Brisk trading on the financial markets brought record results for Deutsche Börse. The company sees potential for a further jump in profits – on its own and with a new partner.
After a record year, Deutsche Börse is aiming for further growth in 2023. “We remain confident because we have set the course for our strong structural growth to continue,” said CEO Theodor Weimer on Thursday in Frankfurt.
In order to advance the digitization of the company and the markets, the Dax group is entering into a ten-year partnership with Google. Deutsche Börse is both a shaper and driver of the digital transformation of the capital markets, said Weimer. “Our new partnership with Google Cloud also meets this requirement.” Currently, 35 percent of information technology (IT) is in the so-called cloud, i.e. technical resources such as computing power, storage space or software made available via the Internet. Perspectively, the share should increase to 70 percent.
Last year, the Frankfurt market operator benefited from brisk trading on the financial markets in an environment unsettled by war and crises, as the Dax group announced on Wednesday evening. In 2022, Deutsche Börse earned more than ever before. The bottom line is that profits rose by almost a quarter to almost 1.5 billion euros compared to the previous year.
Record course also thanks to turbulent gas prices
Gas price capers, higher interest rates and acquisitions kept the company on record course. “Deutsche Börse has had an extremely strong year. The best in its history,” concluded Weimer. The strong figures for 2022 are also a result of the multiple crises.
In terms of income, the group recorded an increase of 24 percent to around 4.34 billion euros. “In the past financial year, we not only clearly exceeded our forecast, but also achieved the goals of our Compass 2023 growth strategy a year earlier,” Weimer stated. “We continued to grow strongly structurally. And our customers’ increased need for hedging and rising interest rates have led to a significant cyclical tailwind.”
Despite the expected weakening of the economy, the Management Board expects growth for 2023 as well. “The core pillar of our strategy will continue to be structural growth, supplemented by acquisitions where strategically and financially sensible,” said Weimer.
Specifically, the Executive Board expects revenues to climb to between EUR 4.5 billion and EUR 4.7 billion in 2023. That would be an increase of up to eight percent and thus significantly less than last time. However, given the rapid growth over the past year, this is no surprise.
Management expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) to rise to between EUR 2.6 billion and EUR 2.8 billion, which is up to eleven percent more than in 2022. Last year, this operating profit was up 24 percent on the previous year to a good 2.5 billion euros.
Shareholders should also benefit: Deutsche Börse intends to increase the dividend by 13 percent to EUR 3.60 per share.
Source: Stern
