First half figures for Fidessa showed a revenue fall, of 1% to £139.3m for the six months to June 2013. With ongoing investment in new services and capabilities, EBITDA and Operating Profit both decreased by 5%, to £25.4m and £20.8m respectively. Fidessa is a provider of trading, investment and information solutions for the world’s financial community and as such is heavily affected by the level of activity in the world’s markets. The recent trends in these markets are giving some grounds for optimism. The level of equity trading first half was down on levels of the previous year, but up on the last six months of 2012. Price pressure has continued and discretionary spend by customers on consulting has been further cut.
Looking forward, trading levels look as if they could have bottomed out and confidence may soon return to the markets. Fidessa has been investing in global capabilities, a new derivatives platform and more service-based offerings and should benefit, although the management was uncertain whether this benefit will be seen in the second half.
More comment will follow in a HotViewsExtra which we will issue after attending the results meeting.