In its interim management statement released yesterday (Thursday), which covers the period from October 1 2007 to date and the outlook for the rest of the financial year to March 31 2008, the company said: “Icap’s markets continue to display strong, long-term structural growth with an underlying, medium-term industry revenue growth rate estimated to be at least 10% per annum. This structural growth rate covers both periods when volatility and volumes in the wholesale financial markets can be very high and also quieter periods when these markets are more subdued.”
It added: “Overall, the period from October 1 2007 has had higher than average levels of volatility, and consequently, Icap’s revenue for the year to date is significantly ahead of last year.” The cash cow that is EBS performed strongly, posting daily average volume of $200 billion in the last quarter of 2007. This was an increase of 42% over the same period in 2006, driven by volatility and increased algorithmic trading. The market seemed to like the news, and at the time of writing Icap’s shares were up 11.5% at 650p.