The Board of Directors of HELEX in today''s meeting approved the financial statements for the period 1.1.2006 to 31.12.2006 and decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting, which will take place on May 9th 2007, a dividend of Euro 0.50 per share compared to Euro 0.25 for the previous fiscal year.
In addition, the Board of Directors decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting a reduction in the share capital of the Company, and the return to shareholders of Euro 0.50 per share, by a reduction in the par value of the shares from Euro 1.75 to Euro 1.25. It is noted that both in 2006 and 2005, special dividends of Euro 1.25 and Euro 2.05 respectively were returned to shareholders by the Company.
Based on the HELEX consolidated profit and loss statement for 2006, the net after tax profits were Euro 58.1 ml. compared to Euro 27.1 ml. in 2005, a 114% increase.
The average daily value of transactions in 2006 amounted to Euro 343 ml. vs. Euro 210 ml. in 2005, an increase of 63%. As a result of this change, the revenues of the Group increased by 60% to Euro 118.3 ml. in 2006 compared to Euro 73.8 ml. in the previous year. This increase is due to the large increase in revenues from trading in the cash market by 61% (Euro 39.4 ml. in 2006 vs. Euro 24.6 ml. in 2005) and from clearing & settlement in the cash market by 67% (Euro 42.2 ml. in 2006 vs. Euro 25.2 ml. in 2005). It should be noted that all revenue sources of the Group are increased compared to the previous fiscal year. In particular, revenue from listed companies and new listings, which are the third largest source of revenue for the Group posted an increase of 33% to Euro 14.6 ml. In the derivatives market, revenue from trading amounted to Euro 4.5 ml. increased by 26% and revenue from clearing and settlement approached Euro 3.9 ml. increased by 28% compared to last year.
The operating expenses of the Group, excluding depreciation, amounted to Euro 27.3 ml. compared to Euro 28.1 ml. posting a 3% reduction, as a result of the continuing efforts of management for their reduction. Personnel remuneration and expenses, which account for 54% of total operating costs, approached Euro 14.8 ml. in 2006 vs. Euro 15.6 ml. in 2005, a reduction of 6%. The Group employed 326 persons at the end of 2006, compared to 385 persons at the end of 2005.