London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE:LSEG) shares bounced on strong earnings spearheaded by its acquisition of Refinitiv.
Shares rose nearly 10% in early deals as underlying earnings (EBITDA) for 2021 rose 8.3% to £3.3bn.
Revenues were up 6.1%, ahead of expectations, as data and analytics revenue grew 5.3%, both buoyed by the January 2020 deal for Refinitiv.
LSEG CEO David Schwimmer said the company had improved its data and analytics performance with the acquisiton of the fintech brand, and that it had hit its leverage target a year ahead of schedule.
"LSEG has delivered a successful first year after completion of the Refinitiv acquisition. We have produced a strong financial performance, have met or are ahead of all targets and have good momentum into 2022.
“We are in a strong financial position, with a business model based on high-quality, recurring revenues that generates considerable and predictable cashflows.”
The group announced cost synergies of £50mln in its earnings, increasing its five-year target to at least £400 a year.
Adjusted earnings per share rose 46% to 286.7p.
The group proposed a dividend of 95p per share.
In its outlook, LSEG said it was on course to achieve annual revenue growth of 5-7% between 2020 and 2023.
LSEG said it was “monitoring the impact of the conflict in Ukraine” and was “actively engaging with regulators and authorities on all relevant sanctions and taking appropriate actions”, indicating to shareholders that its operations in Russia and Ukraine accounted for less than 1% of total income.
Shares in LSEG were up 9.07% to 6,948p at 8:50 GMT this morning.