Source:
Investment Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE: ITG), a leading provider of technology-based equity trading services, today announced that for the first quarter ended March 26, 2004, revenues were $77.6 million, net income was $8.3 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.19, an increase of 6%, 27% and 36% respectively versus the first quarter of 2003.
ITG recognized tax benefits from certain capital loss carryforwards, in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes, which yielded a $0.6 million improvement to net income in the first quarter.
For the company overall, revenues per trading day in the first quarter of 2004 for POSIT, the Electronic Trading Desk and Client-Site Trading Products grew 9%, 1% and 12%, respectively, versus the first quarter of 2003. Revenues per trading day for POSIT and the Electronic Trading Desk were down 5% and 7%, respectively, while Client-Site Trading Products experienced a growth of 20% versus the fourth quarter of 2003. Canadian direct access trading revenues (approximately $30,000 per day in the first quarter of 2004), previously included in the Electronic Trading Desk, are now being reported within Client-Site Trading.
"Our two new Client-Site Trading Products, Radical and Triton, are performing very well and satisfying our clients’ increasing appetite for direct access trading," said Robert Russel, ITG’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "In the ten months since we launched Radical, Client-Site revenues at our Hoenig division have grown to $3.0 million last quarter. We have a tremendous opportunity to continue growing our market share in electronic trading and our ongoing R&D investment ensures that Radical and Triton offer some of the best functionality, flexibility and connectivity in the industry."
ITG’s international business posted strong revenues in the first quarter, aided in part by the weakness of the U.S. dollar. International revenues for the first quarter were $16.9 million, a $4.8 million (or 40%) increase over last year’s fourth quarter, with $2.2 million of this growth due to currency fluctuations. Consistent with prior guidance, the international business posted a pre-tax loss of $0.1 million, an improvement of $2.6 million from the first quarter of 2003, but a decline from the nominal pre-tax profit achieved in the fourth quarter of 2003. Pre-tax results were not affected by currency fluctuations.
"While growth in our European operations slowed as expected this quarter, the international business as a whole continues to post strong results, including record pre-tax profits in Canada," said Mr. Russel.
In the U.S., ITG’s trading volume for the first quarter of 2004 was 4.8 billion shares (averaging 80.7 million shares per trading day) compared to 4.6 billion shares in the first quarter of 2003 (averaging 76.6 million shares per trading day) and 5.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2003 (averaging 80.4 million shares per trading day).
For ITG overall, pre-tax margins for the first quarter were 17.9%, up from 16.7% in the first quarter of 2003.