LSE on track for cost savings from Refinitiv deal

The London Stock Exchange Group has said it is on track to make savings from its 27 billion dollar (£19.6 billion) acquisition of data provider Refinitiv.

The company said it would reach synergies of £125 million this year as it combined the two businesses, allowing it to cut costs.

Bosses also said income will grow between 4% and 5% this year, but growth will slow down in the final quarter of the year, because the same three months last year were strong for the business.

They also revealed that pressures on supply chains might impact when they invest in technology this year.

The company, however, did not explain what kind of pressures and how they were impacting the business.

In the third quarter, total income rose 7.6% while gross profit rose 7.3% to £1.6 billion, the business said.

“The group has delivered a strong third-quarter financial performance with revenue growth across all divisions,” said chief executive David Schwimmer

“We are making excellent progress on the integration of Refinitiv and are comfortably on track to achieve £125 million of cost synergies in 2021, ahead of our original phasing.

“We continue to execute across a number of workstreams to deliver the target revenue synergies.

“The group is well-placed as we make targeted investments in product and technology enhancements to help us meet the needs of our customers and capitalise on the growth trends driving change across our industry.”

Shares in the company had dipped a little over 3% on Friday morning following the news.