This represents an adjusted EBITDA margin of 62.5%, up +3.8 points compared to Q1 2023. On a like-for-like basis, adjusted EBITDA for Q1 2024 was up +15.4%, and adjusted EBITDA margin was up +3.8 points compared to the same perimeter in Q1 2023.

• Q1 2024 net income, share of the parent company shareholders

Depreciation and amortisation accounted for €44.0 million in Q1 2024, +8.6% more than in Q1 2023 due to ongoing migration projects. PPA related to acquired businesses accounted for €20.2 million and is included in depreciation and amortisation.

Adjusted operating profit was €232.3 million, up +15.6% compared to Q1 2023. On a like-for-like basis, adjusted operating profit was up +16.1% compared to Q1 2023.

€33.7 million of non-underlying expenses, including depreciation and amortisation, were reported in Q1 2024, related to the implementation of the ‘Growth for Impact 2024’ strategic plan and the PPA of acquired businesses.

Net financing income for Q1 2024 was €4.7 million, compared to a net financing expense of €4.5 million in Q1 2023. This results from higher interest income due to higher interest rates, offsetting the cost of debt.

No result from equity investments was recorded in Q1 2024. As a reminder, in Q1 2023, Euronext reported €8.4 million in results from equity investments, reflecting a dividend payment by Sicovam and the contribution from LCH SA.

Income tax for Q1 2024 was €54.7 million. This translated into an effective tax rate of 26.9% for the quarter, compared to 24.5% in Q1 2023.

Share of non-controlling interests mainly relating to the Borsa Italiana Group and Nord Pool amounted to €8.9 million in Q1 2024.

As a result, the reported net income, share of the parent company shareholders, increased by +44.8% for Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023, to €139.7 million. This represents a reported EPS of €1.35 basic and €1.34 diluted in Q1 2024, compared to €0.90 basic and €0.90 diluted in Q1 2023. Adjusted net income, share of the parent company shareholders was up +11.7% to €164.2 million. Adjusted EPS (basic) was up +15.0% in Q1 2024, at €1.58 per share, compared to an adjusted EPS (basic) of €1.38 per share in Q1 2023. This increase reflects higher profit and a lower number of outstanding shares over the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2023. 

The weighted number of shares used over the first quarter of 2024 was 103,640,164 for the basic calculation and 104,040,256 for the diluted calculation, compared to 106,726,832 and 106,991,437 respectively over the first quarter of 2023.

In Q1 2024, Euronext reported a net cash flow from operating activities of €184.6 million, compared to €318.2 million in Q1 2023, reflecting significantly lower negative changes in working capital from CCP activities at Euronext Clearing. Excluding the impact on working capital from Euronext Clearing and Nord Pool CCP activities, net cash flow from operating activities accounted for 68.6% of EBITDA in Q1 2024.

Q1 2024 business highlights

• Listing

Listing revenue was €57.7 million in Q1 2024, an increase of +5.5% compared to Q1 2023, driven by the strong performance of debt listing, continued strong growth of the Corporate Services SaaS offering and solid equity listing activity.

Euronext sustained its position as the leading equity listing venue in Europe, recording 10 new equity listings in Q1 2024, a third of which were from international companies. It represented 45% of European listing activity. Secondary equity market activity was very dynamic with a doubling of money raised from last year. Equity listing revenue was solid at €26.6 million, primarily supported by revenue from higher annual fees.

Euronext Corporate Services revenue grew +12.5% compared to Q1 2023 to €12.0 million, resulting from the strong performance of its SaaS products.

Debt listing reported a strong performance with revenue at €10.5 million, reflecting a dynamic environment for debt issuance and commercial expansion. Euronext sustained its world leading position in debt listing, now reaching 57,000 bonds listed.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, listing revenue increased by +6.1% compared to Q1 2023.

Trading

•  Cash trading

Cash trading revenue decreased by -1.6% to €70.6  million in Q1 2024, resulting from lower trading volumes, primarily offset by the improved revenue capture resulting from the benefits of the migration to Optiq® of Borsa Italiana cash markets on 27 March 2023.

Over the first quarter of 2024, Euronext cash trading yield was 0.54 bps, compared to 0.48 bps in Q1 2023  as the benefits of the migration of Italian cash markets to Optiq® offset larger average order size. Euronext market share on cash trading averaged 64.6% in Q1 2024.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, cash trading revenue was down –1.6%.

• Derivatives trading

Derivatives trading revenue decreased by -10.2% to €13.4 million in Q1 2024, due to the soft volume environment for equity and index derivatives, partly offset by continued strong performance of Euronext commodity derivatives.

Euronext revenue capture on derivatives trading was €0.33 per lot for the first quarter of 2024.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, derivatives trading revenue was down –10.1% in Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023.

• Fixed income trading

Fixed income revenue reached another record at €35.2 million in Q1 2024, up +34.5% compared to Q1 2023, reflecting record quarterly volumes at MTS driven by an economic environment favouring money markets, sustained sovereign issuance activities and supportive volatility.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, fixed income trading revenue was up +34.5% compared to Q1 2023.

• FX trading

FX trading revenue was up +12.7% €7.1 million in Q1 2024, supported by growing volumes, slightly offset by a negative volumes mix impact.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, FX trading revenue was up +14.1% compared to Q1 2023.

• Power trading

Power trading revenue reported another record quarter with revenue reaching €12.2 million in Q1 2024, up +23.7% compared to Q1 2023, reflecting the continued strong momentum in intraday power market with all-time-high volumes and solid day-ahead volumes.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, power trading revenue was up +28.6% compared to Q1 2023.

• Investor Services

Investor Services reported €3.1 million revenue in Q1 2024, representing a +17.4% increase compared to Q1 2023, resulting from continued commercial expansion.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, Investor Services revenue was up +14.7% compared to Q1 2023.

• Advanced Data Services

Advanced Data Services reached €59.4 million in Q1 2024, up +5.5% from Q1 2023, driven by a strong performance across the data offering resulting from increased non-professional usage and solid demand for fixed-income and power trading data services, as well as by continued momentum of the quant products offering.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, Advanced Data Services revenue was up +5.6%  compared to Q1 2023.

• Post Trade

• Clearing

Clearing revenue was up +23.1% to €37.0 million in Q1 2024, reflecting the increase in equity clearing volumes following the expansion of Euronext Clearing to the cash markets in Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Portugal in Q4 2023, and higher clearing revenues from the dynamic commodities activity. Non-volume related clearing revenue (including membership fees, treasury income received from LCH SA) accounted for €11.1 million of the total clearing revenue in Q1 2024.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, clearing revenue was up +23.1% compared to Q1 2023.

• Net treasury income

Net treasury income (NTI) amounted to €11.7 million in Q1 2024, in line with Q4 2023, and representing a +57.0% increase from Q1 2023 levels. As a reminder Q1 2023 NTI was impacted by the partial disposal of the Euronext Clearing portfolio.

• Custody, Settlement and other Post-Trade activities

Revenue from Custody, Settlement and other Post-Trade activities was €67.8 million in Q1 2024, posting a strong organic growth of +6.0% compared to Q1 2023. This reflects growing assets under custody, dynamic issuance activity and continued development of the services offering.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, Custody, Settlement and other Post-Trade revenue was up +7.1% compared to Q1 2023.

• Technology Solutions and Other revenue

Euronext Technologies and Other revenue decreased to €26.7 million in Q1 2024, down -3.3% from Q1 2023, driven by the termination of double-run connectivity revenues following the completion of the migration of Borsa Italiana cash and derivatives trading markets to Optiq®.

On a like-for-like basis at constant currencies, Euronext Technologies and Other revenue was down -3.1% compared to Q1 2023.

Q1 2024 corporate highlights since publication of the 2023 Universal Registration Document on  28 March 2024

• Acquisition of Global Rate Set Systems to strengthen Euronext index franchise

On 29 March 2024, Euronext announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 75% of the share capital of Global Rate Set Systems (GRSS), a leading provider of services to benchmark administrators. This acquisition significantly strengthens the Euronext index franchise adding very strong capabilities in contributed data indices and data from a highly respected provider.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in New Zealand, GRSS is a mission-critical service provider to the benchmark administrators that produce three of Europe’s critical interest rate benchmarks: EURIBOR® (global, the world’s largest benchmark), STIBOR® (Sweden) and NIBOR® (Norway). GRSS also owns and operates two regulated benchmark administrators that produce CIBOR® (Denmark) and PRIBOR (Czech Republic), and a benchmark administrator that produces the TAB, TADO and ICP indices (Chile). GRSS provides a complete solution for developing, operating, and monetising benchmarks, indices, and other forms of regulated or unregulated market data.

The acquisition of GRSS further diversifies and strengthens Euronext’s index franchise, positioning the Group as a leading player for calculating and administrating Interbank Offered Rate (IBOR) indices. In partnership with GRSS management and its founder, Euronext aims to reinforce the positioning of GRSS to become the go-to provider in the contributed data and indices space, leveraging on Euronext’s global leadership and recognition. This acquisition contributes to the growth of Euronext’s fixed and subscription-based revenue.

The transaction complies with Euronext capital allocation policy, with a ROCE expected to exceed WACC between years three to five after closing. The completion of the transaction is expected in Q2 2024 and is subject to the usual regulatory approvals.

• Dividend payment schedule for 2024

The Managing Board, upon the approval of the Supervisory Board, has decided to propose for approval at the AGM the payment of a dividend of €2.48 per ordinary share. The dividend would be distributed evenly (pro rata the number of shares held) to holders of ordinary shares on the dividend record date set on 22 May 2024 (ex-dividend date is set on 21 May 2024 and payment date is set on 23 May 2024). This dividend represents a pay-out ratio of 50% of the reported net income, in line with Euronext’s current dividend policy.

Corporate highlights since 31 March 2024

• Successful completion of the migration of Borsa Italiana to the Optiq® trading platform

On 3 April 2024, Euronext announced the successful completion of the migration of Italian derivatives trading to Optiq®, the third and final phase in the migration process of Borsa Italiana's markets onto Euronext’s state-of-the-art, proprietary trading platform Optiq® on 25 March 2024. This migration was the last in the ambitious integration plan of Italian markets onto the Euronext single trading platform, and was completed less than three years after the acquisition of the Borsa Italiana Group.

The migration of Borsa Italiana to Optiq® has been conducted with the ultimate objective of maximising the reciprocal benefits of Euronext the harmonisation process and minimising disruption for the Italian markets and other markets in the Group.

This key achievement of the “Growth for Impact 2024” strategic plan in 2024 is core to Euronext’s ambition to build a single liquidity pool, powered by a single technology platform across its markets. The seamless integration of Borsa Italiana’s markets onto the Optiq® platform ensures a harmonised trading environment and streamlined access to a full suite of services for investors and issuers alike. This convergence enhances market efficiency and reinforces Euronext's position as the leading listing and trading venue in Europe. The completion of the transaction is expected in Q2 2024 and is subject to the usual regulatory approvals.

• Successful launch of Euronext Mid-Point Match offering dark, mid-point and sweep functionalities

On 14 April 2024, Euronext announced the successful launch of Euronext Mid-Point Match, its advanced suite of dark, mid-point and sweep functionalities embedded within Euronext's Central Order Book. These enhancements allow trading members and buy-side firms to trade at the real mid-point, without incurring implicit latency costs, to access increased liquidity, while tapping into Euronext’s unique pool of liquidity fostered by local brokers and investors. First introduced on the Brussels market on 18 March 2024, Euronext Mid-Point Match was launched across all Euronext markets on 8 April 2024.

Euronext Mid-Point Match offers a sweep functionality, allowing intermediaries to leverage both Euronext’s dark and lit liquidity pools, to increase execution opportunities and flexibility across Euronext seven regulated markets. Dark orders in Euronext Mid-Point Match are pegged to the real-time mid-point of the Euronext Primary Best Bid and Offer, and provide traders with accurate execution opportunities. This results in lower market impact compared to London-based Multilateral Trading Facilities, which typically exhibit a 7-8 millisecond delay in displaying the Primary mid-point. Furthermore, dark-to-lit sweep orders interact seamlessly with the Euronext Central Order Book with zero latency, facilitating swift and efficient execution.

Under the Reference Price Waiver for small trades and Large In Scale Waiver for block trades, investors benefit from flexibility in their execution strategies.

To safeguard execution quality, Euronext Mid-Point Match offers Minimum Acceptable Quantity and Minimum Execution Size features, providing traders with additional control over their orders.

• Euronext Securities rolls-out a harmonised corporate actions service to tackle post-trade fragmentation in Europe

On 22 April 2024, Euronext Securities, the central securities depository (CSD) network connecting European economies to global capital markets, announced the first go-live of its new harmonised corporate actions service. The service, now available for Portuguese fixed income securities, uses a platform developed in partnership with software provider Vermeg to manage the entire lifecycle of corporate actions. It will be extended to Danish fixed income securities this year, and all asset classes across Euronext Securities’ markets by the end of 2025.

The management of corporate actions plays a key role in the financial industry. However, the lack of standardisation and harmonisation across markets has led to fragmentation, translating into extra costs and complexity for issuers, investors, and financial intermediaries.

The new service addresses these challenges and delivers an efficient, automated and harmonised client experience across all Euronext Securities markets. It will allow users to manage their corporate actions across all the Euronext CSDs on a single efficient and user-friendly platform. The service fully adheres to corporate actions standards and applicable legislation such as the Shareholder Rights Directive II. In sum, the launch of this new service marks a significant contribution to the building of the Capital Markets Union.

• Euronext upgraded to ‘BBB+, Positive Outlook‘ by S&P

On 29 April 2024, Euronext welcomed the decision of S&P to upgrade Euronext from ‘BBB+, Stable Outlook’ to ‘BBB+, Positive Outlook’.

S&P decision reflects the approaching completion of the integration of the Borsa Italiana Group, the successful expansion of Euronext Clearing and the continued deleveraging thanks to the group's strong cash flow generation.

• Euronext volumes for April 2024

In April 2024, the average daily transaction value on the Euronext cash order book stood at €11,071 million, down -2.1% compared to the same period last year.

The overall average daily volume on Euronext derivatives stood at 669,741 lots, down -2.2% compared to April 2023, and the open interest was 23,853,063 contracts at the end of April 2024, down -0.1% compared to April 2023.

The average daily volume on Euronext FX’s spot foreign exchange market stood at $28.7 billion, up +11.7% compared to the same period last year.

MTS Cash average daily volumes were up +88.1% to €35.9 billion in January 2024, MTS Repo term adjusted average daily volume stood at €481.7 billion, stable compared to the same period last year.

Euronext Clearing cleared 20,359,076 shares in April 2024, +299.6% compared to April 2023. €2,298.9 billion of wholesale bonds were cleared in April 2024 (double counted), up +22.8% compared to the same period in 2023. 1,339,192 bond retail contracts were cleared in April 2024 (double counted), up +46.9% compared to April 2023. The number of derivatives contracts cleared was 1,377,019, -33.4% compared to April 2023  (single counted).

Euronext Securities reported 10,967,762 settlement instructions in April 2024, up +27.3% compared to the same period last year. The total Assets Under Custody reached close to €6.9 trillion in April 2024, up +7.0%.

 

Agenda

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