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Reuters
14-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Euronext sales hit record on back of 'exceptional market volatility'
May 14 (Reuters) - Euronext's ( opens new tab revenues hit record levels in the first quarter on the back of "exceptional market volatility", the European stock exchange operator said on Wednesday, and its core profit was stronger than analysts expected. The group, which operates exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris, has benefited from disruptions caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, which led to financial market turmoil. CEO Stephane Boujnah said the strong first quarter was a positive signal in terms of efforts to create "a stronger, more innovative and more competitive European capital market." Last month, Boujnah said there were flows of money leaving the U.S. to be re-invested in Europe due to the trade uncertainties. The Paris-listed group reported a 17% year-on-year increase in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to 294.1 million euros ($329.92 million) for the quarter ended March 31, helped by record fixed-income trading, it said. That was above the 284 million euros analysts had expected on average in a consensus provided by the company. The company's revenues rose by 14.1% to 458.5 million euros in the same period, beating a consensus forecast of 448.3 million. KBC Securities said in a note on Tuesday: "We expect the erratic nature of Trump's policies to continue causing elevated volumes going forward." Euronext said that its European Common Prospectus would address the need to boost initial public offerings (IPOs) in Europe ahead of proposed new listing rules, which it expects will come into effect in June 2026. Stock exchange operators, including Euronext and its European peers Deutsche Boerse ( opens new tab and the London Stock Exchange (LSEG.L), opens new tab, have struggled to attract many new listings as more companies stayed private and the booming U.S. stock market attracted the biggest names. Euronext recorded eight new IPOs between January and April, down from 13 in the same period of 2024. The company is now planning to reissue a paper challenging the belief that U.S.-listed firms attract higher valuations than their European peers, its spokesperson told Reuters, while launching initiatives to encourage investment in the region's defence industry. ($1 = 0.8914 euros)
CNA
23-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
Besi posts strong bookings as AI drives demand for hybrid bonding tech
BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi), a supplier of advanced packaging tools for chipmakers, said on Wednesday its order bookings grew in the first quarter as Asian subcontractors ordered more AI-related data centre applications. Investors are banking on growing orders for Besi's hybrid bonding solutions, a critical chip technology allowing two chips to be bonded directly on top of each other, and its first-mover advantage amid a surge in demand for AI-enabling technology. "We received hybrid bonding orders from two leading memory (chip) producers for HBM 4 applications as well as follow-on orders from a leading Asian foundry for logic applications," CEO Richard Blickman said in a statement. The Dutch group's quarterly order bookings, an important indicator of future growth, grew 8.2 per cent to 131.9 million euros ($150.1 million) compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Besi's shares, which had fallen 30 per cent this year as of the last close, were up 9 per cent by 0730 GMT. Analysts from KBC Securities said in a note that Besi's new orders were "very positive", underscoring its long term potential even if there will be some volatility in the short run. Besi's revenue fell 6.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 144.1 million euros, weighed down by muted shipments for mobile and automotive applications. It expects the metric to remain at a similar level in the second quarter, with a possible deviation of 5 per cent into either direction. The timing and trajectory of the expected demand upturn is more difficult to predict now given the uncertainties around the escalating trade war, Blickman said. Besi had said in February it expected mainstream assembly markets to start to recover only in the second half of the year, depending on end market trends and the course of the global trade restrictions. "However, demand for advanced packaging for AI applications remains strong given upcoming new device introductions and use cases planned in the 2026-2028 period," Blickman added. Degroof Petercam analysts said the upturn, which they expect to materialise in late 2025 or early 2026, should be stronger for Besi given its lead in hybrid bonding technology. ($1 = 0.8787 euros)
