ICAP Share Discussion Threads

[jeffian] 03/11/2016 09:48

When is it supposed to take effect? This process seems to go on forever!

[blueliner] 05/9/2016 22:14

Scheme of arrangement notified through my brokers today.

[mrthomas] 21/6/2016 14:23

Think this co will do what ever happens well run good balance sheet and yield have brought in a few weeks ago but held in the past

[fangorn2] 21/6/2016 14:03

ICAP:-"Bank of America ML upgrades ICAP to 'buy' on valuation" TP 500p

[mrthomas] 21/6/2016 11:08

surprise no comments here

[fangorn2] 06/11/2015 15:03

It's an interesting segment of "other financial" segment bench2.

But it's days of profitability are long gone I suspect, more consolidation to come. An industry in terminal decline I fear.

[bench2] 06/11/2015 14:50

Thanks Fangorn2 , I stand corrected , the good news short term is that both stocks are up 7% today on good volume , so the analysts/fund managers seem to like the deal .

[fangorn2] 06/11/2015 12:48

@Bench, hardly a Monopoly.

There's still Cantors, BGC, Tradition Financiere amongst others all competing in many of the same products as the Tullet Prebon ICAP goliath

[bench2] 06/11/2015 11:24

This looks like a white flag by both ICAP and Tullett , they are both in a business which is shrinking and so why not a marriage of convenience !!! Not great for employees , and the banks may complain about a future monopoly in the IDB business.

[hcsg25] 18/6/2015 16:42

I bought ICAP a while ago and am enjoying 6.1% dividends with 50% capital growth....lucky me !! :O)

[malcontent] 18/6/2015 16:35

my, this is a quiet board

I have held ICAP as a dividend play and continue to so so.
Have enjoyed the capital gain too, but I cannot begin to pretend that I fully understand what they do. tut tut, Mr Buffet would NOT approve.

[dr biotech] 22/4/2015 16:54

near 30% rise since the fair gloomy statement. Think I need to take my money and run on this.

[josephrobert] 17/12/2014 20:36

Would be nice to think we can be part of the consolidation of the sector

Never say never

[dr biotech] 19/11/2014 13:43

Seems a decent enough summary. It wasn't a particularly cheerful statement this morning but they have kept the dividend, which is an increasingly important thing for me. How long they can pay it when its not covered by earnings I am not sure...

[fangorn2] 19/11/2014 13:31

By Paul J. Davies

ICAP has added more strings to its bow in recent years. But these still aren't covering up the fact that its core business is sagging.

The U.K.-listed interdealer broker helps to direct the traffic of bonds, foreign exchange and derivatives among the world's banks and investors.

To some extent, ICAP is suffering the same structural malaise as investment banking: the regulatory response to the financial crisis has taken huge volumes of trading out of global markets because banks no longer have either the capital or funding to back the kind of market-making businesses they used to run.

ICAP's response has been to restructure its old, core business while bulking up in new areas like electronic markets, risk management and information. ICAP's voice-broking business has seen its share of group turnover fall from more than half in 2010 to less than one-third.

But sales and profits are still falling. ICAP's revenues were down 15% in the first half of this year to September, while operating profits fell 34% to GBP100 million ($156.5 million). Annualize that result and ICAP's revenues for the year to March 2015 would be down by almost 25% since March 2010.

The costs of trying to battle this trend are hurting ICAP's bottom line. About 260 brokers, or 13% of its head count, have already left ICAP this year. But the company has spent GBP22 million to achieve just GBP6 million of savings in the first half out of a targeted GBP60 million by the end of next year.

ICAP only started this latest round of restructuring in May. But that progress still looks disappointing: ICAP's shares fell 8% Wednesday.

The trouble is that the profitability of brokering businesses is under pressure, even in ICAP's new areas. Operating margins in electronic markets are down to 34% in the first half of the year from 40% in 2010; in risk management and information they have fallen to 39% from 49%.

Some of these businesses are doing well. TriOptima, which helps banks collapse large portfolios of derivatives into a smaller number of trades, is in high demand as banks squeeze their balance sheets.

But these are increasingly competitive fields. ICAP is ahead of some broker rivals such as Tullett Prebon in pursuing electronic trading, risk and information services but other groups such as Markit are coming from the information sector to attack the same battleground.

On a forward price-earnings ratio of 14.6 times, ICAP is at a hefty premium to Tullett on nine-times, but a big discount to Markit on 16.9-times and to an exchange like the London Stock Exchange on 19.6-times.

With trading activity still moribund, ICAP needs to hit its cost targets quickly to not lose further ground.

Write to Paul Davies at [e-mail]
Access Investor Kit for Tullett Prebon Plc
Visit hxxp://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=GB00B1H0DZ51

[dmf] 06/11/2014 20:55

ICAP Trades Surge, Helped by October Spike in Volatility

[fangorn2] 16/10/2014 11:49

Depends Dr Biotech.

Volatility is great for biz volumes yes, but only if there are two way markets. In a sharp drop down, as we are seeing across many markets, there will simply be no bids to smack as most of the IDB's customer base will be looking to sell..

[dr biotech] 16/10/2014 11:38

Think that this one will benefit from the current volatility, it can only help trading volumes.

[mechanical trader] 19/9/2014 15:58

Just gone long on IAP ICAP, lovely break through downtrend channel and coming off a recentish bottom.

[hcsg25] 18/9/2014 17:54

Yay...7% up....keep going!

[chinese investor] 17/9/2014 13:46

It Continues !

[chinese investor] 11/8/2014 17:35

Looking Good !

[bend1pa] 10/6/2014 16:12

Now the EU accuses ICAP of yen libor rate fixing.



You couldn't make it up. This company just seems highly accident prone stumbling from one crisis to the next. Anyway as this now looks set to be the next black cloud to hang over the company for some considerable time, I'm out.

[fangorn2] 04/6/2014 14:17

Yup, but there was also a piece out recently on the structural decline of IDB's..worth a read in case you missed it.

Colourful world of interdealers faces deep structural changes

[hcsg25] 04/6/2014 13:51

Would have thought that would have lifted the price a little.