LSE price rise beats the bears

A RISE in the prices it charges companies has helped the London Stock Exchange to offset some of the impact of the bear market on its business.

LSE said today that turnover in the three months to 30 June was up 8% at £58.5m against the same time last year. Restructuring its rate card had a positive net impact, helped by a rise in the amount raised through new listings from £2.3bn to £2.9bn.

Revenue from supplying services to brokers, such as its Sets order book, grew just 3% to £20.8m as a fall in international trades took its toll.

Symptoms of the bear market were also evident in its information services unit, with the number of terminals receiving exchange data falling from 105,000 to 103,000. But this arm still enjoyed a 4% rise in turnover to £24.7m.

LSE, headed by Clara Furse, said conditions would not improve immediately but thought its own performance 'resilient in a difficult market'.

Its shares jumped from 350p last November to 489p in May on takeover hopes but are now 406p.