Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), the holding company for the Spanish stock exchanges, today held its first UK press conference in London and confirmed its plans to list on the Spanish market.
The company also confirmed today that its net profit for 2004 was EUR69.2 million, an increase of 18% on 2003. First quarter profits in 2005 reached EUR24.5 million, equal to that posted by Borsa Italiana for the whole of 2004.
The company will pay an ordinary dividend of EUR37.8 million and an extraordinary dividend of EUR50 million in 2005.
2004 was the second full year of trading for BME since all of the securities markets and financial systems in Spain were integrated under one umbrella, with results for the year making BME one of the most profitable stock market operators in the world, ahead of Nasdaq, NYSE, Borsa Italiana and OM.
Antonio Zoido, Chairman of BME, commented: "2004 has been a very positive year for BME. The strong performance of the financial markets along with the development of new products and services have allowed the exchange to consolidate its position as one of the world's leading financial markets, posting significant growth in all of its markets."
He continued: "BME has continued improving all its business areas and remodeling its structure. This has led to significant cost reduction, primarily from technology synergies. Furthermore BME will, this year, be bringing all of its subsidiaries into one single building in Madrid. This move will further boost integration of the company's human resources, cut costs, help develop common services and consolidate the corporate culture."
BME also announced the new composition of its Board of Directors. The Board has been partially remodeled, with the appointment of Tomás Muniesa as Director, replacing Fernando Ramírez, who resigned from the post.