Ahead of its ordinary general meeting yesterday, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LSE) disclosed its accounts for 2016, showing a net profit of €12.3 million, holding stable against 2015, based on a consolidated operating turnover of €45.3 million, up 0.71% on the year before.
Speaking to the press, Robert Scharfe, CEO of LSE, attributed some of the positive results to the development of Fundsquare, of which he is chairman of the board, and control of costs, which at €1.6 million were more than 5% lower than 2015.
The group declared a dividend of €60 per share, the same as 2015.
Sharing the platform with Scharfe, Frank Wagener, president of the LSE, and Julie Becker, Executive Committee Member of the LSE, spoke in the language of change, flexibility, stability and transparency as the key drivers for the group.
Fundsquare, a wholly owned subsidiary of LSE, is considered key to providing transparency and flexibility. Founded in 2013, the company showed a profit for the first time last year, at €980,000 thanks to a 13% growth in turnover, which Frank Wegener said is a substantial growth rate. The order-routing and information platform processed 800,000 orders last year.
A key event last year was the launch of the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) in September, the first platform in the world dedicated to green financial instruments, and now a world leader in the global green securities market providing access to 50% of the market.
LGX also participates in a number of high-level groups, including the sustainable development working group of the World Federation of Exchanges, the Sustainable Stock Exchange initiative, a partner in the Climate Bonds Initiative, and participant in COP 21 and COP 22. LGX is also a member of the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance of the European Commission.
LGX is partnering with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) on a series of references and placement tools for Chinese green bonds in Europe.
The LGX is a platform for 110 green bonds from 25 issuers across much of Western Europe. North America, Brazil, Ivory Coast, China and the Philippines. “We hope this map will be greener in the coming months,” said Julie Becker outlining the LGX results.
The market is growing rapidly, with €16.8 billion issued in 2016, up 52% from 2015, and bringing the total for the market up to €50.6 billion.
Another key element for the LSE, the group announced the launch of a new website, due on 3 May. “Transparency is our first product,” said Scharfe, noting that the current website had become over heavy as additional layers were added over the years. As a result, the new website is being developed from scratch in order to simplify access and use.
Image: Frank Wegener, Robert Scharfe and Julie Becker at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange on 19 April
