Yahoo Finance London Stock Exchange owner: ‘Encouraging’ signs of listings revival after historic slump
The owner of the London Stock Exchange, LSEG, said today it was seeing an “encouraging IPO pipeline” for the year ahead today as it looks to rebound from a historic slump in listings last year.
In its preliminary full-year results this morning, the LSEG said it had suffered from an “uncertain environment” last year as profit before tax contracted 3.2 per cent to £1.2bn in the year to the end of 2023. Total income for the firm rose 8.2 per cent to £8.4bn.
The group, which has pivoted heavily towards its data business in recent years, now makes just around four per cent of its revenues from its embattled flagship bourse, which was hit by a drought in IPOs last year.
However, in a statement today, group chief David Schwimmer said the exchange was seeing a resurgence in interest for the year ahead.
“We are also seeing an encouraging IPO pipeline for the London Stock Exchange,” Schwimmer said in a statement.
The London Stock Exchange has already hosted a number of floats this year, including the Kazakh flag carrier Air Astana which debuted earlier this month.
“We look forward to further progress in 2024,” Schwimmer added. “Our model – global, multi-asset class, and operating across the entire trade lifecycle – is proven to thrive regardless of market conditions, and we will continue to invest to deliver the best possible services for our customers and returns for our shareholders.”
The firm said it had also “delivered on all the targets” it set at the time of its blockbuster $27bn Refinitiv acquisition in 2021.
The full-year numbers come after a tumultuous year for the London Stock Exchange owner in which it has been accused of pivoting too sharply away from its flagship bourse.
Just 23 firms floated on the London Stock Exchange’s two markets in 2023, a 49 per cent slide from the 45 registered in an already quiet 2022, EY found in its latest IPO Eye report.
London has also been dealt a series of blows by firms swapping their listings for other exchanges or exploring dual listings across the Atlantic. Gambling firm Flutter recently shifted its primary listing to the US while travel firm Tui ditched its dual listing in London for Frankfurt.
