London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE:LSEG) stepped up its growth expectations and announced a nine-figure share buyback programme during the first day of the capital markets and data group’s two-day capital markets event.
LSEG expects mid-to-high single-digit organic revenue growth annually, “accelerating after 2024 as customers start to benefit from our investment in platforms and the Microsoft partnership”.
Capital expenditure as a percentage of revenue is expected to decline in the high single digits, while cumulative cash flow is expected to exceed underlying profit after tax.
According to the group: “LSEG's cash flow dynamics are very strong, giving us the capacity to invest consistently for growth and resilience, to target M&A where it adds value and to return excess capital to shareholders.”
LSEG noted “strong progress” in its Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) partnership, with revenues expected to build from 2025.
The group intends to return a further £1 billion back to shareholders in 2024. LSEG has previously announced a £750 million share buyback starting from August 2022.
Speaking on Thursday, chief executive David Schwimmer stated: "In less than three years we have transformed our business, trebling the growth rate of the Refinitiv Data & Analytics businesses we acquired and beating our growth targets line by line.”
But “the real opportunity still lies in front of us”, he declared, speaking of AI-driven insights, seamless workflows, capital efficiency and the like.
"LSEG's heritage - a track record of trusted industry partnership and constant innovation - is also its future. Working with Microsoft and across the industry, I'm excited about the growth opportunities ahead of us, and I am confident we have the right people, assets and partners to deliver them."