The merger with Borsa Italiana was completed after the half year-end and consequently the interim results do not include contributions from this business.

Financial Highlights:

• Revenue up 24 per cent to £203.1 million
• Operating profit up 41 per cent to £114.7 million
• Basic (and adjusted) EPS up 48 per cent to 35.7 pence
• Interim dividend per share up 33 per cent from 6.0 pence to 8.0 pence per share reflecting continued excellent results and confidence in future growth prospects for the enlarged group

Operational Highlights:

• Broker Services delivered 77 per cent growth in SETS volumes to 555,000 bargains per day, facilitated by successful introduction of new technology platform - TradElect - during the period
• Issuer Services saw an 89 per cent increase in Main Market new issues to 72, including a near four-fold increase in international new issues
• Information Services increased the number of terminals receiving real-time market data by 17,000 to 126,000 year on year, including a 12,000 increase in number of professional users to 103,000

Corporate Highlights:

• London Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana agreed merger - successfully completed early October, valuing the Milan exchange at £1.3 billion
• The Exchange returned approximately £94 million to shareholders through a share buyback programme, and announced further return of £500 million

Commenting on the six months, Clara Furse, Chief Executive said: "The Exchange has produced an excellent first half performance, with revenue up 24 per cent and earnings per share increasing by 48 per cent. This result reflects very strong performances in each division, particularly in Broker Services with the continued growth of trading on our SETS electronic order book, following the launch of our new TradElect trading platform in June.

"The quality of our technology, products, market model and regulatory integrity, plus our ability to provide best execution, means we are well placed to continue to compete successfully and meet the evolving needs of increasingly international market users. The integration of the Borsa Italiana business has started well, to create further opportunities and efficiencies for the market, and in so doing deliver increased value for shareholders."

Chris Gibson-Smith, Chairman of the Exchange, said: "This is another highly satisfactory result. Highlights of the half year include continued strong growth in each of our divisions; the successful introduction of TradElect, bringing with it faster and more efficient trading for the market; and completion of the merger with Borsa Italiana. Our very strong performance for the year so far and the contribution from Borsa Italiana in the second half supports our confidence in a good outcome for the full year."

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