• Operating income in the first half of 2014 rose by 18.0% to CHF 881.0 million. All business areas contributed to this growth.
• Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased by 29.5% to CHF 151.0 million, driven by a better net financial result, higher income from operating activities and strict cost discipline.
• Group net profit amounted to CHF 130.7 million (+40.4%).

«SIX posted considerably better results in the first half of 2014», says Urs Rüegsegger, SIX Group CEO. «This increase was possible because of the successful implementation of initiatives over the last two years. All business areas generated higher operating income and therefore growth compared with the same period last year.»

Higher activity on the financial markets and an expansion of the international business in Payment Services led in the first half of 2014 to an 18.0% increase in operating income to CHF 881.0 million. The Austrian PayLife Bank, which was acquired at the end of September 2013, contributed 16.1% to this growth. Operating expenses rose 17.6% to CHF 755.6 million, primarily due to the integration of PayLife Bank. However, because costs grew disproportionately to operating income, operating profit increased by 20.2% to CHF 125.4 million.

The net financial result rose to CHF 11.5 million (previous year CHF 0.3 million) due to positive investment performance. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) improved by 29.5% or CHF 34.4 million to CHF 151.0 million. In addition to the net financial result, higher income from operating activities and strict cost control each made equal contributions to this improvement. The EBIT margin climbed from 15.6% to a very good 17.1%.

The Group net profit was CHF 130.7 million (CHF 93.1 million in the previous year), which represents a sharp increase of CHF 37.6 million or 40.4%. 

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