SIX expanded its international business volume and position in important markets in the 2011 business year.
Operating income in 2011 was 3.0% higher at CHF 1,257.7 million, while Group net income rose by 25.9%, or CHF 45.0 million, to CHF 218.6 million thanks to special effects. However, the difficult market environment worldwide has affected the profitability of SIX - the operating result declined in particular since the fourth quarter of 2011, and the outlook for 2012 is cautious. After adjustments of the special effects, the operating result is actually 4.7% below that of the previous year.
Thanks to strong trading activities on the stock exchanges and the opening-up of the European clearing market, both the trading and the post-trading businesses recorded a good result. The difficult economic conditions and the strong Swiss franc left their marks on the Financial Information and Payment Services business areas in particular. The results saw a downturn in both of these business areas, particularly in the fourth quarter of the year 2011.
SIX continued to expand internationally in 2011, but due to the strong Swiss franc, this growth was not reflected in the operating income. This saw the international contribution decrease to CHF 321.1 million (2010:CHF 364.8 million) or approximately 25.5% of operating income (2010: 30.0%). Calculated in local currency, SIX grew 7%, predominantly in the cards business and in post-trading activities.
Operating result down on the previous year, considerable increase in Group net income
In 2011 operating income rose to CHF 1,257.7 million (+3.0% year-on-year). This can be ascribed to the higher income from our participations, as another value adjustment of approximately CHF 53.5 million was booked on the assets of Eurex subsidiary ISE in the previous year. While the Swiss Exchange and Securities Services business areas saw substantial growth thanks to greater trading turnover and transaction numbers, the difficult economic conditions and strong Swiss franc left their mark on the Financial Information and Payment Services business areas. Their low income is largely due to currency losses and partially also to falling margins. Especially during the fourth quarter, which usually experiences large sales volumes, the cards business felt a significant drop in income.