FastMatch contributes €5.2m to Euronext’s revenues in Q1 2018
Spot FX trading generated €5.2 million of revenue in the first quarter of 2018, according to Euronext’s report.
Less than a year after Euronext NV (EPA:ENX) completed the acquisition of FastMatch, the electronic communication network for Forex trading continues to contribute to revenues. This is indicated by Euronext’s results for the first quarter of 2018 reported earlier today.
The average daily volume on the FastMatch spot foreign exchange market was $20.2 billion in the first three months of 2018, up 14.3% compared to the equivalent period in 2017. Spot FX trading generated €5.2 million of revenue in the first quarter of 2018, the report shows.
As a consequence, Euronext consolidated revenue increased by +15.9% in Q1 2018, to €146.7 million, mainly driven by volume growth, the positive impact of Agility for Growth initiatives (€4.2 million), and the acquisition of FastMatch in August 2017, which diversified Euronext’s top line with spot FX trading revenue (€5.2 million).
FXCM Group disposed of its stake in FastMatch in May 2017, as it was under pressure to gather funds to repay its loan to Leucadia. As per the press release published back in May 2017, FXCM Group was set to receive approximately $55.6 million for its interest in FastMatch, with a portion held in escrow and subject to certain future adjustments including a share of a $10 million earnout if certain performance targets of FastMatch are met. FXCM had been looking to sell its stake in FastMatch since early 2015. Following the February 2017 events which hit the reputation of FXCM, FastMatch reshuffled its board of directors and reiterated its independence from the broker.
In May 2017, Euronext announced the acquisition of 90% of the shares of FastMatch, a spot FX ECN, to expand into global FX markets.
Previous reports by Euronext have also indicated FastMatch’s solid performance. According to the data for 2017, the average daily volume on the FastMatch spot foreign exchange market (of which Euronext owns 90% of the capital since August 2017) was $18.4 billion in 2017, up +44.7% compared to 2016. Spot FX trading generated €7.2 million of revenue in 2017, for 4.6 months of consolidation after the acquisition of FastMatch in mid-August 2017.
