GL Trade posts full year results

GL TRADE, the global provider of integrated, multi-market software solutions for financial institutions, has reported turnover of €203.2m for 2007.

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This growth of 10% on 2006 represents an organic growth of 7% on a like-for-like basis and at constant exchange rates. The target growth rate for the latter measure was set at 5% at the beginning of 2007.

A very good year in Asia with an organic growth of 22% at constant exchange ratesThe contract with the Singapore exchange (SGX) to equip all market brokers moved into production at the end of 2007. Its impact on revenues will be seen in full in 2008. Sales activity in South-East Asia and Northern Asia was strong throughout the year. The group also generated new revenue in Japan in the second half of the year.

Substantial growth in the USA, both organically and through acquisitions (11.5% on a like-forlike basis and at constant exchange rates), particularly thanks to Post Trade Derivatives and Cash and Derivatives Order Management Systems. With a 40% global growth, the USA are the strongest area of external growth.

London saw a return to strong organic growth (12%) thanks to the success of major projects based around the Group's GL STREAM trading products and its middle office for derivatives business area.

In Europe, contracts for some twenty or so MiFID projects, worth around €4m, were signed in the second half and these are now under way. These have helped the Group maintain its strong market share, despite the continued consolidation and the maturity of the market.

The group will continue to pursue its diversification and acquisition strategyAcquisitions in 2007 strengthened the Group's Front to Back offering across multiple asset classes and helped build its international presence. The FNX acquisition was completed on 1 March, and enhanced GL TRADE's position in the USA and Asia in Capital Markets and Risk Management solutions. FNX reached a turnover of €11.5m in 2007 (€9.7m consolidated over 10 months). The acquisition on 1 July of Swiss company Infotec, which specialises in the distribution of market data and financial information, mainly in Switzerland and the UK, has complemented GL TRADE's existing businesses in this field. Infotec had a turnover of €13.1m in 2007 (€6.8m consolidated over 6 months). Decision Software, a US company specialising in bond management solutions, was acquired on 15 November 2007. It had a turnover of €3.2m in 2007 (€0.3m consolidated over one and a half months).

Initial, unaudited figures suggest that the Group can confirm a 2007 EBIT margin target between 17 and 17.5% (before amortisation of intangible assets).

Yassine Brahim, Chief Executive Officer of the Group, commented: "2007 is the first year to reflect the targets set in our 2007-2010 business plan: to return to organic growth whilst stepping up the pace of acquisitions.

"These figures are better than we had expected and the signs for 2008 are good: our sales activity, barely impacted by the subprime crises allows us to target an organic growth objective of 10%, with margins around 18%, without any new acquisition."

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