Regulatory Filings • Apr 3, 2018
Regulatory Filings
Open in ViewerOpens in native device viewer
KEY FIGURES 8 ACHIEVEMENTS 10
| Strategic Risks | 4 |
|---|---|
| Financial Risks | 5 |
| Operational Risks | 6 |
| OF THE GROUP | 13 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Company Profi le | 14 |
| 1.2 | Strategy: "Agility for Growth" Strategic Plan | 17 |
| 1.3 | Description of the Business | 20 |
| 1.4 | Regulation | 41 |
| 2.1 | Dutch Corporate Governance Code, | |
|---|---|---|
| "Comply or Explain" | 48 | |
| 2.2 | Management & Control Structure | 50 |
| 2.3 | Report of the Supervisory Board | 61 |
| 2.4 | Remuneration report | 64 |
| 2.5 | Corporate Social Responsibility | 69 |
FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND OTHER
FINANCIAL INFORMATION 85
3 SELECTED HISTORICAL CONSOLIDATED
4 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPANY AND ITS SHARE CAPITAL 91 4.1 Legal Information on the Company 92 4.2 Share Capital 92 4.3 Shareholder Structure 94 4.4 Share Classes and Major Shareholders 94 4.5 General Meeting of Shareholders and Voting Rights 98 4.6 Anti-Takeover Provisions 99 4.7 Obligations of Shareholders and Members of the Managing Board to Disclose Holdings 99
| 4.8 | Short Positions | 100 |
|---|---|---|
| 4.9 | Market Abuse Regime | 100 |
| 4.10 Transparency Directive | 101 | |
| 4.11 Dutch Financial Reporting Supervision Act | 101 | |
| 4.12 Dividends and Other Distributions | 101 | |
| 4.13 Financial Calendar | 102 |
| 5 | OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW |
105 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Overview | 106 | |
| 5.2 | Material Contracts and Related Party Transactions | 127 | |
| 5.3 | Legal Proceedings | 129 | |
| 5.4 | Insurance | 130 | |
| 5.5 | Liquidity and Capital Resources | 131 | |
| 5.6 | Tangible Fixed Assets | 133 | |
| 6.2 | Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income | 137 |
|---|---|---|
| 6.3 | Consolidated Balance Sheet | 138 |
| 6.4 | Consolidated Statement of cash fl ows | 139 |
| 6.5 | Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity | 140 |
| 6.6 | Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements | 141 |
| 6.7 | Company Financial Statements for the Year Ended | |
| 31 December 2017 | 191 | |
| 6.8 | Notes to the Company Financial Statements | 193 |
| 7 | OTHER INFORMATION | 205 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | Profi t Appropriation Section | 206 | |
| 7.2 | Independent Auditors Report | 206 |
G GLOSSARY 211
including the Annual Financial Report
Euronext N.V. (the "Company" or "Euronext" and together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") is a Dutch public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap), whose ordinary shares are admitted to listing and trading on regulated markets in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Portugal. The applicable regulations with respect to public information and protection of investors, as well as the commitments made by the Company to securities and market authorities, are described in this Registration Document (the "Registration Document").
In addition to historical information, this Registration Document includes forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are generally identifi ed by the use of forward-looking words, such as "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "plan", "project", "predict", "will", "should", "may" or other variations of such terms, or by discussion of strategy. These statements relate to Euronext's future prospects, developments and business strategies and are based on analyses or forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. These forward-looking statements represent the view of Euronext only as of the dates they are made, and Euronext disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as may be otherwise required by law. The forward-looking statements in this Registration Document involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause Euronext's actual future results, performance and achievements to diff er materially from those forecasted or suggested herein. These include changes in general economic and business conditions, as well as the factors described under "Risk Factors" below.
This Registration Document was prepared in accordance with Annex 1 of EC Regulation 809/2004,and with Article 5:25c of the Wet op het fi nancial toezicht fi led in English with, and approved by, the Stichting Autoriteit Financiële Markten (the "AFM") on 29 March 2018 in its capacity as competent authority under the Wet op het fi nancieel toezicht (as amended) pursuant to Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, including by Directive 2010/73/EU). This Registration Document may be used in support of an off ering to the public, or an admission to trading, of securities of the Company as a document forming part of a prospectus in accordance with Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, including by Directive 2010/73/EU) only if it is supplemented by a securities note and a summary approved by the AFM.
The format of Euronext's Registration Document and the presentation of its Table of Content respect the requirements of Annex 1 of the Prospectus Directive EC 809/2004 as applicable in the Netherlands. Euronext as a leading fi nancing centre in continental Europe is subject to risks and uncertainties that may aff ect its fi nancial performance. Key risks specifi c to a pan-European exchange operator relate to the general economic development globally and especially in Europe, as well as increased regulation, oversight and taxation, all of which depend on policy decisions by governments and regulators and which are not controlled by the Company. As for any company, the business, results of operation or fi nancial condition of the Company could be materially adversely aff ected by the risks described below. These are not the only risks the Company faces. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that it currently considers immaterial may also impair its business and operations. A description of the risk management system is provided in Section "Risk management" (paragraph 2.2.1.1.).
| Strategic Risks | 4 |
|---|---|
| Financial Risks | 5 |
| Operational Risks | 6 |
The Company's operations and performance depend on market and economic conditions globally. Trends towards the liberalisation and globalisation of world capital markets have resulted in greater mobility of capital, greater international participation in local markets and more competition among markets in diff erent geographical areas. As a result, global competition among trading markets and other execution venues has become more intense.
Euronext's operations are highly concentrated in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom, and its success is therefore closely tied to general economic developments in those countries and Europe generally and cannot be offset by developments in other markets. A weak economy and negative economic developments may impact growth targets and could limit the Group's future prospects.
Europe's industrial activity has recovered and economic expectations have risen across several large developed economies. Four key themes will continue to be important for European securities markets in 2018: (a) the outlook for economic growth (b) the extension and subsequent tightening of ECB's asset purchase programme and (c) political uncertainty resulting from Brexit and (d) the Trump administration strategy. As a result, volumes are expected to grow in 2018 comparison to 2017 due to these market conditions.
Economic conditions affect financial and securities markets in a number of ways, from determining availability of capital to influencing investor confidence. Accordingly, generally adverse market conditions may have a disproportionate and adverse eff ect on the Company's business and impact its fi nancial results.
Euronext's industry is highly competitive. The Company faces competition for listing, in providing primary listing services to issuers based on the Company's home markets from other exchanges, in particular in respect of global companies and SMEs in the technology sector as well as in the corporate services market, where Euronext provides support to newly listed and existing companies. Trading and execution of cash equities and other cash products face pressure on pricing and market share given the competitive landscape. In addition, the market for derivatives trading, particularly equity options, and clearing remains challenging as a result of competition and consolidation, which can have an impact on Euronext's pricing and related market share. In addition, Article 35 and 36 of EU Regulation No 600/2014 has brought into force open access clauses which, according to ESMA, may promote greater competition among market infrastructures.
Market Data provides a wide range of data products to the global investment community, including pre- and post-trade market prices, indices, and reference data. The evolving competitive environment around data provision with other exchanges and market participants, coupled with the MIFID II provisions to provide certain data package to clients, the landscape will evolve and the outcome for Euronext is not known.
The Company's current and prospective competitors are numerous and include both traditional and non-traditional trading venues. These include regulated markets, multilateral trading facilities ("MTFs") and a wide range of over-the-counter ("OTC") services provided by market makers, banks, brokers and other fi nancial market participants. Some of these competitors are among Euronext's largest customers or are owned by its customers.
The success of the Group's business depends on its ability to attract and maintain order fl ow, both in absolute terms and relative to other market centres. The Company faces competition from fi nancial institutions that have the ability to divert trading volumes by off ering more attractive prices due to the new regulation that MiFID II has brought to this part of the market, and the outcome of the behavior is not yet known. Also, in the event of a decrease in trading volumes, there is a risk that markets become less liquid and thus less attractive to investors and issuers.
If Euronext fails to compete successfully, its business and fi nancial results will be impacted.
The Company is exposed to transformation risks (risk of loss or failure resulting from change/transformation) given the current levels of change and alignment activity taking place across the Company. The Company has embarked on a new enhanced multimarket trading platform, Optiq®, bringing leading technology to ensure high reliability and improved latency. This technology has change impacts to Euronext Market Services and Technology teams given the innovation undertaken. Optiq Market Data Gateway was launched in 2017, and the core trading technology for the regulated markets is expected in 2018. If these programs are not completed, or do not operate as intended, identifi ed synergies may not be delivered and the marketplace may be questioned.
The Company has entered and may continue to enter into business combination transactions. The market for acquisition targets and strategic alliances is highly competitive, particularly in light of recent, or possible, consolidation in the exchange sector and existing or potential future restrictions on foreign direct investment in some countries. Pursuing strategic transactions requires substantial time and attention of the management team, which could prevent them from successfully overseeing other initiatives. Similarly, if acquisitions are initially agreed but not closed, such as the Irish Stock Exchange, this may impact our reputation and our strategic growth plan. Completing and recognising benefits of potential transactions takes time and can impact the Company's business, and fi nancial results.
Euronext continues to explore and pursue opportunities to strengthen its business and grow the Company. In doing so, the Group may launch new products and enter into or increase its presence in other markets. In relation to the expansion of the Group's business, Euronext plans to invest time in developing new products or improving current product off erings. If these product off erings are not successful, a potential market opportunity may be missed and Euronext may not be able to off set the cost of such initiatives, which may have a material impact on the Company's fi nancial results.
Euronext's business in Europe is subject to extensive regulation at the European level and by national regulators in the relevant European jurisdictions where the Group has operations, including, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom. In addition, if Euronext continues to expand, other jurisdictions such as the United States, in relation to its application to the SEC/FINRA to operate an ATS in the US related to bonds (Synapse), Ireland, given the potential acquisition of the Irish Stock Exchange, and Asia, with regards to initiatives for FastMatch expansion, may bring additional requirements. Competitors, such as alternative trading venues that are not regulated markets or MTFs are subject to less stringent regulation than an exchange. In addition, as the Group seeks to expand its product base or the jurisdictions in which it operates, it could become subject to oversight by additional regulatory bodies.
Calls for enhanced regulatory scrutiny following the fi nancial crisis generate risks and opportunities. This may lead to the following impacts:
The regulatory regime within Europe has been amended and extended. Initially scheduled for market application in 2017, the revised European Union Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II / MiFIR) is eff ective since 3 January 2018. Compliance to this new regime by all market actors will potentially change the competitive landscape and may, therefore, have an adverse eff ect on the Company's business.
Key clauses from MiFID II that are being monitored include the impact of the tick size regime, the growth in size and scale of trading via systematic internalisers approach and open access provisions. The outcome, given the implementation date of 3 January 2018, is not yet known.
The decision of the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union (Brexit) is likely to have wide-ranging implications for European fi nancial markets whose full impact will only become clear once the negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom regarding withdrawal have clarifi ed the general nature of the post-Brexit relationship (including, in particular, the extent to which UK-based fi rms have access to the single market in fi nancial services).
A Group of Reference shareholders, under a shareholders agreement, owns in aggregate 23.86% of the Company's Ordinary Shares. This Group received a non-objection by the Dutch Ministry of Finance and signed a Reference shareholders' Agreement ("Reference shareholders' Agreement" see infrastructure on 4-4-1 "Reference shareholders" under section 4.4 "Share classes and major shareholders"). This Group has continued to apply its right to propose a third of the Supervisory Board directors to the General Meeting of shareholders ,
These three directors could be in a situation of confl ict of interest if a decision to be made at the Supervisory Board level for the business development of the Company would potentially confl ict with their interest as a shareholder representative. Euronext considers that the Dutch Civil Law (Book 2), the Dutch Corporate Governance Code ("the Code"), the rules and regulations under the Market Abuse Directive and its Articles of Association provide clear and robust standards and safeguards. In addition, the Articles of Association of Euronext provide not only that decisions of the Supervisory Board are made at the absolute majority of the votes cast (Article 10-1), but also forbid any Supervisory Board director to participate in the deliberation and decision-making process if it concerns a subject in which this member has a direct or indirect interest which confl icts with the interest of the Company (Article 11.2). As a result of these safeguards, Euronext deems the risk for business development based on such a confl ict of interest is mitigated.
The Group's objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the Group's ability to continue as a going concern, to comply with regulatory requirements and to maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce the cost of capital and provide return to shareholders.
Euronext N.V. is a holding Company and its ability to generate income and pay dividends is dependent on the ability of its subsidiaries to declare and pay dividends or lend its funds. The actual payment of future dividends by the Company and the payment of dividends to the Company by its subsidiaries, if any, will depend on a number of factors including distributable profi ts and reserves and minimum capital requirements mandated by regulatory authorities.
Due to factors mentioned above regarding results, mandated capital requirements by regulatory authorities and other agreements, the Company may be constrained with its use of capital.
The Company is dependent on the experience and industry knowledge of management and other key staff to operate its business operations and execute its strategies. Euronext recognises there is a shortage in the employment market for true specialists in a number of areas, such as in the information technology fi eld and the fi eld of operation of markets and particular product niches, and the Company competes for staff with a large number of other enterprises in these areas .
The Company's success will depend in part upon its ability to continue to attract, develop and retain key staff members in a number of disciplines. A loss of, or an inability to attract senior management or other key staff could have a material adverse eff ect on the business, results of operations, fi nancial condition and cash fl ows.
The Group relies on third parties for post-trade services including clearing and settlement and other services. In particular, under its clearing service agreements with LCH S.A., the Paris based clearing house of LCH S.A. Group Ltd, which is majority owned by LSEG, one of its competitors, Euronext relies on LCH S.A. to provide Central Counter Party ("CCP") services for trades executed on the Company's cash and derivatives markets and to manage related CCP functions, such as risk, novation and multilateral netting.
MiFID II has brought into force the open access and interoperability rules in relation to clearinghouses. While there are transitional arrangement (Article 54 of EU Regulation No 600/2014) that have been granted for Euronext as well as other trading and clearing venues for a period of 30 months, it is uncertain how this can impact Euronext in the future, also because it is not the ultimate owner of its clearing solution.
The Group also relies on the services of Euroclear group ("Euroclear") for the settlement of cash market trades other than in Portugal and on the services of InterContinental Exchange, ("ICE") for the provision of network and colocation and data centre services.
To the extent that any of the third parties on which Euronext relies experiences diffi culties, materially changes its business relationship with the Company or is unable for any reason to perform its obligations, any such event could have a material adverse eff ect on the business, reputation, results of operations, fi nancial condition and cash fl ows of Euronext.
The Group's change agenda is driven by internally determined programs, acquisitions and external factors. Internal programs include transforming Euronext technology and business operations through Optiq®, the new enhanced multi-market trading platform, evolving its data governance processes and executing its Agility for Growth strategy including launching of new services and acquisitions. Acquisitions include Company Webcast, iBabs, Fastmatch, InsiderLog and the Irish Stock Exchange. External factors include the changing business and regulatory landscape, resulting from global economic factors, as well as MiFID II implementation and Brexit impacts.
The number of significant programs and recent acquisitions, including the acquisition of the Irish Stock Exchange, in progress simultaneously, with related impacts, that, if not delivered or delivered as originally designed or with delays, may have an adverse impact on the business, culture reputation and fi nancial condition of the Company including an increased cost base without a proportionate increase in revenue.
Technology is a key component of Euronext's business strategy, and is crucial to the Company's success. Euronext's business depends on the performance and stability of complex computer and communications systems. Heavy use of Euronext's platforms and order routing systems during peak trading times or at times of unusual market volatility could cause its systems to operate slowly or even to fail for periods of time. These events could cause unanticipated disruptions in service to exchange members and clients, slower response times or delays in trade executions and related impacts.
Euronext operates in a business environment that continues to experience signifi cant and rapid technological change. To remain competitive, the Company must continue to enhance and improve the functionality, capacity, accessibility, reliability of its technology.
The Group is transforming its Technology organisation through its launch of Optiq®, a new enhanced multi-market trading platform, bringing leading technology to ensure high reliability. Euronext's success will depend, in part, on this continued innovation and investment in its trading systems and related ability to respond to customer demands, understand and react to emerging industry standards and practices on a cost-eff ective and timely basis.
Exploiting technology and the ability to expand system capacity and performance to handle increased demand or any increased regulatory requirements is critical to Euronext's success. If the Group's technology is not properly managed or the resources supporting the changes are not properly allocated, Euronext may lose market share or volumes, which could have an effect on business and fi nancial results.
The secure transmission of confi dential information over public and other networks is a critical element of Euronext's operations. As a result, the Group accumulates, stores and uses business data which is protected by business contracts and regulated by various law, including data protection, in the countries in which it operates.
The Group networks may be vulnerable to exfi ltration, unauthorised access and other security incidents including:
Security breaches or leakage of sensitive data, also impacting data protection laws, and other events could cause Euronext to incur reputational damage, regulatory sanctions, litigation and have an impact on its fi nancial results.
Euronext owns or licences rights to a number of trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights, free or open source software and databases that are used in its business. To protect its intellectual property rights or any other property rights, Euronext relies on a combination of trademark laws, copyright laws, trade secret protection, database laws, confi dentiality agreements and other contractual arrangements with its affi liates, customers, strategic investors and others. In the event the protective steps taken are inadequate to deter misappropriation of Euronext's intellectual property, Euronext's reputation could be harmed, affecting its ability to compete eff ectively. Further, in defending its ownership or intellectual property rights may require signifi cant fi nancial and managerial resources. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on the business, results of operations, financial condition and cash fl ows.
Finally, Euronext takes best eff orts to prevent infringement of any third party intellectual property rights, for instance by entering into license agreements or contributing to open source. However, in the event that Euronext is accused of alleged intellectual property right infringement, Euronext may require signifi cant fi nancial and managerial resources for its legal defense.
Many aspects of Euronext's business involve litigation risks. Some other liability risks arise under the laws and regulations relating to the insurance, tax, anti-money laundering, foreign asset controls, data privacy and foreign corrupt practices areas. These risks include potential liability from disputes over terms of a securities trade or from claims that a system or operational failure or delay caused monetary losses to a customer, as well as potential liability from claims that the Group facilitated an unauthorised transaction or that it provided materially false or misleading statements in connection with a transaction. These risks include as well potential liability from disputes as regard non-compliance of the Group to its data privacy obligations as controller or processor.
Dissatisfied customers may make claims against their service providers regarding quality of trade execution, improperly settled trades, mismanagement or even fraud or non-compliance with data privacy obligations. In this specifi c case (i.e. non-compliance with data privacy regulation), claims may also arise from a data subject as defi ned by data privacy regulation or data privacy authorities. Although aspects of the Group's business may be protected by regulatory immunity and/or contractual arrangements providing for limited or no liability clauses, Euronext could nevertheless be exposed to substantial liability under the laws and regulations and court decisions in the countries in which it operates, as well as regulations promulgated by European and other regulators.
The Group could incur signifi cant expenses defending claims, even those without merit. In addition, an adverse resolution of any lawsuit or claim against the Group may require it to pay substantial damages or impose restrictions on how it conducts its business, any of which could have an eff ect on both the business and fi nancial results, and the reputation of the Group.
8 2017 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT www.euronext.com
EBITDA MARGIN
NET INCOME
ADJUSTED EPS
(1) Percentages compare 2017 data to 2016 data.
+21.8%(1) €1.73m
DPS
STRONG SET OF FINANCIALS THANKS TO STRENGTHENED POSITION ON KEY MARKETS AND FOCUSED ACQUISITIONS
€3.6trn
MARKET CAP ON EURONEXT MARKETS
64.4%
MARKET SHARE ON CASH TRADING
ISSUERS
CASH ADV
€9.8m
REVENUE FROM AGILITY FOR GROWTH
NEW LISTINGS 26
CASH YIELD 0.5bps
€300m
INVESTED OR COMMITTED IN 8 COMPANIES
WE LAUNCHED GROWTH INITIATIVES, RESOLVED THE UNCERTAINTIES RELATED TO CLEARING, SECURED THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT ACQUISITIONS SINCE OUR IPO, DELIVERED THE FIRST COMPONENTS OF OPTIQ® AND BECAME MIFID II COMPLIANT. OVER 2017, EURONEXT INVESTED OR COMMITTED OVER €300 MILLION IN 8 COMPANIES, ALLOWING US NOTABLY TO EXPAND INTO NEW ASSET CLASSES AND FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE OUR IPO, OPEN THE FEDERAL MODEL TO ANOTHER EUROPEAN EXCHANGE.
PROVIDING WITH NEW INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO POWER CAPITAL MARKETS 03/17
In March 2017, through a JV and a minority investment, Euronext entered into a strategic collaboration with Algomi, a leading Fixed Income technology provider, resulting in Euronext Synapse, a new MTF that connects pools of liquidity and market participants within a new anonymous interdealer centralised market place. Euronext Synapse links banks and their customers together for liquidity, execution and reporting services with the appropriate level of protection for fixed income markets. Euronext also participated in the launch of LiquidShare, a dynamic and innovative company which core objective is to improve SME's access to capital markets, improving the transparency and security of post-trading operations using
RENEWAL OF THE REFERENCE SHAREHOLDER AGREEMENTS
06/17
In June 2017, Euronext's Reference Shareholders decided to extend an amended version of their Reference Shareholders Agreement, with a reduced aggregated holding of 23.86% of Euronext share capital, locked until June 2019. The former Reference Shareholders group previously held 33.36% since Euronext's IPO. This new RSH Agreement maintains a core group of long-term, pan-European shareholders committed to support the growth strategy of Euronext, while the reduction of the number of shares held by the RSH increased Euronext's free float.
January February ebru March April May June
BUILDING UP THE CORPORATE SERVICES OFFERING
Early 2017, Euronext acquired a 51% majority stake in Company Webcast, a Dutch company specialised in professional webcast and webinar services, adding high-end webcast and webinar solutions to its offering. The franchise was strengthened with the acquisition of a 60% stake in iBabs, a leading Dutch provider of dematerialised board portal solutions for corporate and public organisations, in July 2017 marking the achievement of a significant milestone in the development of the Euronext Corporate Services franchise. All these solutions are integrated into the Euronext Corporate Services offering alongside existing services, part of the Agility for Growth initiatives.
In August 2017, Euronext completed the acquisition of 90% of FastMatch, Inc., for – the fastest growing Electronic Communication Network in the spot Foreign Exchange market with leadingedge technology, entrepreneurial spirit and access to a large, transparent and diversified pool of liquidity at unrivalled speed and capacity. Consistent with Euronext's "Agility for Growth" strategy, this transaction diversifies Euronext's top line, accelerates its growth profile and allows the group to extend its "best execution" value proposition to an additional asset class.
July August September October November December
SUPPORTING THE 09/17
Committed to becoming the reference listing venue for Tech companies in Europe, Euronext announced in September 2017 the opening of new offices in five European cities outside its core markets – in Germany (Frankfurt, Munich), Italy (Milan), Spain (Madrid) and Switzerland (Zurich) – deploying teams on the ground to work collaboratively with local ecosystems to assist Tech companies in developing their business on a greater scale through capital markets.
11/17
Following the acquisition of a 20% stake in EuroCCP in December 2016, Euronext implemented in 2017 a user preferred choice clearing model for its equity markets, allowing its cash trading members to choose between LCH SA and EuroCCP. Further, on 1 November 2017, Euronext renewed of its agreement with LCH SA on the continued provision of derivatives and commodities clearing services for a period of 10 years. This was followed, on 29 December, by the completion of the swap of its 2.3% stake in LCH Group for an 11.1% stake in LCH SA, a leading multi-asset CCP in the Eurozone. This transaction strengthened the longstanding relationship between Euronext and LCH SA, and cement the strategic future of LCH SA. In addition, through this transaction, Euronext secured a preemption right in circumstances where LCH Group decides to sell more than 50% of the shares of LCH SA(1)
On 29 November 2017, Euronext announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares and voting rights of the Irish Stock Exchange ("ISE"), Ireland's incumbent stock exchange operator and a leading global debt and fund listing venue. This transaction brings together two highly complementary businesses with significant growth opportunities and expands Euronext's federal model to a new attractive European country. It creates a leading global player in debt and fund listings, combining the listing expertise of ISE with the traded markets expertise of Euronext. Euronext will benefit from ISE's leading global positions in debt and fund listings as well as its unique product and listing expertise.
01/18
Euronext worked actively with its clients over 2017 to ensure MiFID II compliance of its IT systems by 3 January 2018. Meanwhile, Euronext delivered the first milestones of its new state-of-the-art trading platform Optiq™, with Optiq® Market Data Gateway for cash delivered to clients in March 2017 and for derivatives in July 2017, providing customers with maximum flexibility, simplified and harmonized messaging as well as high performance and stability. These achievements were supported by Euronext two IT centre of Excellence, in Paris, and since 2017, in Porto, where Euronext has built a specialist team of analysts, developers and engineers to support the commercial technology business.
(1)The parties have agreed that Euronext will have certain minority protection rights connected with its new shareholding in LCH SA. The pre-emption right involves a right of first offer and subject to certain conditions, a matching right.
| 1.1 | Company Profi le | 14 |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 | History | 15 |
| 1.1.2 | Ambition | 15 |
| 1.1.3 | Business Environment | 16 |
| 1.2 | Strategy: "Agility for Growth" Strategic Plan |
17 |
| 1.2.1 | Capturing Opportunities Arising from the Environment |
17 |
| 1.2.2 | Enhancing Agility | 17 |
| 1.2.3 | Strengthening Core Business | 17 |
| 1.2.4 | Growing in Selected Segments | 18 |
| 1.2.5 | Accelerating Profi table Growth Through Targeted Mergers and Acquisitions |
18 |
| 1.2.6 | Setting Ambitious Financial Objectives | 19 |
| 1.2.7 | Enhancing Shareholder Value | 20 |
| 1.2.8 | Strategic Targets and Prospects in 2018 | 20 |
| 1.3 | Description of the Business | 20 |
|---|---|---|
| 1.3.1 | Business Overview | 20 |
| 1.3.2 | Strengths | 21 |
| 1.3.3 | Listing | 23 |
| 1.3.4 | Cash, Derivatives and SPOT FX Markets | 27 |
| 1.3.5 | Market Data and Indices | 35 |
| 1.3.6 | Post Trade | 37 |
| 1.3.7 | Market Solutions & Other | 39 |
| 1.4 | Regulation | 41 |
| 1.4.1 | Overview | 41 |
| 1.4.2 | European Regulation | 41 |
| 1.4.3 | Ownership Limitations and Additional | |
| Notifi cation Requirements | 44 |
Euronext N.V. is a Dutch public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap) which has its registered office in Amsterdam. Euronext N.V. has its main subsidiaries in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom. In 2017 Euronext has acquired 90% of FastMatch Inc., a North American Electronic Communication Network specialised in spot foreign exchange trading. Euronext N.V. has a two-tier governance structure with a Supervisory Board and a Managing Board.
Euronext was incorporated under the name Euronext Group N.V. on 15 March 2014 in the context of a demerger of Euronext N.V., which was a company owned by ICE. Euronext Group N.V. changed its name to Euronext N.V. on 2 May 2014.
Euronext N.V. is a Dutch public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap) which has its registered office in Amsterdam. Euronext N.V. is registered with the trade register of the Chamber of Commerce for Amsterdam, the Netherlands, under number 60234520. Euronext N.V. has its main subsidiaries in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom. In 2017 Euronext has acquired 90% of FastMatch Inc., a North American Electronic Communication Network specialised in spot foreign exchange trading. Euronext N.V. has a two-tier governance structure with a Supervisory Board and a Managing Board.
Euronext was incorporated under the name Euronext Group N.V. on 15 March 2014 in the context of a demerger of Euronext N.V., which was a company owned by ICE. Euronext Group N.V. changed its name to Euronext N.V. on 2 May 2014.
The following chart provides with an overview of Euronext N.V. entities. Percentage refer to both share of capital and voting rights.
1
Today, Euronext is a pan-European exchange Group, offering a diverse range of products and services and combining transparent and effi cient equity, fi xed income securities and derivatives markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Paris. Euronext's businesses comprise: listing, corporate services, cash trading, foreign exchange trading, derivatives trading, market data & indices, post-trade services as well as market solutions.
Euronext in its original form was created in 2000 and takes its roots from the European construction. It was fi rst the result of a threeway merger of the Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels exchanges, soon completed by the acquisition of the London-based derivatives market, LIFFE, and the merger with the Portuguese exchange. The continental exchanges were combined into a unique federal model with unifi ed rules and a Single Order Book (except for Portugal), operating on the same electronic trading platform and cleared by LCH S.A. CCP, creating the fi rst genuinely cross-border exchange in Europe and pre-dating all initiatives by policy makers to allow for the creation of pan-European market places.
In May 2006, Euronext entered into an agreement with NYSE group for the combination of their respective businesses. The new holding company of these combined businesses, NYSE Euronext, was subsequently listed on the New York Stock Exchange and on Euronext Paris.
In 2010, NYSE Euronext launched Euronext London, a London-based securities market aiming at attracting international issuers looking to list in London and benefi ting from Euronext's value proposition.
In November 2013, ICE, an operator of global markets and clearing houses, acquired NYSE Euronext. A key element of the overall transaction was the separation and IPO of NYSE Euronext's continental European exchanges as a stand-alone entity. In order to do this, ICE carved the continental European operations of NYSE Euronext and Euronext London into a newly formed entity, which was subsequently renamed Euronext N.V. Since its successful IPO on 20 June 2014, Euronext N.V. has been an independent listed company.
In May 2016, Euronext N.V. launched its strategic plan named "Agility For Growth" which defi nes the growth ambitions for 2019, both through organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions. In 2017, Euronext N.V. has diversifi ed its top line, through the acquisition of 90% of the shares of the forex platform FastMatch, and by investing in corporates services companies (see 1.2.5). In addition, Euronext N.V. has continued the expansion of its European federal model, with the proposed acquisition of 100% of the Irish Stock Exchange in November 2017, which closing occurred on 27 March 2018.
Euronext is the leading continental pan-European marketplace for the real economy. Its core mission and the driver of its strategy is to power pan-european capital markets to fi nance the real economy, while delivering value to shareholders.
As a pan-European group with a profi le 'united in diversity', Euronext's ambition is to play a constructive role in the local ecosystems and Act as an industry problem solver while contributing to making Europe an attractive block in a multipolar world. The Group's model is best suited to contribute to the construction of a true pan-European market. It operates regulated markets in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom, all of which are connected via a unique, single trading platform with a harmonised regulatory framework. Euronext's unique Single Order Book allows investors to get the benefi t of being able to trade, clear and settle in a uniform way throughout various jurisdictions while also accessing a broad and deep pool of liquidity Euronext is also ready to welcome other independent Eurozone market platforms within the Euronext model, which is demanding in terms of commercial and fi nancial performance, ambitious in terms of innovation, and fundamentally federal in its governance, as demonstrated by the announcement on 29 November 2017 and the closing on 27 March 2018 of the acquisition of the Irish Stock Exchange.
The Group offers a wide range of products and services to the community of issuers and gives them access to a broad and diversifi ed investor base for the listing activity. As part of its Agility for Growth strategic plan, Euronext is developing a complete suite of products off ering to help private and public companies make the most eff ective use of fi nancial markets by providing them with innovative solutions and tailor-made advisory services.
As an operator of regulated markets, Euronext's mission is to bring together buyers and sellers in venues that are transparent, effi cient and reliable. The Group combines equity, fi xed income securities and derivatives markets in its fi ve locations together with a global forex trading venue. Euronext's broad portfolio of products, services and platforms covers the full range of market services, including the provision of market information, the development and operation of information technology systems, and the ease of access to settlement and clearing facilities.
As an exchange operator, Euronext's operations and performance depend signifi cantly on market and economic conditions in Europe, but also the United States, Asia and the rest of the world. Euronext is operating in a business environment that is best described as a complex non-linear system with dependencies on decisions of policy makers and regulators worldwide, with subsequent developments in the legal, regulatory and tax environment as well as the macroeconomic environment both in Europe and abroad.
On the corporate listing side, competition between exchanges for domestic issuers is rare. When a domestic issuer lists on another exchange, it tends to be on an American market rather than on another European stock exchange, in particular in respect of global companies and SMEs in the technology sector. As part of its Agility for Growth strategy, Euronext intends to attract issuers from new markets: (i.e. Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Spain) and therefore will face the competition of local market operators. In 2017, Euronext has opened new offi ces in fi ve European cities outside its core markets – in Frankfurt and Munich (Germany), in Milan (Italy), in Madrid (Spain) and in Zurich (Switzerland) – to assist Tech companies in developing their business on a greater scale through capital markets
While competition in the cash trading market is relatively mature, in recent years Euronext has faced increased pressure on pricing and market share in equity options trading, in particular from new entrants to the market that have fee structures that are signifi cantly lower than the Company's fee structure and a reduced cost structure aligned with their narrower service off ering.
The competition for proprietary real-time market data is still limited as trading participants prefer to receive and use market data from the home exchange rather than using substitute pricing. However, Euronext is experiencing an increasing pressure, both from a regulatory (MiFID II) and competitive perspective (alternative trading platforms, including MTFs such as BATS who focus on the most liquid blue chip stocks). Nevertheless Euronext believes that diversity in a wide range of stocks is Euronext's strength in this increasingly competitive environment and will help Euronext retain its position as preferred data source.
In less time critical areas such as reference data – and particularly corporate actions and historical data – participants want a consolidated European feed from a single source. Euronext is not the only source of corporate actions or historical data so there is more competition in these areas.
As for Market Solutions, the market for financial information technology is intensely competitive and characterised by rapidly changing technology and new entrants. Euronext has built the next generation trading platform, Optiq™, and is well positioned to benefi t from its state-of-the art stability and latency.
Regulated markets are markets constituted in an EEA Member State's territory that fulfi lled the criteria of the MiFID. Regulated markets have higher disclosure and transparency requirements than multi-lateral trading facilities ("MTF"). Trading on regulated markets is subject to stricter rules than on other types of trading venues.
A regulated market cannot operate without securing prior authorisation from its regulator(s). Authorisation is subject to compliance with organisational requirements pertaining to confl icts of interest, identifi cation and management of operational risks, systems resilience, the existence of transparent and nondiscriminatory trading rules, as well as suffi cient fi nancial resources.
Multilateral trading facilities ("MTFs") are primarily institutional investor-focused marketplaces off ering trading in pan-European securities on low latency, low cost platforms and are usually operated by financial institutions (e.g. banks, brokerages) or operators of regulated markets. MTFs are also subject to less stringent disclosure, transparency and trading rules than regulated markets and have more discretion to operate and organise themselves.
Euronext operates a number of MTFs, including its SME and midcapdedicated marketplace Euronext Growth (formerly Alternext) (Belgium, France, Portugal), Euronext Access (formerly the Marché Libre) in Belgium and in France, BondMatch for institutional bond trading (France) and Euronext Block a pan-European equity block pool (United Kingdom).
The systematic internaliser ("SI") regime was introduced by MiFID in 2007 which defines a SI as an investment firm which, on an organised, frequent systematic and substantial basis, deals on own account when executing client orders outside a regulated market, an MTF or an OTF without operating a multilateral system. SIs are bilateral trading platforms usually operated by banks or brokers and off ering them the possibility to match client orders against their own capital, as an alternative to sending their orders to multilateral trading venues such as regulated markets or MTFs. SIs are subject to much lighter organisational, disclosure, and transparency requirements than regulated markets and MTFs.
In all asset classes, Euronext is faced with competition from unlicensed marketplaces operating over-the-counter ("OTC")
Strategy: "Agility for Growth" Strategic Plan
Since the IPO, through optimal resource allocation and cost control, as well as stronger development of underexploited businesses, Euronext has strived to deliver its solutions for the real economy.
Following the delivery of its IPO objectives a year in advance, in May 2016 Euronext published its strategic plan, Agility For Growth, outlining its growth ambitions to 2019. Under this plan, Euronext announced that it would enhance its agility in order to strengthen the resilience of its core business, to capture strategic opportunities and to grow in selected segments. The driver of this plan is to fulfi l Euronext's core mission: power pan-European capital markets to fi nance the real economy while delivering value to shareholders.
Capturing opportunities arising from the environment, the strategic plan relies on:
This plan would translate into a set of new fi nancial targets for the 2015-2019 period and Group EBITDA margin excluding clearing operations, would reach 61 to 63% in 2019. T his plan would deliver enhanced shareholder value, through a disciplined capital allocation policy.
In the next two years Euronext expects to benefi t from a broadly favourable environment driven by three factors. The Euro area economic environment is expected to remain supportive of Euronext's core business, as Quantitative Easing and low interest rates continue to drive investors' search for yield. Innovation in capital markets should offer Euronext opportunities to develop new services with clients. The ongoing regulatory changes would increasingly drive value towards transparent, neutral, centrally cleared, open and Regulated Markets.
Client Centricity plays a key role in business development. Euronext launched the second edition of its annual client satisfaction survey in 2017. Last year's feedback allowed to identify and drive improvements in client interactions, product development and service offerings. In parallel to the client survey, Euronext is conducting an internal online survey to measure employee appreciation and understanding of Client Centricity and the initiatives that have been implemented over the last year.
In terms of proposing innovating services to the fi nancial community, Euronext with other fi nancial institutions has launched on 11 July 2017 Liquidshare, the European blockchain fi ntech venture for SME post-trade, to improve SME's access to capital markets, improving the transparency and security of post-trading operations using blockchain.
In line with its announced Agility for Growth strategy, the ongoing cost management discipline has continued all over 2017 to reach the target announced in May 2016 of €22 m of costs savings, compared to 1 April 2016.
In order to upgrade its information technology, Euronext continue to deliver improved customer experience through the migration from its current technology platform Universal Trading Platform ("UTP") to its new leading edge platform: Optiq®. Optiq® deliver a simplifi ed harmonised messaging model with maximum fl exibility, within a single trading platform for cash and derivatives, providing clients with high performance and stability. During the summer 2017, Optiq® Market data gateway went live for cash and derivatives markets, with impressive stability and performance. Optiq® for cash trading is expected to be delivered during the course of 2018.
Euronext has undertaken an opportunistic approach of mergers and acquisitions, translating into a fi rst set of deals to complement its business mix (see section 1.2.5).
Euronext is further strengthening its core business, creating value for clients and shareholders alike.
The main levers to achieve these objectives are to:
Strategy: "Agility for Growth" Strategic Plan
Euronext focuses on several growth initiatives in selected segments to:
In order to accelerate Euronext's standalone strategy, its growth ambitions will be achieved both organically, leveraging on its existing assets and talents, and inorganically, through disciplined and selected bolt-on acquisitions.
In an evolving industry landscape, Euronext is carefully assessing potential opportunities resulting in transformational transactions that will create value for clients and shareholders.
In 2017, Euronext made the following acquisitions and concluded partnerships in accordance with the Agility for Growth strategy:
in July 2017, Euronext acquired a 60% stake in iBabs, for an initial consideration of €30.1 m. iBabs is a leading Dutch company providing corporates and public organisations with a dematerialised board portal solution. The acquisition of iBabs marks a new signifi cant milestone in the development of Euronext's Corporate Services franchise, strengthening Euronext's value proposition to listed companies while targeting a broader audience of private companies and public institutions. iBabs' solutions will support governance, workfl ow management, effi cient decision making process and secured collaboration at board level and more generally across management teams. With the acquisition of iBabs, Euronext will accelerate its growth ambition profi le and answer the growing need for streamlining and making governance for organisations more secure;
adding value to investors: enhance Euronext's fixed income off ering: In March 2017, Euronext invested \$10m in a minority stake in leading fi xed income technology provider, Algomi. Following this partnership, combining Euronext's experience operating fair and orderly markets and Algomi's innovation and award-winning technology led to the launch of a new MTF – Euronext Synapse – that connects pools of liquidity and market participants within a new anonymous inter-dealer centralised market place;
Euronext's Agility for Growth strategy aims to translate into a set of fi nancial objectives.
In May 2016, based on the current trading environment and competitive landscape, Euronext has set a growth objective of 2% CAGR over the 2015-2019 period for its core business revenue. The revenue expected from the identifi ed growth initiatives(2) would bring additional revenue of €70 million. As a result, Group revenue was expected to reach €575 million, vs. €467 million in 2015, excluding clearing revenue. These expectations relied both on factors that Euronext management can infl uence such as product and service launches and on factors that are outside its infl uence (global volume environment, macro trends, political uncertainty, Brexit, competition, …).
Cost management remains a key pillar of Euronext's strategy to 2019. A target of €22 million of gross effi ciencies has been identifi ed, representing about €15 million net, taking into account an annual inflation rate of 1% over the period. The restructuring costs requested to deliver the additional cost effi ciencies are estimated at 1.5 times the gross effi ciencies, or €33 million.
The completion of the strategic plan and the growth initiatives would induce about €35 million of additional operational expenses. On a net basis, the Company's cost base would then increase by about 1% CAGR over the period (excluding clearing operations). Therefore factoring in these revenue and cost assumptions, Euronext's EBITDA margin was expected to range between 61% and 63% by 2019.
2017 has been a very active year for Euronext, with more than 8 investments in companies closed or committed, for more than €300 million. The acquisitions of FastMatch and of the Irish Stock Exchange(1) in 2017, not included in the initial targets, have led the management to allocate resources to highly value creating projects. As a result of these and of the delays related to the on-boarding of clients due to other focus of the industry, the management has also decided to refocus the Agility for Growth initiatives to the most promising projects among those announced in May 2016(2) :
As a result, the 2019 incremental revenue contribution of Agility for Growth initiatives is refi ned to €55 million (vs. €70 million in May 2016), while core business revenue 2019 targets are unchanged and 2019 revenue will also benefi t from the full-year contribution of FastMatch and of the Irish Stock Exchange(1).
Given the recent developments and the current outlook information on risks and opportunities Euronext has, the table below sum s up the main 2019 targets:
| 2019 TARGETS | |
|---|---|
| Core business revenue Excluding Clearing, FastMatch, ISE (after closing) and other future acquisitions |
+2.0% CAGR15-19 (unchanged) |
| Core business costs savings | €22m costs gross savings between 1 April 2016 and 2019 (unchanged) Core business costs reduction expected to start in H2 2018, after the delivery of IT projects |
| EBITDA margin | 61 to 63% of EBITDA margin excluding clearing (unchanged), FastMatch and Irish Stock Exchange |
| Agility for Growth initiatives | +€55m revenue between 2015 and 2019 (vs. €70m in May 2016) At 50% EBITDA margin (unchanged) |
| Acquisition criteria | ROCE>WACC in year 3 (unchanged) |
| Dividend policy | 50% of reported net income, with a fl oor at €1.42 per share (unchanged) |
1
(1) The closing of the Irish Stock Exchange acquisition occurred on 27 March 2018.
(2) Please refer to Paragraph 1.2.4.
Description of the Business
Euronext intends to pursue a very disciplined capital allocation policy. The dividend policy of 50% of reported net earnings was confi rmed, providing shareholders with consistent capital return and enabling the Company to deploy its strategy. In addition, Euronext has set in 2017 a fl oor at €1.42 dividend per share for every fi scal year until 2019.
This also includes the possibility to execute its value accretive bolt-on acquisition strategy while maintaining suffi cient fi nancial fl exibility for potential transformational transactions.
Euronext considers its capital management policy as a core priority and a key part of its value proposition to shareholders, and will return any excess of capital on its balance sheet in the absence of transformational deals during the period.
Euronext will continue to pursue its Agility for Growth strategic plan to deliver the 2019 targets.
The closing of the Irish Stock Exchange acquisition occurred on 27 March 2018, after regulatory approvals. With the integration of the I rish S tock E xchange in Euronext group, the G roup worforce is expected to grow mathematically.
In addition, Euronext will continue the development of Optiq®, with the trading platform for cash planned to be live in the fi rst half of 2018.
Euronext is a pan-European exchange Group off ering a diverse range of products and services and combining transparent and effi cient equity, fi xed income securities and derivatives markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Paris. Euronext's businesses comprise listing, cash trading, derivatives trading, spot FX trading, market data and indices, post-trade and market solutions & other.
Euronext's markets provide the leading listing venues in continental Europe based on the number of companies listed as of 31 December 2017. Nearly 1,300 issuers representing a combined market capitalisation of approximately €3.6 trillion were admitted to trading on Euronext's markets as at 31 December 2017. In addition, the Company has 804 exchange traded funds ("ETFs"), 596 open-end funds listed on its markets (including Expert Market Funds) and over 60,000 structured products. As of 31 December 2017, Euronext ranked second in Europe in terms of market capitalisation of listed companies and second in terms of number of companies listed among the largest exchange groups in Europe, excluding Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (on which a large proportion of listed issuers are open-ended investment companies, limiting comparability).
Euronext also ranked second in terms of monthly order book trading volume in cash products for the last twelve months ended 31 December 2017 among the incumbent stock exchanges in Europe (excluding BATS-Chi-X).
Euronext's pan-European cash equities trading venue is the market leader in cash equity trading in its four home continental European markets of Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Portugal, b ased on domestic market capitalisation as of 31 December 2017 Euronext market share reached 64.4% in cash trading in 2017. Euronext provides multiple marketplaces including its ("MTFs"), for investors, broker-dealers and other market participants to meet directly to buy and sell cash equities, fi xed income securities and exchange traded products ("ETPs").
Euronext's derivatives trading business has a strong market position on benchmark index futures and options such as the CAC 40®, AEX®, BEL 20® and PSI 20®, single stock options and futures and commodity derivatives. It ranks third among European exchange groups in terms of open interests of derivatives traded as at 31 December 2017. With the CAC 40® being the second most traded national index in Europe for example, Euronext off ers options contracts based on all of the blue-chip equities listed on Euronext, thereby reinforcing liquidity with respect to those equities. The commodity derivatives off ered by the derivatives trading business include the milling wheat futures contract which is a world class contract for the European Union agriculture market.
Euronext's market data and indices business distributes and sells real-time, historic and reference data to global data vendors, such as Reuters and Bloomberg, as well as to fi nancial institutions and individual investors. With a portfolio of over 1,100 benchmark indices and iNAVS, including CAC 40® in France and AEX® in the Netherlands, the Company is a leading provider of indices.
Post-trade services are an important part of the services Euronext provides to its clients. In 2013, the Company entered into a clearing agreement with LCH S.A., the Paris-based clearing house of LCH S.A. group Limited ("LCH.Group"), in respect of the clearing of Euronext's cash products. In 2017, Euronext renewed the separate derivatives clearing agreement with LCH S.A. that provides for a revenue sharing arrangement in respect of the clearing of Euronext listed derivatives, and became minority shareholder with strong preemption righ ts, with 11.1% of LCH SA capital. In addition, Euronext owns and operates Interbolsa, the Portuguese national Central Securities Depository ("CSD").
Since 2016, Euronext owns a 20% equity stake in EuroCCP. EuroCCP is the leading CCP for pan-European equity markets providing clearing and settlement services. Following this acquisition, Euronext is now an equal shareholder in the Company alongside ABN Amro Clearing Bank, Bats Europe, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and Nasdaq. This deal enabled Euronext to off er user choice in clearing for the equity markets within the Eurozone, through the implementation of a preferred CCP model followed by a fully interoperable service, which will be open to other CCPs in due course.
Euronext's market solutions & other business off ers technology solutions and services to exchanges and venue operators. These solutions and services use Optiq® and other applications developed by Euronext or licensed from third-parties. Optiq® has already been licensed to fi ve international exchanges. This rapid take-up by the exchange industry demonstrates the attractiveness of the reliability, fl exibility and cost of ownership benefi ts that Optiq® off ers. To drive further sales, Euronext has appointed a global systems integrator as its sales and delivery partner for Optiq®. The global sales capabilities of this partner will enable Euronext to promote and deliver Optiq® cost eff ectively to exchanges and venue operators around the world.
Euronext continues to provide software support and maintenance services for the legacy trading platforms, Euronext UTP and Nouveau Système de Cotation ("NSC™"). Euronext has a perpetual, royalty-free license from ICE to use, modify and sub-license these platforms (see section 5.2 "Material contracts and related party transactions").
In addition to software licensing, Euronext off ers access to its trading software in the form of managed services. Exchanges and venue operators can take advantage of fully-hosted trading and clearing platforms without investing in data center or network infrastructure. With banks and financial intermediaries increasingly seeing migration to cloud and software-as-a-service as solutions to the competing pressures of cost-reduction and regulatory complexity, Euronext's experience as a service provider is receiving renewed interest. Euronext's MiFID II compliant MTF and SI services build on Euronext's own software, processes and infrastructure and off er clients an eff ective way to reduce costs without increasing regulatory risk.
Euronext continues to provide software support and maintenance services for the legacy trading platforms, Euronext UTP and Nouveau Système de Cotation ("NSC™"). Euronext has a perpetual, royalty-free license from ICE to use, modify and sub-license these platforms (see section 5.2 "Material contracts and related party transactions").
The market solutions and other business also receives revenue for network connectivity and server colocation under a revenue sharing agreement with ICE. This agreement enables Euronext to benefi t from service sales to clients who connect to its markets via the ICE SFTI® network or who take colocation space in the ICE data centers that house Euronext's trading platforms.
Euronext benefits from a diverse client base, both in terms of geographic distribution and type of trading fl ow. The Company has an established continental European and United Kingdom client base, representing 50% of cash equities trading average daily volume and 72% of derivatives trading average daily volume for the year ended 31 December 2017. A substantial portion of the fl ow from the United Kingdom is from global clients with headquarters based in the United States. While United States and Asian clients accounted for 45% and 4% respectively of Euronext's cash equities trading average daily volume and 28% and 0% respectively of its derivatives trading average daily volume for the year ended 31 December 2017, the Group believes these geographic client segments are currently underexploited and off er potential for growth.
Euronext's sources of revenues are diversifi ed across the businesses, markets and client segments. For the year ended 31 December 2017, approximately 44% of the Company's revenues were generated by the non-volume related businesses. Non-volume related businesses include market data and indices, listings excluding IPOs, custody and settlement, and market solutions & other. This helps to limit Euronext's exposure to cyclicality in demand for particular products or services or in individual markets.
The following table sets out information relating to the sources of total revenue for the year ended 31 December 2017 and for the year ended 31 December 2016:
| YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017 | YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | REVENUE | % OF TOTAL REVENUES |
REVENUE | % OF TOTAL REVENUES |
|
| Listing | 84,247 | 15.8%15.8% | 68,708 | 13.8% | |
| Trading revenue | 237,854 | 44.7% | 220,835 | 44.5% | |
| of which: | |||||
| Cash trading | 190,276 | 35.7% | 180,727 | 36.4% | |
| Derivatives trading | 40,339 | 7.6% | 40,108 | 8.1% | |
| Spot FX trading | 7,239 | 1.4% | - | n/a | |
| Market Data and Indices | 104,673 | 19.7% | 105,697 | 21.3% | |
| Post-trade | 71,698 | 13.5% | 67,627 | 13.7% | |
| of which: | |||||
| Clearing | 51,132 | 9.6% | 47,992 | 9.7% | |
| Custody and Settlement | 20,566 | 3.9% | 19,635 | 4.0% | |
| Market solutions & other | 33,465 | 6.3% | 33,009 | 6.6% | |
| Other income | 357 | 0.1% | 560 | 0.1% | |
| TOTAL REVENUE | 532,294 | 496,436 |
Euronext's businesses are characterised by recurring revenue streams which generate resilient and robust free cash fl ow and allow Euronext to operate and invest in its business with fl exibility. The Group's market expertise and proven, multi-asset class technology infrastructure allow Euronext to launch new products without substantial additional capital expenditure. Further, the Company's trading businesses do not expose it to credit risk or counterparty risk, which is borne by the counterparties to the trade and not by the markets. Euronext believes that its capital-light business and resilient free cash fl ow generation provide a potential for attractive return for shareholders while observing its regulatory capital requirements.
Euronext's cash equities markets have a diverse member base by geography and trading profi le, making for a particularly rich and diversifi ed order book.
Euronext offers superior market quality to competitors: in December 2017 Euronext provided for blue-chips on average 80% presence at EBBO (European Best Bid and Off er), of which 65% was the fi rst to set the EBBO. This ability to make the EBBO demonstrates the leading role of Euronext in the price forming of its listed securities and in ensuring the best execution for its investors. In addition the average displayed market depth at the Euronext best limit is equivalent to seven times – or 58,289 euros – the average order size, thus demonstrating the ability to absorb large orders in full transparency and at minimal cost, as Euronext's average spread was 3.72 basis points.
| BLUE CHIPS (December 2017) | PRESENCE TIME AT EBBO (%) |
EBBO WITH GREATEST SIZE (%) |
EBBO SETTER (%) |
RELATIVE SPREAD (bps) |
DISPLAYED MARKET DEPTH (€) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURONEXT | 80% | 43% | 65% | 3.72 | 58,289 |
| BATS EU | 34% | 0% | 3% | 8.01 | 14,620 |
| Chi-X | 55% | 2% | 10% | 6.29 | 18,375 |
| Equiduct | 2% | 0% | 0% | 61.8 | 23,984 |
| Turquoise | 41% | 0% | 5% | 7.33 | 16,737 |
The table above is indicative of fi ve metrics allowing to compare Euronext order book liquidity against the most active MTF on the Euronext securities.
The combination of Euronext's position as a leading pan-European trading venue, the quality of its markets and the expertise of the Company's teams have enabled Euronext to maintain a relatively stable market share in cash equities above 60% in the trading of the securities listed on its markets since June 2011.
The relative share of trading on competing platforms has been relatively stable over the past five years. The primary tool for supporting market share is the fl agship Supplemental Liquidity Provision programme, which rewards liquidity providers for ensuring Euronext's market quality remains high, whilst balancing against yield management considerations.
Euronext's issuer base is diverse, comprising about 1,300 companies from within its home markets as well as elsewhere in Europe, internationally and span ten sectors by industry classification benchmark. Euronext's corporate issuers diff er in size and represent a combined market capitalisation of €3.6 trillion.
The Company is the third-largest exchange traded funds ("ETF") market in continental Europe by number of ETF trades, with 804 listed ETFs and an average daily trading value of approximately €473 million from January to December 2017. Euronext is the second-largest warrants and certifi cates market in Europe, with over 60,000 instruments at 31 December 2017, and in total nearly 150,000 products have been listed in 2017. More than 5.5 million trades took place on those instruments in the twelve months ended 31 December 2017.
Euronext is also a leading pan-European derivatives trading venue, with derivatives trading activities across fi nancial and commodity derivative products. The Group has established the CAC 40 futures contract as the second most traded national index in Europe, with an equivalent of €6.6 billion in nominal value on an average daily basis. The milling wheat contracts which are the leading wheat derivatives in continental Europe as well as rapeseed commodity contracts continue to be included in recognised commodity benchmarks such as the S&P World Commodity Index and Rogers International Commodity indices.
Euronext operates an important bond market in continental Europe with approximately 5,600 corporate, financial institutions and government bonds listed on its markets and an internationally recognised derivatives platform.
Euronext is currently upgrading its core trading platform with Optiq, a new enhanced, multi-market trading platform, providing customers with maximum fl exibility, simplifi ed and harmonized messaging as well as high performance and stability. Optiq combines latest technologies with in-house expertise.
Optiq is being rolled out across the Euronext markets to replace the Euronext Universal Trading Platform ("UTP") in a phased implementation process. Market data have been managed through Optiq for both cash and derivatives since July 2017, already delivering massive benefi ts to the clients' community. Migration of the orders management gateway and matching engine for cash will be completed in the fi rst half of 2018 .
Some of the third party exchange using UTP or former Euronext solutions have already started projects to migrate to Optiq. Other exchanges and market operators have also shown interest in this best of breed solution.
Euronext is the only pan-European exchange operating across multiple jurisdictions with a harmonised regulatory framework, a Single Order Book for its exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Paris and a single trading platform off ering access to all markets through a single connection. The Single Order Book consolidates liquidity in each multi-listed security to tighten spreads and increase market depth and achieves optimal price formation. Issuers listing on more than one of the Group's markets benefi t from enhanced visibility, qualifi cation for inclusion in more local indices and greater exposure for their volumes and prices.
The Group has generated sustainable and diversifi ed cash fl ows across institutional, high frequency and algorithmic trading, own account, agency brokerage and retail client classes. The Single Order Book model and pan-European technology are key to Euronext's unique federal market structure. This structure enables the Company to integrate its constituent markets while they remain subject to regulation by national regulators.
The Group's issuer base is diverse, comprising about 1,300 companies from within its home markets as well as elsewhere in Europe, internationally and span ten sectors by industry classifi cation benchmark. Euronext's corporate issuers diff er in size and represent a combined market capitalisation of €3.6 trillion. Euronext's listing franchise includes 270 large cap companies (companies with a market capitalisation above €1 billion) and 954 small & mid capitalisation companies as at 31 December 2017.
Euronext's listed issuers account for 49% of EURO STOXX 50, and 23% of EURO STOXX 600. In addition, Euronext is one of Europe's venue of choice for the listing of bonds, with approximately 5,600 corporate, fi nancial institutions and government bonds and money market instruments, representing nearly 660 issuers listed on Euronext's markets.
In addition, Euronext issuers are eligible to a family of leading index products in each of its national markets including the AEX® in the Netherlands, BEL 20® in Belgium, CAC 40® in France and PSI 20® in Portugal. Euronext's family of index products provides investors and issuers with benchmarks enabling them to measure and trade the performance of key segments and strategies. The Group also off ers extensive trading opportunities to investors, including in particular single stock derivatives on the underlying securities listed on its markets.
Euronext offers issuers an established and credible financial marketplace for their capital market needs. In order to attract issuers to Euronext's marketplace and maintain relationships with clients (existing issuers, prospects and other stakeholders) the Company undertakes outreach initiatives through direct prospecting and continuous client interaction. In addition, Euronext organises dedicated events for prospects, issuers and investors aimed at improving and facilitating access to capital and promote its markets on an international and national level.
In 2017, Euronext has changed its market names for easier identifi cation and defi nition of its listing and service off ering towards issuers:
Euronext, Euronext Growth and Euronext Access, enable corporate clients in diff erent stages of their development, whether early stage growth companies or more established businesses, to access a broad range of investors and provide access to capital.
Euronext markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Paris are regulated markets within the meaning of MiFID. Euronext lists a wide variety of securities, including domestic and international equity securities, convertible bonds, debt securities (including corporate and government bonds), structured products (including warrants and certifi cates and structured notes), ETFs and openended investment funds.
Euronext Growth markets in Brussels, Lisbon and Paris are MTFs within the meaning of MiFID. Euronext Growth is dedicated to early stage and high growth SMEs. Euronext Growth lists a wide variety of securities, including domestic and international equity securities, convertible bonds and corporate bonds.
Operating in Brussels, Lisbon and Paris, Euronext Access markets are MTFs within the meaning of MiFID, off ering early stage SMEs access to the capital markets and a framework adapted to their specifi c needs. This market is open to any company, regardless of size, performance, maturity or industry. Corporate bonds and structured products are also traded on Euronext Access.
Euronext also off ers alternative markets such as: 1) Trading Facility, a MTF in Belgium and 2) Euronext Expert Market, based in Brussels, which enables to negotiate prices for unlisted products – such as shares, real estate certifi cates notes and bonds – once a week.
Euronext provides to its issuers a range of services including:
Euronext provides advocacy to represent the interests of corporate client companies at the level of Euronext as well as at national and European levels for specifi c issues related to fi nancial markets. As part of this, Euronext regularly communicates with its issuers and investor relations organisations, organises issuer Committees and participates in consultations with regulatory bodies on a wide range of topics.
ExpertLine is a team of market professionals based in Paris who provide issuers with feedback on real-time events that may aff ect their share price. ExpertLine also acts as a fi rst port of call for issuers listed on all Euronext's markets, listing sponsors and other intermediaries, and the team develops and provides issuers with a suite of services such as the Connect web portal that Euronext constantly enriches.
Companies listed on Euronext, Euronext Growth and the Belgian Euronext Access have access to Connect, a secure web portal that provides issuers with market intelligence. Connect is also a publication tool, allowing issuers to upload and publish press releases, maintain their financial calendar and update their company's profi le on Euronext's website. The Connect website has been enhanced in 2017 with a new feature allowing each listed company to download a "Listed Emblems" : a logo that visually declares the listed company status on the Euronext stock exchange. The Listed Emblems increase the visibility and recognition of a listed company within the fi nancial community, sending a powerful message to the target audience.
Euronext informs and educates issuers on various topics including recent developments in its markets, new regulatory and legal developments, compliance, governance, social responsibility investments as well as new products and services through workshops and conferences organised all along the year.
Over the last years, Euronext has developed a series of initiatives to better accompany small and medium businesses leaders in their fi nancing decisions and raise awareness towards investors.
Furthermore, in 2013, Euronext launched EnterNext, its subsidiary dedicated to developing and promoting SMEs on its stock markets.
Euronext also contributes to increasing the visibility of the Small & Mid-Caps among investors through roadshows, a wide range of investor events and one-to-one meetings and equity research programmes.
As of 31 December 2017, Euronext SMEs comprises 723 companies in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Portugal, representing a total market capitalisation of €160 billion.
Euronext developed initiatives targeting the Tech sector and family businesses. In particular, TechShare, a free pre- IPO educational programme, has welcomed a growing number of applicants since its launch in 2015, totalizing 143 alumni.
Euronext's markets in 2017 provided financing to the real economy with nearly €110 billion raised on its markets in equity and debt fi nancing through securities admitted to trading as of 31 December 2017, a stable total amount compared to 2016 despite a weaker activity on corporate bonds. This performance was largely driven by equity secondary off erings.
In total in 2017, Euronext welcomed twenty six new listings raising a total of €3.4 billion across all markets with a combined market cap of €46 billion.
In 2017, Euronext continued to be the venue of choice for SMEs with 16 new listings. In particular, 3 Tech companies from the TechShare programme listed on Euronext during the year: Osmozis, Balyo and Theranexus.
2017 also marked an excellent year for corporate green bond issues with a few landmark deals such as ENGIE (€2.75 bn in total) and ICADE (€600 m).
(1) Please refer to paragraph 1.3.3.2 "European Tech hub for SMES".
In 2017, Euronext has launched new initiatives for family businesses. The aim is to encourage them to view fi nancial markets as a source of fi nancing, a governance and transmission tool, a way to enhance their visibility and a mean of raising their profi le with investors. Today, 229 family businesses are listed on Euronext markets, representing a total market capitalisation of €1,060 billion. This includes 153 SMEs with a total market capitalisation of €44 billion.
Family-owned SME stocks benefi t from increased assistance in several areas. This includes European roadshows to meet investors, improved financial analysis coverage through the Morningstar programme and Euronext Family Business index®, a new European index with ninety component companies in the four countries covered by Euronext. Finally, FamilyShare, a dedicated programme off ering support and coaching to unlisted family businesses, will be set up across Euronext markets and tailored to the specifi c needs of each country. This unique pan-European initiative is designed to familiarise family-owned businesses with capital markets, both equity and bonds, giving them the information they need to bring their companies to the market.
In May 2016, Euronext announced its strategic plan "Agility for Growth". On this occasion, Euronext announced to focus on six growth initiatives in selected segments, two of which concern the Listing business.
Euronext launched in 2017 the opening of new offices in five European cities outside its core markets – in Germany (Frankfurt, Munich), Italy (Milan), Spain (Madrid) and Switzerland (Zurich) – to assist Tech companies in developing their business on a greater scale through capital markets.
Euronext had identified the four target countries to set up and roll-out dedicated offers to attract Tech SMEs on Euronext markets with the aim to become the number one exchange for European Tech SMEs in continental Europe. With 336 listed Tech SMEs and mid-tier firms representing a total market capitalization of €64 billion, Euronext is already the leading quotation provider in continental Europe for technology stocks. In view of the growth potential, financing needs and specific features of tech companies, Euronext believes that it can expand its services to include new innovative companies based – among others – in the four target countries. Euronext has set up a salesforce of six FTEs to sell a unique value proposition to Tech SMEs in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Spain.
In 2018, Euronext will deploy two new programs specifically for European Tech SMEs:
The Techshare programme will also be deployed in the four new countries in September 2018.
Euronext European Tech SME initiative countries:
Euronext Corporate Services is a new activity launched in 2016 as part of the Euronext Group's Agility for Growth plan. Euronext Corporate Services' aim is to help private and public companies make the most eff ective use of fi nancial markets by providing them with innovative solutions and tailor-made advisory services.
Companies listed on Euronext markets already benefit from a range of services and support. Based on our deep understanding of issuers' needs, our Corporate Services off ering is positioned as a complement to our existing Listing services
Several milestones have been recently achieved in 2017 in relation with the build-up of a comprehensive suite of solutions. Euronext has performed initially an extensive survey and a large number of interviews with selected issuers to understand issuers needs. Based on this initial assessment, Euronext has built a comprehensive value chain of services to address needs identifi ed in terms of investor relations, communication, governance, advisory and compliance. In that respect, several acquisitions have been made in 2017:
As of 31 December 2017, the Solutions team is servicing around 1,500 clients of which 120 issuers.
Launched in France in 2015, Pre and Post- Listing Advisory are intended to provide companies with assistance during their IPO process (Pre-Listing Advisory), or with their relations with the market for companies that are already listed (Post-Listing Advisory).
Pre-Listing Advisory involves a consulting activity. The team in place is in charge of monitoring and explaining the global process to the Company. They also bring support to the management in discussions with the Company's board, choice of intermediaries, deal structuring, calendar management and stakeholders coordination. In 2017, the Pre-Listing Advisory team successfully executed its second IPO mandate.
Through its Post-Listing Advisory, Euronext aims at helping companies to better understand fi nancial markets and maximize the impact of their fi nancial communication so as to strengthen their relationships with the market. The Post-Listing Advisory team helps the management team with their investor relationship management as well as the review of their equity story and key fi nancial communication axes. To do so, they monitor investors' activity, conduct investor surveys and perception studies. As of 31 December 2017, the team is servicing 15 issuers.
The Post-Listing Advisory for SMEs have been rolled out in Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal in 2017.
Euronext provides multiple marketplaces for investors, brokerdealers and other market participants to meet directly to buy and sell cash equities, fi xed income securities and ETPs. One of the primary functions of the Group's markets is to ensure that orders to purchase and sell securities are executed in a reliable, orderly, liquid and effi cient manner. Order execution occurs through a variety of means and Euronext seeks to continue to develop additional and more effi cient trading processes.
The Company is the market leader in cash equity trading in its four home markets of Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Portugal. As at 31 December 2017, Euronext had a market share of 69% and a strong blue chip issuer presence, with twenty four issuers included in the EURO STOXX 50 stock index and 137 issuers listed on the EURO STOXX benchmark index. Euronext is ranked fi rst in Europe as measured by domestic market capitalisation and second by average monthly equity trading value, excluding BATS-Chi-X. In addition, the Group has a solid ETF trading franchise based on the listing of 804 ETFs in its markets. In 2017, total Euronext transaction value on equity was €1,769 billion, up +7.7% from €1,643 billion in 2016 and compared to €1,938 billion in 2015. In Equities, Euronext outperforms peer exchanges in yield extraction while maintaining high market share. This is achieved through a combination of superior execution quality, sophisticated liquidity schemes and advanced pricing segmentation. Euronext off ers a compelling value proposition across the transaction chain, from blue chips to small companies, with tailored market models to maximise the depth and quality of liquidity available for trading those companies in the secondary market.
Since the introduction of new European Union legislation in 2007, via MiFID, competition for share trading has been intense. Yet Euronext has been successful in maintaining market share above 60% throughout the past decade demonstrating the resilience in its core business. Euronext's product, pricing and client strategy and the execution thereof are vital to maintain the high quality of execution and broad diversity of clients active on Euronext's markets.
| INDEX (December 2017) | MARKET | EBBO | GREATEST SIZE | EBBO SETTER RELATIVE SPREAD | MARKET DEPTH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTF Average | 34% | 0% | 3% | 19.38 | 17,064 | |
| CAC 40 | Euronext | 69% | 29% | 58% | 3.23 | 50,303 |
| MTF Average | 33% | 1% | 5% | 23.5 | 23,271 | |
| BEL 20 | Euronext | 88% | 56% | 73% | 3.9 | 80,046 |
| MTF Average | 36% | 0% | 4% | 17.89 | 20,643 | |
| AEX-INDEX | Euronext | 76% | 40% | 65% | 3.45 | 70,246 |
| MTF Average | 30% | 1% | 5% | 147.46 | 7,180 | |
| PSI 20 | Euronext | 87% | 51% | 70% | 13.27 | 23,866 |
| MTF Average | 33% | 1% | 5% | 20.95 | 18,382 | |
| BLUE CHIPS | Euronext | 80% | 43% | 65% | 3.72 | 58,313 |
| MTF Average | 31% | 1% | 6% | - | - | |
| Domestic | Euronext | 84% | 59% | 72% | - | - |
Euronext operates equity markets of which the main financial instruments are shares. Shares are any share of capital stock or any other equity securities issued by a corporation or other incorporated business enterprise.
Euronext operates bond trading on its regulated market with a particular focus on the retail market. Over 100 members trade 5,600 corporate, fi nancial institutions and government listed bonds, representing a monthly turnover of approximately €0.6 billion.
In December 2017, Euronext launched Euronext Synapse - an innovative MTF in partnership with Algomi. Combining Euronext's experience operating fair and orderly markets and Algomi's innovation and award-winning technology, this new MTF connects pools of liquidity and market participants within a new anonymous inter-dealer centralised market place. It links banks and their customers together for liquidity, execution and reporting services with the appropriate level of protection for fi xed income markets. Euronext Synapse turns disparate data into relevant and structured information, and increases trade opportunities and velocity in bond markets.
For banks to flag their active ISINs and send to Euronext Synapse IOI fl ows that cannot be internalized;
Euronext Synapse scan IOI inventories and data signals to all connected participants and propose potential counterparties to join an auction on the same bond;
Euronext Block is a new trading venue designed to be compliant with MiFID II regulations. It is designed to facilitate the execution of algorithmically generated block trades on over 2,000 pan-European stocks. The platform is in the process of connecting its fi rst wave of brokers and fi rst trades have already taken place. Euronext Block is an MTF regulated by the FCA and cleared by the European Central Counterparty 'EuroCCP'.
Euronext developed a new pan-European service to upgrade the existing Smartpool product, and capture large institutional trading interests in which Euronext rarely participated. In partnership with AX Trading, an American based FinTech company, Euronext launched an innovative platform, Euronext Block, for block trading that empowers clients to proactively solicit the other side of a large trade while controlling the level of information disclosed to the market which could otherwise negatively impact their own performance. Growth in electronic block trading is emerging as a sustainable trend and Euronext's main competitors are also focused on the space. Euronext's approach however is unique and garnering signifi cant support among market participants.
Description of the Business
Euronext off ers the ETF community a comprehensive solution for multi-national listing and trading in ETFs and investments, within Euronext's Single Order Book. Euronext's ETF markets are supported by robust market infrastructure where product supply and demand meet within a framework of deep liquidity and advanced price formation. Euronext develops relations not only with issuers, but also with liquidity providers, intermediaries, investors, regulators and others in the ETF community to understand their challenges and needs, providing strong alignment with Euronext's business goals and a strong foundation to co-create new products to accelerate growth in the ETF industry with the support of its major participants.
Euronext's client alignment is demonstrated by Euronext winning ETF Express award during 2017 – the second time in a row, being consistently recognised as the Best ETF Exchange in Europe. This award is voted for by Euronext's clients.
Euronext intends to become the one-stop-shop pan-European ETF platform with an ambition to be the #1 trading venue for ETFs in Europe. Launching an MTF for ETF trading is one of Euronext's selected growth initiatives within Euronext's Agility for Growth strategy. The European ETF market is fragmented and opaque with approximately 70% of trading volume in the region taking place off -exchange. Yet ETFs are increasingly popular among both retail and institutional investors, as the trend for passive investing grows and there is ever increasing focus on investing and managing risk efficiently. Euronext is building a dedicated pan-European platform for ETF trading, with unique features seeking to attract volume into an exchange environment promoting transparency, improving effi ciency and deepening liquidity. Euronext's mission is to accelerate the growth of the ETF industry in Europe to the benefi t of end investors and intermediaries, Euronext has strong support from a diverse set of stakeholders within the ETF community.
Euronext's Fund Services off er asset managers ways to achieve better operational efficiency and enhance asset gathering opportunities. By engaging in active discussions with key stakeholders, the Company believes its off ering is a relevant choice for any issuer considering fund distribution in Europe.
The services include:
EFS enables both local and global asset managers to list their funds (whether large or small) on Euronext's regulated platform, enhancing the profi le of the funds and helping to attract higher levels of investment into those funds. The service has been designed in close co-operation with the industry and there is strong demand from many French issuers as well as interest from outside France. As of 31 of December, there were already 96 funds admitted to trading. This is an important initiative to help service the distribution needs of asset managers and match those with investor appetite.
Euronext operates a retail Structured Products business across its continental European franchise, servicing the needs of retail investors via intermediary service provision, namely listing warrants, certifi cates and structured notes, developing Euronext's market model for high quality liquidity provision and ensuring execution by retail brokers is cost effi cient. Euronext develops relationships with its issuers not only to expand their usage of existing tailored services but also to create new and innovative services for operational effi ciency and business expansion.
Cash trading on Euronext's markets is organised using the UTP and will migrate to Euronext's new strategic architecture, Optiq® during 2018. The Group's trading rules provide for an order-driven market using an open electronic central order book for each traded security, various order types and automatic order matching and a guarantee of full anonymity both for orders and trades. While the core trading system is built on this order-driven principle, the fl exibility of Euronext's technology enables Euronext to develop diff erent types of matching algorithms and functionalities to suit the diff erent price formation mechanisms that exist amongst the diff erent cash asset classes and to cater for different market participant needs. For example, Euronext continued to develop its best execution service for retail investors, Best of Book, which brings retail brokers an additional layer of liquidity specifi cally aimed at off ering price improvement for retail order fl ow. This service is integrated into Euronext's central order book enabling members to interact with this liquidity through the same connection as for the core market. As at year end, all of Euronext's retail brokers had signed up for the service.
The Company also operates a sophisticated liquidity provider program for blue chips and liquid mid cap equities which aims at ensuring Euronext off ers superior market quality. Euronext's equity markets continue to yield the best market quality metrics amongst its competitors. These metrics include, amongst others, spread, market depth, best price setting and presence time at the best bid and off er spread. The program encompasses both a presence time obligation at the best bid and off er spread and a minimum passive volume obligation. This volume obligation is of particular interest as, in combination with the presence time obligation, it creates order persistence and therefore increases probability of execution. In a fragmented trading environment, market quality metrics are actively used by trading fi rms as decision making parameters embedded in their order routing systems and therefore contribute to maintaining Euronext's market share.
As at 31 December 2017, Euronext had 147 direct trading members on its cash business, compared to 205 members as at 31 December 2016 and 213 members as at 31 December 2015, down due to a review of membership ahead of MiFiD II. The Group has a diverse member base, with a deep presence in its four domestic markets and a strong international client base in London, which accounts for approximately two-third of equity trading volumes. A continued environment of increased regulation, tighter margins and capital constraints will require cost reduction and sustainable reform from most of Euronext's client base, therefore driving consolidation of continental tier three banks and brokers.
The average daily volume on Euronext's cash trading markets for the last twelve months ended 31 December 2017 amounted to €7.5 billion (single counted).
The table below shows the proportion of Euronext's customer base by geographic origin (location of worldwide headquarters) using the Company's cash markets for the last twelve months ended 31 December 2017.
(1) Including MTFs and excluding OTC, single counted.
(1) All Euronext securities.
Euronext is a leading pan-European derivatives trading venue with trading activities across fi nancial and commodity derivatives products.
Euronext offers financial derivatives trading in its markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Paris, and, as of 31 December 2017, was the second largest market in index futures and the second largest in index options in Europe. Euronext off ers local markets access to the trading of futures and options based on global equities, dividends, local market indices including the AEX®, BEL20®, CAC 40®, PSI20® and established pan-European equity indices such as FTSEurofi rst and FTSE EPRA/NAREIT real estate indices. Euronext's derivatives trade capture service, AtomX, enables institutional customers to benefi t from fl exible, bespoke trading opportunities as well as reporting of large-in-size standard trades.
Euronext off ers commodity derivatives trading with futures and options based on milling wheat, corn and rapeseed, and futures on dairy products, wood pellets, and UAN 30 fertiliser. The Group is the leading agricultural commodity franchise in Europe and its core commodity contracts have long been relied upon as trusted global and European benchmarks.
In 2017, the notional value of the derivatives traded on Euronext's derivatives markets was €3.7 trillion, equivalent to an average of €14.5 billion per day.
Euronext's derivatives team has a mission to bring innovation and agility to the derivatives markets. Since Euronext's IPO in June 2014, Euronext focused on researching and developing new derivatives products together with its client community. These are now beginning to come to market and Euronext is excited about expanding its capabilities and making its business work better for Euronext's customers.
Euronext is pursuing the expansion of its commodity derivatives strategy along two axes:
NUMBER OF CONTRACTS TRADED (LOTS IN MILLION)
35 32 28 32 34 39 33 35
Equity options and futures enable holders to hedge against, or take position on, changes in the underlying share. More than 236 equity options and over 383 equity futures can be traded on Euronext, making the Company one of the leading markets for equity derivatives trading. Equity options trading has historically been particularly active in Amsterdam due to high retail participation. Recent innovations include Euronext's spotlight options segment and Euronext's ETF options.
Equity index derivatives allow holders to hedge against, or take position on, changes in the future level of a particular index, the investor paying or receiving a cash sum representing its loss or gain on the future or option. Euronext's equity index derivatives allow customers to hedge against fl uctuations in a range of European stock market indices and the European equity market as a whole, and many are available as weekly or daily contracts as well as the more usual monthly contracts.
Euronext's flagship equity index products include the CAC 40® futures contract, which is the second most traded national index future in Europe, and the AEX® Index options contract, which is one of the most on-exchange traded national index options in Europe. Euronext's mini index derivatives ('minis') allow investors to follow the same investment strategies but with less initial margin or a smaller trading amount.
Dividend index futures and stock dividend futures allow holders to hedge against, or take position on, changes in the dividend of a particular index or underlying share. Euronext's fl agship dividend products include the CAC 40® dividend index futures, which is one of the most traded dividend index futures in Europe and more than 289 Single Stock Dividend Futures (including 57 contracts on US names), making up the broadest off ering in Europe.
AtomX is an off -order book, on-exchange derivatives trade capture service, which allows clients to maintain OTC flexibility while benefi ting from the effi ciency and security of central clearing, i.e. more operational and capital efficiency and lower risk. Trades reported via AtomX are cleared by LCH S.A. alongside other Euronext derivatives business, providing effi ciency for market participants who trade a mix of bespoke and standard contracts.
Currency derivatives allow investors to invest in, or protect themselves from, changes in the exchange rate between two currencies. Euronext off ers fi ve cash-settled FX contracts listed on the Euronext Amsterdam Derivatives Market.
Euronext is a leading provider of agricultural commodity derivatives with several of the Company's contracts established as global price benchmarks for the international commercial and fi nancial community. Volumes have grown strongly in recent years as commercials and investors alike increasingly seek to hedge their risks or use commodities to help diversify their portfolios.
The average daily volume of the flagship milling wheat futures contract remained stable and reached a level of more than 35,000 lots traded on a daily basis, representing the equivalent of 1.75 million tons of wheat or 3.3 times the milling wheat quality EU production traded over the course of one year. The Rapeseed futures contract volume continued to attract exposure to the European Oilseeds markets and saw growth of just under 10% on the year, including our daily historic record in the summer with over 27,000 lots on the back of a stressed international Settlement & Delivery situation. These futures contracts have obtained international recognition status, both of which have been included in the main global commodity indices (S&P World Commodity Index, Rogers International Commodity index), making them the fi rst non-U.S. grains contracts to be included in these global indices.
The commodity team is rolling out its new strategy in 2018 which is articulated around:
focus on building our existing core contracts to their full potential and, in particular, leveraging on the MATIF brand for grains and oilseeds. We will address our stakeholders concerns around the delivery mechanism for our contracts, expressed through our client survey, by extending the use of the Euronext Inventory Management system, along with the introduction of warrants;
Trading members in Euronext's derivative markets are either dealers, brokers or both. Their activities range from retail broking, investment banking, dealing, algorithmic and high frequency trading to international physical trading. The Group's client base comprises 137 direct trading members (of which eighty-eight are both cash and derivatives and sixty-one are commodities trading members) as of 31 December 2017 and is signifi cantly diversifi ed both in terms of types of clients and geographic coverage. Trading members can also become liquidity providers, which is crucial to the good functioning of the price formation mechanism for derivative instruments. Liquidity providers enter into agreements with Euronext, specifying their obligations in terms of liquidity providing. Liquidity providers are able to place several orders at the same time through the use of mass quotes, allowing trading members to send buy and sell orders for many contract months using only one message, leading to optimal effi ciency in updating Euronext's full range of derivatives prices in a timely manner.
The average daily volume on Euronext's derivatives markets for the last twelve months ended 31 December 2017 reached 550,106 contracts representing a total open interest exceeding 14.7 million contracts at the end of December 2017. The table below shows the proportion of Euronext's customer base by geographic origin (location of worldwide headquarters) using derivatives listed on its markets for the last twelve months ended 31 December 2017.
In August 2017, Euronext acquired 90% of the shares of FastMatch, Inc. ("FastMatch") – the fastest growing Electronic Communication Network ("ECN") in the spot Foreign Exchange ("FX") market with leading-edge technology, entrepreneurial spirit and access to a large, transparent and diversifi ed pool of liquidity at unrivalled speed and capacity.
FastMatch's bespoke liquidity provision allows granular control of both anonymous and disclosed interactions via Flexible Matching, a confi gurable Smart Order Router that delivers enhanced execution quality.
FastMatch is the only ECN to provide full disclosure of real-time pricing, matching speeds, volumes and a variety of associated pertinent information publicly.
Euronext continued in 2017 several new initiatives launched during 2016 to further strengthen the resilience of Euronext's core cash business. In Equities, its competitive position has been enhanced due to evolution in the blue chip liquidity scheme, a new fee scheme for non-member proprietary fl ow, a new best execution service for retail investors (Best of Book) and new incentives embedded in the agency tariff to attract incremental fl ow from trading members. Euronext has re-positioned both the equity and warrants business to ensure its off ering to local members in Euronext's home markets is attractive and that fl ow from the local client community is either retained or repatriated. These initiatives enable Euronext to continue enhancing execution quality available on Euronext's markets which is key to add value to clients and to compete eff ectively.
During 2017, Euronext continued to deploy its segmented pricing strategy to optimize yield and market share. Specifi c fees were introduced for retail orders, enhancements were made for formal electronic liquidity provision and Euronext rendered its entire fee grid compliant with MiFID II with minimum disruption for customers.
In 2017, Euronext rolled out its new best execution service for retail orders. In partnership with dedicated liquidity providers, Best of Book off ers price improvement in the central order book for retail brokers. This helps ensure best execution for brokers executing orders on behalf of retail clients, in a way that ensures compliance and that the end investor achieves an optimum result. The service promotes and strengthens the diversity of Euronext's order book to the benefi t of the whole market.
(1) See above.
In June 2017, following consultation with the small and mid-cap trading community, Euronext implemented important changes to functionality for stocks trading in auction mode. A harmonised trading pattern consisting of two auctions per day was introduced. Furthermore, the trading at last phase for these stocks was extended to allow for extended trading at the auction price. This resulted in an uplift in volumes and liquidity on small and mid-cap stocks. Finally, the randomization of the auction time was deployed on all securities (previously limited to stocks trading in continuous mode).
The first brokers connected in the course of the fourth quarter of 2017 and the first trades have taken place on the platform, delivering superior execution quality in sizes signifi cantly above the minimum thresholds defi ned by regulation. Member connectivity will accelerate throughout 2018 and new functionalities will be rolled out specifi cally for small and mid-cap trading.
A new liquidity scheme was also launched in fi xed income to improve execution quality.
In 2017, the trading fee scheme was reviewed to meet MiFID II's obligations, to improve market quality and reduce gaming behaviors, and to incentivize members increasing their turnover. A couple of new liquidity providers were on-boarded in 2017 following the implementation of a new liquidity provision scheme end 2016. Fixed Income Regulated Markets remain active despite the low interest rate environment.
As part of 'Agility for Growth', in December 2017, Euronext launched Euronext Synapse – an innovative MTF in partnership with Algomi – a leading FinTech company in the fi xed income space, to create a unique Pan-European trading venue, utilizing best-in-class technology and data(1).
On the financial derivatives markets, Euronext continued to reposition and expand its franchise. New products launched in 2017 included:
Other enhancements included the introduction of longer expiries (to six years) on CAC 40 Dividend Index Futures, following a rapid volume growth during 2017. Euronext also developed the solution for the provisioning of PRIIPs Key Information Documents, which complies with EU Regulation requiring the manufacturer to provide a Key Information Document ("KID") for every packaged product from 2018.
The derivatives trade capture service, AtomX, launched in 2015, enables institutional customers to benefi t from fl exible, bespoke trading by reporting bilaterally negotiated trades while enjoying the effi ciency and security of a regulated market with central clearing. The service was further expanded in 2017 with MiFID II compliance, and new products added to the range, including Individual Equity Options on Germany underlying in November.
On commodity derivatives, Euronext continued to expand its off ering with:
In August 2017, Euronext acquired FastMatch, Inc. ("FastMatch") – the fastest growing Electronic Communication Network ("ECN") in the spot Foreign Exchange ("FX") market with leading-edge technology, entrepreneurial spirit and access to a large, transparent and diversifi ed pool of liquidity at unrivalled speed and capacity. 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.
In September 2017, FastMatch launched the consolidated data tape:
Euronext's market data portfolio provides a wide range of data products to the global investment community, including pre- and post-trade market prices, indices, and reference data spanning its Cash and Derivatives markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Paris. The data is used by traders and investors to make buy or sell decisions with confi dence, and by issuers to create new tradable products such as ETF's. Euronext's market data clients range from the largest investment banks in the world to individual investors trading from their front room.
Euronext's market data business consists of three product and service categories:
Euronext's main data off ering involves the distribution of real-time market data. This data includes price, trade and order book data on all instruments traded on the Company's cash and derivatives markets, as well as information about Euronext's indices. The data is marketed through different information products which are packaged according to the type of instrument, the depth of the information, and the type of customer. The data is disseminated primarily via data vendors but also directly to fi nancial institutions and other service providers in the fi nancial sector.
Almost 500 vendors currently disseminate Euronext market data to approximately 133.400 screens in over 130 countries. During 2017 Euronext continued to see an increase in the use of Euronext's data in automated trading applications, and a corresponding decrease in the number of users viewing data on traditional trading screens.
Highlights for 2017 include:
Retail clients have access to data from Euronext's markets through the Euronext Market Data app, which now has over 41,000 registered users. In 2017, Euronext has launched an Android version of the app, while a chargeable premium version containing enhanced content and functionality such as research, analytics and real-time data will follow in January 2018.
In 2017, Euronext has introduced a new market data agreement which incorporates the changes required to ensure compliance with MiFID II relating to the disaggregation of data.
Euronext is also working with a number of innovative fi ntech and data companies to create new analytic data packages and services aimed at both retail and professional users.
In addition to real-time market data, Euronext also provides daily summary, historical and analytical data services, as well as reference and corporate action data services.
In 2017, Euronext launched a web API that enables clients to retrieve historical and reference data for all instruments listed on Euronext regulated markets.
Euronext is also working to launch new products aimed at retail investors as well as an innovative licensing model supported by a new ecommerce platform in the course of 2018.
Euronext owns and operates a leading benchmark and strategy index franchise that measures diff erent segments of the Euronext and other global markets, including AEX® , BEL 20® , CAC 40® and PSI 20® . The Company also creates new proprietary indices generating added value for its market participants or to provide measurement tools for all types of investment categories regardless of listing venue. Euronext off ers a fully customisable index service which includes index calculation across equities, commodities and currencies twenty three hours a day, fi ve days a week, with two end-of-day runs refl ecting market close in Europe and the Americas. Many of Euronext's indices are licenced as the basis for ETPs (including ETFs) of which the majority is listed on the Company's markets.
As of 31 December 2017, there were over 9,000 Euronext Traded Products (ETPs) linked to Euronext indices listed on the Company's market. This is an all-time record and 28% above last year.
ETP PRODUCTS ON EURONEXT INDICES LISTED ON EURONEXT
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) linked to Euronext indices had a total of 7.5 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM) at the end of 2017. This is an all-time record and 26.5% above last year ETF AUM (IN MILLIONS) ON EURONEXT INDICES
Other ETP and ETF highlights include:
end of year record for Euronext Listed ETPs on the CAC 40® to 6,014 (up 19.9%);
| Year | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nr. of | ||||||||
| Products | 1,058 | 1,486 | 1,593 | 2,908 | 4,073 | 4,648 | 5,016 | 6,014 |
end of year record for ETPs on the AEX® to 2,816 (up 61.1%);
ETPS LINKED TO AEX LISTED ON EURONEXT
| Year | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nr. of Products |
579 | 884 | 823 | 977 | 1,369 | 2,158 | 1,748 | 2,816 |
Other highlights include:
On its market data and indices business Euronext signed thirty four new vendors distributing real time and delayed information. The market data app had over 41,000 users at 31 December 2017. Euronext also grew its index franchises as it launched twelve new indices in 2017 and has licensed the majority of these indices for certifi cates and Notes. Among others, these indices included:
Euronext's post-trade business offers or facilitates clearing, settlement, risk management and custody services. The Group owns 20% of EuroCCP, the cash equities CCP and 11.1% of LCH S.A., the multi asset CCP for derivatives, cash equities, Repo and CDS clearing. In addition Euronext owns 100% of Interbolsa, the Portuguese national Central Securities Depository (CSD), national Securities Settlement System (SSS) and national numbering agency. Other pan European settlement services are provided by Euroclear.
Clearing of Regulated Market trades executed on Euronext are currently cleared by LCH S.A. as the default central counterparty (CCP) and with EuroCCP as an alternative option. Trades on London Recognised Investment Exchange are cleared by EuroCCP.
LCH S.A. provides clearing services for the full scope of Euronext listed cash and derivative products under two separate agreements for Cash markets and Derivatives markets. Euronext signed in 2017 a renewed 10- year agreement for derivatives clearing with LCH S.A., whilst at the same time converting it's 2.3% shareholding of LCH group into 11.1% in LCH S.A. The agreement not only provides for a direct investment in a leading multi-asset Eurozone based CCP but also provides an improved value proposition for customers, including reduced clearing fees. The continuity of service, especially with the backdrop of Brexit, is also extremely important for customers.
Under the terms of the Derivatives Clearing Agreement, Euronext continues to benefi t from a revenue share deal with LCH S.A. at approximately the same level of EBITDA as the previous agreement. Euronext therefore receives clearing fee revenues based on the number of fi nancial and commodities derivatives trades cleared through LCH S.A. The Derivatives Clearing Agreement features solid governance rights as well as pre-emption rights for Euronext, in the case of a sale of LCH S.A. Euronext retains its LCH S.A. board seat and gains additional representation on the Audit Committee.
Euronext owns 20% of EuroCCP and completed technical connectivity of Euronext Regulated Markets in Q1 2017. EuroCCP is the leading CCP for pan-European cash equity markets. This deal delivers on Euronext's commitment to ensure optionality and fi ts with the EU wide mandate to deliver competition in clearing services, as enshrined in MiFIR. In addition, it enables Euronext to off er user choice in clearing for the equity markets, currently achieved through the preferred CCP model but to be followed by a fully interoperable service with other CCPs in due course.
Settlement of transactions in the Portuguese market are managed through Interbolsa while trades in all other Euronext markets are settled through Euroclear group.
Interbolsa is the national Central Securities Depository ("CSD") and the national Securities Settlement System for Portugal. As national Securities Settlement System, Interbolsa provides settlement services for regulated markets and MTFs, securities lending transactions, OTC transactions, free-of-payment and deliveryversus-payment transfers. It also processes corporate actions with respect to securities registered or deposited in the CSD as well as the calculation of corresponding fi nancial settlement and sending of payment instructions to the TARGET2-Securities (T2S) platform for payments in central bank money (Euro) and to Caixa Geral de Depósitos for payments in commercial bank money (in respect of currencies other than Euro). Interbolsa is also the national numbering agency in charge of the assignment of ISIN, CFI and FISN codes according to the ISIN, CFI and FISN codifi cation rules in force (namely to all Portuguese-issued equities and for debt instruments registered or deposited in Interbolsa's systems), nationwide disclosure of assigned ISIN, CFI and FISN codes and intermediating between national entities, other national numbering agencies and ANNA Service Bureau. The use of Interbolsa is currently required by local rules and regulations.
Interbolsa is one of Euronext's wholly owned subsidiaries, while LCH S.A. and Euroclear are independent entities that provide services to the Company. Euronext has a representation on the board of LCH S.A.
In March 2016, Interbolsa has successfully migrated to the new pan-European settlement platform – TARGET2-Securities (T2S), as originally scheduled, integrated in the second T2S migration wave.
Euronext has deployed the fi rst major phases and features of the Euronext RiskGuard pre-trade risk management solution. These are currently available for Euronext's derivatives markets, either via API or GUI. RiskGuard will be extended for additional advanced features in the future.
In addition, Euronext Paris is authorized by the AMF for the provision of trade reporting and transaction reporting ("APA/ARM") services under MiFID II. This service was launched into pre-production in December 2017, providing a single interface for MiFID II trade publication and Transactions Reporting. It commenced liver operation on the 3rd January and already has a strong client base.
As part of the Agility for Growth strategy, launched in May 2016, Euronext also announced its intention to deploy a suite of collateral services. This project is driven by the growing regulatory pressure, which is increasing margin funding requirements. Banks and nonfi nancial counterparties have to improve the use of available assets.
The fi rst phase, covering Euronext Inventory Management, is now in live Production. The fi rst phase enables transferable electronic certificates and warrants to be raised to represent ownership of physical commodities and ETFs. The intention is for this to be extended with a negotiation layer as a second Phase in early 2018.
After its smooth and successful migration to the pan-European settlement platform T2S(1) in March 2016 (integrated in the second migration wave), Interbolsa has been actively involved in the 4th and final migration waves, on February 2017 and September 2017, respectively, as well as working to improve operational processes and implement new software releases, which has allowed to increase the effi ciency of the day-to-day operations with T2S.
Direct CSD Links: in order to take further advantage of the easier and more effi cient way to settle cross-border transactions using the T2S platform, Interbolsa is working in setting up direct investor links and relayed investor links with some of the major domestic CSDs in Europe, with will be operational throughout 2018.
By establishing the above-mentioned direct and relayed CSD links, Euronext wishes to be able to attract foreign securities currently held by domestic fi nancial intermediaries via international custodians and/or other domestic and international Central Securities Depositories, hence enabling Interbolsa to be their sole access point to the main European markets.
(1) T2S provides integrated and harmonised cross-border settlement of transactions in central bank money.
Description of the Business
These are the CSDs in scope:
The regulation (EU) No. 909/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on improving securities settlement in the European Union and on central securities depositories (CSDR) is now fully in force. The main purpose of the CSDR is to harmonize the settlement of fi nancial instruments in Europe and to provide a set of common organisational and conduct requirements for CSDs.
On 10 March 2017 the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) issued by ESMA and EBA were published in the Offi cial Journal. The RTS entered into force 20 days after their publication (i.e, 30 March 2017) and Interbolsa had 6 months (until 30 September 2017) to submit to its competent authority the authorisation process in order to be recognised as a CSD under CSD Regulation. The authorisation process was submitted by Interbolsa to its competent authority on 29 September 2017.
Interbolsa is focused in the implementation of the CSDR.
Interbolsa has recently announced to the market participants that its Securities Lending Management System is now fully adapted to the specifi cities of T2S, therefore readily available to be used.
This functionality enables its users to: (a) diffuse information regarding demand and offer of securities to all participants; (b) confi rm the characteristics of the lending operations between counterparties; and (c) carry out the settlements inherent to the opening and closing of lending operations.
Interbolsa's Fund Management Platform and Order Routing system is now fully adapted to the specifi cities of T2S, therefore readily available to be used by any fund management company, for investment funds.
The main objective is to leverage the use of the mentioned platform and its order routing capabilities and enable Interbolsa to attract investment funds from independent and bank owned fund managers.
Since this announcement, Euronext already integrated twelve openend funds and Euronext expects the number of clients and volumes to raise in the months to come.
After Interbolsa's migration to T2S, Euronext's CSD has worked on a new pricing. The readjustments in its price list – for both Issuers and Financial Intermediaries – was implemented on 1 April 2017 having in mind to reinforce the attractiveness of the Portuguese market while also striving to balance this goal with the need to protect both Euronext's competitiveness and profi tability.
Started in 2017 and throughout the fi rst quarter 2018, Interbolsa will intensify one-to-one meetings with existing and prospective clients (Issuers, FIs and Fund managers), in order to ensure that (a) Euronext keeps them abreast of recent, on-going and planned developments in Euronext's service portfolio, while (b) aiming to attract more debt securities, commercial paper and equities, as well as investment funds, with the objective of increasing the volumes of (i) assets under custody and (ii) settlement of transactions, with a direct and positive impact on Interbolsa revenues by year-end and beyond.
Market solutions & other comprises Euronext's commercial technology solutions and services businesses. Euronext offers custom solutions and cost-eff ective managed services to exchanges and venue operators who require complex functional capabilities and low latency processing across multiple-asset classes.
The market solutions & other business benefi ts from the technology developments made by Euronext for its own markets and, in return, contributes recurring revenue that is non-cyclic and not trading related. Operating as a technology vendor also gives Euronext an opportunity to compare its technology against other vendors and ensure that it maintains its position at the forefront of the industry.
The solutions and services off ered use Optiq® and other applications developed by Euronext or licensed from third-parties. Optiq® will enter into production with Euronext in 2018 and has already been licensed to fi ve international exchanges. This rapid take-up by the exchange industry demonstrates the attractiveness of the reliability, fl exibility and cost of ownership benefi ts that Optiq® provides and refl ects the insights that Euronext, as a leading market operator itself, can apply in the design of new trading technology.
Trading platform software is a global business and so, to drive further sales outside of Europe, Euronext has appointed a global systems integrator as its sales and delivery partner for Optiq®. The global sales capabilities of this partner will enable Euronext to promote and deliver Optiq® cost eff ectively to exchanges and venue operators around the world.
Euronext continues to provide software support and maintenance services for the legacy trading platforms, Euronext UTP and NSC® . Euronext has a perpetual, royalty-free license from ICE to use, modify and sub-license Euronext UTP and NSC® (see section 5.2 "Material contracts and related party transactions").
In 2018, two clients remain on Euronext UTP and both will be off ered options for migrating to Optiq® ahead of termination of Euronext UTP maintenance. Support for the previous generation trading platform, NSC® , will cease at the end of 2018 once all clients using NSC® have been migrated to Optiq® . This will further simplify Euronext's technology operation and reduce expenses.
Euronext has issued a sub-license to a third-party for the sale and maintenance of certain legacy software modules including NSC® . In addition to generating license revenue, such agreements enable Euronext to increase its focus on Optiq® and future extensions thereof.
The start of Euronext's production use of Optiq® in 2018 will be a signifi cant opportunity to promote the platform to new cilents. Optiq® enables the market solutions business to be more competitive by off ering solutions that are faster, more resilient and cheaper to operate. It has been designed for high-volume markets and so will meet the throughput and resilience needs of most global exchanges. As a result, market solutions' priorities for the future Optiq® roadmap will include integrating new functions and asset classes to increase the fl exibility, confi gurability and extensibility off ered to clients.
Most technology solutions provided to clients include software for reference data management, price calculation and market control functions. The high level of commonality between exchange operations around the world means that many of these solutions can be delivered to clients with little or no client-specifi c customisation. In some cases, client requirements can be met by simple confi guration changes and in others only minor software modifications are required. Whichever approach is taken, the rights to new platform capabilities remain with Euronext and are incorporated into the core product for the benefi t of all users (including Euronext itself). This mutually benefi cial, user-community approach means that Euronext can maintain an industry leading platform with lower expenses than would otherwise be the case.
Where Euronext does not off er commercial in-house software for a function required by a client, third-party software can easily be integrated with Optiq® . This approach is used for the MAR surveillance service off ered to MTF and SI operators which provides monitoring of compliance with the Market Abuse regulation as a remotely delivered service. This service enables clients to outsource their MAR monitoring operations and take advantage of the investments in staff and processes made by Euronext for its own markets.
Optiq® will facilitate the development of more such services, specifi cally those performing analytic and regulatory processing of the large volumes of trading data generated by electronic exchanges. Demand for these applications is expected to grow as the scope and rigour of regulatory monitoring requirements increase.
Historically, revenue from the market solutions & other business came from software license and maintenance fees. However, Euronext's ability to confi gure its technology for a wide range of market models means that the same Optiq® software can be off ered in the form of a managed service. Exchanges and venue operators can take advantage of fully-hosted trading and clearing platforms without investing in data center or network infrastructure. With banks and fi nancial intermediaries increasingly seeing migration to cloud and software-as-a-service as solutions to the competing pressures of cost-reduction and regulatory complexity, Euronext's experience as a service provider is receiving renewed interest. Euronext's MiFID II compliant MTF and SI services build on Euronext's own software, processes and infrastructure and off er clients an eff ective way to reduce costs without increasing regulatory risk.
The market solutions & other business also receives revenue for network connectivity and server colocation under a revenue sharing agreement with ICE. This agreement enables Euronext to benefi t from service sales to clients who connect to its markets via the ICE SFTI® network or who take colocation space in the ICE data centers that house Euronext's trading platforms. For more information on SFTI® and colocation (see section 5.2 "Material contracts and related party transactions").
By combining the software, infrastructure and technology developed for its internal markets with the expertise of its technology staff and market managers, Euronext is able to off er a unique technology service to exchanges and venue operators around the world
Following the opening of the IT centre of excellence in Porto, Euronext has built a specialist team of analysts, developers and engineers to support the commercial technology business. In 2017 this team successfully delivered a complex MiFID II upgrade for a Euronext UTP client. This major release was delivered on-time and enabled the client to complete a smooth transition to the new regulatory regime. The Porto team are now engaged on projects to deliver Optiq® to the fi ve commercial clients scheduled to go-live on the new platform in 2018.
In October 2017, Euronext entered into an IT Commercial Cooperation Framework Agreement with a global system integrator . This agreement provides a framework under which its partner will undertake: i) business development, sales and delivery support to promote the use of Optiq® around the world and ii) maintenance and delivery activities to support Euronext's legacy software. Activities already completed under this agreement included a technical upgrade to Euronext UTP and the successful on-boarding of NSC® maintenance activities.
1
Euronext is an organisation that provides exchange listing, trading, post-trade and related services in Europe. The Company operates exchanges in five European countries. Each of the European exchanges and/or its respective operator holds an exchange licence granted by the relevant national exchange regulatory authority and operates under its supervision. Each market operator is subject to national laws and regulations and other regulatory requirements imposed by exchange authorities, central banks and finance ministries as appropriate.
The fi ve national regulatory authorities coordinate their regulation and supervision of the regulated markets operated by the Euronext group through the "Euronext College of Regulators", acting pursuant to memoranda of understanding which Euronext has committed to respect.
The regulatory framework in which Euronext operates is substantially infl uenced and governed by European directives and regulations in the fi nancial services area, many of which have been adopted pursuant to the Financial Services Action Plan, which was adopted by the European Union in 1999 to create a single market for fi nancial services. This has enabled and increased the degree of harmonisation of the regulatory regime for fi nancial services, public off ers, listing and trading, amongst other activities.
There are currently two key pieces of European legislation that govern the fair and orderly operation of markets and trading: the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive ("MiFID ") and, the MAR/ MAD II (as defi ned below) framework which replaced the Market Abuse Directive ("MAD I"). The European legislator has completed an overhaul of the MiFID framework: MiFID II/MiFIR with a market application date of 3 January 2018.
MiFID I came into eff ect on 1 November 2007 and was designed to enhance the single market for fi nancial services by harmonising the Member States' rules on authorisation of investment fi rms, conduct of business, operation of trading venues and other related activities. The scope was limited to shares only.
MiFID II/MiFIR was adopted by the European Parliament on 15 April 2014 and by the Council on 13 May 2014 and entered into force on 2 July 2014. EU Member States are required to implement MiFID II in their national legislation within 24 months of the entry into force (i.e. June 2016 postponed by one year to June 2017). While MiFID II/ MiFIR was due to apply in the markets from January 2017, the application was postponed to 3 January 2018.
From an Exchange perspective, the revised framework includes the following important elements:
The MAR/MAD II framework includes the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR") and a Directive on criminal sanctions for market abuse ("MAD II") (both applicable since 3 July 2016). The new rules on market abuse, applicable to all trading venues, update and strengthen the framework to ensure market integrity and investor protection provided by the MAD I regime. MAR is designed to ensure regulation keeps pace with market developments such as the growth of new trading platforms, over the counter ("OTC") trading and new technology such as high frequency trading ("HFT"). The new framework is also intended to strengthen the fi ght against market abuse across commodity and related derivative markets, explicitly bans the manipulation of benchmarks (such as LIBOR), reinforces the investigative and administrative sanctioning powers of regulators and ensures a single rulebook while reducing, where possible, the administrative burdens on SME issuers.
MAD II complements the Market Abuse regulation by requiring all Member States to provide for harmonised criminal offences of insider dealing and market manipulation, and to impose maximum criminal penalties including imprisonment for the most serious market abuse off ences. Member States will have to make sure that such behaviour, including the manipulation of benchmarks, is a criminal off ence, punishable with eff ective sanctions everywhere in Europe.
EMIR is primarily focused on the regulation of CCPs and includes the obligation for standardised OTC derivative contracts to be cleared through a CCP. EMIR came into eff ect on 16 August 2012, but most provisions only apply after associated delegated acts and regulatory technical standards enter into force. Delegated acts and regulatory technical standards in respect of, inter alia, the clearing obligation became eff ective on 15 March 2013.
The regulation (EU) 909/2014, of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 23 July, on improving securities settlement in the European Union and on central securities depositories (CSD) regulation or CSDR was formally adopted in July 2014. It sets out uniform requirements for the settlement of fi nancial instruments and rules on the organisation and conduct of central securities depositories (CSDs) in order to ensure secure, effi cient and timely settlement of transactions. The CSD Regulation impacts the functioning of Euronext's CSD, Interbolsa, and requires regulatory or operational amendments to bring Interbolsa into compliance with the new requirements. According to the CSDR, CSDs had to submit to their competent authorities, within six months from the date of entry into force of all the regulatory technical standards adopted by the European Commission (30 March 2017), their application for authorization in order to be recognised as CSDs under the CSD Regulation. Within six months from the submission of a complete application, the competent authority shall inform the applicant CSD in writing with a fully reasoned decision whether the authorization has been granted or refused. Interbolsa submitted its authorization fi le to its competent authority (CMVM) on 29 September 2017.
In the meantime, the European Central Bank has introduced Target 2 Securities (T2S) to provide a central settlement function for the Euro area, with other European currencies invited to join. Euronext, through Interbolsa, participates in the TARGET2-Securities (T2S) platform, since March 2016, bringing substantial benefi ts to the European post-trading industry by providing a single pan-European platform for securities settlement in central bank money.
The rules regarding public off erings of fi nancial instruments and prospectuses, as well as on-going disclosure requirements for listed companies, are set out in the Prospectus Directive and corresponding implementation regulation, and the Transparency Directive, as implemented in the countries in which Euronext operates.
Companies seeking to list their securities on Euronext's regulated markets must prepare a listing prospectus in accordance with the requirements of the Prospectus Directive and corresponding implementing regulation, comply with the requirements of Euronext Rulebook I, the harmonised rulebook for the Euronext Market Subsidiaries, and any additional local listing requirements of Rulebook II and, following admission, comply with the on-going disclosure requirements set forth by the competent authority of their home Member State.
The objective of the Transparency Directive for listed companies is to reduce the gaps in the diff erent national law. The modifi cations requires disclosure of major holdings of all fi nancial instruments that could be used to acquire economic interest in listed companies and has the same eff ect as holdings of equity. The revised Directive will also provide for more harmonisation concerning the rules of notifi cation of major holdings in particular by requiring aggregation of holdings of fi nancial instruments with holdings of shares for the purpose of calculation of the thresholds that trigger the notifi cation requirement.
Concerning the storage and access to regulated information the Transparency Directive provides that a European electronic access point to regulated information will be developed and operated by ESMA.
The new Prospectus regulation (regulation (EU) 2017/1129) is designed to repeal and replace the existing body of European prospectus law.
The regulation is intended to be of particular benefi t to European small and medium enterprises when issuing shares or debt. Companies already listed on public markets will also benefi t when they list additional shares or issue corporate bonds.
The key changes to the prospectus regime will impact the following items:
The regulation entered into force on 20 July 2017 and will mainly apply from 21 July 2019, other than the following provisions which will apply earlier:
from 21 July 2018: The option for Member States to exempt off ers of securities to the public from the obligation to publish a prospectus where the total consideration of each off er in the EU is less than €8,000,000 (calculated over a period of 12 months) and it is not subject to notifi cation under Article 25.
Euronext as an Indices administrator will have to comply with the European Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 on indices used as benchmarks in fi nancial instruments and fi nancial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds (the EU BMR) which will apply from 1 January 2018.
The EU BMR introduces a common framework to ensure the accuracy and integrity of indexes used as benchmarks in the European Union. The EU BMR applies to the:
MiFID, MAD, ESMA standards and the Euronext Rulebooks all provide minimum requirements for monitoring of trading and enforcement of rules by Euronext as the operator of regulated markets and MTFs. In particular, market operators are required to meet, inter alia, all the requirements set out in MiFID (and reinforced in MAD) including the obligation to ensure that the markets they operate allow fi nancial instruments to trade "in a fair, orderly and effi cient manner".
To this end, Euronext has set up a framework to organise market monitoring by which it:
Market surveillance and monitoring are implemented through a two-step process consisting of real-time market surveillance and post-trade (i.e., "next day") analysis of executed trades. Euronext ensures member compliance with its rules by conducting on-site investigations and inspections.
The national regulators of Euronext's markets are parties to a memorandum of understanding most recently amended and restated on 26 March 2015 that established a "Euronext College of Regulators" and provides a framework to coordinate their supervision and regulation of the business and of the markets operated by Euronext. The Company commits itself to the memorandum of understanding, to the extent that any obligations arising from the memorandum of understanding apply to the Company or its subsidiaries.
These regulatory authorities have identifi ed certain areas of common interest and have adopted a coordinated approach to the exercise of their respective national rules, regulations and supervisory practices regarding listing requirements, prospectus disclosure requirements, on-going obligations of listed companies, takeover bid rules and disclosure of large shareholdings. Representatives of each national authority meet in working groups on a regular basis in order to coordinate their actions in areas of common interest and agree upon measures to promote harmonisation of their respective National Regulation.
Euronext's market operators each hold licences for operating regulated markets. Some market operators also operate a number of markets that do not fall within the European Union defi nition of "regulated markets" or MTFs. Each market operator is subject to national laws and regulations pursuant to its market operator status.
Both Euronext and Euronext Amsterdam have an exchange licence from the Dutch authorities to operate regulated markets. This means that they are subject to the regulation and supervision of the Dutch Minister of Finance and the Autoriteit Financiële Markten ("AFM"). Since the creation of Euronext in 2000, the Dutch regulators have taken the view that the direct parent company of Euronext Amsterdam, as controlling shareholder, has to be seen as co-market operator and, accordingly, also requires an exchange licence. Pursuant to section 5:26 paragraph 1 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act it is prohibited in the Netherlands to operate or to manage a regulated market without a licence granted by the Dutch Minister of Finance.
The Dutch Minister of Finance may, at any time, amend or revoke the licence if necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the markets or the protection of investors. The licence may also be revoked for non-compliance with applicable rules.
Euronext Brussels is governed by the Belgian Act of 2 August 2002 and is recognised as a market undertaking according to Article 16 of the Belgian Act of 2 August 2002. Accordingly to the Act, Euronext Brussels is responsible for matters such as the organisation of the markets and the admission, suspension and exclusion of members and has been appointed by law as the "competent authority" for listing matters within the meaning of EU Directive 2001/34/EC dated 28 May 2001. Euronext Brussels is subject to the supervision of the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), an independent public authority which strives to ensure the honest and equitable treatment of fi nancial consumers and the integrity of the fi nancial markets.
As a market operator, Euronext Lisbon is governed by Portuguese Decree of Law No. 357-C/2007 of 31 October 2007 which, along with the Portuguese Securities Code and regulations of the Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários ("CMVM"), governs the regime applicable to regulated markets and MTFs, market operators and other companies with related activities in Portugal. The creation of regulated market operators requires the prior authorisation in the form of a decree-law from the Portuguese Minister of Finance, following consultation with the CMVM.
The CMVM is an independent public authority that supervises and regulates markets and market participants, public off erings and collective investment undertakings. Its objectives are to ensure investor protection and an efficient and regular functioning of markets, monitor information, prevent risk and prevent and suppress illegal actions. The entities subject to the supervision of the CMVM should co-operate with the CMVM as requested. The CMVM carries out "on-site" supervision of the entities subject to its supervision and makes public infringements and fi nes imposed in accordance with applicable law.
As a market operator, Euronext Paris, which is the market of reference for the Euronext shares, manages the Euronext regulated markets in France. In accordance with Article L.421-10 of the French Monetary and Financial Code, Euronext Paris adopts rules for each of these markets to ensure fair and orderly trading and effi cient order execution. The requirements for market access and admission of fi nancial instruments to trading are also covered by these rules, which are approved by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers ("AMF") and published on the market operator's website.
Euronext Paris markets are subject to the provisions of Article L.421- 4 et seq. of the French Monetary and Financial Code, which authorises the French Minister of Economy to confer and revoke regulated market status upon proposal of the AMF, which has to consult with the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution ("ACPR").
Euronext London has been granted recognition by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") to operate as a United Kingdom recognised investment exchange ("RIE"), pursuant to section 290 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the "UK FSMA"). As such, Euronext London has certain self-regulatory responsibilities for its markets. In order to retain its status as an RIE, Euronext London is required to meet various legislative and regulatory requirements and failure to comply with these requirements could subject it to signifi cant penalties, including de-recognition.
The regulatory framework applicable to Euronext London is supplemented by a series of legislative provisions regulating the conduct of participants. Importantly, the UK FSMA contains provisions making it an off ense for any person to engage in certain market behaviour and prohibits market abuse through the misuse of information, the giving of false or misleading impressions or the creation of market distortions. Breaches of those provisions give rise to the risk of sanctions, including fi nancial penalties.
In connection with obtaining regulatory approval of the acquisition of Euronext by NYSE group, Inc. in 2007, NYSE Euronext implemented certain special arrangements which included a standby structure involving a Dutch foundation (stichting). Following the acquisition of NYSE Euronext by ICE and the Demerger, the Company became a party to these arrangements, which include a Further Amended and Restated Governance and Option Agreement (the "GOA"), to which ICE, the stichting and Euronext are parties. The stichting has been incorporated to mitigate the eff ects of any potential change in U.S. law that could have extraterritorial eff ects on the regulated markets operated by the Euronext Market Subsidiaries as a result of a U.S. shareholder holding a controlling interest in the Company. The board members of the stichting are independent from Euronext. Pursuant to the GOA, while the Company has U.S. shareholders with a controlling interest in the Company, the stichting is empowered to take actions to mitigate the adverse eff ects of any potential change in U.S. law that have certain extraterritorial eff ects on the regulated markets operated by the Euronext Market Subsidiaries. If there is no such controlling U.S. shareholder, the stichting becomes dormant and unable to exercise such powers. If a new U.S. shareholder were to gain control of the Company, the stichting would be automatically revived.
Up until 20 June 2014, the stichting was active through ICE's shareholdership. Since the IPO, ICE sold its shareholdership, and there has been no controlling American' shareholder. At the Euronext College of Regulators' request, the Stichting has become dormant.
The rules set forth below apply to an acquisition of a direct or indirect interest in Euronext's market operators. These rules are in addition to shareholder reporting rules applicable to listed companies generally set out above.
Under Dutch law, a declaration of no-objection of the Dutch Minister of Finance is required for any holding, acquisition or increase of a Qualifying Participation (defi ned as direct or indirect participation of at least 10% of the issued capital of the relevant entity or the power to exercise at least 10% of the voting rights) in an operator or holder of a regulated market in the Netherlands which has been granted an Exchange License to operate such market pursuant to section 5:26 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act. The Dutch Minister of Finance has delegated its powers to grant a declaration of no-objection under section 5:32d of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act to the AFM except in cases where the acquisition of the Qualifying Participation involves a fundamental change to the shareholding structure of the relevant licensed operator or holder of a regulated market in the Netherlands. Euronext N.V. controls Euronext Amsterdam, which is the licensed holder and operator of a regulated market in the Netherlands, and has obtained a declaration of no-objection under section 5:32d referred to above. Therefore, any acquisition or holding increase of a direct or indirect interest in the Company that results in an indirect Qualifying Participation in Euronext Amsterdam, will trigger the requirement to obtain a declaration of no-objection of the AFM or, in case of a fundamental change in the shareholding structure, the Dutch Minister of Finance. Such declaration should be granted unless such holding, the acquisition or increase: (1) could or would lead to a formal or actual control structure that is lacking in transparency and would therefore constitute an impediment to the adequate supervision of the compliance by the market operator with the rules applicable to the operator of a regulated market; (2) could or would lead to an infl uence on the regulated market operator or eff ect on the exploited or managed regulated market that forms a threat to the interests which the Dutch Financial Supervision Act seeks to protect; or (3) could jeopardise the healthy and prudent operation of the regulated market concerned. Non-compliance with the requirement to obtain a declaration of no-objection is an economic off ense and may lead to criminal prosecution. In addition, if a person acquires or increases a Qualifying Participation without
1
having obtained a declaration of no-objection, it will be obliged to cancel the transaction within a period to be set by the Dutch Minister of Finance or the AFM unless the person cures the offense and obtains a declaration of no-objection. The Dutch Minister of Finance or the AFM may request the District Court in Amsterdam to annul any resolutions that have been passed in a General Meeting of shareholders in which such person exercised its voting rights, if such resolution would not have been passed or would have been passed diff erently if such person would not have exercised its voting rights. The District Court will not annul the resolution if the relevant person obtains a declaration of noobjection prior to the decision of the court.
| 2.1 | Dutch Corporate Governance Code, "Comply or Explain" |
48 |
|---|---|---|
| 2.2 | Management & Control Structure | 50 |
| 2.2.1 | Second Line of Defence | 51 |
| 2.2.2 | Internal Audit – Third Line of Defense | 52 |
| 2.2.3 | General Information | 52 |
| 2.2.4 | Supervisory Board | 53 |
| 2.2.5 | Managing Board | 57 |
| 2.3 | Report of the Supervisory Board | 61 |
| 2.3.3 | Supervisory Board Activities | 62 |
| 2.3.4 | Board Evaluation | 63 |
| 2.3.5 | Report Audit Committee | 63 |
| 2.3.6 | Report Remuneration Committee | 63 |
| 2.3.7 | Report Nomination and Governance Committee | 63 |
| 2.3.8 | Financial Statements | 63 |
| 64 |
|---|
| 64 |
| 65 |
| 67 |
| 68 |
| 68 |
| 68 |
| 69 |
| 69 |
| 70 |
| 72 |
| 73 |
| 77 |
| 79 |
| 80 |
| 81 |
Dutch Corporate Governance Code, "Comply or Explain"
A description of the shareholding structure of the Company is provided in Section 4 "General description of the Company and its share capital".
The Dutch Corporate Governance Code ("the Code") became eff ective in 2016 and fi nds its statutory basis in Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code. The Code applies to Euronext as it has its registered offi ce in the Netherlands and its shares are listed on the regulated markets of Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Brussels, Euronext Lisbon and Euronext Paris. A Dutch and an English version of the Code can be found at www.commissiecorporategovernance.nl
The Code is based on the notion that a company is a long-term alliance between the various stakeholders of the Company. Stakeholders are groups and individuals who, directly or indirectly, infl uence – or are infl uenced by – the attainment of the Company's objectives: employees, shareholders and other lenders, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders. The management board and the Supervisory Board have responsibility for weighing up these interests, generally with a view to ensuring the continuity of the Company and its subsidiaries, as the Company seeks to create long-term value. If stakeholders are to cooperate within and with the Company, they need to be confi dent that their interests are duly taken into consideration. Good entrepreneurship and eff ective supervision are essential conditions for stakeholder confi dence in management and supervision. This includes integrity and transparency of the management board's actions and accountability for the supervision by the Supervisory Board. The compliance with the Code is not determined by the extent to which it is complied with to the letter, but rather by the extent to which all stakeholders are guided by its spirit.
The Code is based on a "comply or explain" principle. Accordingly, companies are required to state the extent to which they comply with the principles and best practice provisions of the Code in the annual report and, where it does not comply with them, why and to what extent it deviates from them.
Euronext acknowledges the importance of good Corporate Governance and endeavors to comply in general with the provisions of the Code. However, there are a limited number of best practice provisions that it currently does not comply with. The fact that Euronext is not compliant with a number of best practice provisions is related to the fact that Euronext is an international company uniquely supervised since its creation in 2000 by a College of international Regulators, supervising Euronext on a joint basis, which has required some specifi c features which may interfere with the specifi c provisions of the Dutch Code. Euronext is active in a number of European jurisdictions, each with diff erent laws, regulations, best practices, codes of conduct, regulatory guidelines and views.
Dutch Corporate Governance Code, "Comply or Explain"
compensation practices, regulatory guidelines and views, no adequate methodology has been defined yet to report on a consistent and reliable pay ratio to be disclosed.
Euronext did not apply best practice provision 4.2.3 ("meetings with analysts, presentations to analysts, presentations to investors and institutional investors and press conferences shall be announced in advance on the Company's website and by means of press releases, enabling all shareholders to follow these meetings and presentations in real time, for example by means of webcasting or telephone"): Euronext always ensures that all shareholders and other parties are provided with equal and simultaneous information about matters that may infl uence the share price through the distribution via an authorized wire. All material developments are disclosed via press releases and all presentations used during analysts and investors meetings are available on Euronext's website at the time the presentation starts. Euronext also provides real time webcast and conference call facilities for all its results presentations and other fi nancial presentations.
The objective of the Enterprise risk management framework (ERM) is to create and preserve value for the Company's stakeholders. It is designed and operated to identify potential events that may aff ect the Company, assess risk to be within the defi ned guidelines, manage the risk through control mechanisms, and monitor the risk to understand the evolution. Euronext embeds the risk management philosophy into the Company culture, in order to make risk and opportunity management a regular and everyday process for employees. The Supervisory Board and Managing Board regard ERM as a key management process to steer Euronext and enable management to eff ectively deal with risks and opportunities.
The ERM framework and governance is designed to allow the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board , as part of Euronext's business model(1), to identify and assess the Company's principal risks to enable strong decision making with regards to the execution of the stated strategy. Reporting is made and consolidated on a regular basis to support this process. The ERM also enables the Supervisory Board and Managing Board to maintain and attest to the effectiveness of the systems of internal control and risk management as set out in the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.
Governance Structure and related responsibilities for ERM process are as follows:
(1) For more information on Euronext activities, see section 1.3.1 Business Overviex..
The objectives and principles for the ERM process are set forth in the Company's ERM Policy. The ERM process is based on best practices regarding the Internal Control and Enterprise risk management, including the Committee of Sponsoring Organisations of the Treadway Commission ("COSO") initiative. It uses a bottom-up and top-down process to enable better management and transparency of risks and opportunities. At the top, the Supervisory Board and Managing Board discuss major risks and opportunities, related risk responses and opportunity capture as well as the status of the ERM process, including signifi cant changes and planned improvements. The design of the ERM process seeks to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations with respect to internal control and risk management addressing both subjects in parallel.
Risk Appetite is the level and nature of risk the business is willing to accept in achieving its strategic objectives. Risk appetite sets the basis for the requirements for monitoring and reporting on risk. Overall risk appetite is recommended by the Managing Board to the Supervisory Board as part of setting and implementing strategic and operational objectives.
Risk appetite is considered at an operational level and strategic level with quantitative and qualitative components. These components are used during the assessment process to develop the residual risks and support what is escalated to the Managing Board and Supervisory Board.
Risk Identification involves the identification of threats to the Company as well as causes of loss and potential disruptions. Risks are composed of the following categories:
An emphasis is put on operational risk due to the importance of operations and initiatives for Euronext.
Risk Assessment is made in the possible event of an incident or a potential risk development. It aims to assess the risk qualitatively and quantitatively where possible, using supporting information, such as performance indicators. This assessment, defining the residual risk level , takes into account mitigation measures currently in place such as business continuity measures or insurance policies. The overall Risk Assessment phase is carried out by the risk management team ("RMT") in conjunction with Risk Coordinators ("RCs") based on data and information produced by and collected from the relevant areas via the periodic and ad hoc reporting or upon request of the RMT as necessary. Assessments are discussed with the business areas. Mitigations for each risk will be identifi ed, evaluated, and the residual risk will be assessed and reported.
risk management determines and implements the most appropriate treatment to the identified risks. It encompasses the following: avoidance, reduction, transfer and acceptance. Organizational units and employees perform risk management and implement mitigating actions as required by the risk appetite and escalation process. As noted, risks may remain after such management process is applied (see Risks section).
Risk Reporting – The Supervisory and Managing Boards and a Business Risk Group (BRG), made up of senior managers, are informed in a timely and consistent manner about material risks, whether existing or potential, and about related risk management measures in order to take appropriate action. Reports are issued to the above mentioned groups of the Company on a regular basis. Ad hoc reports may be issued when a new risk or the development of an existing risk warrants escalation to the relevant Committees of the Company.
Program Development – Euronext continues to drive improvements to its risk management process and the quality of risk information generation, while at the same time maintaining a simple and practical approach. The roadmap for 2017 for the ERM evolution included 3 key elements:
The 2018-9 roadmap will continue with the topics above and will additionally focus the use of key risk indicators, impactful scenario analysis and analysis of a risk tool. Euronext will continue to work on risk management and internal control alignment of approach for addressing risk and identifying controls.
Euronext seeks to continuously evaluate and improve the operating eff ectiveness of the ERM process.
Euronext has established a strong framework of internal control across its business areas and functions. This framework is based on ethical principles, established procedures and training of the key personnel who are responsible for implementing and overseeing it.
The Internal control function as a second line of defence, aims at ensuring, in a permanent manner that identifi ed risks are mitigated by controls, that controls are eff ective, documented and reported and that internal procedures exist and are updated on a regular basis.
Euronext is strongly committed to conducting its business with integrity, excellence and responsibility and to adhering to high standards of ethical conduct. The role of Corporate Compliance is to establish and maintain a fi rst class compliance culture within the Company and to ensure that Euronext's business approach is in line with the highest ethical standards.
The Compliance department supports Euronext and its employees in complying with applicable laws and regulations and promotes ethical standards in accordance with good Corporate Governance. The Compliance department raises awareness among employees by articulating the responsibilities of the Company and its employees through policies and training and the monitoring of those policies and by providing a path for communication for employees. Compliance with applicable rules and principles and ethics is key to Euronext's success and it is the obligation of every employee to support this eff ort.
Euronext's code of conduct and Ethics sets and reaffi rms Euronext's high standards of ethical conduct and reinforces its business ethics, policies and procedures. Compliance with the Code is required of all board members (Managing Board, Supervisory Board and any other board) and all employees including consultants, contractors and temporary employees. The code of conduct and Ethics, which is supplemented by nine corporate policies, governs without exception all business activities of the Company.
More information on Euronext's commitment to Ethics are provided in section 2.5.2 "Presentation of the business environment".
Compliance processes are established as follows:
Guidelines and procedures are defi ned notably to ensure that antimoney laundering and sanctions, bribery and fraud and confl icts of interest concerns are managed and that business is always conducted in a fair manner. Staff training and awareness sessions are conducted regularly in all company locations to promote compliance and ethics standards.
The Company protects anyone who reports an alleged breach of laws or company policies in good faith and ensures that they shall in no way be put at a disadvantage by the Company as a result of the report.
Finally, given the dual positions of Euronext as a market operator and a listed issuer on the Euronext markets, the Compliance department has imposed strict personal dealing rules and a confl icts of interest procedure to ensure that neither the staff nor the Company itself could take undue benefi ts from this situation.
The Chief Risk and Compliance Officer is appointed by the Managing Board, reports to the Chief Executive Offi cer and has a line of communication to the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board. This reporting ensures the necessary independence of the Compliance department activities. Compliance offi cers are located in countries where Euronext conducts its activities and are supported as necessary by local legal staff in order to benefi t from the local expertise and knowledge of the local business and environment.
As a third line of defense, Internal Audit has no operational responsibilities over the entities/processes it reviews. The objectivity and organisational independence of the internal audit function is achieved through the Head of Internal Audit not performing operational management functions and reporting directly to the Chairman of the Audit Committee. He also has a dotted reporting line to the CEO.
For each audit, a formal report is issued and circulated. This includes recommendations for corrective actions with an implementation plan and the comments of the auditees. Implementation of accepted corrective actions is systematically followed up, documented and reported to the Audit Committee.
No information on family relationships between members of the Supervisory Board, members of the Managing Board and senior staff, as well as on convictions in relation to fraudulent off ences, bankruptcies, receiverships, liquidations or offi cial public incriminations with regard to these persons has been included in this Registration Document, as these matters are to the best knowledge of Euronext not applicable to these persons.
Further, to the best of Euronext's knowledge, the members of the Supervisory Board and the Managing Board had no potential confl icts of interest in 2017 and up to and including the date of the publication of this Registration Document.
In accordance with Article 5: 25c(2)(c) of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het fi nancieel toezicht), the Managing Board of Euronext hereby declares that, to the best of its knowledge, (i) the Financial Statements prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union and with Part 9, Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, fi nancial position and profi t or loss of Euronext and the enterprises included in the consolidation as a whole, and (ii) the Registration Document gives a true and fair view of the position on the balance sheet date, the course of events during the fi nancial year of Euronext and the enterprises included in the consolidation as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks that Euronext faces.
The entity responsible for the Registration Document is Euronext N.V.. The Company declares that, having taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case, the information contained in the Registration Document is, to the best of the Company's knowledge, in accordance with the facts and contains no omission likely to aff ect its import. Euronext N.V. is represented by: Stéphane Boujnah, Chief Executive Offi cer.
As required by section 5:25c paragraph 2(c) of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act, each of the signatories hereby confi rms that to the best of his or her knowledge:
| Stéphane Boujnah, |
|---|
| Group CEO |
Anthony Attia, CEO Euronext Paris & Global Head of Listing
Maurice van Tilburg, CEO Euronext Amsterdam
Paulo da Silva, CEO Euronext Lisbon and CEO Interbolsa
Vincent Van Dessel, CEO Euronext Brussels
In Control statement
In accordance with best practice provision 1.4.3 of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code, Euronext's Managing Board is of the opinion that, in respect of fi nancial reporting risks, the internal risk management and control system, as described in 2.2.1.1 "Risk management" and 2.2.1.2 "Internal control" (i) provides a reasonable level of assurance that the fi nancial reporting in this Registration Document does not contain any errors of material importance, and (ii) has worked properly during the fi nancial year 2017.
The Managing Board has assessed the risk profi le and the design and operating eff ectiveness of the risk management and control systems; this was discussed with the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board.
The Managing Board declares that it is justifi ed that the fi nancial reporting is prepared on a going concern basis; and that this Registration Document is to the best of the Managing Board's knowledge, in accordance with the facts and contains no omission likely to aff ect its import. Furthermore, as described in the 1.2 and the chapter 'Risks', this Registration Document refl ects the material risks and uncertainties that are relevant to the expectation of the Company's continuity for the period of twelve months after the preparation of this Registration Document.
The Articles of Association of Euronext, historical information and relevant documentation for investors and shareholders may be viewed on Euronext's website in the Investor Relations section at www.Euronext.com/en/investors
Euronext has a two-tier governance structure with a Supervisory Board and a Managing Board. The governance arrangements of the Supervisory Board described in this section are based on, among other things, Dutch law, Euronext's Articles of Association and the rules of procedures for the Supervisory Board. These arrangements include additional provisions and modifi cations agreed with the Euronext College of Regulators designed to ensure the long-term stability and autonomy of Euronext and curb possible disproportionate levels of infl uence that large shareholders may have on it.
The Supervisory Board is responsible for the supervision of the activities of the Managing Board and the supervision of the general course of the business of Euronext. The Supervisory Board may on its own initiative provide the Managing Board with advice and may request any information from the Managing Board that it deems appropriate. In performing their duties, the members of the Supervisory Board must Act in the interests of Euronext and those of its business. The Supervisory Board is collectively responsible for carrying out its duties.
Members of the Supervisory Board are appointed by the General Meeting (i) in accordance with a proposal of the Supervisory Board or (ii) from a binding nomination to be drawn up by the Supervisory Board , with due observance of the profi le (profi elschets) for the size and the composition of the Supervisory Board adopted by the Supervisory Board and reviewed annually. The profi le sets out the scope and composition of the Supervisory Board, taking into account the nature of the business, its activities, and the desired expertise, experience, diversity and independence in matters of capital markets in general and in particular in the areas of finance, economics, human resources and organisation, information technology and data processing, legislation and regulation, legal matters and compliance.
The Articles of Association of Euronext provide that each member of the Supervisory Board is appointed for a maximum period of four years provided that unless such member of the Supervisory Board has resigned or is removed at an earlier date or unless otherwise specifi ed in the relevant proposal for appointment, his or her term of offi ce shall ultimately lapse immediately after the day of the fi rst General Meeting to be held during the fourth year after the year of his or her appointment. An appointment can be renewed for a term of up to four years at a time.
The General Meeting may suspend or dismiss a member of the Supervisory Board at all times. The Supervisory Board can make a proposal for the suspension or dismissal of a member of the Supervisory Board . If the suspension or dismissal occurs in accordance with a proposal thereto by the Supervisory Board , a resolution of the General Meeting for suspension or dismissal of a member of the Supervisory Board requires an absolute majority of the votes cast. However, such resolution of the General Meeting requires a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast representing more than one third of the outstanding and issued share capital, if the suspension or dismissal does not occur in accordance with a proposal by the Supervisory Board.
The Articles of Association provide that the Supervisory Board shall adopt resolutions by an absolute majority of the votes cast. Each member of the Supervisory Board has one vote. In the event of a tie of votes, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board has a casting vote.
A member of the Supervisory Board may not participate in the deliberation and the decision-making process of the Supervisory Board if it concerns a subject in which this member of the Supervisory Board has a direct or indirect personal interest which confl icts with the interest of Euronext and its business enterprise. In such event, the other members of the Supervisory Board shall be authorised to adopt the resolution. If all members of the Supervisory Board have a confl ict of interest as indicated, the resolution shall nevertheless be adopted by the Supervisory Board, notwithstanding the confl ict of interests. In 2017, no transaction has taken place in which members of the Managing Board and Supervisory Board were confl icted.
The Articles of Association provide that the number of members of the Supervisory Board will be determined by the Supervisory Board and will consist of a minimum of three members. Only natural persons can be members of the Supervisory Board. In the event of a vacancy, the Supervisory Board continues to be validly constituted by the remaining member or members of the Supervisory Board.
As per 1 January 2017, the Supervisory Board was composed of Rijnhard van Tets, Dominique Aubernon, Koenraad Dom, Ramon Fernandez, Manuel Ferreira da Silva, Jim Gollan, Kerstin Günther, Lieve Mostrey and Dick Sluimers. Dominique Aubernon resigned from the Supervisory Board on 19 October 2017, following the Extraordinary General Meeting as the Reference shareholders' composition changed in June 2017, triggering a change in the appointment of their board representatives. In that meeting, Franck Silvent was appointed to the Supervisory Board subject to regulatory approval; his appointment took eff ect on 3 November 2017.
Euronext has assessed that the appointment to the Supervisory Board in 2017 is in compliance with the requirements as included in the Dutch "Wet bestuur en toezicht" regarding the maximum number of Supervisory Board positions.
Franck Silvent took part in an induction program off ered by Euronext. The induction program consisted of a series of meetings with key staff members, with whom the various aspects of Euronext business, clients and initiatives, governance and regulatory environment, fi nance and the risk and compliance program at Euronext were discussed.
Following the announced acquisition of the Irish Stock Exchange, and the closing of the transaction on 27 March 2018, it is expected that Padraic O'Connor, Chairman (Non-Executive) of the Irish Stock Exchange will be proposed as a new member of Euronext's Supervisory Board to the next Annual General Meeting on 15 May 2018. A biography of Padraic O'Connor is provided below.
The Supervisory Board consisted of nine members as at 31 December 2017 and was composed as follows:
Rijnhard van Tets chairs the Supervisory Board and chairs the Nomination and Governance Committee. He was appointed to the Supervisory Board of Euronext N.V. in 2003 and became Chairman in 2007. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Euronext Amsterdam N.V. He served as a director of NYSE Euronext from 2007 to 2013.
Mr. Van Tets served thirteen years on the Managing Board of ABN AMRO. He has extensive experience as a senior executive at European companies across a variety of sectors. He is Chairman of the board of Petrofac Ltd and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of OBAM. Amongst other board appointments he was previously the Chairman of the Supervisory Boards of Arcadis – where he served for twelve years – and Wegener – where he served for four years – and a member of the Supervisory Boards of Reliant Energy and Stichting Holland Casino. He was Chairman of Equity Trust Holdings S.A.R.L. and chair of the Investment Committee of SFB, one of the largest Dutch pension funds.
On 19 March 2018, Euronext announced that Rijnhard van Tets, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Euronext N.V. decided to step down following the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) to be held on 15 May 2018. Rijnhard van Tets notifi ed the Supervisory Board that he will not be available for a new term.
Dick Sluimers is the vice-chair of the Supervisory Board and is a member of the Audit Committee. He was appointed to the Supervisory Board of Euronext N.V. in 2016. He is also the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Euronext Amsterdam N.V.
Mr. Sluimers is the former CEO of APG Group. He currently is Extraordinary State Councillor at the Dutch Council of State. Furthermore he is a member of the Supervisory Boards of AkzoNobel N.V., NIBC N.V. and Atradius N.V., as well as a member of the board of directors of FWD Group Limited. He is also a member of the board of Governors of the State Academy of Finance and Economics, a Trustee of the Erasmus University Trustfund, a member of the board of the Amsterdam Concert Hall Fund, and a member of the Electoral Committee of the Dutch Liberal Party, and a member of the advisory boards of Quore Capital and Hemingway Corporate Finance.
Mr. Sluimers was CFO and later CEO in the management board of pension fund ABP from 2003 to 2008. Between 1991 and 2003 he held various positions at the Dutch Ministry of Finance, most recently as director General of the Budget. Prior to that he was Deputy Director General at the Ministry of Public Health and held senior positions at the Ministry of Social Aff airs and the Ministry of Finance. In addition, he was a member of the Supervisory Boards of Fokker N.V., the National Investment Bank N.V., Inter Access N.V. and ABP Insurance N.V. He was also Trustee of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS), a member of the Advisory board of Rabobank, Chairman of the board of Governors of the Postgraduate Programme for Treasury Management at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, a member of the Advisory Board of Netspar and a board member of Holland Financial Centre.
He studied economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and read politics at the University of Amsterdam for several years.
Following the announcement on 19 March 2018, of Rijnhard van Tets departure the Supervisory Board has elected Dick Sluimers as its next Chairman, subject to regulatory approval.
Koenraad Dom is a member of the Supervisory Board and a member of the Audit Committee. He was appointed to the Supervisory Board in 2014.
Mr. Dom is a fi nance and risk professional with extensive experience in banking, fi nancial markets, energy and commodities. He has been a member of the board of directors and chairs the Audit Committee at Federal Holding & Investment Company (FHIC) since 2006. Before 2012, he was also Group Manager Commodity Risk at Nyrstar, and before 2007 Senior Risk Manager at EDF Luminus. Before that, he held several managing positions at Capco and Fortis AG Group. He started his career as a fi nancial analyst and broker-dealer at Delta Lloyd. Mr. Dom holds three masters degrees (Commercial Engineer, European Aff airs and risk management) and an executive MBA with distinction.
Ramon Fernandez is a member of the Supervisory Board, a member of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nomination and Governance Committee. He was appointed to the Supervisory Board in 2015.
Mr. Fernandez has a dual experience in the public and private sectors. He is currently the Deputy CEO and Group Chief Financial and Strategy Offi cer of Orange. He is also the Chairman of the board of Orange Bank, a member of the board of directors at Orange Maroc, Orange Middle East Africa, Compagnie Financière d'Orange Bank and a member of the Supervisory Board at Orange Polska S.A., Euler Hermes and at Iris Capital Management S.A.S.
He is a graduate of the Institut d'Études Politiques and of the École Nationale d'Administration, Graduation Year 1993 – Léon Gambetta.
Manuel Ferreira da Silva is a member of the Supervisory Board, a member of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nomination and Governance Committee. He was appointed to the Supervisory Board of Euronext N.V. in 2012.
Mr. Ferreira da Silva is Vice-Chairman of the board of the SERRALVES Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art. He served for thirtyfive years as a banker at Banco BPI where he was executive member of the board for the last sixteen years and the CEO of its wholly-owned investment bank. He was a member and, between 2012 and 2014, Chairman of the council of the University of Porto School of Economics and is a member of the Supervisory Board of Porto Business School. He was member of the board of the Lisbon and Porto Stock Exchanges between 2000 and 2001 and a member of the advisory board of the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM) between 2001 and 2005. Between 1980 and 1989, Mr. Ferreira da Silva lectured at the University of Porto School of Economics and spent two years as an assistant director of the Navy's Centre of Operational Research. He graduated with a degree in Economics from the Universidade do Porto in 1980 and holds a MBA from the Nova School of Business and Economics (Lisbon, 1982).
Jim Gollan is a member of the Supervisory Board and chairs the Audit Committee. He was appointed to the Supervisory Board in 2015. He is the Chairman of Euronext London and was previously a board member of NYSE LIFFE.
Mr. Gollan is currently a non-executive director of Merrill Lynch International, where he chairs the board Risk Committee, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch International Limited, where he chairs the board. He is also a Governor of the University for the Creative Arts and Vice Chair of the charity, Brain Research Trust. His executive career includes roles as board Chair, CEO and CFO, working in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia in banking, fund management and fi nancial markets with Standard Chartered, Lloyds Bank, Gartmore and SIX Group. Mr. Gollan was also the practice leader of KPMG's Financial Services Consulting, Asia and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Kerstin Günther is a member of the Supervisory Board and a member of the Audit Committee. She was appointed to the Supervisory Board in 2016.
Ms. Günther is a senior digitalization and transformation executive with 26 years international management experience in the ICT sector. From 1991 till 2017 she worked for the Deutsche Telekom Group with focus on Central and Eastern Europe, where she held various management positions. Ms. Günther was Senior Vice President Technology (CTIO) Europe before she founded 'Deutsche Telekom Pan-Net' in 2015, Deutsche Telekom's international, digital, virtualized infrastructure cloud and centralized European service production, which she lead as Managing Director untill June 2017. She is CFO and a member of the board of the foundation "Bürgerstiftung Rheinviertel" in Bonn, Germany. From 2013 untill 2017 she was Chairperson of the board of Magyar Telekom and Vice-Chairperson of the board of Slovak Telekom.
Lieve Mostrey is a member of the Supervisory Board, chairs the Remuneration Committee, and is a member of the Nomination and Governance Committee. She was appointed to the Supervisory Board in 2014.
Since January 2017, Ms. Mostrey has been appointed Chief Executive Offi cer of Euroclear group. Ms. Mostrey joined Euroclear in 2010 as executive director and Chief Technology & Services Officer. Previously, Ms. Mostrey was a member of the Executive Committee of BNP Paribas Fortis in Brussels, where she was responsible for IT technology, operations (including securities, payments, credit cards, mortgages, clients and accounts), property and purchasing. Ms. Mostrey began her career in 1983 within the IT department of Generale Bank in Brussels, moving to Operations in 1997 and, upon its merger with Fortis in 2006, became country manager for Fortis Bank Belgium. She became Chief Operating Offi cer of Fortis Bank in 2008, which was acquired by BNP Paribas in 2009. She was also a non-executive director of the boards of Euroclear PLC and Euroclear S.A./N.V. between 2006 and 2010 and of ReadDolmen between 2013 and March 2017. Having earned a degree in civil engineering from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1983, Ms. Mostrey completed a post-graduate degree in economics from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 1988.
Franck Silvent is a member of the Supervisory Board. He was appointed to the Supervisory Board in 2017.
Mr. Silvent is a Managing Partner of Degroof Petercam Finance.
Mr. Silvent worked in the French Ministry of Finance (Inspection Générale des Finances) as an auditor from 1998 to 2002. In 2002 he was appointed Deputy Director of Strategy, Finance, Management Control and Accounting at Caisse des Dépôts. From 2005 to 2012 he worked at Compagnie des Alpes (CDA) where he served as director of Finance, Strategy and Development, before becoming Deputy CEO. From 2013 to August 2017, Mr. Silvent has been director of Finance, Strategy and Holdings at Caisse des Dépôts.
He graduated from the École Nationale d'Administration.
Padraic O'Connor is the Chairman of the ISE and also chairs the Senior Appointments and Remuneration Committee. He is a nonexecutive director of Rabobank Ireland, Quintillion and a number of other companies. He was Managing Director of NCB Group between 1991 and 1999 prior to which he was Chief Economist at the fi rm. Before joining NCB, Mr O'Connor worked at the Department of Finance and the Central Bank of Ireland. He holds primary and postgraduate degrees in Economics from University College Dublin.
The table below contains information on the members of the Supervisory Board that has not been included above (as at 31 December 2017).
| NAME | AGE | GENDER | NATIONALITY | PROFESSION | MEMBER SINCE | INDEPENDENT/ NON-INDEPENDENT |
END OF CURRENT TERM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rijnhard van Tets | 70 | Male | Dutch | asset manager | 15/03/2014 | Independent | 2018 |
| Dick Sluimers | 64 | Male | Dutch | Economist | 14/07/2016 | Independent | 2020 |
| Koenraad Dom | 49 | Male | Belgian | Consultant | 19/12/2014 | Non-independent | 2018 |
| Ramon Fernandez | 50 | Male | French | Deputy CEO | 20/07/2015 | Independent | 2019 |
| Manuel Ferreira da Silva | 60 | Male | Portuguese | Banker | 15/03/2014 | Independent | 2018 |
| Jim Gollan | 62 | Male | British | Accountant | 20/07/2015 | Independent | 2019 |
| Kerstin Günther | 50 | Female | German | Engineer | 14/07/2016 | Independent | 2020 |
| Lieve Mostrey | 57 | Female | Belgian | CEO | 19/12/2014 | Non-independent | 2018 |
| Franck Silvent | 45 | Male | French | Managing Partner | 03/11/2017 | Non-independent | 2021 |
Three members of the Supervisory Board, namely Koenraad Dom, Lieve Mostrey and Franck Silvent, were proposed by the Company's Reference shareholders, who as a group hold more than ten percent of the Company's shares. The Company regards these three members of the Supervisory Board as non-independent within the meaning of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.The background of the presence of three non-independent members in Euronext's Supervisory Board is related to the wish of Euronext College of Regulators for Euronext to have a number of stable, longterm shareholders.
Dutch law requires large Dutch companies to pursue a policy of having at least 30% of the seats on both the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board held by men and at least 30% of those seats held by women. Euronext qualifi es as a large Dutch Company and does not meet these gender diversity targets with respect to the Supervisory Board, as two of the nine members are women. This is partly related to historical circumstances and partly to the sectors in which Euronext is active.
Euronext will continue to promote gender diversity within its Supervisory Board by striving to increase the proportion of female members by taking into account all relevant selection criteria including, but not limited to, gender balance, with regard to future appointments.
During 2017, no Supervisory Board member acted as a delegated Supervisory Board member, nor was any Supervisory Board member involved in Euronext's management.
As far as Euronext is aware, there were no transactions in which there were confl icts of interest with the members of the Supervisory Board that were of material signifi cance to Euronext and/or to any of its subsidiaries during the 2017 fi nancial year.
Euronext's Articles of Association provide for an indemnity for each present or former member of the Managing Board and each present or former member of the Supervisory Board against all costs, charges, losses and liabilities incurred by them in the proper execution of their duties or the proper exercise of their powers in any such capacities in the Company including, without limitation, any liability incurred in defending proceedings in which judgment is given in their favour or in which they are acquitted, or which are otherwise disposed of without a fi nding or admission of material breach of duty on their part, other than cases of willful misconduct or gross negligence (opzet of grove nalatigheid).
The Supervisory Board is supported by Euronext N.V.'s Company secretary, Paul Theunissen.
Euronext N.V.'s registered address serves as the business address for all members of the Supervisory Board , being Beursplein 5, 1012 JW, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
As per 1 January 2017, the Audit Committee was composed of Jim Gollan (Chairman), Koenraad Dom and Dick Sluimers. Kerstin Günther became a member of the Audit Committee on 27 July 2017. As per 31 December 2017, the Audit Committee was composed of Jim Gollan (Chairman), Koenraad Dom, Kerstin Günther and Dick Sluimers. Franck Silvent was appointed to the Audit Committee with eff ect from 1 January 2018. The Audit Committees assists the Supervisory Board in supervising and monitoring the Managing Board by advising on matters such as the compliance by Euronext with applicable laws and regulations, Euronext's disclosure of financial information, including its accounting principles, the recommendation for the appointment of Euronext's external auditor to the General Meeting, the recommendations from Euronext's internal auditor and external auditor, and the review of the internal risk management and control systems and IT and business continuity safeguards.
The roles and responsibilities of the Audit Committee as well as the composition and the manner in which it discharges its duties are set out in the charter of the Audit Committee included in the regulations of the Supervisory Board. The Audit Committee will meet as often as the Chairman of the Audit Committee or a majority of the members of the Audit Committee deems necessary but in any event at least twice a year.
As per 1 January 2017, the Nomination and Governance Committee was composed of Rijnhard van Tets, Dominique Aubernon, Manuel Ferreira da Silva and Lieve Mostrey. Domique Aubernon retired from the Nomination and Governace Committee on 19 October 2017. As per 31 December 2017, the Nomination and Governance Committee was composed of Rijnhard van Tets, Manuel Ferreira da Silva and Lieve Mostrey. The Committee is chaired by Rijnhard van Tets. Ramon Fernandez was appointed to the Nomination and Governance Committee with eff ect from 1 January 2018.
The responsibilities of the Nomination and Governance Committee relating to selection and appointment include recommending criteria and procedures to the Supervisory Board for the selection of candidates to the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board and its Committees, identifying and recommending to the Supervisory Board candidates eligible to serve on the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board and its Committees, establishing and overseeing self-assessment by the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board and its Committees, conducting timely succession planning for the CEO and the other positions of the Supervisory Board and the Managing Board and reviewing and evaluating the size, composition, function and duties of the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board , consistent with their respective needs.
The responsibilities of the Nomination and Governance Committee relating to governance include the supervision and evaluation of compliance with the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.
The roles and responsibilities of the Nomination and Governance Committee as well as the composition and the manner in which it discharges its duties are set out in the charter of the Nomination and Governance Committee included in the regulations of the Supervisory Board. The Nomination and Governance Committee will meet as often as necessary and whenever any of its members requests a meeting.
As per 1 January 2017, and as per 31 December 2017 the Remuneration Committee was composed of Lieve Mostrey, Ramon Fernandez and Manuel Ferreira da Silva. The Committee is chaired by Lieve Mostrey.
The responsibilities of the Remuneration Committee include analysing the possible outcomes of the variable remuneration components and how they may affect the remuneration of the members of the Managing Board, preparing proposals for the Supervisory Board concerning remuneration policies for the Managing Board to be adopted by the General Meeting, preparing proposals for the Supervisory Board concerning the terms of the service agreements and total compensation of the individual members of the Managing Board, preparing proposals for the Supervisory Board concerning the performance criteria and the application thereof for the Managing Board, preparing proposals for the Supervisory Board concerning the approval of any compensation plans in the form of share or options, reviewing the terms of employment and total compensation of employees directly reporting to the Managing Board and the total compensation of certain other specifi ed employees, defi ned in consultation with the Managing Board, overseeing the total cost of the approved compensation programmes, preparing and publishing on an annual basis a report of its deliberations and fi ndings and appointing any consultant in respect of executive remuneration.
The roles and responsibilities of the Remuneration Committee as well as the composition and the manner in which it discharges its duties are set out in the charter of the Remuneration Committee included in the regulations of the Supervisory Board. The Remuneration Committee will meet as often as necessary and whenever any of its members requests a meeting.
The Managing Board is responsible for the day-to-day management of the operations of Euronext and is supervised by the Supervisory Board. As described in the Articles of Associations, the Managing Board is required to inform or seek approval from the Supervisory Board depending on the matter. In performing their duties, the members of the Managing Board must Act in the interests of Euronext and those of its business. The Managing Board as a whole is authorised to represent Euronext.
As per rules of procedure of the Managing Board, the Managing Board currently consists of the Chief Executive Offi cer ("CEO") of the Euronext group, the Head of Markets and Global Sales and the CEOs of the local exchanges. The members of the Managing Board are appointed by the General Meeting only in accordance with a proposal of the Supervisory Board or upon a binding nomination by the Supervisory Board . Prior to making a nomination, the proposed nomination must be submitted to the College of Regulators and the Dutch Ministry of Finance for approval.
The Managing Board shall adopt resolutions by an absolute majority of the votes cast knowing that confl icted members cannot participate and that the Chairman of the Managing Board has a casting vote.
The following matters require the approval of the Supervisory Board:
The table below lists the members of the Managing Board at 31 December 2017.
Additionally, pursuant to Dutch law, resolutions of the Managing Board involving a major change in Euronext's identity or its business require the prior approval of the General Meeting and the Supervisory Board , which in any case include:
The Rules of Procedure of the Managing Board provide that the Managing Board of a Euronext Market Subsidiary has the right to reject a resolution by the Managing Board if such resolution solely or principally has an impact on the exchange operated by such Euronext Market Subsidiary and such impact is material or of strategic importance for the Exchange operated by such Euronext Market Subsidiary. Each member of the Managing Board of such Euronext Market Subsidiary has the right to request that the item is placed on the agenda of the Supervisory Board of Euronext. The Supervisory Board shall then discuss the matter with the Managing Board of Euronext, and consider the arguments of the Managing Board of the Euronext Market Subsidiary, following which the Supervisory Board will take a fi nal and binding decision on the matter.
| NAME | AGE | POSITION | APPOINTED ON |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stéphane Boujnah | 53 | Group CEO | 4 November 2015 |
| Anthony Attia | 43 | CEO Euronext Paris & Global Head of Listing 15 March 2014 |
|
| Paulo da Silva | 53 | CEO Euronext Lisbon and CEO Interbolsa 19 May 2017 |
|
| Lee Hodgkinson | 45 | Head of Markets and Global Sales and CEO of Euronext London 15 March 2014 |
|
| Vincent Van Dessel | 59 | CEO Euronext Brussels 15 March 2014 |
|
| Maurice van Tilburg | 46 | CEO Euronext Amsterdam | 6 May 2015 |
On 1 January 2017, the Managing Board was composed of Stéphane Boujnah (Chairman), Anthony Attia, Maria João Carioca, Jos Dijsselhof, Lee Hodgkinson, Vincent Van Dessel and Maurice van Tilburg.
Maria João Carioca resigned from the Managing Board on 1 March 2017.
Paulo da Silva was appointed to the Managing Board on 19 May 2017.
Jos Dijsselhof, Chief Operating Offi cer, left Euronext on 30 June 2017.
Following the announced acquisition of the Irish Stock Exchange and the closing of the transaction on 27 March 2018, it is expected that Deirdre Somers, current CEO of the Irish Stock Exchange, would join Euronext's Managing Board (subject regulatory approval) with group-wide responsibility for Debt, Funds & ETFs listing. A biography of Deirdre Somers is provided below.
On 25 January 2018, Euronext announced that Lee Hodgkinson will leave the Company in early April 2018 and will therefore resign from the Managing Board.
All members of the Managing Board who were appointed before Euronext N.V. became a listed company were appointed for an indefi nite period of time; the appointments that occurred since were made in compliance with the Dutch Corporate Governance Code for four years terms. All appointments' terms will progressively be compliant with the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.
Euronext has assessed that the appointment to the Managing Board in 2017 is in compliance with the requirements as included in the Dutch "Wet bestuur en toezicht" regarding the maximum number of Supervisory Board positions.
Euronext's registered address serves as the business address for all members of the Managing Board, being Beursplein 5, 1012 JW, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Stéphane Boujnah has been the CEO of Euronext and Chairman of the Managing Board of Euronext since 2015.
Before joining Euronext, Mr. Boujnah was Head of Santander Global Banking and Markets for continental Europe. From 2005 to 2010, he was Managing Director at Deutsche Bank responsible for the development of the investment banking operations in France. Previously he founded KM5 Capital, an advisory company specialised in equity raising and M&A advice for venture capital funds and innovative technology companies.
From 2000 to 2002, he was director of the European M&A team of Credit Suisse First Boston Technology Group in Palo Alto and London. From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Boujnah was senior adviser to the French Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry. He began his career in 1991 as a business lawyer at Freshfi elds.
Mr. Boujnah was a member of the Commission pour la Liberation de la Croissance Française established by the then President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. He is founder and President of the board of directors of the think tank En Temps Réel and President of the board of directors of Accentus and Insula Orchestra.
He graduated from the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris. He holds a Master degree and a DEA in Law from La Sorbonne Paris, a LLM in Law from the University of Kent, and a MBA from Insead.
Anthony Attia has been the CEO of Euronext Paris since 2014. In May 2016, he was also appointed Global Head of Listing. Since he joined Société des Bourses Françaises in 1997, Mr. Attia has held a number of responsibilities including market organisation, business strategy, mergers and integration, and trading system design. Mr. Attia served as Chief of Staff to the President and Deputy CEO of NYSE Euronext from 2010 to 2013, based in New York. In 2008, following the merger between NYSE and Euronext, he was appointed Senior Vice President in charge of designing and deploying the Universal Trading Platform. In 2004, he served as executive director, Head of Operations for Euronext. He was responsible for market surveillance, the operational relationship with customers, and business development projects in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Paris. In 2000 he was the Program Director for the Euronext integration, in charge of migrating the French, Belgian and Dutch exchanges to the Euronext Market Model and NSC trading system. Mr. Attia is a board member of LCH S.A. , EnterNext, and the French Capital Markets Association (Amafi ), as well as a member of the AMF Markets and Exchanges commission. He is the Chairman of Liquishare. He holds an Engineering degree in computer science, applied mathematics and fi nance from the Institut d'Informatique d'Entreprise and also studied at Insead.
Paulo da Silva has joined Euronext as the CEO of Euronext Lisbon and as the CEO of Interbolsa in 2017. Before joining Euronext, he was a member of the board of Caixa Geral de Depósitos with overall responsibility for IT/IS, operations, marketing, organization, as well as the coordination of the bank's restructuring plan. Prior to that, he was an independent management consultant, working with Private Equity investors, providing restructuring and technology services to companies in Europe, mainly in the telecom area. From 2000 to 2011, Mr. da Silva held several positions at Vodafone group, including Vice-President of Technology and Operations in Portugal, Global director of IT Services & Development for the whole Vodafone group, based in Germany and the United Kingdom, and fi nally Chief Commercial Officer of Vodafone Turkey. From 1991 to 2000, he worked for Banco Português de Investimento (BPI), where he was appointed a Member of the board of directors in 1997. He was a Consultant at McKinsey between 1989 and 1991. He was also a Teaching Assistant at Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon from 1985 to 1987 and Research Assistant and Dean's Assistant at Insead from 1987 to 1989.
Lee Hodgkinson is the Head of Markets and Global Sales of Euronext and CEO of Euronext London. Mr. Hodgkinson joined Euronext, when it was part of NYSE Euronext, in 2009 as CEO of SmartPool, the European dark pool joint venture with J.P. Morgan, HSBC and BNP Paribas. As a member of the Executive Committee of NYSE Euronext he led the sales and client coverage division in Europe and Asia for the LIFFE and Euronext businesses. Prior to holding these positions, Management & Control Structure
he was CEO of SIX Swiss Exchange's blue-chip international equity business, SWX Europe (formerly known as virt-x). A member of the Management board of SIX Swiss Exchange since 2003, he held various executive leadership roles in Zurich including head of the client and products division and head of market operations. Prior to this he spent two years as Head of Market Development at the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange. Mr. Hodgkinson is a director of EnterNext S.A. and of Euronext Hong Kong Limited. Mr. Hodgkinson began his career with the Markets Division of the London Stock Exchange, where he worked for nine years and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School. Euronext announced on 25 January 2018 his departure in early April 2018.
Vincent Van Dessel has been the CEO of Euronext Brussels since 2009. From 2003 to 2009, Mr. Van Dessel was General Manager of Euronext Brussels. From 2000 to 2003, he was Chairman of the Market Authority of the Brussels Exchanges, responsible for members' admission, listing, company information and the supervision of the markets. Upon the merger of the Amsterdam, Paris and Brussels exchanges into Euronext in 2000, he became member of the Executive Committee of Euronext N.V. Group. He joined the Brussels Stock Exchange in 1992 as Director Markets and Listing and later became member of the Managing Board of the Brussels Exchanges. Mr. Van Dessel started his career as a stockbroker in 1984. Mr. Van Dessel is a director of EnterNext S.A. He has an MSc in Applied Economics from KU Leuven University and is also a guest lecturer at several universities, including the KU Leuven, UCL Mons and Paris Sorbonne.
Maurice van Tilburg has been the CEO of Euronext Amsterdam since 2015. Until this appointment to the Managing Board, he was Head of Business Projects & Design of the European Equity and Equity Derivatives Markets at Euronext, where he was responsible for the process reform of business initiatives and project delivery of new products and services. Prior to that Mr. Van Tilburg was in charge of issuer support and execution of corporate actions across all Euronext Cash Markets in Europe. Mr. Van Tilburg started his career in the exchange sector in 1995 at the EOE Options Exchange in Amsterdam and then moved to Euroclear Netherlands where he was responsible for the operational delivery of all settlement and custody services for the Dutch market. Mr. Van Tilburg is a member of the Supervisory Board of Company Webcast B.V. and of the Supervisory Board of iBabs B.V., and a director of EnterNext S.A. He holds an engineering degree and a post graduate audit degree from the VU University Amsterdam.
Deirdre Somers is Chief Executive since June 2007. Having joined the ISE in 1995, Ms Somers was Director of Listing where she was instrumental in establishing the ISE's leading position internationally in listing investment funds and debt securities. Ms Somers also oversaw the establishment of two niche markets - the ESM, the ISE's enterprise market which focuses on growth companies and GEM, a professional market for debt issuers. She is outspoken about the importance of the role of markets as a relevant and accessible funding source for issuers, particularly for high potential SME companies. A Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland, Ms Somers was elected President of the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) in June 2015 and sits on the Board. She also sits on the National Council of IBEC. She was Vice-President of FESE from 2010 – 2013 and is also a former Governor of University College Cork.
Alain Courbebaisse is the Chief Information and Technology Offi cer of the Company. He leads the IT function across Euronext. Mr. Courbebaisse joined Euronext in June 2017.
Prior to joining Euronext, Mr. Courbebaisse was Head of Prime Brokerage and Clearing Services and Head Of Platform Sales at Societe Generale Americas Services, and prior to this he was the Global CIO of Newedge. In his earlier roles, he was European CIO and Global head of Development at Fimat, Head of IT at Draeger Medical S.A., Consultant and Developer for IBM. Mr. Courbebaisse is a member of the Supervisory Board of Tredzone. Mr. Courbebaisse graduated from Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Computer science.
Amaury Houdart is the Chief Talent Offi cer of the Company. He leads the Human Resources function and strategic initiatives related to employee engagement, talent development, and organisational changes across Euronext. Mr. Houdart joined Euronext in 2016.
Prior to joining Euronext, Mr. Houdart was group director of Human Resources and Employee Shareholding at groupe Steria SCA, a leading European IT services company. In his earlier roles, he was Business Consulting manager, Mergers & Acquisitions director and then Human Resources director at Unilog LogicaCMG, a leading international IT services company. Mr. Houdart graduated from Paris Dauphine University in International Aff airs.
Catherine Langlais is the Executive Legal Director and General Counsel of the Company. Catherine Langlais joined Euronext Paris' subsidiary Matif S.A. (the French Derivatives exchange) in 1990. Prior to joining Euronext, she had been working since 1977 as an in-house lawyer at Credit National, a French bank (now Natixis). Ms. Langlais was involved in the creation of the Euronext group in 2000 and its subsequent listing in Paris in 2001. She was also involved in the merger of NYSE with Euronext in 2007, the acquisition of NYSE Euronext by ICE in 2013 and subsequent separation and IPO of Euronext in 2014.
Ms. Langlais has been the executive director of Legal and Regulatory Aff airs of the Euronext group since 2004, and was a member of the Management Committee of NYSE Euronext. Her present responsibilities include participating in strategy, development policy, and the supervision of all legal matters for the Euronext group. In addition, she coordinates and manages the regulatory and public aff airs tasks of the Euronext markets (encompassing Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Paris): rulebook preparation, discussions with the Euronext College of Regulators and approval of all regulatory matters. She also coordinates Euronext group's corporate social responsibility activities. Ms. Langlais is also a member of the board of directors of EuroclearPlc and of Euroclear S.A./B.V.. She graduated from the Paris XI Sorbonne University in International Law and from the Paris IV-Sorbonne University in Anglo-American civilisation and literature. Ms. Langlais has been a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur since 2009.
Giorgio Modica is the Chief Financial Offi cer of the Company. He joined Euronext in 2016. His responsibilities include both Euronext's fi nancial and corporate services. Mr. Modica joined from BNP Paribas (Paris and Milan), where he was a senior Corporate Finance banker in Financial Institutions for nine years, holding the responsibility for the Stock Exchange sector globally and for the overall FIG markets in Italy and Spain. In over fi fteen years of international investment banking experience, Mr. Modica covered both M&A and ECM, as well as the structuring of fi nancing solutions (equity and debt).
Since 2011, as advisor to NYSE Euronext and then Euronext, Mr. Modica has supported the Euronext group very closely throughout its key milestone transactions, including the attempted combination with Deutsche Börse, the carve-out of Euronext and its subsequent IPO. Mr. Modica started his career at the venture capitalist fi rm MyQube in Geneva, and then moved to investment banking at HSBC in Milan and MCC/Capitalia in Rome. Mr. Modica is a director of Euronext US Inc. Mr. Modica graduated cum-laude from Bocconi University and holds a Master in Finance from SDA Bocconi.
Dutch law requires large Dutch companies to pursue a policy of having at least 30% of the seats on both the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board held by men and at least 30% of those seats held by women. Euronext qualifies as a large Dutch Company and currently does not meet these gender diversity targets with respect to the Managing Board, as less than 30% of its members are women. This is partly related to historical circumstances and partly to the sectors in which Euronext is active. The Managing Board is composed of all countries of Euronext representatives. Out of ten members (including Senior Management members and Stéphane Boujnah), one is female.
The Senior Leadership team in 2017 was composed of 24% of females. The balance of country representation was the following: 56% France, 13% the Netherlands, 13% United Kingdom, 9% Portugal, 7% Belgium and 2% United States. The average age of this group is 45 years.
Euronext will continue to promote gender diversity within its Managing Board by striving to increase the proportion of female members by taking into account all relevant selection criteria including, but not limited to, gender balance, with regard to future appointments.
The Supervisory Board met twelve times in 2017: there were six in-person meetings and six conference calls.
On average, 88% of the Supervisory Board members were present at these meetings.
2
In 2017, twelve Supervisory Board meetings were held.
| Name | Attended | Absence ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Rijnhard van Tets | 12 out of 12 meetings | 0% |
| Dick Sluimers | 10 out of 12 meetings | 16.67% |
| Dominique Aubernon (retired 17 October 2017) | 10 out of 10 meetings | 0% |
| Koenraad Dom | 11 out of 12 meetings | 8.33% |
| Ramon Fernandez | 8 out of 12 meetings | 33.33% |
| Manuel Ferreira da Silva | 10 out of 12 meetings | 16.67% |
| Jim Gollan | 12 out of 12 meetings | 0% |
| Kerstin Günther | 10 out of 12 meetings | 16.67% |
| Lieve Mostrey | 10 out of 12 meetings | 16.67% |
| Franck Silvent (appointed 3 November 2017) | 2 out of 2 meetings | 0% |
In 2017, seven Audit Committee meetings were held.
| Name | Attended | Absence ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Gollan | 7 out of 7 meetings | 0% |
| Koenraad Dom | 7 out of 7 meetings | 0% |
| Kerstin Günther | 1 out of 1 meeting | 0% |
| Dick Sluimers | 5 out of 7 meetings | 28.57% |
In 2017, four Nomination and Governance Committee meetings were held.
| Name | Attended | Absence ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rijnhard van Tets | 4 out of 4 meetings | 0% | |
| Dominique Aubernon (retired 17 October 2017) | 3 out of 3 meetings | 0% | |
| Manuel Ferreira da Silva | 4 out of 4 meetings | 0% | |
| Lieve Mostrey | 4 out of 4 meetings | 0% | |
| In 2017, fi ve Remuneration Committee meetings were held. |
| Name | Attended | Absence ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Lieve Mostrey | 5 out of 5 meetings | 0% |
| Ramon Fernandez | 2 out of 5 meetings | 60% |
| Manuel Ferreira da Silva | 4 out of 5 meetings | 20% |
Each Supervisory Board meeting was also attended by all or by most members of the Managing Board. In addition, several managers were invited to discuss specifi c items included on the Supervisory Board's agenda.
The Supervisory Board was informed and consulted by the Managing Board in all meetings on the course of business and the main risks attached to it, Euronext's fi nancial and operational performance and matters related to the Euronext's governance and strategy. A meeting of the Supervisory Board that was held on 21 March 2017 was entirely dedicated to Euronext's strategy.
During the meetings held in 2017, the Supervisory Board approved the quarterly and semi-annual statements, the semi-annual report, the annual report for 2016, the budget for 2018, and the agendas of the General Meetings, including the nomination for appointments to the Supervisory Board and the Managing Board, the nomination of the external auditor, and a proposal regarding the dividend. All meetings of the Supervisory Board were prepared by the Chairman of the Managing Board in close co-operation with the Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
The annual evaluation of the Supervisory Board, its Committees and Managing Board by the Supervisory Board relating to the year 2017 took place in January and February 2018. This evaluation was conducted through questionnaires, the results of which were compiled by the Corporate Secretary. In addition, the Chairman had individual conversations with all Supervisory Board members. The report on the outcome of the questionnaires was discussed initially by the Nomination and Governance Committee and subsequently by the Supervisory Board as a whole.
The topics included in the questionnaires covered, among other items, the interaction with the Managing Board, the Supervisory Board meetings, Chairmanship, communications, decision making processes, lessons learned from events that occurred through the year, succession and development planning, shareholder value, the composition and profi le of the Supervisory Board, the Committee structure and the competencies and expertise of its members.
The performance of the individual Management board members and the Management board as a whole was discussed during the physical meetings of the Nomination and Governance Committee and the executive session of the Supervisory Board in February 2018.
After discussing the results of the questionnaires, the Supervisory Board concluded that the Supervisory Board and its Committees had properly discharged their responsibilities during 2017. During the board evaluation, the Supervisory Board further concluded that the relation and interaction with the Managing Board, including the fl ow of information, was good. The Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board led the review of the performance of the Chairman. The Supervisory Board concluded that the Chairman had performed his duties well.
The Supervisory Board and its Committees agreed that during 2018 they will increase their attention for items such as technology, the middle-management and crisis management.
As per 1 January 2017, the Audit Committee was composed of Jim Gollan (Chairman), Koenraad Dom and Dick Sluimers. Kerstin Günther became a member of the Audit Committee on 27 July 2017. As per 31 December 2017, the Audit Committee was composed of Jim Gollan (Chairman), Koenraad Dom, Kerstin Günther and Dick Sluimers. Franck Silvent was appointed to the Audit Committee with eff ect from 1 January 2018.
The Audit Committee convened seven times in 2017 . These meetings were regularly attended by, in addition to the members of the Audit Committee, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, the CEO, the CFO, the Head of Risk and Compliance department, the General Counsel, the Head of Internal Audit and the external auditors.
In addition, the Audit Committee held regular individual discussions with – among others – the external auditors and the Head of Internal Audit. The Supervisory Board was regularly informed about the results of these discussions. The Chairman of the Audit Committee reported to the Supervisory Board about the activities of the Committee and about its meetings and discussions in the Supervisory Board meetings.
Among the items that were discussed by the Audit Committee were the annual, semi-annual and quarterly fi gures, risk management, the investor base, the share price development, the appointment of the external auditors, the internal and external audit planning and reports, litigations, and the external auditors' reports.
As per 1 January 2017 and as per 31 December 2017, the Remuneration Committee was composed of Lieve Mostrey, Ramon Fernandez and Manuel Ferreira da Silva. The Committee is chaired by Lieve Mostrey.
The Remuneration Committee held five meetings in 2017. The Committee focused on reviewing short term and long term incentives decisions after year end results, with a specifi c focus on Managing Board members. The Committee also reviewed a Compensation policy adjustment proposal and proposed compensation for new hires.
As per 1 January 2017, the Nomination and Governance Committee was composed of Rijnhard van Tets, Dominique Aubernon, Manuel Ferreira da Silva and Lieve Mostrey. Dominique Aubernon retired from the Nomination and Governance Committee on 19 October 2017. As per 31 December 2017, the Nomination and Governance Committee was composed of Rijnhard van Tets, Manuel Ferreira da Silva and Lieve Mostrey. The Committee is chaired by Rijnhard van Tets. Ramon Fernandez was appointed to the Nomination and Governance Committee with eff ect from 1 January 2018.
The Nomination and Governance Committee met four times in 2017. Topics that were discussed in the Committee's meetings included the evaluation and assessment of the Managing Board, the evaluation and assessment of the Supervisory Board, the composition of the Managing Board, the composition and rotation schedule of the Supervisory Board and succession planning.
The Managing Board has prepared the 2017 Financial Statements and has discussed these with the Supervisory Board . The Financial Statements will be submitted for adoption at the 2018 Annual General Meeting as part of the Registration Document.
The principles of Euronext's remuneration policy are to ensure adequate performance based rewards are strongly aligned with shareholders' short-term and long-term interests creating the ability for the Company to attract and retain high calibre staff at all levels.
Therefore Euronext's remuneration policy:
In determining the level and structure of the remuneration of the members of the Managing Board, the Remuneration Committee takes into account, among other things, the fi nancial and operational results as well as non-fi nancial indicators relevant to Euronext's long-term objectives. The Remuneration Committee has performed and will perform scenario analyses to assess that the outcomes of variable remuneration components appropriately reflect performance and with due regard for the risks to which variable remuneration may expose the Company.
In determining the compensation of members of the Managing Board, the Supervisory Board has taken and will take into account the impact of the overall remuneration of the Managing Board on the pay diff erentials within the Company.
The remuneration of the members of the Managing Board consists of the following components:
a short term incentive (STI) in the form of cash reward ("STI");
a long term incentive (LTI) in the form of equity ("LTI"); and
Euronext believes that it is crucial to provide shareholders with transparent and comprehensible information about its remuneration philosophy. The first source of information for shareholders is the Remuneration report. The information provided during the Company's analyst presentations, meetings with shareholders and during the Annual General Meeting of shareholders is the second most important source of information. It is also critical to explain to shareholders why a proper remuneration system has a positive impact on the Company and how it helps to align the interest of all stakeholders.
For instance, in some countries, listed companies already have to submit the remuneration of their executives (board of directors, Executive Committee and/or Advisory board) to a binding shareholders say-on-pay vote at the Annual General Meeting. In other countries strong recommendations by national or international Corporate Governance bodies (such as the International Corporate Governance Network) exist. Euronext is committed to implement best practice for say-on-pay, considering existing applicable legislation, planned legislation such as the European Union shareholders rights Directive, and recommendations in the jurisdictions in which it is active as guiding principles. Other best practices will be followed such as benchmarking against comparable institutions, defi ning measurable performance targets and balancing short-term and long-term remuneration components notably through an adequate cash-to-stock ratio.
These principles are applied in the framework of the remuneration policy as adopted by the Annual General Meeting in May 2015.
The tables hereafter reflect the current remuneration of the Managing Board.
The remuneration of the Managing Board is composed of the following key elements:
| ELEMENT | PURPOSE | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Refl ect the responsibility and scope of the role taking into account seniority and experience Reward annual fi nancial and individual performance |
Base salary is reviewed annually against the relevant market. |
| STI | Reward annual fi nancial and individual performance |
Target 75% of base salary for the CEO and 50% or 40% of base salary for other Managing Board members. |
| For the Managing Board, 100% of total STI is paid in cash. | ||
| The performance criteria are based on delivery against pre-set EBITDA, market share and cost targets, on successful execution of the strategic plan and on individual qualitative targets. |
||
| The full STI percentage is payable if 100% of the relevant targets are met. If the relevant targets are over performed by 20%, the payment of the STI will be increased by 50%. The level of outperformance refl ects the absolute cap of the STI. If the relevant targets are underperformed by 20%, the payment of the STI will be decreased by 50%. Linear extrapolation between performance bands is applied. |
||
| LTI | Incentivise performance over the longer term and aim to retain key employees |
On target performances of 100% of base salary for the CEO, and ranging from 50% to 75% for other Managing Board members depending on role and seniority. LTI awards vest after three years. The grant of LTI awards will be determined on the rules set by the Remuneration Committee and are linked to performance criteria. |
| The grant of the LTI is conditional and depends on two performance measures to be met: Total shareholders Return compared with 4 selected peers and actual EBITDA compared to budgeted EBITDA, both over a 3 years period. See for more details section 2.4.2. If the relevant measures are outperformed by 33.3%, the actual number to vest will increase with 100%, being the absolute cap of the LTI. If the relevant measures are underperformed with more than 20%, the actual number will lapse completely. Linear extrapolation between performance bands is applied. |
||
| Pension arrangements and fringe benefi ts |
Ensure competitive benefi ts package and conformity with local market practice |
The pension arrangements of the member of the Managing Board consist of state pension and additional pension schemes that are in line with local practice in the countries where Euronext operates. In addition members of the Managing Board are entitled to the usual fringe benefi ts such as a company car, expense allowance, medical insurance, accident insurance in line with local market practice in the countries where Euronext operates. |
Performance conditions for the short term incentive are set by the Supervisory Board annually for the relevant year. They include criteria concerning Euronext's fi nancial performance, quantitative criteria representing company performance and/or individual qualitative performance. In 2017 the performance criteria of the Group CEO short term incentive were based on:
The targets that are set for the individual Managing Board members are challenging but realistic. All short term incentive objectives are supportive of the long term strategy of Euronext and aligned with shareholder interests.
An overall underperformance of the set objectives will lead to a discount of the STI payment whereby a 20% negative deviation leads to a 50% reduction of STI. Over performance will lead to a multiplier whereby a 20% outperformance of the set objectives will lead to an increase of 50% of STI. This level of outperformance refl ects the absolute cap of the STI. Linear extrapolation between performance bands is applied.
| POSITION | ON TARGET ANNUAL STI AS % OF BASE SALARY |
MAXIMUM STI AS % OF BASE SALARY |
|---|---|---|
| CEO | 75.00% | 112.50% |
| Head of Global Markets & Sales |
50.00% | 75.00% |
| CEO France/ CEO Netherlands | 50.00% | 75.00% |
| CEO Belgium / CEO Portugal | 40.00% | 60.00% |
The actual number of conditional LTI Performance Share Plan ("PSP")PSP awards that vest depends on the performance of the following two performance measures:
weighting): the average of the diff erence between the Company's actual EBITDA Margin on 31 December of the year of the Grant Date and 31 December of the first and second financial year thereafter compared to the budgeted EBITDA Margin for the fi nancial year of the Grant Date and fi rst and second fi nancial year thereafter;
| EURONEXT PERFORMANCE CONDITION (FOR EACH PART OF THE PERFORMANCE CONDITIONS) |
VESTING % OF THE NUMBER OF SHARES |
|---|---|
| +33.3% or higher | increase of 100% |
| At target to +33.3% | Increase on linear basis from original grant up to and including 100% increase |
| At target | Original granted number |
| At target to -20% | Decrease on linear basis from original grant to lapse of 50% of the shares |
| More than -20% | Lapse of 100% of the shares |
The main features of the LTI arrangements are the following:
The number of LTI awards will be determined annually by the Supervisory Board depending on the contribution to the long term development of Euronext. In principle it is the intention to:
Euronext's Supervisory Board establishes the individual remuneration of the members of the Managing Board within the framework of its remuneration policy as adopted by the Annual General Meeting upon a recommendation by the Remuneration Committee.
For the actual remuneration expensed for the year 2017, reference is made to Note 50 of the Financial Statements included in this Registration Document. The total remuneration for the members of the Managing Board, for the year 2017 amounts to €6,153,906. This amount includes exceptional bonus and a pro rata compensation related to Jos Dijsselhof and Maria João Carioca.
The total remuneration consists of (I) an aggregate base salary, (II) the aggregate short-term incentive compensation based on the achievements against objective measureable criteria and (III) the aggregate LTI compensation recognised in accordance with IFRS 2 and (IV) an amount to be contributed to post-employment benefi ts. For the members of the Managing Board in active service on 31 December 2017 these amounts are as described herewith:
| NAME | TITLE | CURRENCY | BASE SALARY (ANNUALISED PER 31/12/2017) |
STI OVER 2017 | LTI COMPENSATION BASED ON IFRS 2(c) |
POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group Chief Executive | ||||||
| Stéphane Boujnah Anthony Attia |
Offi cer Euronext CEO of Euronext Paris and Global Head of Listing |
EUR EUR |
725,000 300,000 |
815,625 225,000 |
291,045 257,948 |
|
| Lee Hodgkinson(a) | CEO of Euronext London and Head of Markets and Global Sales |
EUR | 365,101 | 136,913 | 420,614 | 27,793 |
| Paulo da Silva(b) | CEO of Euronext Lisbon & Interbolsa and Head of Market Solutions |
EUR | 230,000 | 138,000 | - | 28,750 |
| Maurice van Tilburg |
CEO of Euronext Amsterdam and Head of Market Operations and Client Centricity |
EUR | 270,000 | 190,000 | 71,539 | 16,869 |
| Vincent Van Dessel |
CEO of Euronext Brussels |
EUR | 270,701 | 110,000 | 157,460 | 33,853 |
(a) Lee Hodgkinson is based in the United Kingdom and is paid in GBP; All amounts for his remuneration are stated in EUR. The corresponding GBP numbers are as follows: Base salary 320,000, Actual paid STI over 2017: 120,000, LTI compensation based on IFRS 368,655 and post-employment benefi t 24,360.
(b) On 13 December 2016 it was announced that Maria João Carioca had resigned and would step down from her role in the Managing Board. Her resignation became eff ective on 1 March 2017. At the Annual General Meeting held on 19 May 2017, Paulo Jorge da Silva has been formally appointed as CEO of Portugal. The base salary has been annualised.
(c) IFRS standard 2 on, "Shared-based payments" prescribes recognition of expense for share based grants on the fair value as per grant date. This "grant date fair value" is expensed over the 3-year vesting period.
The base salary is linked to the overall job responsibilities of the individual Managing Board member and refl ects internal consistency.
The STI consists of an annual performance compensation component as a percentage of base salary. The variable component levels are set by the Supervisory Board and may vary per member of the Managing Board. They are set annually for the relevant year and shall include criteria concerning Euronext's fi nancial performance, quantitative criteria representing Company performance and/or individual qualitative performance.
There are no specific agreement made by the Company with a Managing Board member that provides a payment upon termination of employment as a result of a public takeover bid within the meaning of Article 5:70 of the Dutch Financial supervision Act.
Reference is made to Note 50 of the Financial Statements included in this Registration Document where an overview of remuneration paid to Euronext's Supervisory Board members is provided.
The General Meeting held on 19 May 2014 has set the annual remuneration for the members of the Supervisory Board in accordance with the schedule below.
| Chairman of the Supervisory Board | €70,000 |
|---|---|
| Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board | €60,000 |
| Member of the Supervisory Board | €55,000 |
| Chairman of the Audit Committee (in addition) | €10,000 |
| Member of the Audit Committee (in addition) | €6,000 |
| Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee (in addition) | €8,000 |
| Member of the Nominating and Governance Committee (in addition) | €6,000 |
| Chairman of the Remuneration Committee (in addition) | €10,000 |
| Member of the Remuneration Committee (in addition) | €6,000 |
The gross amounts that were paid to members of the Supervisory Board in 2017 are as follows:
| Rijnhard van Tets | €93,000 |
|---|---|
| Dick Sluimers | €81,000 |
| Dominique Aubernon | €0 |
| Koenraad Dom | €61,000 |
| Ramon Fernandez | €61,000 |
| Manuel Ferreira da Silva | €67,000 |
| Jim Gollan | €99,228 |
| Kerstin Günther | €57,585 |
| Lieve Mostrey | €0 |
| Franck Silvent | €8,890 |
| TOTAL | €528,703 |
Two members of the Supervisory Board, Rijnhard van Tets and Dick Sluimers also receive remuneration in relation to their positions in the Supervisory Board of Euronext Amsterdam, one of Euronext's subsidiaries. One member of the Supervisory Board, Jim Gollan, also receives remuneration in relation to his position as Chairman of the board of Euronext London Limited, one of Euronext's subsidiaries.
These remunerations are included in the fi gures as illustrated above.
Dominique Aubernon retired after the Extraordinary General Meeting on 19 October 2017. Franck Silvent was appointed on 19 October 2017 subject to regulatory approval. His appointment became eff ective on 3 November 2017, the date on which the regulatory approval was granted. Euronext does not issue option or share plans or other incentive plans to the Supervisory Board. Euronext has not granted any loans to members of the Supervisory Board.
Costs and expenses related to Supervisory Board membership may be reimbursed.
There are no service contracts which provide for benefi ts upon termination of employment with members of the Supervisory Board.
There is currently no lock-up of ordinary shares.
At the time of the IPO in 2014, the Company off ered Ordinary Shares to all eligible employees, which Ordinary Shares are held through the French Fonds Commun de Placement d'Entreprise "Euronext Group" ("FCPE"). The number of units held by the members of the Managing Board per 31 December 2017 in the FCPE are included in the table below.
| NAME | NUMBER OF FCPE UNITS | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Attia | 1,343 | ||
| TOTAL | 1,343 |
The European Parliament acknowledged the importance of businesses divulging information on diversity and sustainability such as social and environmental factors, with a view to identifying sustainability risks. Indeed, disclosure of non-fi nancial information is vital for managing change towards a sustainable global economy by combining long-term profi tability with social justice and environmental protection. In this context, disclosure of nonfi nancial information helps the measuring, monitoring and managing of undertakings' performance and their impact on society.
Also, shareholders and other stakeholders are more and more interested in diversity and non-fi nancial information in order to have a meaningful, comprehensive understanding of a company's development, performance, position and impact of its activity. They thoroughly analyze this information in their investment-decision process. In this context, disclosure of non-fi nancial information helps increasing investor and consumer trust.
In this context, the European Directive 2014/95/UE dated 22 October 2014 imposes to public-interest entities which are large undertakings with more than 500 employees to publish non-fi nancial information including information on environmental, social and employee matters, respect for human rights and on anti-corruption and bribery matters.
Euronext is very keen to comply with its obligations as a listed company and to promote transparency, especially in ESG related matters. Indeed, as a key factor in the fi nancial ecosystem Euronext has a responsibility vis-à-vis the fi nance community to be one of its pillars in order to contribute to the fi nancial stability in the countries in which it operates. To help achieve this aim, Euronext strives to deliver a high integrity trading environment. Euronext believes that good corporate social responsibility practices are essential in bridging the gap between simply operating within and improving society at large.
This chapter describes how Euronext fulfi ls the new requirements of the Directive, which has been fully implemented in The Netherlands by a Decree dated 14 March 2017 on disclosure of non-fi nancial information ("Besluit bekendmaking niet-fi nanciële informatie»). Euronext operates in diff erent countries, where fundamental rights, in particular social rights, are totally respected. All employees are based in countries where national laws provide strong protection for fundamental work rights. In these circumstances, Euronext has drafted no specific policies on the subject and human rights will therefore not be detailed as such is the section below.
At Euronext, corporate responsibility is part of our identity. Encouraging transparency in markets, setting high standards of integrity and governance, and bringing the world's leading companies together in a collaborative manner are exchange touchstones. Euronext conducts its business ethically and integrates consideration of the impact of its actions on its communities, its people and the planet. Euronext regards improving fi nancial capability as one of the key ways in which it can have a positive impact.
Euronext considers corporate social responsibility ("CSR") as an ongoing commitment towards all of its stakeholders and was mindful of corporate responsibility all along the year 2017.
The core values that Euronext focused on in 2017 were unity, integrity, agility, energy and accountability. These are notably refl ected in the Company's governance.
The CSR Committee pursued the tasks it had started in 2015: raising awareness, and making sure of the coordination in the diff erent countries of fi nancial literacy events.
The corporate responsibility mission statement of Euronext covers the following:
The Company's corporate responsibility encompasses the following four areas: Stakeholders, Employees, Communities, and Sustainability Awareness. The structure of this chapter is based on these four areas of activity.
The General Counsel is in charge of coordinating CSR at Group level, making sure that all relevant departments integrate the CSR objectives in their missions. The General Counsel keeps the Group's Managing Board informed about CSR initiatives. Euronext's CSR Committee has at least one staff member per location helping to implement the Euronext CSR initiatives locally.
Euronext joined the United Nations SSE Initiative in December 2015, which aims to explore how exchanges can work together with investors, regulators, and companies to enhance corporate transparency on Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues and encourage responsible long-term approaches to investment.
Euronext's five market operators have voluntarily committed through dialogue with investors, companies and regulators— to promote sustainable, long-term investment and improved ESG governance disclosure and performance among the companies listed on their respective exchange.The decision of membership to SSE refl ected the commitment of Euronext in these areas. In 2017, the SSE Initiative convened a high-level dialogue on Green Finance alongside the COP 23 in Bonn, Germany. One of the Euronext Managing Board directors participated as a speaker to this event.
2
Euronext is a pan-European exchange Group off ering a diverse range of products and services and combining transparent and effi cient equity, fi xed income securities and derivatives markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Paris. Euronext's businesses comprise listing, cash trading, derivatives trading, market data and indices, post-trade and market solutions & other.
For more information on Euronext activities see section 1.3.1 Business Overview.
For more information about Agility for growth strategic plan see section 1.2 «Strategy «Agility for growth strategic plan announced in May 2016».
On the corporate listing side, competition between exchanges for domestic issuers is rare. When a domestic issuer lists on another exchange, it tends to be on an American market rather than on another European stock exchange, in particular in respect of global companies and SMEs in the technology sector. As part of its Agility for Growth strategy, Euronext intends to attract issuers from new markets: (i.e. Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Spain) and therefore will face the competition of local market operators. Euronext has opened in 2017 new offi ces in fi ve European cities outside its core markets – in Germany (Frankfurt, Munich), Italy (Milan), Spain (Madrid) and Switzerland (Zurich) – to assist Tech companies in developing their business on a greater scale through capital markets.
While competition in the cash trading market is relatively mature, in recent years Euronext has faced increased pressure on pricing and market share in equity options trading, in particular from new entrants to the market that have fee structures that are signifi cantly lower than the Company's and reduced cost structure aligned with their narrower service off ering.
The competition for proprietary real-time market data is still limited as trading participants prefer to receive and use market data from the home exchange rather than using substitute pricing. However, Euronext is experiencing an increasing pressure, both from a regulatory (MiFID II) and competitive perspective (alternative trading platforms, including MTFs such as BATS who focus on the most liquid blue chip stocks). Nevertheless Euronext believes that diversity in a wide range of stocks is Euronext's strength in this increasingly competitive environment and will help Euronext retain its position as preferred data source.
Interbolsa is the entity that provides post-trade services in Portugal (mainly settlement services and notary and central maintenance services). Interbolsa, as all CSDs in Europe, is facing increased regulatory pressure related to competition. Actually, according to the CSD Regulation, the creation of an integrated market for securities settlement with no distinction between national and crossborder securities transactions avoids distortions of competition. Considering also that, given the systemic importance of CSDs, competition between them should be promoted in order to enable market participants the possibility to choose any CSD in Europe.
For more information on the competition, see section 1.1.3 Business Environment.
Euronext is an organisation that provides exchange listing, trading, post-trade and related services in Europe. The Company operates exchanges in five European countries. Each of the European exchanges and/or its respective operator holds an exchange licence granted by the relevant national exchange regulatory authority and operates under its supervision. Each market operator is subject to national laws and regulations and other regulatory requirements imposed by exchange authorities, central banks and finance ministries as appropriate.
The fi ve national regulatory authorities coordinate their regulation and supervision of the regulated markets operated by the Euronext group through the "Euronext College of Regulators", acting pursuant to memoranda of understanding which Euronext has committed to respect.
For more information on the regulation see section 1.4 regulation.
The Company is respecting the Corporate Governance Guidelines, Recommendations and Codes set in place in its diff erent locations, and notably: the Dutch Corporate Governance Code 2016 by priority, as it is registered and listed in the Netherlands (see section 2.1), but also the French Afep – Medef Recommendations, and the 2009 Belgian Code on Corporate Governance.
The governance of Euronext reflects the highest standards of independence, oversight, and transparency. The Company applies strict principles and guidelines to its own governance practice and to the companies that list on its markets.
Euronext's two-tier governance is composed of a Supervisory Board and a Managing Board. The Supervisory Board 's main task is the supervision of the Company's management. The functions of Chief Executive Offi cer ("CEO") (chairing the Managing Board) and Chairman (chairing the Supervisory Board ) are separated.
Until October 2017, the Supervisory Board included nine nonexecutive directors including three female directors. Following a change in the appointment by the newly composed Group of Reference shareholders during summer 2017, one of the directors designated by this Group was replaced and the female representation changed to 2 female directors out of nine.
Three independent Committees report to the Supervisory Board: the Audit Committee, the Nomination and Governance Committee and the Remuneration Committee. Each Committee is chaired by one of the Supervisory Board members and includes several Supervisory Board members.
The General Meeting held on 19 May 2014 has set the annual remuneration for the members of the Supervisory Board in accordance to their role(s), see section 2.4.4 "Remuneration of the Supervisory Board members".
2
In 2017, the Supervisory Board and its three related Committees held twenty-eight sessions through in person meetings or conference calls.
By the end of 2017 the Managing Board included six directors, and in its «Extended Managing Board composition» it included four Executive managers who attended all its meetings (Chief Financial Offi cer, Chief Information & Technology Offi cer, General Counsel and Chief Talent Offi cer).
In 2017, the Company has reaffirmed the role of the Euronext Managing Board and of the Investment Committee, performed monthly risk reviews and strengthened the Senior Leadership team with fi fty fi ve Senior managers.
The Senior Leadership team, a new Executive Group created in 2016, was composed of 24% of females. The balance of country representation was the following: 56% France, 13% Netherlands, 13% United Kingdom, 9% Portugal, 7% Belgium and 2% United States. The average age of this Group is 45 years old.
Executive compensation respects the Company's remuneration policy, ensuring adequate performance based rewards. For further details see section 2.4.1 "Remuneration Policy".
Detailed information about Euronext's Governance can be found on the Corporate Governance page on Euronext's website as well as in sections "Corporate Governance" and "Management control structure" of this Registration Document.
The enterprise risk management framework also illustrates Euronext's commitment to CSR (see section 2.2. "Management & Control structure").
Euronext governance includes internal auditing and internal control teams, supported by external fi rms to audit specifi c items, provide guidance and control. In 2017, 12 assignments on various domains, including Information Technology, Business entities and Support Functions, have been conducted by the Internal Audit department.
Euronext's commitment to high ethical and legal standards of conduct remains a top priority, and the Group aims to be a model for the industry by supporting the highest ethical standards in its dealings with its colleagues, employees, business partners, customers and in its communities.
Euronext is committed to ensuring a balance between the needs of its employees with those of the Company guaranteeing each and every employee can excel and develop in a safe, discrimination and harassment free environment.
Euronext has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that reaffi rms its commitment to high standards of ethical conduct and reinforces its business integrity, policies and procedures.
The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics explains the Company's core values and basic ethical obligations in conducting business. In particular, it addresses the following themes:
inside information and personal trading;
confi dential information and privacy;
These policies aim at ensuring compliance with the laws and promoting best practice as well as the higher ethical standards.
They intend to raise awareness among Euronext employees and avoid non-compliance or reputational risks.
Euronext has implemented the Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Policy and Guidance according to the 4th European Union AML Directive. The fi nancial sector relies on Euronext to Act as a gatekeeper preventing money laundering and terrorist fi nancing activities. The Euronext Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Policy is designed to ensure compliance with EU AML Directives and regulation applicable to an operator of regulated markets and trading venues. It includes the need to have in place appropriate systems and controls to identify and mitigate the risk of Euronext being used to facilitate money laundering, other fi nancial crime and terrorist fi nancing.
Furthermore, Euronext maintains a strong focus on detecting integrity breaches such as market abuse, market manipulation, and insider trading which are reported to regulators. Euronext has internal procedures and dedicated teams for this purpose and to ensure compliance with requirements of the REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (market abuse regulation).
Prevention of market abuse by Euronext staff is supported by a Personal Trading Policy, a Euronext N.V. Insider trading Policy as well as a Confi dential and Inside information Policy.
Finally, Euronext has adopted an anti-bribery policy and a confl ict of interest policy according to best practice to comply with local laws, as well as a gift meals and entertainment policy which strives to ensure all Euronext staff upholds the highest standards with respect to confl icts of interest and anti-corruption. The Anti-Bribery Policy is established to prevent, identify and report the activities constituting bribery in its many forms. Similarly, Euronext has established the Confl icts of interest Policy to avoid confl icts situations, ensure that Employees understand what a confl ict of interest is, in its many forms and off er guidance to Employees on how to manage such confl icts.
The aforementioned policies apply to Euronext and its majority owned subsidiaries, and to all Euronext employees including consultants (including interns and temporary staff ) and agents.
Staff training and awareness sessions are conducted regularly in all company locations to promote compliance and ethics standards.
Each new employee is trained shortly after joining by the Euronext Compliance department.
Euronext conducts ongoing training as refresher and as necessary, such as following the modifi cation of these policies.
Finally, some teams receive specifi c training as they have been identifi ed as more exposed to certain risks.
The Company, via its Whistleblowing Policy, allows Employees to report in confidence alleged breaches of the laws or Company policies, and protects anyone who reports in good faith, ensuring that they shall in no way be put at a disadvantage by the Company as a result of the report. The Whistleblowing Policy also describes how the reports are treated, how investigations are carried out and contains the rights and obligations of Employees when they want to report an alleged breach.
Additionally, the Company is committed to providing all employees and others who are on Company property with a safe and healthy work environment. Accordingly, all employees will comply with all health and safety laws and regulations as well as Company policies governing health and safety. All employees are responsible for immediately reporting accidents, injuries and unsafe equipment, practices or conditions to a manager or other designated person.
All employees sign the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and are committed to comply with it.
For more information on the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics see section 2.2.1.3 "Corporate Compliance – Code of Business Conduct and Ethics".
Euronext has an ongoing dialogue with all its stakeholders (shareholders, members, issuers, fi nancial analysts, regulators and investors).
In this context, since 2014, every subsidiary exchange of the Group has one or more exchange Committees to advise and assist the local Managing Board in a non-binding, advisory capacity on new products and market developments. These Councils discuss strategic issues at local level, being the operational and technical issues linked to the business areas (Cash/Derivatives/Listing). It is also expected that the Committee participants propose new ideas and be active in raising topics or issues in the scope of the Committee. The Users Committee is consulted on issues of major interest to Euronext users, where products and services might be developed to meet users' needs. Euronext commits to listening to its opinions and taking these into account in its decision-making process insofar as possible, in the interests of both the Company and its shareholders.
Euronext has an ongoing dialogue with financial analysts, shareholders and investors. The Company focuses on communicating clearly and providing transparent explanations. Euronext has decided to publish full Financial Results on a quarterly basis. These results are commented in either physical meetings or conference calls for analysts and investors and are accessible via webcast from the Company's website.
In addition, Euronext investor relations team met with around 240 investors in 2017, notably through conducting roadshows in eight countries (United-Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada and Sweden) and attended eleven investors conferences. Euronext is willing to continue to engage with its shareholders on a regular basis so as to enhance the knowledge of the Company and the understanding of its strategy.
Detailed information about Euronext's share capital can be found in the "4.2 - Share Capital" section of this Registration Document.
Euronext's issued share capital amounts to €112 million and is divided into 70 million Ordinary Shares. All of Euronext's shares have been created under Dutch law. Euronext is subject to the provisions of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act and the Articles of Association with regard to the issue of shares following admission. The shares are in registered form and are only available in the form of an entry in Euronext's shareholders' register and not in certifi cated form. Under its Articles of Association Euronext may issue shares, or grant rights to subscribe for shares, only pursuant to a resolution of the General Meeting upon proposal of the Supervisory Board or upon proposal of the Managing Board, which proposal has been approved by the Supervisory Board.
On 19 May 2017 , the General Meeting designated the Managing Board as a competent body, subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board, to issue ordinary shares and grant rights to subscribe ordinary shares for general purposes including but not limited to the fi nancing (in cash or in kind by way of ordinary shares) of mergers and acquisitions, as well as facilitating grants under the Company remuneration and long term incentive plans.
The remuneration policy that was approved during the General Meeting held on 6 May 2015 governs the remuneration of the members of the Managing Board, which consist of the following components:
There is only one class of Euronext shares issued and each of these shares has only one vote. Shares held by the Company or its subsidiaries do not have voting rights.
Detailed information about Euronext's shareholders can be found in the "4.4 - Share Classes and major shareholders" section of this Registration Document.
Prior to the IPO, on 27 May 2014, a Group of institutional investors (collectively, the "Reference shareholders", and each a "Reference shareholder") purchased an aggregate percentage of the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares from ICE, the selling shareholder at the IPO. The Reference shareholders have entered into a reference shareholders' agreement (the "Reference shareholders Agreement") governing the relationship among the Reference shareholders. This agreement expired on 20 June 2017 and was extended for a further period of two years commencing on 21 June 2017. The new Reference shareholders Group accounts for 23.86% of Euronext's share capital.
Detailed information about Euronext's reference shareholders can be found in the "4.4.1. - Reference shareholders" section of this Registration Document.
At the time of its IPO in 2014, Euronext's dividend policy was established to achieve a dividend pay-out ratio of approximately 50% of net income, upon the approval of the Annual General Meeting, and as long as the Company is in position to pay this dividend while meeting all its various duties and obligations. In May 2017, Euronext decided to complement this policy, for the remainder of its 'Agility for Growth' strategic plan with the introduction of a fl oor to the dividend per share. Starting at the Annual General Meeting in 2017 and until the Annual General Meeting in 2020, Euronext dividend policy is to distribute the highest of 50% of the reported net income and a fl oor at €1.42 per share, upon the approval of the Annual General Meeting, and as long as the Company is in position to pay this dividend while meeting all its various duties and obligations.
Detailed information about dividend can be found in the "4.12 - Dividend and other distributions" section of this Registration Document.
Euronext continues to reinforce its business integrity by striving to improve the services it provides, making responsible business decisions, and actively managing the social and environmental impacts of its actions to help individuals, communities, businesses and economies progress and grow.
Euronext is a leading service provider of services for issuers, investors, intermediaries and technology data vendors. The Product and Sales teams, the Issuer- Client Coverage Group, the Market Supervision team and the Technology department provide competent care in the relationship management across all of the Group's customers.
Within the Listing department, over 4,000 individual meetings were held with a broad spectrum of listed, non-listed companies and ecosystem members to promote capital markets benefi ts and accompany entrepreneurs in their development projects. To fulfi l its mission, the Listing team capitalises on the local representations that have been set up in Paris (and in major French cities), Lisbon, Brussels, Amsterdam as well as in Munich, Frankfurt, Zurich, Madrid and Milan given the European expansion in the source of 2017.
Pedagogy, education and proximity are core values which underpin the Listing team's strategic deployment. In keeping with this logic, the Listing team seeks to make its issuers aware of social responsibility issues.
Euronext has also been actively involved with several charitable associations.
Transparency and knowledge sharing are also at the very heart of the Listing team values. Before launching new projects, the team consults with local ecosystem members, acting as the house of collective and inclusive growth. As an illustration, the Listing team is currently consulting on potential sustainable fi nance.
On an annualised basis Euronext's client coverage center held over 1,400 transactions client meetings in 2017 and the client coverage center exchanged over 28,000 e-mails and 13,000 calls with clients, covering a vast array of topics, either bilaterally or on a Group level, during which it consulted closely with trading customers to create products and services that meet their needs and requirements. Euronext has been particularly active with regard to new cash equity fee grids and the derivatives and commodities product launches, in many cases receiving clients' public endorsement for the Company's development plans.
For the second year, a customer satisfaction survey was conducted in 2017 whereby clients provided anonymous feedback on a wide range of topics covering each aspect of the business. Several hundred contacts participated in the survey, providing valuable insight into client perception of Euronext's strategic initiatives, client relationship management, and product off ering. The results of this annual exercise are at the foundation of the continuous internal process to intensify client centricity.
Euronext's goal is to drive excellence throughout its organisation and to support and positively infl uence its supply chain.
Euronext works with suppliers who share its own values. In 2015, it focused on the preparation and assessment of a chart for suppliers, to complete its existing internal procedure. Since 2016, this chart (referred to as Euronext Supplier code of conduct), including provisions regarding human rights, diversity and inclusion, and environmental protection, is provided together with requests for proposal to each envisaged supplier.
Additionally, any new vendor selected by Euronext is fi rst screened, to identify any post or current sanctions, and is compared to the Euronext country black list (directly based on the OECD blacklist of Non cooperative countries or territories (NCCTs)) – reviewed on a yearly basis.
In 2017, more than 900 suppliers have been screened: a few ones led to further investigation but none were rejected. Investigations were due to suppliers having their bank accounts in a "black listed" country. After escalation with Business & Compliance, they were reviewed and accepted.
Euronext is a pan-European exchange Group, off ering a diverse range of products and services and combining transparent and effi cient equity, fi xed income securities and derivatives markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Paris. Euronext's businesses comprise: listing, corporate services, cash trading, foreign exchange trading, derivatives trading, market data & indices, post-trade services as well as market solutions.
As an operator of regulated markets, Euronext's mission is to bring together buyers and sellers in venues that are transparent, effi cient and reliable.
Euronext's team has a mission to bring innovation and agility to the markets. Since Euronext's IPO in June 2014, Euronext focused on researching and developing new products together with its client community. These are now beginning to come to market and Euronext is excited about expanding its capabilities and making its business work better for Euronext's customers.
This section describes the way in which Euronext attempts to positively impact the financial markets from an environmental perspective.
Euronext ESG Indexes are designed to support common approaches to environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. Euronext ESG indices are based on a fully transparent and rules-based selection process and measures risk and performance across a variety of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) areas.
In 2008, Euronext was the fi rst exchange to launch a pan-European index focusing on CO2 emissions, designed with the support from a Group of international experts and in close collaboration with Non-Governmental Organisations. The index measures the performance of Europe's 100 largest blue chips with the lowest CO2 emissions in their respective sectors or sub-sectors. Today, the index is an underlying for ETF products.
In November 2015, Euronext announced a major change in the methodology used for its Low Carbon 100 Europe Index®, revolutionizing the traditional approach to assess companies' CO2 emissions. This new method is based on a more effi cient means of measuring the energy performance of businesses.
The new version of the index, designed with Carbone 4, the leading consulting fi rm specialised in carbon strategy, is based on a more in depth and relevant assessment of each company's carbon footprint.
This identifies, for the first time, businesses making a positive contribution to the transition process-not only through their own day to-day performance, but also through the products they sell. Selection of index component companies will also reflect the emissions avoided as a result of their innovative approach to products and services.
Euronext entered into a cooperation agreement with Vigeo Eiris in March 2013. Vigeo Eiris is the leading European expert in the assessment of companies and organisations with regard to their practices and performance on environmental, social and governance ("ESG") issues.
Seven indices exist (Euronext Vigeo Eiris World 120, Euronext Vigeo Eiris Europe 120, Euronext Vigeo Eiris Eurozone 120, Euronext Vigeo Eiris US 50, Euronext Vigeo Eiris France 20, Euronext Vigeo Eiris United Kingdom 20 and Euronext Vigeo Eiris Benelux 20), whose components are reviewed and updated twice a year.
Two fi lters are applied to determine the new indices' constituents. Companies are excluded if:
Launched in 2016, the Euronext® Climate Europe is a free float market cap index designed to be a low carbon Universe. Composed of 200 large companies based on their climate score, it paves the way to many climate friendly innovative variants (high yields, low risk, growth, … ). The index is well established with several Structured Products linked to the index.
To perform this best in class approach, Euronext calculates a climate score by combining the scores of two cutting-edge experts, Carbone 4 and the Carbon Disclosure Project ("CDP").
Carbone 4 assesses the Company's impact on climate change and its contribution to reduced Green House Gas ("GHG") emissions, while taking into account induced & avoided emissions and the forward looking analysis.
The CDP performance score assesses the level of action taken on climate change in term of mitigation, adaptation and transparency.
Two indices have been derived over 2017 around this Euronext Climate Euronext Index for investment purpose: The Euronext Climate Orientation Priority index and Euronext® Climate Objective 50 EW index.
Launched in February 2017, the CAC 40® Governance Index measures the performance of the CAC 40® members weighted according to their respective Vigeo Eiris governance rating.
The Corporate Governance structure specifi es the distribution of rights and responsibilities among the diff erent participants in the organisation – such as the board, managers, shareholders and other stakeholders – and lays down the rules and procedures for decision making (ECB annual report 2004). According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ('OECD') , there are several benefi ts resulting from a good Corporate Governance.
Utilizing its teams' expertise and its unique and well-regarded methodologies, Vigeo Eiris rating provides Euronext with a Corporate Governance score for each stock of the CAC 40® index. The index is well established with several Structured Products linked to the index.
Euronext extended its cooperation with Vigeo Eiris and launched new families of indices that will serve as underlying for structured products.
Launched in February 2018, those indices measure the performance of the top performing companies in the EGS /Energy transition fi elds, with regards to their respective Vigeo Eiris rating.
The fi rst set of indices covers Europe, Eurozone and France and the selection is made by taking the most sustainable companies with regard to their practices and performance on environmental, social and governance ("ESG") issues:
Euronext France ESG Leaders 40 EW;
The factsheet below describes the methodology on the index.
The second set of indices covers Eurozone and France. The selection is made by taking the companies with the best Energy Transition Performance scores. The Energy Transition Performance is a forward looking approach that analyses a company's capacity to adapt their business model and manage sector-specifi c risks and opportunities related to the transition to a low-carbon economy:
| FACTSHEET | CAC 40® GOVERNANCE INDICES |
|---|---|
| Index names | CAC 40® Governance CAC 40® Governance NR CAC 40® Governance GR CAC 40® Governance Decrement 5% |
| Index type | Price, Gross, Net and Decrement 5% |
| Underlying Index | CAC 40® |
| Index governance structure | The index follows the selection of the underlying index, which is under supervision of an independent steering Committee. Euronext acts as the Compiler and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the index. |
| Eligible stocks | Companies included in underlying index. |
| Selection | Same composition as the underlying index on review date |
| Number of constituents | 40 |
| Weighting | Based on Vigeo Eiris Responsible Corporate Governance scores. |
| Capping | n.a. |
| Review of composition | Follows annual/quarterly review scheme of underlying index. Eff ective after the third Friday of March, June, September and December. |
| Rebalancing | Quarterly. Eff ective after the third Friday of each month. |
| Review of number of shares | n.a. |
| Base Currency | Euro |
| LAUNCH DATE | NAME | NR OF COMPONENTS | CCY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Low Carbon 100 Europe Index | 100 | EUR |
| 2013 | Euronext Vigeo Benelux 20 Index | 20 | EUR |
| 2013 | Euronext Vigeo Euro 120 Index | 120 | EUR |
| 2013 | Euronext Vigeo Europe 120 Index | 120 | EUR |
| 2013 | Euronext Vigeo France 20 Index | 20 | EUR |
| 2013 | Euronext Vigeo UK 20 Index | 20 | GBX |
| 2016 | Euronext Climate Europe | 200 | EUR |
| 2017 | CAC 40 Governance | 40 | EUR |
| 2017 | EN Climate Orientation Priority 50 EW | 50 | EUR |
| 2017 | Euronext Climate Objective 50 EW | 50 | EUR |
| 2018 | Euronext France ESG Leaders 40 EW | 40 | EUR |
| 2018 | Euronext France Energy Transition Leaders 40 EW | 40 | EUR |
| 2018 | Euronext Eurozone ESG Leaders 40 EW | 40 | EUR |
| 2018 | Euronext Eurozone Energy Transition Leaders 50 EW | 50 | EUR |
| 2018 | Euronext Europe Sustainable 100 EW | 100 | EUR |
As a stock exchange committed to sustainability, Euronext will continue to extend over 2018 its ESG index off ering thanks to its partners expertise: Vigeo, CDP and Carbone 4.
Socially responsible ETFs that follow companies engaged with green investments or environmentally friendly initiatives are beginning to gain in popularity.
The sustainable investing theme has quickly gained momentum and assets related to it are growing on Euronext.
Currently, there are 6 ESG-related ETFs with €545 million in assets under management.
| ETF NAME | UNDERLYING INDEX |
|---|---|
| LYXOR GREEN BOND (DR) UCITS ETF |
Solactive Green Bond EUR USD I |
| BNPPEASY LOW CARBON UCITSETF |
Low Carbon Europe NTR |
| LYXOR UCITS ETF PEA NEW ENERGY C-EUR |
World Alternative Energy CW |
| AMUNDI ETF MSCI WORLD LOW CARBON UCITS ETF |
MSCI World Low Carbon Leaders |
| AMUNDI ETF MSCI WORLD LOW CARBON UCITS ETF |
MSCI World Low Carbon Leaders |
| LYXOR UCITS ETF NEW ENERGY |
World Alternative Energy CW |
Recent academic research has shown that high ESG ratings are correlated with lower cost of capital, market-based outperformance and accounting-based outperformance. Harvard Business School discovered that "high sustainability" firms outperform "low sustainability" fi rms over the long haul with lower volatility.
Green Bonds are any type of bond instruments where the proceeds will be exclusively applied to finance or re-finance, in part or in full, new and/or existing, eligible Green Projects including: renewable energy, energy effi ciency (including effi cient buildings), sustainable waste management, sustainable land use (including sustainable forestry and agriculture), biodiversity conservation, clean transportation, clean water, climate change adaptation, etc.
2017 was a year of stellar growth for green bonds, as the product provided an effi cient and innovative capital market tool to accelerate the ecological transition.
In 2017, Euronext attracted close to €10 billion of additional green bond from corporates mainly driven by utilities (ex: Engie, Tennet holdings), real estate (ex: Icade, CDC, etc.) and transportation players (ex: SNCF, RATP, etc.). Through the year, Euronext green bond franchise (ex-sovereign green bonds) has therefore witnessed tremendous growth (+60%), gathering 28 corporate green bond issuers that raised some €26 billion worth of green bonds through 48 deals since 2012.
Selected green bonds highlights for 2017 include:
the largest ever sovereign Green Bond issuance occurred in January 2017, by France Trésor (the initial €7 billion programme was later extended to €10 billion in Q4 2017), a turning point on this relatively nascent market;
By promoting green and climate bonds to issuers from various sectors and geographies, Euronext provides them with new sources of fi nancing and promotes a sustainable growth strategy that is mindful of a low-carbon and resource-effi cient economic model while it creates intangible value for Socially Responsible Investment investors.
Euronext has invested considerable effort in the development of its green bond franchise, notably through its partnership with the Finance For Tomorrow initiative, campaigning for the Paris ecosystem to play a leading role in the transition to a more sustainable fi nance.
The Cleantech company cluster refers to enterprises that do not only seek to embody resource effi cient, environmentally benefi cial business practices in the way they carry out their operations, but develop, create and sell products and services that are resource effi cient and benefi t the environment. Their models range from but are not limited to production, storage and distribution of renewable or low carbon energy sources as well as pollution mitigation, conservation, and restoration.
From 2013, Euronext has devoted dedicated resources to create proximity with SMEs across its markets, in order to provide stronger education on the benefi ts of leveraging capital markets to fund growth. Cleantech companies were then identified and as such benefi tted from Euronext's full support.
Some of the major initiatives in this respect include:
In 2017, Euronext has attracted 2 new Cleantech SMEs to its markets, providing them with more than €250 million in equity funding. These operations enriched the Cleantech SMEs community of Euronext, to a total of 46 Cleantech SMEs worth some €6.8 billion.
Selected Cleantech SMEs' funding deals for 2017 include:
Euronext is pursuing the expansion of its commodity derivatives strategy by becoming the European specialist content provider of reference on agricultural products and markets. Euronext will provide economic analysis, training and establish price reporting services for European agricultural markets.
Long time developed in close cooperation with the agricultural industry for hedging purposes, Rapeseed products(oilseeds and meal) and Corn contract are said to be non-GMO or conventional products. The underlying is said to be conventional, which is defi ned as a product containing no genetically modifi ed organisms, or containing genetically modified organisms whose presence is adventitious or technically unavoidable, in accordance with requirements in force under EU Regulation. It refers and complies with EC Regulation n° 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council of the 22 September 2003 on genetically modifi ed food and feed (OJEU 18-10-2003).
Developed in close cooperation with the biomass Committees, the new futures contract ("Residential Wood Pellets Contract") launched in November 2015 has been designed to meet the needs of market professionals looking for portfolio diversifi cation and price-hedging tools against fl uctuations in the prices of pellets or closely-related products.
At Euronext, corporate responsibility is part of our identity. Euronext conducts its business ethically and integrates consideration of the impact of its actions on its employees. Euronext promotes an environment that encourages collaborative work and innovation allowing each employee to shape his/her future and the future of the Company.
ONE EUROPEAN TEAM» TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM (ENGAGEMENT, PERFORMANCE, TALENT, HUMAN
As part of the Agility for Growth strategic plan released in May 2016, client centricity, entrepreneurship, innovation, talent development and the open federal model of the Company were identifi ed as key
Euronext's Human Resources policy is continuing to evolve, in accordance with the Agility for Growth strategic plan, while at the same time recognising that candidates and employees expectations are changing and responding to this.
drivers for the Euronext teams to deliver this plan.
This evolution is supported by the Euronext values of integrity, accountability, agility, energy and unity. These values guide the actions, style and expertise of all Euronext's activities and are shared and celebrated with employees, customers and partners to ensure success.
In this context the Company launched a transformation programme called "One European Team" in order to improve the Euronext Human Resources practices, processes and tools over a period of three years. 2017 is the second year in this plan.
The People roadmap is composed of four main pillars: i) Engagement, ii) Performance, iii) Talent and iv) Human Resources transformation.
Actions are formulated at Group and local level, ensuring cross fertilisation of best initiatives. The Managing Board, local management teams and Human Resources teams monitor progress on a monthly basis.
This t ransformation program aims at motivate and stimulate current employees and attract new motivated ones. However, the Company's success will depend in part upon its ability to continue to attract, develop, and retain key staff members in a number of fi elds. A loss of, or an inability to attract senior management or other key staff could have an eff ect on the business, results of operations, fi nancial condition and cash fl ows. Actions to mitigate this are detailed below .
Euronext promotes an environment which encourages collaborative work and innovation, allowing each employee to shape his/her future and the future of the Company. The Company aims to develop employee engagement and client centricity mind-set.
The Senior Leadership team, composed of 55 Senior managers, is responsible for implementing the Agility for Growth strategy and sharing progress, challenges and performance with other members of the teams. The Company has also continued in 2017 to encourage town halls (all staff meetings) and team meetings in each country and function, in order to foster a culture of transparency in communication.
At the end of 2017, Euronext conducted its second client satisfaction survey, the results of which will be available in March 2018. Conducted in parallel, an employee survey allowed the Company to ascertain the evolving internal perception and understanding of client centricity at Euronext. The client centricity programme priorities and roadmap for 2018/19 will be developed based on the fi ndings of both surveys.
In 2017, Euronext deployed an innovation process for employees to express, share and develop new ideas, and for managers to tap into this collective intelligence to solve issues and accelerate the roll-out of our strategic plan, Agility for Growth. To meet this objective, the "Exchange Lab" platform was launched. Sponsored by Euronext's Chief Innovation Offi cer, this project works to provide Euronext collaborators with a platform that enables them to create and develop an idea. It was used for 3 campaigns in 2017.
This aspect aims at strengthening Euronext's performance culture by equipping Euronext's managers with the tools to develop and motivate their teams, and to recognise the contributions of each employee within each team.
In order to contribute to this objective, a new talent and performance management approach was launched in 2016 and continued to be developed in 2017.
As a reminder, the objective of this new approach is to give more room for talent development, focusing the annual and mid-year discussions onto the future rather than the past. Continuous feedback is promoted throughout the year, rather than only at formalised appraisal points. In 2017, to go a step further in the continuous feedback approach, the mid-year review process was enhanced. The two goals of this reinforced mid-year review process, were to give another opportunity for employees and managers to adapt their objectives where needed, and to exchange key performance feedback.
The annual review process was deployed between December 2017 and January 2018 with an annual review meeting and new objectives set for 2018, in line with Agility for Growth priorities.
Euronext also aims to ensure competitive and fair compensation, fostering new initiatives, growth and sustainable performance.
The Company provides a competitive base salary in line with market standards and short-term incentives to reward performance.
The Company also uses a long-term incentive (LTI) plan, in the form of performance shares reward. The LTI plan for 2017 is a discretionary performance share plan which 150 employees benefi ted from in 2017.
The plan helps to align the interests of Euronext executives and other eligible employees, with those of the Company and long term (or prospective) shareholders. It also provides an incentive for longer term commitment and retention of key employees. LTI vesting is conditional to presence and performance conditions.
Remuneration policy also includes local benefi ts plans.
The goal of this facet is to develop the right skills for the future of the Company, whilst off ering all employees development opportunities during their career at Euronext. It runs from talent acquisition through to talent development, including learning and development actions.
In continuity with 2016, the talent review was executed in 2017 in order to identify employees who show potential as future leaders of the Company, thus ensuring the sustainability of Euronext's organisational structure. Talent reviews are held in a consultative manner by senior managers within one department; this consultation focuses on mutual exchange of feedback on employee performance and potential. Talent Reviews also help identify employees' development needs. Talent reviews are held in each function, and output is discussed by the Managing Board. They are also used to identify potential successors in the organisation's key roles, and formalise a succession plan.
Euronext also strives to hire the best talent for the right role, at the right place and in the right moment, in order to achieve its ambitions. Euronext's Talent Acquisition strategy encourages managers to promote diversity when recruiting external talent, and KPIs were implemented in 2017 in order to track progress, in particular in the recruitment of female employees: 101 new permanent employees were hired, split across all our historical geographies, but also adding new locations such as Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Milan , Madrid, and New York. Euronext runs internal educational and information programmes including frequent "lunch & learn" sessions, in order to develop expertise in each of the key functions, in line with the Agility for Growth strategy. 39 Lunch & Learn sessions were held in the Group in 2017, to which all employees were invited. A dedicated budget is also set and spent for external vendor training purposes across Euronext locations. 57% of Euronext employees benefi ted from external training and development in 2017.
Employee training was focused on the following key areas: specifi c industry skills, communication, personal and professional development including management skills, languages, security and information technology.
Three training programmes were implemented at the Group level in 2017 focussing on three main areas: project management (which involved 151 participants from all Euronext countries, across 10 sessions in 2017), leadership (17 participants, 47% of whom were female, involving all Euronext countries) and pitching for business (9 participants from the Market and Global Sales team).
Specifi c training is also available for employee representatives based upon their needs.
In 2017 Euronext teams fi nalised the design of a Career framework, in order to provide a clear map of the professional roles available within Euronext. The aim of the career framework is to provide a simple and effi cient tool to support talent acquisition, performance management, talent development and mobility. The framework was designed to involve all Euronext countries and functions in collaboration. The deployment will start in 2018 with Information Technology and Market Operations role families.
During 2017, several projects were launched and/or pursued in order to reinforce Euronext's Human Resources organisation, tools and processes.
The Human Resources team is organised around countries, functions (Market & Global Sales, Listings, Information Technology, Operations, Central Functions) and specialist skills. The objective of this organisation is to continue to support the federal model of Euronext, whilst also reinforcing the implementation of the Euronext strategy.
The Human Resources Transformation programme, initiated in 2016, was continued in 2017 in order to formalise Euronext's main Human Resources principles and processes, and to improve managers' and employees' experiences. This improvement programme will continue in 2018.
Euronext is a great supporter of professional and personal development, and strongly promotes diversity in the workplace and focuses attention on anti-discriminatory behaviours. The Company's core values, for example "unity", refl ect the importance of working together with people of diverse background, culture, age, gender, race and religion.
In 2017, Euronext continued to inspire employees and promote diversity.
A set of examples relates to women leadership and gender balance: Euronext was once again involved in promoting and participating in "International Women's Day", including dedicated events for women in each country. Some women were off ered to participate in a two day 'Aspire' seminar in London dedicated to developing women's leadership. Leadership in this context relates to understanding personal leadership qualities and applies to all levels of the organisation and not just managerial roles. Although some of these initiatives were primarily aimed at female members of staff , all staff are always encouraged to attend, to further inspire diversity. A focus was also done on gender diversity in recruitment, talent reviews, performance and compensation processes, where permissible by local laws. As a result, in 2017 almost 20% of the annual salary increase budget went to catching-up on gender equality salary situations, and Euronext's total number of joiners in 2017 was composed of 30% female's joiners.
Ten registered disabled employees were employed by Euronext in 2017.
As the operator of several regulated markets and MTFs spread over Europe, Euronext has offi ces in Belgium, France, Hong-Kong, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It has also opened an offi ce in New-York in 2017.
Euronext's employees represent 20 diff erent nationalities, refl ecting the diversity of its customer base.
The composition of the Supervisory Board and Managing Board also represent the blend of Euronext's cultures. At management level in particular, the Managing Board was, as per year-end 2017, composed of executives from fi ve nationalities. Among the extended Managing Board there are nine males and one female executives representing six nationalities.
Early 2018, Euronext group adopted a new Company policy formalizing its commitments towards Diversity and Non-Discrimination. For more information about Diversity see also section "Diversity" in the "Senior management" section (paragraph 2.2.5.).
Euronext is committed to social dialogue, supporting union representative rights and facilitating worker representative bodies.
In accordance with national laws, local works councils are set in France, in the Netherlands and in Portugal (Porto). The works councils represent Euronext employees, are informed and/or consulted on economic, fi nancial, social and organisation matters, and complement collective or national labour negotiations.
Euronext has established a European Works Council (EWC) which is a body for information, consultation and discussion about economic, financial and social matters which, owing to their strategic signifi cance, or to their cross-border European nature, are important for all establishments of Euronext or for at least two of the establishments of Euronext within the European Union. Two sessions were held in 2017.
The Company maintains continuous and constructive dialogue with all its workers' representative bodies. In Paris in 2017, Euronext entered into several collective agreements.
Euronext and its employees play important roles in their communities. Euronext takes into account its business impact on its local and global communities. Euronext contributes through volunteerism, philanthropy and thought leadership. Euronext works with its community of global business leaders to foster corporate responsibility more broadly.
As a stock exchange, acting at the center of fi nancial markets and communities, Euronext is committed to fi nancial capability. Euronext strives to improve fi nancial capability far beyond its own company seeking to reach employees at its broad community of companies, as well as teachers, students, and people in its communities. Euronext believes it can have a broader role to play. Euronext takes the opportunity to partner with international organizations in the fi eld, namely by celebrating Global Money Week, Global Entrepreneurship Week, Financial Literacy Week, with events and bell ceremonies across all its locations.
The CSR strategy of Euronext mainly focuses on Financial Literacy and Sustainability. However, the Company also devotes attention to explaining the role of an exchange, and how it contributes to the growth of the economy and the well-being of people.
Euronext's employees volunteer for several organizations in all its European locations, Euronext helping to identify and select the themes and institutions with a wide off er of company sponsored initiatives, that most suit its employees wishes and abilities.
Euronext's employees give time to volunteering initiatives.
In 2017 several initiatives were pursued locally, such as:
One of the most unique aspects of Euronext's Corporate Responsibility strategy is the way the Company puts its resources, great visibility and business ecosystem relations to raise awareness and promote leadership and best practices in this fi eld. Companies, NGOs, non-profits, associations, foundations are invited into Euronext's opening and closing stock markets bell ringing events, conferences and seminars.
Euronext has a program of opening or closing the markets with a bell event ("Gong" in Amsterdam). Some of these events gave visibility to international causes or charities – in particular to the following:
in Amsterdam: International Women's Day and Global Money Week;
The Company encourages its staff to volunteer in the financial literacy fi eld, but has also granted a few sponsorship or donations:
Euronext is committed to taking environmental impacts into account when conducting its business.
Euronext has become an organisation that is proactively improving its environmental credentials, particularly the management of its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The Group's primary GHG arise from energy, waste and water in its offi ces and data centres, from staff travel, and indirectly from its supply chain.
Advisory and Research fi rm Corporate Knights Capital published its annual report in September 2017 on the ranking of the world´s stock exchanges in terms of disclosure of the performance of sustainability indicators. Euronext Paris is ranked number three, and Euronext Amsterdam is ranked number six. This analysis explored the extent to which the world's publicly traded companies are disclosing the seven basic metrics: employee turnover, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, injury rate, payroll, water consumption and waste.
In most of its buildings across the fi ve locations, the Group rolls out water-saving initiatives such as motion sensors on taps and water saving toilet fl ushes. Motion detector lighting saves the necessary energy in meeting rooms, storages and sanitary rooms. In 2016, all regular lamps are being replaced by LED and other energy saving lamps. The use of organic products for the cleaning and maintenance of the building is being developed. Euronext aims to send as little waste as possible to the incinerators. The Company separates waste at the source and works with secondary parties who specialise in sorting and recycling waste. In addition, Euronext uses free air (natural air) for its air-conditioning systems when the outside temperature drops below 12°C. Thanks to the Group's building management system, technical installations are automatically switched off during the night and at week-ends. High effi ciency boilers provide buildings with the necessary heating during the winter season, and where possible thermal insulation is placed in the form of wall and roof insulation and double-glazed windows.
Euronext decided it would relocate its Paris offi ce to new premises in the La Défense business centre in 2015 for a nine year lease. The new offi ce Praetorium benefi ts from the following certifi cations: HEQ (High environmental quality), BREEAM (sustainable building design and construction) and VHEP (very high energetic performance). More specifi cally, Praetorium benefi ts from presence detectors to monitor external blinds, lighting and air conditioning, depending on the climate; it has triple glazed windows to optimise insulation and enable maximum natural heating, and possesses sensors to analyse air quality to ensure employees have access to a clean environment. Finally, the bee hives on the roof (with 95kg of honey produced in 2017) and the newly created aromatic herbs' square contribute to a more sustainable environment.
Euronext Brussels moved its offices in May 2015. The Marquis building, where Euronext Brussels have now its premises, has BREEAM certifi cation (sustainable building design and construction).
Euronext concluded in 2017 the transfer of IT operations located in Belfast to Porto, to the same premises as Interbolsa, Euronext's Portuguese Central Securities Depositary (" CSD").
Euronext is using more and more videoconference system, as well as the «skype for Business» tool in order to reduce international travels.
In the past, Euronext used the opportunity of moving its Disaster Recovery (DR) site from London to Saint-Denis, to move most of the equipment from physical infrastructure to virtual environments which is now becoming the standard. Only critical production environment is still on physical platform.
Euronext's goal is to continue to reduce hardware and datacenter footprints in the future. Optiq, the new trading system that will be put in place is less hardware consuming than UTP the existing one. Euronext aims also to use cloud capabilities to increase its level of virtualization in the future.
Euronext as a leading financing centre in continental Europe is subject to risks and uncertainties that may aff ect its fi nancial performance. Key risks specific to a pan-European exchange operator relate to the general economic development globally and especially in Europe, as well as increased regulation and oversight, all of which depend on policy decisions by governments and regulators and which are not controlled by the Company. As for any company, the business, results of operation or fi nancial condition Corporate Social Responsibility
For more information about Risks and a description of the risk management system see section "Risks" at the beginning of the report and Section "Risk management" (paragraph 2.2.1.1.).
| Permanent employees | 687 |
|---|---|
| Employees linked to new acquired entities |
69 |
| Trainees, apprentices or interns | 51 |
The total number of permanent employees as of 31 December 2017 was 687 including 69 employees linked to new acquired entities. This headcount represents 670,77 full-time equivalents (FTE) at the end of December 2017. The net evolution of headcount between 31 December 2016 (589 employees in headcount) and 31 December 2017, is plus 98 (or +17%), split between 69 employees working for new acquisitions and 29 employees for Euronext.
In addition, 51 trainees, apprentices or interns worked for Euronext in 2017.
Several organisational changes were implemented in 2017 in order to adapt to the strategic objectives by restructuring plans where necessary, including the closure of the Belfast offi ce as well as the upscaling of the IT Technology offi ce in Porto. These plans included specifi c measures such as fi nancial, training and outplacement schemes in order to support impacted employees in line with best practices, and with the Company corporate social responsibility commitment. All re-organisations were implemented by involving the relevant works councils and external bodies where appropriate.
Overall in 2017, Euronext hired 101 permanent and non-permanent employees, across the various locations.
Euronext's average employee is 43 years old, with 12% under 30 years old, 27% in the 31-40 age bracket, 36% in the 41-50 age bracket and 25% above 51 years old.
Euronext has employees in France (51% of Euronext employee total headcount), in the Netherlands (19%), in Portugal (20%), in the United Kingdom (6%), in Belgium (3%) and in other countries (US, Hong Kong, Germany, Spain, Italy and Switzerland) (1%).
The number of employees located in each of the countries where Euronext operates is shown in the graph below:
No Euronext employees are working in countries that do not respect fundamental work rights.
Total consumption of electricity, gas and oil for the year
| AMSTERDAM | BRUSSELS | LISBON AND PORTO | PARIS | LONDON | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas | 123,010 m3 | 14,552.7 m³ | 42,541 m3 | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
| Water | 4,943 m3 | 1,408 m3 | 2,125 m3 | 2.925,8 m³ | Not Applicable |
| Frozen water | Not Applicable | Not Applicable | 233,219 m3 | Not Applicable | |
| Cold water production | Not Applicable | Not Applicable | Not Applicable | 829 mWh | Not Applicable |
| Electricity | 3,533,369 kWh | 133,277 kWh | 465,133 kWh | 1,915,119 kWh | 433,044 kWh(a) |
| Oil (diesel) | 4,500 L | Not Applicable | 550 L | Not applicable | Not Applicable |
(a) For 8 months only, as Euronext moved its London offi ces during 2017.
| AMSTERDAM | BRUSSELS | LISBON AND PORTO | PARIS | LONDON | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recycled paper (kg) | 14.200 | 1.386 | 238,6 | 26.080,7 | 480 |
| Ink Cartridges (kg) | 136 | / | / | 565 | 5 |
| Batteries (kg) | 26 | / | / | 15 | 50(a) |
(a) Includes also other electronics.
Plans are in place to improve waste and/or hazardous waste management in Euronext's offi ces, more especially in Amsterdam and Paris.
A project to gradually replace a signifi cant part of the existing TL light with LED within the Amsterdam building been started in 2017. This project will continue in 2018. Also, in 2017 the emergency power supply has been replaced by a more advanced and economical version. This new so called 'UPS system is more energy-effi cient than its predecessor.
The possibilities for reuse and also recycling of coffee cups is currently being investigated in collaboration with suppliers and waste processors.
The technical staff is continuously monitoring the building management system in order to optimize the energy consumption.
The Amsterdam building is also occupied by 31 tenants whereby the utility costs are shared between the parties in the building.
Euronext Paris also brought full attention to reducing the quantity of waste when moving to the building at La Défense: under a voluntary system, the staff members are asked to take care of making a selective quality sorting, by reducing their own quantity of waste. Individual paper baskets were removed, and 127 waste sorting bins were displayed in the whole building (one point selective sorting for approximately fi fteen occupants).
In Brussels, Euronext accounts for 2.67% of overall gas, electricity and water consumption (fi xed percentage). The landlord organizes a recycling process with the help of an external supplier specialised in installing selective sorting systems for company waste (paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, cans, drink carton, waste (class II)). The cleaning company uses ecological products and there is a small honey production on the roof of the building.
In Lisbon, the recycling process is managed by the landlord for the whole building where Euronext Lisbon is located. The cleaning company makes a selective quality sorting of paper, plastic, glass, and common waste that is treated by a specialised company.
Porto offi ce participates in the campaign «Paper for Food» that is an action promoted by the Portuguese Federation of Food Banks, (Federação Portuguesa de Bancos Alimentares) with environmental and solidarity purposes. All paper collected is converted into food products to be distributed by those in need. During 2017, 238,600 kgs. of paper was delivered to the Food Bank that was converted in 19 thousand euros of food products.
| CLIENTS AND SUPPLIERS | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Transactions client meetings | 1,400 | 750 |
| Exchange of emails with clients | 28,000 e-mails | 8, 500 e-mails |
| Calls with clients | 13,000 calls | 12,000 calls |
| Number of suppliers screened | 900 |
2017 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 85
In compliance with Article 28 of EC Regulation No. 809/2004, the following information is incorporated by reference in the Registration Document:
auditors report is presented on page 161 of the 2015 Registration Document fi led with the Autoriteit Financiële Markten on 31 March 2016.
Required disclosures in the report of the Managing Board appearing in the Statement of the Managing Board, the Consolidated Financial Statements are presented on pages 103-149 and the corresponding Required disclosures in the report of the Managing Board appearing in the Statement of the Managing Board, the Consolidated Financial Statements are presented on pages 116 - 163 and the corresponding auditors report is presented on page 177 of the 2016 Registration Document fi led with the Autoriteit Financiële Markten on 7 April 2017.
For Financial Year 2016
The selected consolidated fi nancial information set out below is derived from the audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the fi nancial years ended 31 December 2017, 2016 and 2015 and should be read in conjunction with, and is qualifi ed by reference to, those Financial Statements.
| YEAR ENDED | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 | 31 DECEMBER 2015 | ||
| Revenue | |||||
| Listing | 84,247 | 68,708 | 70,516 | ||
| Trading revenue | 237,854 | 220,835 | 241,699 | ||
| of which | |||||
| Cash trading | 190,276 | 180,727 | 197,243 | ||
| Derivatives trading | 40,339 | 40,108 | 44,456 | ||
| FX trading | 7,239 | - | - | ||
| Market data & indices | 104,673 | 105,697 | 99,759 | ||
| Post-trade | 71,698 | 67,627 | 71,682 | ||
| of which | |||||
| Clearing | 51,132 | 47,992 | 51,937 | ||
| Custody and Settlement | 20,566 | 19,635 | 19,745 | ||
| Market Solutions & Other revenue | 33,465 | 33,009 | 34,147 | ||
| Other income | 357 | 560 | 744 | ||
| TOTAL REVENUE | 532,294 | 496,436 | 518,547 | ||
| Salaries and employee benefi ts | (104,363) | (99,776) | (112,218) | ||
| Depreciation and amortisation | (16,932) | (15,088) | (17,071) | ||
| Other operational expenses | (130,149) | (112,766) | (122,487) | ||
| OPERATING PROFIT BEFORE EXCEPTIONAL ITEMS | 280,850 | 268,806 | 266,771 | ||
| Exceptional items | (14,787) | (10,038) | (28,659) | ||
| OPERATING PROFIT | 266,063 | 258,768 | 238,112 | ||
| Finance costs | (3,553) | (2,142) | (2,906) | ||
| Other net fi nancing income/(expense) | (47) | 1,336 | (1,238) | ||
| Results from available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 48,325 | 6,032 | 4,634 | ||
| Share of net (loss) of associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method |
287 | (19) | - | ||
| PROFIT BEFORE INCOME TAX | 311,075 | 263,975 | 238,602 | ||
| Income tax expense | (68,886) | (66,962) | (65,948) | ||
| PROFIT FOR THE YEAR | 242,189 | 197,013 | 172,654 | ||
| PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE TO: | |||||
| Owners of the parent | 241,297 | 197,013 | 172,654 | ||
| Non-controlling interest | 892 | - | - |
| In thousands of euros | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assets | |||
| Non-current assets | |||
| Property, plant and equipment | 27,782 | 27,492 | 28,779 |
| Goodwill and other intangible assets | 515,134 | 321,156 | 321,357 |
| Deferred income tax assets | 7,991 | 5,021 | 12,691 |
| Investments in associates and joint ventures | 75,004 | 15,957 | - |
| Available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 147,503 | 117,060 | 114,282 |
| Other receivables | 7,968 | 7,086 | 7,451 |
| TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS | 781,382 | 493,772 | 484,560 |
| Current assets | |||
| Trade and other receivables | 94,986 | 81,599 | 96,188 |
| Income tax receivable | 1,428 | 7,645 | 10,506 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 187,785 | 174,501 | 158,642 |
| TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS | 284,199 | 263,745 | 265,336 |
| TOTAL ASSETS | 1,065,581 | 757,517 | 749,896 |
| Equity and liabilities | |||
| TOTAL EQUITY | 729,480 | 548,018 | 447,167 |
| Non-current liabilities | |||
| Borrowings | 164,682 | 69,005 | 108,153 |
| Other long-term fi nancial liabilities | 10,000 | - | - |
| Deferred income tax liabilities | 19,834 | 600 | 345 |
| Post-employment benefi ts | 11,713 | 13,249 | 8,235 |
| Provisions | 5,081 | 6,488 | 6,560 |
| Other liabilities | - | - | 700 |
| TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES | 211,310 | 89,342 | 123,993 |
| Current liabilities | |||
| Borrowings | 203 | 96 | 104 |
| Other short-term fi nancial liabilities | 6,654 | - | - |
| Current income tax liabilities | 17,429 | 27,202 | 50,301 |
| Trade and other payables | 99,161 | 90,607 | 105,749 |
| Provisions | 1,344 | 2,252 | 22,582 |
| TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES | 124,791 | 120,157 | 178,736 |
| TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES | 1,065,581 | 757,517 | 749,896 |
| YEAR ENDED | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 | 31 DECEMBER 2015 | ||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | 213,108 | 181,127 | 139,972 | ||
| Net cash (used in) investing activities | (191,198) | (29,572) | (5,277) | ||
| Net cash (used in) fi nancing activities | (8,524) | (128,628) | (220,274) | ||
| NET INCREASE/(DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS | 13,386 | 22,927 | (85,579) | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents – Beginning of year | 174,501 | 158,642 | 241,639 | ||
| Non-cash exchange gains/(losses) on cash and cash equivalents | (102) | (7,068) | 2,582 | ||
| CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS – END OF YEAR | 187,785 | 174,501 | 158,642 |
Euronext uses the following non-IFRS measures as supplemental measures since it believes they provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its fi nancial and operational performance. These measures should not be used instead of, or considered as alternatives to operating result or any other performance measure derived in accordance with IFRS:
Non-IFRS measures are not prepared in accordance with IFRS and may be diff erent from, and not comparable to, similarly titled measures reported by other companies. These measures should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements:
| YEAR ENDED | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros (except for percentages) | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 | 31 DECEMBER 2015 |
| Operating profi t before exceptional items | 280,850 | 268,806 | 266,771 |
| Depreciation and amortization | 16,932 | 15,088 | 17,071 |
| Operating profi t before exceptional items and depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) |
297,782 | 283,894 | 283,842 |
| TOTAL REVENUE | 532,294 | 496,436 | 518,547 |
| EBITDA margin(a) | 56% | 57% | 55% |
(a) EBITDA margin is a non-IFRS measure and is not audited. EBITDA margin should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, and should be read in conjunction with, operating profi t before exceptional items.
| YEAR ENDED | ||
|---|---|---|
| In €m and EPS in €/share | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
| NET INCOME REPORTED | 241.3 | 197.0 |
| EPS REPORTED | 3.47 | 2.83 |
| Intangible assets related to acquisitions (PPA,…) | - 2.40 | |
| Exceptional items | - 14.8 | - 10.0 |
| Capital gains or losses | 40.6 | - |
| Tax related to those items | 2.7 | 1.9 |
| ADJUSTED FOR INTANGIBLE ASSETS RELATED TO ACQUISITIONS, CAPITAL GAINS OR LOSSES AND EXCEPTIONAL ITEMS, INCL. TAX |
||
| ADJ. NET INCOME | 215.2 | 205.2 |
| ADJ. EPS | 3.09 | 2.95 |
| 4.1 4.1.1 4.1.2 |
Legal Information on the Company General Corporate objects |
92 92 92 |
|---|---|---|
| 4.2 | Share Capital | 92 |
| 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 4.2.5 |
Authorised and Issued Share Capital Issue of Shares Pre-emption Rights Acquisition of Shares in Euronext's Capital Reduction of Share Capital |
92 92 93 93 93 |
| 4.3 | Shareholder Structure | 94 |
| 4.4 | Share Classes and Major Shareholders |
94 |
| 4.4.1 4.4.2 |
Reference Shareholders Major Shareholdings |
94 97 |
| 4.5 | General Meeting of Shareholders and Voting Rights |
98 |
| 4.6 | Anti-Takeover Provisions | 99 |
|---|---|---|
| 4.7 | Obligations of Shareholders and Members of the Managing Board to Disclose Holdings |
99 |
| 4.8 | Short Positions | 100 |
| 4.9 | Market Abuse Regime | 100 |
| 4.10 Transparency Directive | 101 | |
| 4.11 Dutch Financial Reporting Supervision Act |
101 | |
| 4.12 Dividends and Other Distributions | 101 | |
| 4.13 Financial Calendar | 102 |
4.1 Legal Information on the Company
Legal Information on the Company
Euronext is a public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap) incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands and is domiciled in the Netherlands. The Company was incorporated in the Netherlands on 15 March 2014. Euronext's statutory seat (statutaire zetel) is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and its registered offi ce and principal place of business is at Beursplein 5, 1012 JW Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Company is registered with the trade register of the Chamber of Commerce for Amsterdam, the Netherlands, under number 60234520, and the telephone number is +31 (0)20-7214444.
Euronext's corporate objects, as set out in Article 3 of the Articles of Association, are to participate and to manage other enterprises and companies of which the objects are to set up, develop, hold and operate, directly or indirectly, one or more regulated and other markets or other facilities with regard to the listing of, the trading in, the post-trade processing of transactions in, and related services and process in, securities and derivatives, as well as to manage and fi nance subsidiaries, to enter into joint ventures with other enterprises and other companies engaged in one or more of the activities referred to above; to acquire, operate and dispose of industrial and intellectual property rights as well as real property; to provide security for the debts of the Company, its subsidiaries or any other legal person and to undertake all that is connected to the foregoing or in furtherance thereof.
Under the Articles of Association, Euronext's authorised share capital amounts to €200,000,001.60 and is divided into 125,000,000 Ordinary Shares, each with a nominal value of €1.60 and one priority share with a nominal value of €1.60. All of Euronext's shares have been or will be created under Dutch law.
As of 31 December 2017 , Euronext's issued share capital amounts to €112,000,000 and is divided into 70,000,000 Ordinary Shares. The Priority Share is currently not outstanding. As of 31 December 2017, Euronext held 413,320 shares in its own share capital after settlement and custody of trades made on 28 and 29 December 2017. All shares that are issued at the date of the Registration Document are fully paid up.
Euronext is subject to the provisions of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act and the Articles of Association with regard to the issue of shares following admission. The shares are in registered form and are only available in the form of an entry in Euronext's shareholders' register and not in certifi cated form.
Under its Articles of Association Euronext may issue shares, or grant rights to subscribe for shares, only pursuant to a resolution of the General Meeting upon proposal of the Supervisory Board or upon proposal of the Managing Board, which proposal has been approved by the Supervisory Board.
Euronext's Articles of Association provide that the General Meeting may designate the authority to issue shares or grant rights to subscribe for shares, to the Managing Board upon proposal of the Supervisory Board on a proposal of the Managing Board, which proposal has been approved by the Supervisory Board. Pursuant to the Dutch Civil Code and Euronext's Articles of Association, the period of designation may not exceed fi ve years. Such designation may be renewed by a resolution of the General Meeting for a subsequent period of up to five years each time. Unless the resolution determines otherwise, the designation is irrevocable. At the designation, the number of shares which may be issued by the Managing Board must be determined.
On 19 May 2017, the General Meeting designated the Managing Board as per 19 May 2017 for a period of eighteen months or until the date on which the meeting again extends the designation, if earlier, as the competent body to, subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board , issue ordinary shares and to grant rights to subscribe for ordinary shares up to a total of 10% of the currently issued ordinary share capital, which 10% can be used for general purposes, including but not limited to the fi nancing (in cash or in kind by way of ordinary shares) of mergers and acquisitions as well as facilitating grants under the Company's employee remuneration and long term incentive plans; whereby not more than 2% of the currently issued ordinary share capital out of the aforementioned 10% will be issued for facilitating these plans, it being understood that it is the intention of the Company that they will in principle be funded by means of ordinary shares held as treasury stock (if need be, purchased from the market for this purpose).
Share Capital
Dutch company law and Euronext's Articles of Association in most cases give shareholders pre-emption rights to subscribe on a pro rata basis for any issue of new shares or upon a grant of rights to subscribe for shares. Exceptions to these pre-emption rights include the issue of shares and the grant of rights to subscribe for shares (i) to Euronext's employees, (ii) in return for non-cash consideration, or (iii) the issue of shares to persons exercising a previously granted right to subscribe for shares.
A shareholder may exercise pre-emption rights during a period of two weeks from the date of the announcement of the issue or grant. The General Meeting or the Managing Board, if so designated by the General Meeting, may restrict the right or exclude shareholder pre-emption rights. A resolution by the General Meeting to designate the authority to exclude or limit pre-emption rights to the Managing Board requires a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast if less than 50% of Euronext's issued share capital is represented and can only be taken upon proposal of the Supervisory Board or upon proposal of the Managing Board, which proposal has been approved by the Supervisory Board. If the General Meeting has not designated this authority to the Managing Board, the General Meeting may itself vote to limit or exclude pre-emption rights and will also require a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast, if less than 50% of Euronext's issued share capital is represented at the General Meeting.
On 19 May 2017, the General Meeting designated the Managing Board as per 19 May 2017 for a period of eighteen months or until the date on which the meeting again extends the designation, if earlier, as the competent body to, subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board , restrict or exclude the pre-emptive rights of shareholders pertaining to (the right to subscribe for) ordinary shares upon any issuance of ordinary shares (as referred to in Item 6a of the agenda of the meeting) to the extent such issuance pertains to the payment in ordinary shares in case of mergers and acquisitions or facilitating grants under the Company's employee remuneration and long term incentive plans.
The Company has an agreement with its Reference shareholders (see section 4.4.1.) to give reasonable prior notice if Euronext uses this authority for share issuances in case of a merger or acquisition transaction.
Euronext may acquire fully paid shares at any time for no consideration (om niet), or, subject to the following provisions of Dutch law and its Articles of Association, Euronext may acquire fully paid shares for consideration, namely if (i) its shareholders' equity, less the payment required to make the acquisition, does not fall below the sum of paid-in and called-up share capital and any statutory reserves, (ii) Euronext and its subsidiaries would thereafter not hold shares or hold a pledge over Euronext shares with an aggregate nominal value exceeding 50% of its issued share capital, and (iii) the Managing Board has been authorised by the General Meeting, with the prior approval of the Supervisory Board.
Authorisation from the General Meeting to acquire Euronext shares must specify the number and class of shares that may be acquired, the manner in which shares may be acquired and the price range within which shares may be acquired. Such authorisation will be valid for no more than eighteen months. Any shares Euronext holds may not be voted or counted for voting quorum purposes.
On 19 May 2017, the General Meeting designated the Managing Board as per 19 May 2017 for a period of eighteen months or until the date on which the meeting again extends the authorisation, if earlier, to, subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board, have the Company acquire ordinary shares in the share capital of the Company through purchase on a stock exchange or otherwise. The authorisation is given for the purchase of up to 10% of the issued ordinary shares at the time of the purchase, for a purchase price between (a) the par value of the ordinary shares at the time of the purchase and (b) the average closing price of the ordinary shares on Euronext Paris, Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Brussels and Euronext Lisbon, during the fi ve trading days preceding the day of purchase within a margin of 10% of that purchase price. Under the Facilities Agreement (see section 5.1.10), Euronext's ability to acquire its shares is restricted, subject to certain exceptions.
Under Euronext's Articles of Association, upon a proposal from the Supervisory Board, or upon proposal of the Managing Board, which has been approved by the Supervisory Board, the General Meeting may resolve to reduce Euronext's issued and outstanding share capital by cancelling its shares, or by amending Euronext's Articles of Association to reduce the nominal value of its shares. The decision to reduce Euronext's share capital requires a majority of at least twothirds of the votes cast if less than 50% of Euronext's issued share capital is present or represented at the General Meeting.
Shareholder Structure
The shareholding structure as of 31 December 2017 was as follows.
| SHAREHOLDER | NUMBER OF SHARES | % OF CAPITAL |
|---|---|---|
| Reference shareholders | 16,702,000 | 23.86% |
| Treasury Shares | 413,320 | 0.59% |
| Employees | 155,317 | 0.22% |
| Free fl oat | 52,729,363 | 75.33% |
| TOTAL | 70,000,000 | 100% |
Prior to the IPO, on 27 May 2014, a group of institutional investors (collectively, the "Reference shareholders", and each a "Reference shareholder") purchased an aggregate of 33.36% of the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares from the ICE, the selling shareholder at the IPO, at €19.20 or a 4% discount to the Off er Price (€20.00).
This group of Reference shareholders was comprised of Novo Banco, BNP Paribas S.A., BNP Paribas Fortis S.A./N.V., ABN AMRO Bank N.V. through its subsidiary ABN AMRO Participaties Fund I B.V., ASR Levensverzekering N.V. (a company of the ASR Nederland group), Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Bpifrance Participations, Euroclear S.A./N.V., Société Fédérale de Participations et d'Investissement/Federale Participatie- en Investeringsmaatschappij, Société Générale and BancoBPI Pension Fund represented by BPI Vida e Pensões – Companhia de Seguros, S.A. The Reference shareholders had entered into a reference shareholders agreement (the "Reference shareholders Agreement") governing the relationship among the Reference shareholders.
On 13 June 2017, Euronext was informed that the Reference shareholders had decided to extend an amended version of their agreement dated 3 June 2014, which was due to expire on 20 June 2017 and which was extended for a further period of two years commencing on 21 June 2017. Eight of the initial Reference shareholders adhered to the extension, now accounting for 23.86% of Euronext's share capital. The new Reference shareholders Group has agreed to a new lock-up period of two years commencing on 21 June 2017 and expiring on 20 June 2019. The Supervisory Board representation of the Reference shareholders will be maintained, as the Reference shareholders, acting jointly, will retain their right to nominate one third of the Supervisory Board seats.
Since 21 June 2017, the group of Reference shareholders comprises:
| NAME OF REFERENCE SHAREHOLDER | NUMBER OF SHARES |
INDIVIDUAL SHAREHOLDING (% OF CAPITAL) |
|---|---|---|
| BNP Paribas group | 1,554,000 | 2.22% |
| ABN AMRO Bank N.V. through its subsidiary ABN AMRO Participaties Fund I B.V. | 1,148,000 | 1.64% |
| Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations | 2,100,000 | 3.00% |
| Bpifrance Participations | 2,100,000 | 3.00% |
| Euroclear S.A./N.V. | 5,600,000 | 8.00% |
| Société Fédérale de Participations et d'Investissement/ Federale Participatie – en Investeringsmaatschappij | 3,150,000 | 4.50% |
| Société Générale | 1,050,000 | 1.50% |
| TOTAL SHAREHOLDING | 16,702,000 | 23.86% |
From 27 May 2014 to 20 June 2017, the Reference shareholders comprised:
| NAME OF REFERENCE SHAREHOLDER | NUMBER OF SHARES |
INDIVIDUAL SHAREHOLDING (% OF CAPITAL) |
|---|---|---|
| BNP Paribas S.A. | 3,850,000 | 5.50% |
| BNP Paribas Fortis S.A./N.V. | 1,050,000 | 1.50% |
| ABN AMRO Bank N.V. through its subsidiary ABN AMRO Participaties Fund I B.V. | 1,148,000 | 1.64% |
| ASR Levensverzekering N.V. | 581,000 | 0.83% |
| Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations | 2,100,000 | 3.00% |
| Bpifrance Participations | 2,100,000 | 3.00% |
| Euroclear S.A./N.V. | 5,600,000 | 8.00% |
| Novo Banco B.A. | 875,000 | 1.25% |
| Société Fédérale de Participations et d'Investissement/ Federale Participatie – en Investeringsmaatschappij | 3,150,000 | 4.50% |
| Société Générale | 2,100,000 | 3.00% |
| BancoBPI Pension Fund represented by BPI Vida e Pensões – Companhia de Seguros, S.A. | 798,000 | 1.14% |
| TOTAL FORMER SHAREHOLDING | 23,352,000 | 33.36% |
Under the Reference shareholders Agreement, each of the Reference shareholders has agreed not to sell or otherwise transfer or dispose of any of the Ordinary Shares such Reference shareholder acquires pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement for a period of two years commencing on 21 June 2017. This transfer restriction will not apply to any transfers to (i) affi liates of a Reference shareholder, provided that the transferee agrees to be bound by this transfer restriction and the other terms and conditions of the Reference shareholders Agreement and shall accede to the Reference shareholders Agreement, (ii) another Reference shareholder, provided that the Ordinary Shares transferred will continue to be subject to the transfer restriction and the other terms and conditions of the Reference shareholders Agreement as if originally held by the acquiring Reference shareholder, and (iii) a third party with the unanimous consent in writing of the Reference shareholders (subject to the consent of the relevant regulator(s), such consent not to be unreasonably withheld and provided the third party shall accede to the Reference shareholders Agreement, and further provided that no mandatory bid obligation is triggered by such transfer. In the case of transfers to an affi liate of a Reference shareholder, such affi liate must retransfer the relevant Ordinary Shares to the original Reference shareholder prior to ceasing to be an affi liate of such Reference shareholder. In the case of proposed transfers to another Reference shareholder, the other Reference shareholders will have a right of fi rst refusal pro rata to their respective holdings, and such transfer may not result in any Reference shareholder, together with its affi liates, holding one third or more of the aggregate shareholding of the Reference shareholders. In addition, repo and securities lending transactions may be excluded from this restriction on the basis of guidelines to be agreed.
In the event of a tender off er announced or made by any person to acquire all or a portion of the Ordinary Shares, the Reference shareholders will review and assess the merits of the proposed bid and adopt a common position. Subject to consulting with the Euronext College of Regulators, if the outcome of that procedure is that the Reference shareholders decide to accept the off er, once made, the transfer restriction will not apply, except as provided to the contrary in any declaration of no-objection and subject to any and all other requirements and restrictions under applicable Share Classes and Major Shareholders
law and regulation, and with the understanding that no Reference shareholder will be obliged to sell its Ordinary Shares regardless the common position taken.
Each of the Reference shareholders has agreed not to enter into any transaction or do anything, and not to permit its affi liates to enter into any transaction or do anything, if such transaction or action would result in the Reference shareholders or any of them becoming obligated to make a mandatory bid (verplicht openbaar bod) for the Ordinary Shares within the meaning of section 5: 70 of the Dutch Wet op het fi nanciëel toezicht (Financial Supervision Act) implementing Article 5 of Directive 2004/25/EC.
The Reference shareholders, acting jointly, will have the right to one third of the Supervisory Board seats. Members of the Supervisory Board who are appointed upon a nomination by the Reference shareholders are referred to as "Reference shareholder directors". The Supervisory Board undertakes to include the name of the person nominated by the Reference shareholders in its binding nomination to the Shareholders Meeting of Euronext, unless the Supervisory Board objects against the nomination if it reasonably believes that the nominee may not fulfi l the suitability and integrity criteria under applicable Dutch law, and always subject to any applicable regulatory assessments, approvals and requirements.
The Reference shareholder directors have been appointed by the General Meeting each for a term of four years. If the Reference shareholders Agreement is terminated before the end of term of offi ce of each Reference shareholder director, his or her term of offi ce shall lapse immediately after the day of the fi rst General Meeting of Euronext to be held after the date of termination of the Reference shareholders Agreement.
Each Reference shareholder has appointed one representative and one alternate duly authorised to represent and Act for and in the name of the relevant Reference shareholder and any and all of its affi liates for all purposes of the Reference shareholders Agreement, who shall be the contact person vis-à-vis the other Reference shareholders and the Company. The representatives of all Reference shareholders constitute the Committee of Representatives which decides on all matters requiring a joint decision of the Reference shareholders. The decisions of the Committee of Representatives shall be binding upon all Reference shareholders.
Depending on the decision concerned, the decisions of the Committee of Representatives shall be adopted by absolute majority of the votes cast or by qualifi ed majority of two thirds of the votes cast, as indicated below. Each Reference shareholder will have such number of votes equal to the aggregate number of Ordinary Shares held by the Reference shareholder and its affi liates, provided that no Reference shareholder shall at any time have one-third or more of the votes within the Committee of Representatives regardless of the number of Ordinary Shares held.
In all instances where the Reference shareholders Agreement calls for joint decision making of the Reference shareholders in the General Meeting, each Reference shareholder will exercise, and will cause any of its affi liates to exercise, its voting rights in such Shareholders' Meeting in accordance with the decision of the Committee of Representatives on the relevant subject.
The Reference shareholders agree to vote in accordance with the decision of the Committee of Representatives on any proposed shareholders' resolutions.
The following resolutions require a qualifi ed majority of two thirds of the votes cast:
For the following resolutions, the adoption is by absolute majority of the votes cast:
The Reference shareholders Agreement and all restrictions and requirements thereunder or pursuant thereto shall terminate upon the earlier of (i) expiry of the Restricted Period, unless extended by written agreement signed by all Reference shareholders, subject to any regulatory declarations of no objection or regulatory approvals, (ii) the Company becoming bankrupt or being granted a (provisional) suspension of payment, and (iii) at any time after the Restricted Period, the aggregate shareholding of the Reference shareholders becoming less than 23% of the issued share capital of the Company unless increased to at least 23% again within 30 days after such event. The Reference shareholders Agreement is terminating in June 2019.
Share Classes and Major Shareholders
In addition to the renewed Reference shareholders Agreement, the Letter Agreement of 4 June 2014 between Euronext and its Reference shareholders, as supplemented on 25 March 2015, has been amended and extended. The focus of the revised Letter Agreement dated 13 June 2017 is to strengthen the regular dialogue between Euronext and its Reference shareholders, addressing (i) the right of the Reference shareholders to retain one third of the Supervisory Board seats, (ii) the use by Euronext of the delegated authorities for the issuance / repurchase of shares, with the possible exclusion or restriction of pre-emption rights, (iii) the process of communication between Euronext and the Reference shareholders, which includes periodical meetings on topics including strategy, governance and fi nancing structure; and (iv) the involvement of the Reference shareholders in the selection procedure in case of any vacancies for the CEO, the COO or Supervisory Board positions.
On top of the Reference shareholders who own jointly 23.86% and whose individual holdings are disclosed above and according to the AFM any substantial holding and gross short positions in issuing institutions and shares with special controlling rights have to be notifi ed.
An issuing institution is: a public limited company (naamloze vennootschap) incorporated under Dutch law whose (depositary receipts for) shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market in the Netherlands or in another Member State of the European Union or an EEA State, or a legal entity incorporated under the law of a state that is not an European Union Member State and whose (depositary receipts for) shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market in the Netherlands.
As soon as the substantial holding or short position equals or exceeds 3% of the issued capital, the holder should report this. Subsequently, it should notify the AFM again when its substantial holding or short position consequently reaches, exceeds or falls below a threshold. This can be caused by the acquisition or disposal of shares by the shareholder or because the issued capital of the issuing institution is increased or decreased. Thresholds are: 3%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 75% and 95%.
The duty to notify applies to legal entities as well as natural persons.
Excluding the renewal of the Reference shareholders Agreement related crossing thresholds, in 2017 the following crossings of thresholds were declared:
| DATE | SHAREHOLDER HAVING CROSSED THE THRESHOLD | CROSSING OF THRESHOLD IN CAPITAL AND VOTING RIGHTS |
TYPE | NB OF SHARES |
% OF VOTING RIGHTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/01/2017 | Standard Life Investments | 3% | Decrease | 1,997,904 | 2.85% |
| 16/05/2017 | GIC Private Ltd | 3% | Increase | 2,137,066 | 3.05% |
| 22/05/2017 | Norges Bank | 3% | Decrease | 2,025,003 | 2.89% |
| 26/05/2017 | Norges Bank | 3% | Increase | 2,215,837 | 3.17% |
| 14/06/2017 | BlackRock, Inc. | 3% | Increase | 2,049,814 | 3.13% |
| 15/06/2017 | BlackRock, Inc. | 3% | Increase | 2,118,352 | 3.30% |
| 05/07/2017 | BlackRock, Inc. | 3% | Decrease | 2,068,120 | 3.15% |
| 10/07/2017 | BlackRock, Inc. | 3% | Increase | 2,116,840 | 3.15% |
| 17/07/2017 | Amundi | 3% | Increase | 2,110,258 | 3.01% |
None of Euronext's shareholders hold 10% or more in the capital of the Company.
As of the date of publication the 2017 Registration Document, the only shareholder publications owning more than 3% (excluding Reference shareholders) and declaring it to the AFM are listed below:
| SHAREHOLDER OWNING MORE THAN 3% OF EURONEXT CAPITAL | NB OF SHARES |
% OF VOTING RIGHTS |
|---|---|---|
| Blackrock, Inc. | 2,116,840 | 3.15% |
| Amundi | 2,110,258 | 3.01% |
| Norges Bank | 2,120,520 | 3.05% |
General Meeting of Shareholders and Voting Rights
The Annual General Meeting must be held within six months after the end of each fi nancial year. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be convened, whenever Euronext's interests so require, by the Managing Board or the Supervisory Board. shareholders representing alone or in aggregate at least one-tenth of Euronext's issued and outstanding share capital may, pursuant to the Dutch Civil Code, request that a General Meeting be convened. Within three months of it becoming apparent to the Managing Board that Euronext's equity has decreased to an amount equal to or lower than one-half of the paid-in and called-up capital, a General Meeting will be held to discuss any requisite measures.
Euronext will give notice of each General Meeting by publication on its website and in any other manner that Euronext may be required to follow in order to comply with and the applicable requirements of regulations pursuant to the listing of its shares on Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Brussels, Euronext Lisbon and Euronext Paris. The notice convening any General Meeting must include, among other items, an agenda indicating the place and date of the meeting, the items for discussion and voting, the proceedings for registration including the registration date, as well as any proposals for the agenda. Pursuant to Dutch law, shareholders holding at least 3% of Euronext's issued and outstanding share capital have a right to request the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board to include items on the agenda of the General Meeting. The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board must agree to these requests, provided that (i) the request was made in writing and motivated, and (ii) the request was received by the Chairman of the Managing Board or the Chairman of the Supervisory Board at least sixty days prior to the date of the General Meeting.
The Managing Board must give notice of a General Meeting, by at least such number of days prior to the day of the meeting as required by Dutch law, which is currently forty-two days.
Each shareholder (as well as other persons with voting rights or meeting rights) may attend the General Meeting, to address the General Meeting and, in so far as they have such right, to exercise voting rights pro rata to its shareholding, either in person or by proxy. shareholders may exercise these rights, if they are the holders of shares on the registration date which is currently the 28th day before the day of the meeting, and they or their proxy have notifi ed Euronext of their intention to attend the meeting in writing at the address and by the date specifi ed in the notice of the meeting.
The Managing Board may decide that persons entitled to attend General Meetings and vote there may, within a period prior to the General Meeting to be set by the Managing Board, which period cannot start prior to the registration date, cast their vote electronically or by post in a manner to be decided by the Managing Board. Votes cast in accordance with the previous sentence are equal to votes cast at the meeting.
Each shareholder may cast one vote for each Ordinary Share held. Members of the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board may attend a General Meeting in which they have an advisory role. The voting rights attached to shares are suspended as long as such shares are held by Euronext. The rights of the holders of Ordinary Shares that were off ered and sold in the Off ering rank pari passu with each other and with all other holders of the Ordinary Shares, including the Reference shareholders, with respect to voting rights and distributions. Euronext has no intention of changing the rights of shareholders.
Resolutions of the General Meeting are taken by an absolute majority, except where Dutch law or Euronext's Articles of Association provide for a qualifi ed majority or unanimity.
Three General Meetings were held in 2017.
An Extraordinary General Meeting was held on 15 February 2017. In this meeting the proposal to approve the acquisition by Euronext N.V. of 100% of the issued share capital of Banque Centrale de Compensation S.A., trading as LCH S.A., was approved (1).
The Annual General Meeting was held on 19 May 2017. In this meeting decisions were taken on the adoption of the 2016 Financial Statements, a dividend of €1.42 per ordinary share, the discharge the members of the Managing Board and Supervisory Board in respect of their duties performed during the year 2016, the appointment of Paulo da Silva as a member of the Managing Board, the appointment of Ernst & Young Accountants LLP as the Company's external auditors and the designation of the Managing Board as the competent body to 1) issue ordinary shares, 2) to restrict or exclude the pre-emptive rights of shareholders and 3) to acquire ordinary shares in the share capital of the Company on behalf of the Company.
Another Extraordinary General Meeting was held on 19 October 2017. In that meeting a decision was taken on the appointment of Franck Silvent to the Supervisory Board.
(1) This transaction was cancelled.
Euronext currently does not have any anti-takeover provisions.
shareholders may be subject to notifi cation obligations under the Dutch Financial Supervision Act. Pursuant to chapter 5.3 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act, any person who, directly or indirectly, acquires or disposes of an actual or potential capital interest and/or voting rights in the Company must immediately give written notice to the AFM of such acquisition or disposal by means of a standard form if, as a result of such acquisition or disposal, the percentage of capital interest and/or voting rights held by such person reaches, exceeds or falls below the following thresholds: 3%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 75% and 95%. In addition, any person whose capital interest or voting rights reaches, exceeds or falls below a threshold due to a change in Euronext's outstanding share capital, or in votes that can be cast on the shares as notifi ed to the AFM by the Company, should notify the AFM no later than the fourth trading day after the AFM has published Euronext's notifi cation of the change in its outstanding share capital.
Each person holding an interest in Euronext's share capital or voting rights of 3% or more at the time of admission of Euronext's shares to trading must immediately notify the AFM. Furthermore, every holder of 3% or more of the Company's share capital or voting rights whose interest at 31 December at midnight diff ers from a previous notifi cation to the AFM must notify the AFM within four weeks.
For the purpose of calculating the percentage of capital interest or voting rights, the following interests must be taken into account: (i) shares and/or voting rights directly held (or acquired or disposed of) by any person, (ii) shares and/or voting rights held (or acquired or disposed of) by such person's subsidiaries or by a third party for such person's account or by a third party with whom such person has concluded an oral or written voting agreement, (iii) voting rights acquired pursuant to an agreement providing for a temporary transfer of voting rights in consideration for a payment, and (iv) shares and/ or voting rights which such person, or any controlled entity or third party referred to above, may acquire pursuant to any option or other right to acquire shares and/or the attached voting rights.
Special rules apply to the attribution of shares and/or voting rights that are part of the property of a partnership or other form of joint ownership. A holder of a pledge or right of usufruct in respect of shares can also be subject to notifi cation obligations, if such person has, or can acquire, the right to vote on the shares. The acquisition of (conditional) voting rights by a pledgee or benefi cial owner may also trigger notifi cation obligations as if the pledgee or benefi cial owner were the legal holder of the shares and/or voting rights. Under the Dutch Financial Supervision Act, Euronext was required to fi le a report with the AFM promptly after the date of listing its shares setting out its issued and outstanding share capital and voting rights. Thereafter, Euronext is required to notify the AFM promptly of any change of 1% or more in its issued and outstanding share capital or voting rights since the previous notifi cation. The AFM must be notifi ed of other changes in Euronext's issued and outstanding share capital or voting rights within eight days after the end of the quarter in which the change occurred. The AFM will publish all Euronext's notifi cations of its issued and outstanding share capital and voting rights in a public register. If a person's capital interest and/or voting rights reach, exceed or fall below the above-mentioned thresholds as a result of a change in Euronext's issued and outstanding share capital or voting rights, such person is required to make a notifi cation not later than on the fourth trading day after the AFM has published Euronext's notifi cation as described above.
Furthermore, each member of the Managing Board, the Supervisory Board and certain other persons who, inter alia, have (co-)managerial responsibilities in respect of the Company, as well as certain persons closely associated with any such members or other persons, must immediately give written notice to the AFM by means of a standard form of all shares and voting rights in Euronext held by him or her at the time of admission of Euronext's shares to listing and thereafter of any change in his or her holding of shares and voting rights in Euronext.
Each person holding a net short position amounting to 0.2% or more of the issued share capital of a Dutch listed company must report it to the AFM. Each subsequent increase of this position by 0.1% above 0.2% will also have to be reported. Each net short position equal to 0.5% of the issued share capital of a Dutch-listed company and any subsequent increase of that position by 0.1% will be made public via the AFM short selling register. To calculate whether a natural person or legal person has a net short position, their short positions and long positions must be set off . A short transaction in a share can only be contracted if a reasonable case can be made that the shares sold can actually be delivered, which requires confi rmation of a third party that the shares have been located. There is also an obligation to notify the AFM of gross short positions. The notifi cation thresholds are the same as apply in respect of the notifi cation of actual or potential capital interests in the capital and/or voting rights, as described above.
The AFM keeps a public register of all notifi cation made pursuant to these disclosure obligations and publishes any notifi cation received. In 2017, no short position was declared to the AFM.
The Market Abuse Regulation (EU) nr. 596/2014 the ("MAR") and related Commission Implementing regulation and Delegated regulation, provide for specifi c rules that intend to prevent market abuse, such as the prohibitions on insider trading, divulging inside information and tipping, and market manipulation the European Union Market Abuse Rules. Euronext is subject to the European Union Market Abuse Rules and non-compliance with these rules may lead to criminal fi nes, administrative fi nes, imprisonment or other sanctions.
The European Union Market Abuse Rules on market manipulation may restrict Euronext's ability to buy back its shares. In certain circumstances, investors in Euronext can also be subject to the European Union Market Abuse Rules. Pursuant to Article 19 of the MAR (managers' transactions), members of the Managing Board, Supervisory Board and any senior executive who has regular access to inside information relating directly or indirectly to Euronext and has the power to take managerial decisions aff ecting the future developments and business prospects of Euronext, (persons discharging managerial responsibilities ("PDMR'S"); in case of Euronext Supervisory Board , Managing Board and permanent invitees to Management Board meetings), must notify the AFM of every transaction conducted on their own account relating to the shares or debt instruments of Euronext or to derivatives or other fi nancial instruments linked thereto.
In addition, certain persons closely associated with members of Euronext's Managing Board or any of the other persons as described above and designated by the MAR PDMR'S must also notify the AFM of every transaction conducted on their own account relating to the shares or debt instruments of Euronext or to derivatives or other fi nancial instruments linked thereto. The MAR determines the following categories of persons: (i) the spouse or any partner considered by national law as equivalent to the spouse, (ii) dependent children, (iii) other relatives who have shared the same household for at least one year at the relevant transaction date and (iv) a legal person, trust or partnership, the managerial responsibilities of which are discharged by a person discharging managerial responsibilities or by a person referred to in point (i), (ii) or (iii), which is directly or indirectly controlled by such a person, which is set up for the benefi t of such a person, or the economic interests of which are substantially equivalent to those of such a person. These notifi cations must be made no later than on the third business day following the transaction date and by means of a standard form. The notifi cation may be postponed until the moment that the value of the transactions performed for the PDMR that person's own account, or transactions carried out by the persons closely associated with that person, reaches or exceeds an amount of €5,000 in the calendar year in question.
The AFM keeps a public register of all notifi cations under art. 19 of the MAR. Third parties can request to be notified automatically by e-mail of changes to the public register. Pursuant to the MAR, Euronext will maintain a list of its insiders. In addition, to further ensure compliance with MAR, Euronext has adopted an internal policy relating to the possession of and transactions by members of its PDMR'S and employees in Euronext shares or in fi nancial instruments of which the value is (co)determined by the value of the shares. Euronext N.V. Insider Trading Policy of Conduct has been published on its website on https://www.Euronext.com/en/ investors/corporate-governance.
After the admission to listing of its shares on Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris on 20 June 2014, and on Euronext Lisbon on 17 September 2014, Euronext became a listed public limited liability company (naamloze vennootschap) incorporated and existing under the laws of the Netherlands. The Netherlands is Euronext's home member state for the purposes of Directive 2004/109/EC (as amended by Directive 2013/50/EU, the "Transparency Directive") as a consequence of which it is subject to the Dutch Financial Supervision Act in respect of certain ongoing transparency and disclosure obligations upon admission to listing and trading of its shares on Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Brussels, Euronext Lisbon and Euronext Paris.
The Dutch Financial Reporting Supervision Act (Wet toezicht fi nanciële verslaggeving) the ("FRSA") applies to fi nancial years starting from 1 January 2006. On the basis of the FRSA, the AFM supervises the application of fi nancial reporting standards by, among others, companies whose corporate seat is in the Netherlands and whose securities are listed on a Dutch Regulated Market or foreign stock exchange. Pursuant to the FRSA, the AFM has an independent right to (i) request an explanation from Euronext regarding its application of the applicable fi nancial reporting standards and (ii) recommend to Euronext the making available of further explanations. If Euronext does not comply with such a request or recommendation, the AFM may request that the Enterprise Chamber order Euronext to (i) make available further explanations as recommended by the AFM, (ii) provide an explanation of the way it has applied the applicable fi nancial reporting standards to its fi nancial reports or (iii) prepare Euronext's financial reports in accordance with the Enterprise Chamber's instructions.
This Registration Document also concerns the annual financial reporting within the meaning of 5:25c(2) of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act. The section "Risk" and the Chapters 1, 2 (excluding 2.3 and 2.4), 3, 4 and 5 concern the directors' report within the meaning of 2:391 of the Dutch Civil Code, the statement of the managing board has been included in Chapter 2.2.3 and the fi nancial statements in Chapter 6.
Euronext may make distributions to its shareholders only insofar as its shareholders' equity exceeds the sum of the paid-in and calledup share capital plus the reserves as required to be maintained by Dutch law or by its Articles of Association. Under Euronext's Articles of Association, the Managing Board decides which part of any profi t will be reserved.
At the time of its IPO in 2014, Euronext's dividend policy was established to achieve a dividend pay-out ratio of approximately 50% of net income, upon the approval of the Annual General Meeting, and as long as the Company is in position to pay this dividend while meeting all its various duties and obligations. In May 2017, Euronext decided to complement this policy, for the remainder of its 'Agility for Growth' strategic plan with the introduction of a fl oor to the dividend per share. Starting at the Annual General Meeting in 2017 and until the Annual General Meeting in 2020, Euronext dividend policy is to distribute the highest of 50% of the reported net income and a fl oor at €1.42 per share, upon the approval of the Annual General Meeting, and as long as the Company is in position to pay this dividend while meeting all its various duties and obligations
Following the early repayment of its previous term loan facility on 23 March 2017 (See section 5.1.10), and under the conditions of the new bank loan facility in which the Group entered on 18 July 2017, Euronext is no longer restricted to distributions, share repurchases or share redemptions. Repurchase of shares for the needs of the Employee Off ering and employee shareholding and management incentive programs that Euronext may implement from time to time, which may be off ered for free or at a discount and repurchase of shares in accordance with liquidity or market making programmes are not restricted within the Facilities Agreement.
Euronext may make a distribution of dividends to its shareholders only after the adoption of Euronext's statutory annual accounts demonstrating that such distribution is legally permitted. The profi t, as this appears from the adopted annual accounts, shall be at the free disposal of the General Meeting, provided that the General Meeting 4
Financial Calendar
may only resolve on any reservation of the profi ts or the distribution of any profi ts pursuant to and in accordance with a proposal thereto of the Supervisory Board or a proposal of the Managing Board, which has been approved by the Supervisory Board. Resolutions of the General Meeting with regard to a distribution at the expense of the reserves shall require the approval of the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board.
The Managing Board is permitted to resolve to make interim distributions to Euronext shareholders, subject to approval of the Supervisory Board. The General Meeting may also resolve to make interim distributions to Euronext shareholders, pursuant to and in accordance with a proposal thereto by the Managing Board, which has been approved by the Supervisory Board.
The Managing Board may decide that, subject to approval of the Supervisory Board, a distribution on shares shall not be made in cash or not entirely made in cash but other than in cash, including but not limited in the form of shares in the Company or decide that shareholders shall be given the option to receive a distribution either in cash or other than in cash. The Managing Board shall, subject to approval of the Supervisory Board, determine the conditions under which such option can be given to Euronext's shareholders.
Shareholders are entitled to share the profit pro rata to their shareholding. Claims to dividends and other distributions not made within fi ve years from the date that such dividends or distributions became payable will lapse, and any such amounts will be considered to have been forfeited to Euronext (verjaring).
| First Quarter 2018 Results | 15 May 2018 |
|---|---|
| Annual General Meeting | 15 May 2018 |
| Second Quarter and First Half 2018 Results | 3 August 2018 |
| Third Quarter 2018 Results | 12 November 2018 |
| 5.1 | Overview | 106 |
|---|---|---|
| 5.1.1 | Defi nitions | 106 |
| 5.1.2 | Establishment of Euronext as an Independent, | |
| Publicly Traded Company | 106 | |
| 5.1.3 | Sources of Revenues | 106 |
| 5.1.4 | Components of Expenses | 108 |
| 5.1.5 | Key Factors Aff ecting Businesses and Results of | |
| Operations | 108 | |
| 5.1.6 | Goodwill | 111 |
| 5.1.7 | Financial and Trading Position | 111 |
| 5.1.8 | Results of Operations | 112 |
| 5.1.9 | Cash Flow | 120 |
| 5.1.10 Facilities Agreement | 121 | |
| 5.1.11 Contractual Obligations | 122 | |
| 5.1.12 Off -Balance Sheet Arrangements | 122 | |
| 5.1.13 Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about | ||
| Market Risk | 122 | |
| 5.1.14 Signifi cant Accounting Policies | 124 | |
| 5.1.15 Critical Accounting Estimates and Judgments | 124 | |
| 5.2 | Material Contracts and Related Party Transactions |
127 |
|---|---|---|
| 5.2.1 | Material Contracts | 127 |
| 5.2.2 | Related Party Transactions | 127 |
| 5.3 | Legal Proceedings | 129 |
| 5.3.1 | Euronext Amsterdam Pension Fund | 129 |
| 5.4 | Insurance | 130 |
| 5.5 | Liquidity and Capital Resources | 131 |
| 5.5.1 | Liquidity | 131 |
| 5.5.2 | Consolidated Regulatory Capital Requirements | 131 |
| 5.6 | Tangible Fixed Assets | 133 |
| 5.6.1 | Principal Properties | 133 |
The following review relates to Euronext historical fi nancial condition and results of operations for the years ended 31 December 2017 and 2016. This "Operating and Financial Review" is based on the audited Financial Statements for the years ended 31 December 2017 and 2016, which are included and incorporated by reference in this Registration Document and should be read in conjunction with "General description of the Company" and "Financial Statements". Prospective investors should read the entire Registration Document and not just rely on the information set out below. The fi nancial information included in this "Operating and Financial Review" has been extracted from the audited Consolidated Financial Statements.
The following discussion of Euronext results of operations and fi nancial condition contains forward-looking statements. Euronext actual results could diff er materially from those that are discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such diff erences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this Registration Document, particularly under "Risk Factors".
Euronext is a pan-European exchange Group, off ering a diverse range of products and services and combining transparent and effi cient equity, fi xed income securities and derivatives markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Paris. Euronext businesses comprise: listing, cash trading, derivatives trading, spot FX trading, market data and indices, post-trade and market solutions & other.
Euronext management reviews the performance of the business, and makes decisions on allocation of resources, only on a companywide basis. Therefore, Euronext has one reportable segment.
Euronext has been operating as an independent, publicly traded company since 20 June 2014. Prior to June 2014, Euronext's businesses were part of ICE as a result of ICE's acquisition of NYSE Euronext on 13 November 2013.
The following defi ned terms are used in this Operating and Financial Review:
"Legacy Euronext" means the historical operations of the former Euronext N.V. (existing prior to 15 March 2014) and its subsidiaries, including LIFFE.
The legal entities of the Group have been owned by Euronext N.V. since the date that the internal reorganisation was fi nalised in March 2014. The Consolidated Financial Statements as of and for fi nancial years ended 31 December 2017, 2016 and 2015 have been prepared as described further in Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements (see "Financial Statements"). All transactions and balances between subsidiaries have been eliminated on consolidation.
In March 2014, in connection with the separation of Euronext from ICE, existing transfer pricing agreements were terminated and replaced by transitional and long-term SLAs providing for a specifi c identifi cation of each individual service rendered to or received from ICE. Each individual service is priced separately, generally on a fi xed fee basis, based on actual usage or mutually agreed service level. These SLAs do not provide for the allocation of actual cost incurred, plus overheads and mark-up, in proportion to revenues.
The historical transfer pricing agreements were amended as of 1 January 2014 in order to provide for pricing consistent with the SLAs implemented in March 2014. Accordingly, the recharges to and from ICE are made on a consistent basis throughout the rest of the year 2014. Services rendered to ICE primarily include the IT support to LIFFE, which terminated at the end of 2014, as well as various ancillary services. The income derived from these services is presented as "ICE transitional revenue and other income" in the consolidated income statement for the year ending 31 December 2014.
Services received from ICE under the SLAs include the use of data centre infrastructure, corporate information systems and web support, as well as certain market data, market operations, internal audit and other services. With the exception of data centre infrastructure, the services received from ICE were transitional and have ended at the end of 2014.
Euronext will continue to benefi t from a perpetual license to use the Euronext UTP technology on a royalty-free basis.
Admission fees comprise fees paid by companies to list and admit to trading equity and debt securities on Euronext markets and corporate activity and other fees, which consist primarily of fees charged for centralising securities in connection with new listings and tender off ers and delisting fees. In addition, companies whose securities are listed or admitted to trading on Euronext markets pay annual fees.
Euronext has adopted a common set of admission and annual fees for the Euronext and Euronext Growth markets. Companies having equity securities listed or admitted to trading on Euronext or Euronext Growth markets are subject to the following types of fees:
Euronext distinguishes domestic issuers and non-domestic issuers. Non-domestic issuers primarily use Euronext markets to increase visibility, and the fees charged to this category of issuers have lower caps and lower fl at fees. Admission fees for debt securities, issued both on a stand-alone basis or under a note program, are based on the maturity and principal amount admitted to trading, and, in respect of long-term debt (maturity over one year), number of years to maturity. Euronext off ers lower admission fees for issuers that access the debt capital markets frequently and for issuers qualifying as SMEs.
Euronext off ers centralisation services for orders in connection with a public off er, a public tender off er or a sales facility, in respect of securities admitted or to be admitted to any Euronext markets whether regulated or not.
A common set of admission and annual fees apply to ETPs. Issuers of ETPs listed and/or admitted to trading on Euronext markets are subject to the following types of fees:
Revenues from Euronext cash trading and derivatives trading businesses consist of transaction-based fees for executing trades on Euronext cash markets and derivatives markets. These transaction fees are charged per executed order and based on value traded in cash equities and are charged per lot in derivatives. Trading volume in equity products is primarily driven by price volatility in equity markets and indices. The level of trading activity for all products is also infl uenced by market conditions and other factors.
Derivatives trading revenues received from transactions conducted on Euronext markets are variable, based on the volume and value of traded contracts, and recognised when executed. The principal types of derivative contracts traded are equity and index products and commodities products.
Spot FX trading revenues consist of transaction-based fees for executing trades. These transaction fees are charged per executed order and based on value traded.
The Group charges data vendors and end users, taking data via a direct feed, on a per-user basis for the access to its real-time data and Enterprise licenses are charged for non-display use and access to historic and reference data products. The Group also collects periodic license fees from vendors for the right to distribute the Group data to third parties. These fees are recognised on a monthly basis as services are rendered.
Euronext operates Interbolsa, the Portuguese national CSD, and receives fees mainly with respect to the settlement of trades/ instructions and the custody of securities registered/deposited in the centralised securities systems, namely the securities traded in Portugal. Euronext also receives a share of clearing income based on treasury services and the number of cleared derivatives trades cleared through LCH S.A., in exchange for which Euronext pays LCH S.A. a fi xed fee plus a variable fee based on derivatives trading volume.
Market solutions & other revenue includes software license fees and IT services provided to third-party market operators and connection services and data centre co-location services provided to market participants. Licence fees for software that does not need signifi cant customisation is recognised upon delivery or acceptance by the client. Fees for software customisation and implementation services are recognised either on a time and materials basis or under the percentage completion method, depending upon the nature of the contract. When standard UTP software requires signifi cant customisation and implementation work, both software license and professional services fees are recognised together on a percentage of completion basis. The stage of completion is measured based on the number of man days incurred to date as a percentage of total estimated number of man days to complete. Software maintenance fees, managed services fees, connection and subscription fees, and annual license fees are recognised rateably over the life of the agreement.
Overview
Euronext's operating expenses include salaries and employee benefits, depreciation and amortisation, and other operational expenses, which include systems and communications, professional services, accommodation and other expenses.
Salaries and employee benefi ts expenses include employee salaries, incentive compensation (including stock-based compensation) and related benefi ts expenses, including pension and medical charges.
Depreciation and amortisation expenses consist of costs from depreciating fixed assets (including computer hardware and capitalised software) and amortising intangible assets over their estimated useful lives.
Systems and communications expenses include costs for development, operation and maintenance of trading, regulatory and administrative systems; investments in system capacity, reliability and security; and cost of network connectivity between customers and data centres, as well as connectivity to various other market centres. Systems and communications expenses also include fees paid to third-party providers of networks and information technology resources, including fees for consulting, research and development services, software rental costs and licenses, hardware rental and related fees paid to third-party maintenance providers.
Professional services expenses include consulting charges related to various technological and operational initiatives as well as legal and audit fees.
Accommodation expenses include costs of leasing the properties used by the Group, as well as utilities, maintenance and security costs to maintain the properties used by the Group.
Other expenses include marketing, taxes, insurance, travel, professional membership fees and other expenses.
The economic and business environment in which Euronext operates directly aff ects Euronext's results of operations. The results have been and will continue to be aff ected by many factors, including the factors set out below. Euronext continues to focus its strategy to broaden and diversify its revenue streams, as well as on its company-wide expense reduction initiatives in order to mitigate these uncertainties.
A large proportion of Euronext's business is transaction-based. For the year ended 31 December 2017, Euronext derived 45% of its revenue from its cash trading, derivatives and spot FX trading businesses. Accordingly, fl uctuations in the trading volumes directly aff ect Euronext revenues. During any period, the level of trading activity in Euronext markets is signifi cantly infl uenced by factors such as general market conditions, market volatility, competition, regulatory changes, capital maintenance requirements, market share and the pace of industry consolidation.
A reduction in trading activity could make Euronext's markets less attractive to market participants as a source of liquidity, which in turn could further discourage existing and potential market participants and thus accelerate a decline in the level of trading activity in these markets. Because Euronext's cost structure is largely fi xed, if the trading volumes and the resulting transaction fee revenues decline, Euronext may not be able to adjust its cost structure to counteract the associated decline in revenues, which would adversely aff ect its net income. Euronext's largely fi xed cost structure also provides operational leverage, such that an increase in its trading volumes and the resulting transaction fee revenues would have a positive eff ect on its margins.
From its origination, Euronext has identified various ways to streamline its processes and enhance its operational effi ciency. As such Euronext had identifi ed the potential for pre-tax operating optimisation and net effi ciencies of approximately €85 million by the end of 2016 on a run-rate basis, i.e. taking into account the full-year impact of any cost saving measure to be undertaken before the end of this period. This target was reached in a reduced timeline, by the end of Q1 of 2016.
As part of the Agility for Growth strategic plan released in May 2016, an additional cost reduction program was announced, aiming to deliver €22 million additional savings (€15 million, net of infl ation) by the end of 2019, through infrastructure optimisation and further streamlining of the organisation.
Infrastructure optimisation: Euronext makes continuous eff orts to improve its asset utilisation. Together with a rationalisation of the number of sites and the set-up of Euronext's IT team in Porto, it continues its eff ort to reinforce the culture of effi ciency.
Expenses incurred to realise the effi ciencies described above are classifi ed as "Exceptional items" in the Income statement, for a total of €2.2 million in 2017. This expense is included in the total amount of exceptional items (€14.8 million in 2017), disclosed in Note 12 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
On 14 October 2013, Euronext entered into the Derivatives Clearing Agreement with LCH S.A. in respect of the clearing of trades on its continental Europe derivatives markets. Under the terms of the Derivatives Clearing Agreement, eff ective starting 1 April 2014, Euronext has agreed with LCH S.A. to share revenues. Euronext receives a share of clearing income based on treasury services and the number of cleared derivatives trades cleared through LCH S.A., in exchange for which Euronext pays LCH S.A. a fi xed fee plus a variable fee based on derivatives trading volume.
The term of the existing Derivatives Clearing Agreement is through 31 December 2018. On November 2017, Euronext announced the signing of the renewal of its agreement with LCH S.A. on the continued provision of derivatives and commodities clearing services for a period of 10 years.
For the year ended 31 December 2015 those revenues are €51.9 million and the associated expense is €27.8 million. For the year ended 31 December 2016, revenues derived from the Derivatives Clearing agreement are €48.0 million and the associated expense is €26.3 million. For the year ended 31 December 2017, revenues derived from the Derivatives Clearing agreement are €51.1 million and the associated expense is €27.9 million.
On 6 May 2014, Euronext entered into a syndicated bank loan facilities agreement ("the Facilities Agreement"), with BNP Paribas and ING Bank N.V. as Lead Arrangers, providing for a (i) a €250 million term loan facility and (ii) a €250 million revolving loan facility, both maturing or expiring in three years. On 20 February 2015, Euronext entered into the amended and extended facilities agreement. Based on this agreement, effectively on 23 March 2015 (i) the undrawn revolving credit facility has been increased with €140 million to €390 million and (ii) €140 million has been repaid as an early redemption of the €250 million term loan facility. The facilities mature in three years on 23 March 2018, with a two times one year extension possibility, resulting in (i) a €390 million undrawn revolving credit facility and (ii) a net non-current borrowing of €108 million as of 31 December 2015.
On 23 September 2016, Euronext repaid €40 million as an early redemption of the €110 million term loan facility, resulting in a net non-current borrowing of €69 million as of 31 December 2016.
On 23 March 2017, the Group repaid the remaining outstanding noncurrent borrowing of €70 million, enabling the Group to terminate its term loan facility, which was supposed to mature on 23 March 2018. The Group also terminated its €390 million revolving credit facility agreement and entered into a new €250 million revolving credit facility ("RCF") on 12 April 2017.
The Group signed a new term loan facility as per 18 July 2017 with fi ve banks to the amount of €175 million and accordion of €125 million. This resulted in the recognition of a non-current borrowing of €165 million, used to fund the acquisitions of iBabs B.V. and FastMatch Inc. Reference is made to section 5.1.10 for more details on the Facilities Agreement.
In April 2015, as part of the Group restructuring and transformation initiative, the two French entities, Euronext Paris S.A. and Euronext Technologies S.A.S. initiated and presented to the Unions restructuring plans (Plans de Sauvegarde de l'Emploi ("PSE")). These two separate social plans were framed by the relevant legal and administrative process in France and were subject to approval of DIRECCTE, the labour administrative entity in charge of these procedures in France. Following rejection of the PSE for Euronext Paris S.A. by DIRECCTE, and further consultation with the Work Councils and Committees for Health, Safety and Working Conditions for each entity, the Group announced its intention to change the PSE plans into 'Plan de Depart Volontaire' ("PDV's") in October 2015. The respective Unions signed Collective Labour Agreements ("Accord Majoritaire") related to the PDV's for Euronext Paris S.A. and Euronext Technologies S.A.S. These agreements were validated by la DIRECCTE in November 2015 for Euronext Paris S.A., and January 2016 for Euronext Technologies S.A.S. This resulted in a total provision of €22.0 million for both plans recognised as at 31 December 2015.
During 2016, the PDV's for Euronext Paris S.A. and Euronext Technologies S.A.S. have been executed and completed. As such, the provision still recorded was limited to €0.2 million as per 31 December 2016. The indemnities and other additional benefi ts that were agreed and confi rmed but not yet paid, were recognised as a liability in Trade- and other payables as per 31 December 2016. In addition, a provision for third party expenses was still recorded and amounts to €0.2 million for Euronext Paris S.A. and €0.3 million for Euronext Technologies S.A.S. as at 31 December 2016. The provision for these expenses still recorded, amounted to €0.1 million for Euronext Paris S.A. and €0.1 million for Euronext Technologies S.A.S., as per 31 December 2017
The following material acquisitions of subsidiaries were made in 2017:
On 14 February 2017, the Group acquired a 51% majority stake in Company Webcast B.V., a Dutch company specialised in professional webcast and webinar services. The transaction includes an initial cash payment of €3.6 million and a deferred payment estimated at €1.8 million. Call- and put options were granted by minority shareholders and the Group, with similar conditions. When executed, the Group acquires the minority stake of 49%, in 2020 at the earliest. A redemption liability is recorded at fair value of €8.2 million refl ecting this commitment.
On 7 July 2017, the Group acquired a 60% majority stake in iBabs B.V., a Dutch provider of dematerialised board portal solutions for corporate and public organisations, for an initial consideration of €30.1 million. iBabs' solutions will be integrated into the Euronext Corporate Services off ering. The founding management team of iBabs B.V. will remain in place.
On 14 August 2017, the Group acquired a 90% majority stake in FastMatch Inc., a US-based Electronic Communication Network in the spot Foreign Exchange market. The acquisition includes an initial cash payment of \$153 million (on a debt-free and cash-free basis), a contingent earn-out payment for an additional \$10 million and customary minority rights for the management of FastMatch Inc. that will remain committed to the development of the business and stay invested with a 10% interest.
More details on these material acquisitions can be found in Note 5 "Business Combinations" of the Consolidated Financial Statements (Section 6).
5
The following investments in associates and joint ventures were made in 2017 and 2016:
On 10 July 2017 the Group, together with six other leading fi nancial institutions, incorporated LiquidShare S.A., a fi ntech joint venture with the objective to improve SME's access to capital markets and improving the transparency and security of post-trading operations using blockchain technology. The Group, sharing joint control with the other founders, has an interest of 13.57% in LiquidShare. The investment in LiquidShare amounting to €0.9 million was recognised as an investment in joint ventures as at 31 December 2017.
On 22 July 2016, Euronext acquired a 34.04% stake in Tredzone S.A.S., a highly specialised low latency software developer, as part of its innovation strategy. Euronext has assessed the high level of performance of the Tredzone technology by using it to develop the next generation trading platform "Optiq®". This agreement will enable Tredzone to strengthen its leading edge technology and will allow Euronext to benefi t from future developments made by Tredzone. Software development tools from Tredzone allow Euronext to fully leverage multi-core processing, hence enabling substantial savings in use of hardware, simplifying and securing IT infrastructure. Designed by a team of experts from fi nancial markets software design, these tools are specifi cally adapted to handle large amounts of data in real time within a complex environment. The €1.4 million investment was recognised as an investment in associate as at 31 December 2016. As per 31 December 2017 the investment amounted to €1.1 million.
In August 2016, Euronext announced it had signed a defi nitive agreement to acquire a 20% stake in European Central Counterparty N.V. ("EuroCCP"), the leading CCP for pan-European equity markets, providing clearing and settlement services. This deal will enable Euronext to off er user choice in clearing for the equity markets within the Eurozone, through the implementation of a preferred CCP model followed by a fully interoperable service, which will be open to other CCPs in due course. Following regulatory approvals, the completion of the transaction was fi nalised on 15 December 2016 for an amount of €13.4 million. The investment in EuroCCP has been recognised as an investment in associate as at 31 December 2016. As per 31 December 2017 the investment amounted to €14.1 million.
In November 2016, Euronext announced a 10 year partnership with leading fi xed income technology provider Algomi to create a long-term joint venture. This joint venture, capitalised by Euronext, will deploy Algomi's award winning technology to a new multilateral trading facility ("MTF") "Synapse ". Dealers will be able to access the trading interface either directly through their existing Algomi technology or through their stand-alone systems. The platform will use algorithmic smart matching processes to create an auction between dealers to improve liquidity and search for best execution. Algonext was incorporated on 16 December 2016 and, based on shared ownership, Euronext has an interest of 50%. The investment in Algonext amounting to €1.2 million has been recognised as an investment in joint ventures as at 31 December 2016. As per 31 December 2017 the investment amounted to €0.9 million.
On 30 April 2014, ICE contributed to the Group a 2.75% ownership interest into Euroclear plc., an unlisted company involved in the settlement of securities transaction and related banking services. The fair value of the investment at that time was €63 million. Due to share buy-backs by Euroclear plc. in 2015 the direct investment in Euroclear plc. increased from 2.75% to 3.26% as per 31 December 2015. The fair value of the investment in Euroclear plc. was measured at €67.1 million as per 31 December 2015.
In 2016 this share buy-back program did not continue, however other valuation approaches were applied in a consistent manner to 2015, leading to an adjustment of fair value through Other Comprehensive Income of €0.5 million in 2016, bringing the fair value of the 3.26% direct investment in Euroclear plc. to €67.6 million as per 31 December 2016.
Due to share buy-backs by Euroclear plc. in 2017 the direct investment in Euroclear plc. increased from 3.26% to 3.34% as per 31 December 2017. The Group also holds an 1.53% indirect investment in Euroclear plc., through its 9.60% ownership interest in Sicovam Holding S.A.
Following the outcome of EU referendum in the UK and elections in the US, euro-zone was facing additional political pressure at the end of 2016. Increased political risk in economies long considered bastions of political stability were expected to affect risk-free rates, potentially reviving the euro crisis and raising the risk of an EU break-up scenario. In the fi rst part of the year, this risk of destabilization in Europe was reduced by the results of elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany. The economic sentiment and outlook signifi cantly improved and funds are fl owing back to the euro-zone and translated into a robust share price performance across listed fi nancial institutions within the EU.
This changing environment had an impact on the valuation of the Group's available-for-sale fi nancial assets, especially on investments in financial institutions with a significant EU exposure, such as Euroclear plc. The sentiment in Europe, that had a dampening eff ect on the value of our direct- and indirect (through Sicovam Holding S.A.) equity investment in Euroclear plc at the end of 2016, positively impacted this value as per 31 December 2017. This ultimately led to an increase in fair value of the Group's investments in Euroclear plc and Sicovam S.A. in 2017 of €40.2 million.
As per 31 December 2017, following the above, the fair value of the investment in Euroclear plc. was measured at €96.2 million and the fair value of the investment in Sicovam Holding S.A. was measured at €41.7 million.
On 2 March 2017, the Group acquired a 7.59% stake in Algomi Ltd. for \$10.0 million, including a warrant. By executing this warrant the Group received additional shares, increasing the total interest in Algomi Ltd. to 7.74% in November 2017. The investment was recognized as an available-for-sale fi nancial asset at fair value for €9.6 million as per 31 December 2017.
5
As per 31 December 2016, the Group held an 2.31% ownership in LCH Group Limited ("LCH group") (2015: 2.31%). LCH Group is a multi-asset international clearing house managing and mitigating counterparty risks in market transactions. Management determined fair value for its stockholding in LCH group based on updated information available as of 31 December 2016. The updated information provided Management with suffi cient input to record a change in fair value for its investment in LCH group of €1.7 million in 2016 (2015: €0.0 million) to €19.2 million as per 31 December 2016 (31 December 2015: €17.5 million).
In 2017, the Group entered into a share swap transaction of its 2.31% interest in LCH G roup for an 11.1% interest in LCH S.A., which was fi nalised on 29 December 2017. The 2.31% interest in LCH G roup, representing a fair value of €19.2 million, was fully disposed at transaction date, leaving no value for this investment as per 31 December 2017.
In the second half of 2017, the Group announced its intentions to swap its current 2.31% stake in LCH group for a 11.1% stake in LCH S.A., subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The transaction was fi nalised on 29 December 2017 and will strengthen the long-standing relationship between Euronext and LCH S.A. Euronext will remain on the board of LCH S.A. following completion of the share swap. Euronext will also nominate one representative to LCH S.A. Audit Committee and will continue to be represented at LCH S.A. Risk Committee. A new Consultative Committee dedicated to Euronext derivatives business will be created. The parties have agreed that Euronext will have certain minority protection rights connected with its new shareholding in LCH S.A..
The share swap transaction led to a change in fair value of €38.4 million and subsequent de-recognition in available-for-sale fi nancial assets with carrying value of €57.6 million, in relation to the 2.31% stake in LCH group Ltd. . The 11.1% stake in LCH S.A. has been recognised in investments in associates and joint ventures . The share swap transaction resulted in a capital gain recognised in results from equity investments of €40.6 million , from the recycling to profi t or loss of cumulative historical revaluations that were recognised in Other Comprehensive Income.
Goodwill recorded includes the entire goodwill that arose from the acquisition of the Amsterdam and Brussels stock exchanges in 2000 and the Lisbon stock exchange in 2002. It also includes an allocation of the goodwill that arose from the acquisition of Atos Euronext Market Solutions ("AEMS"), Euronext's preferred IT service provider, in 2008. In 2017, additional goodwill was recorded in relation to the acquisitions of Company Webcast, iBabs and FastMatch.
Other than as described below, there has been no signifi cant change in Euronext's fi nancial or trading position since 1 January 2018,
On 29 November 2017, the Group announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares and voting rights of the Irish Stock Exchange plc ("ISE"), Ireland's incumbent stock exchange operator and a leading global debt and fund listing venue. The Group is to pay for 100% of ISE's shares €137 million of enterprise value on a debt free, cash free basis, and excluding existing regulatory capital requirements (estimated at €21.8 million). The transaction will be fully funded by debt. On 27 March 2018, Euronext announced the completion of the acquisition of 100% of the shares and voting rights of The Irish Stock Exchange plc(1), after receiving regulatory approvals.
(1) The announcement of 29 November 2017 on the signing of the agreement with the shareholders of the ISE is available on www.euronext.com
(2) From 27 March 2018, the Irish Stock Exchange plc will use the business name Euronext Dublin to carry out its commercial activities. Legal name change will take place in due course, pending regulatory approval.
(3) Appointment subject to regulatory and shareholders' approval
Euronext Dublin to be consolidated in Euronext fi nancials starting 1 April 2018. As a reminder, Euronext Dublin generated(4) €32.3 million revenue at an EBITDA margin of 31.9% in 2017.
The table below sets forth Euronext's results of operations for the years ended 31 December 2017 and 2016.
| YEAR ENDED | ||
|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
| Revenue | 532,294 | 496,436 |
| TOTAL REVENUE | 532,294 | 496,436 |
| Salaries and employee benefi ts | (104,363) | (99,776) |
| Depreciation and amortisation | (16,932) | (15,088) |
| Other operational expenses | (130,149) | (112,766) |
| Operating profi t before exceptional items | 280,850 | 268,806 |
| Exceptional items | (14,787) | (10,038) |
| Operating profi t | 266,063 | 258,768 |
| Finance costs | (3,553) | (2,142) |
| Other net fi nancing income/(expense) | (47) | 1,336 |
| Result from available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 48,325 | 6,032 |
| Share of net (loss) of associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method | 287 | (19) |
| Profi t before income tax | 311,075 | 263,975 |
| Income tax expense | (68,886) | (66,962) |
| Profi t for the year | 242,189 | 197,013 |
| Profi t attributable to: | ||
| Owners of the parent | 241,297 | 197,013 |
| Non-controlling interests | 892 | - |
(1) Unaudited figures
Euronext's total revenue for the year ended 31 December 2017 was €532.3 million, compared to €496.4 million for the year ended 31 December 2016, an increase of €35.9 million or 7.2%.
The table below sets forth Euronext's revenue for the years ended 31 December 2017 and 2016.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Listing | 84,247 | 68,708 |
| Trading revenue | 237,854 | 220,835 |
| of which | ||
| Cash trading | 190,276 | 180,727 |
| Derivatives trading | 40,339 | 40,108 |
| Spot FX trading | 7,239 | - |
| Market data & indices | 104,673 | 105,697 |
| Post-trade | 71,698 | 67,627 |
| of which | ||
| Clearing | 51,132 | 47,992 |
| Custody and Settlement | 20,566 | 19,635 |
| Market Solutions & Other revenue | 33,465 | 33,009 |
| Other income | 357 | 560 |
| TOTAL REVENUE | 532,294 | 496,436 |
For the year ended 31 December 2017:
Listing revenue was €84.2 in 2017, an increase of +22.6% compared to 2016, confi rming the growing use of equity fi nancing on capital markets. This solid performance was driven by a continuing strong increase in follow-on activity and the positive impact of the Corporate Services initiative, part of the "Agility for Growth" strategic plan.
Primary market activity was slightly impacted by uncertainties around political environment in Europe during the fi rst quarter. However, 2017 saw the continued return of large capitalizations to Euronext's markets with listings such as ALD, and VolkerWessels . During the year 2017, 26 new listings, including 16 SME deals, were completed, compared to 28 listings in 2016. This translated into €3.4 billion raised in 2017, a decrease from €3.7 billion last year.
In 2017, Euronext continued to be the venue of choice for Tech SMEs with 13 new listings. In particular, 3 Tech companies from the fi rst TechShare cohort listed on Euronext during the year. Euronext also successfully launched its European Tech SME initiative in four new countries outside of Euronext's markets to assist tech companies in developing their business on a greater scale through capital markets.
Secondary markets recorded a very strong year on the back of strong M&A environment, confirming the use of capital market fi nancing. This trend contributed to the strong increase in followon activity and in a record year with €57.9 billion of secondary equity issues, compared to €56.4 billion in 2016.
In total, €323.9 billion in equity and debt were raised on Euronext markets in 2017, compared to €304.1 billion in 2016. Corporate Services, an Agility for Growth initiative, expanded its off ering in 2017 and generated €9.1 million revenue, mainly due to the good performance of 2017 acquisitions, namely iBabs and Company Webcast, and to the commercial eff ort deployed this year.
Average daily volume for cash trading increased by +6.7% to €7.5 billion compared to 2016, benefi ting from i/a better trading environment, despite very low volatility, with an improved macro environment in Europe at the end of the year, ii/reduced political uncertainty across Europe and iii/ improved corporate earnings across the Eurozone. In this environment of rising volume, revenue increased by +5.3% in 2017, to a total of €190.3 million. Yield remained stable over the year averaging 0.50 bps, at a comparable level to 2016.
Euronext continuously strengthened its cash trading market share throughout the year, averaging 64.4% in 2017 and reaching 67.1% in Q4 2017. This signifi cant increase of +3.5 points compared to 2016 refl ects the successful onboarding of additional participants to the new non-member proprietary fee scheme Omega, as well as the completed onboarding of all Euronext's retail brokers to the Best of Book service which attracted additional retail fl ow to Euronext markets. In addition, the implementation of further optimisation within the SLP programme attracted incremental volumes in 2017.
The average daily transaction value of ETFs was €473 million over 2017 and was down (-14.6%) compared to 2016, mainly due to lower volatility. 74 new ETF products were listed over 2017, bringing the total number of ETFs listed on Euronext to 804 at end of 2017.
Derivatives trading revenue remained almost stable in 2017, at €40.3 million, compared to €40.1 million in 2016. Individual equity derivatives achieved a +24.0% increase on average daily volume to 276,483 contracts, while the average daily volume on equity index derivatives was up +3.5% to 221,922 contracts. As a reminder, TOM, the former competitor of Euronext on the Dutch market, ceased operations in June 2017. Because of this exceptional circumstance, a non-recurring migration of open-interest from TOM to Euronext took place in June at marginal rates and impacted the average yield for 2017.
Commodity products recorded declining average daily volumes in 2017, down -3.6% to 51,629 contracts. Despite a low-volatility market, the activity saw a recovery from mid-year in an improved competitive landscape, partially off setting a weak start to the year.
Yield on derivatives averaged 0.29 bps over 2017, a decrease from 0.32 bps in 2016, due to the special Dutch circumstances stated above.
The average daily volume on the FastMatch spot foreign exchange market was 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.
Market data indices organic performance remained robust, while revenue was down -1.0% to €104.7 million over the year, as a result of higher contractual audit fi ndings in the second and third quarters of 2016. In 2017, Euronext onboarded 34 new data vendors, bringing the total number of vendors to 500, while 65 new clients for nondisplayed policies were signed up.
Clearing revenue increased by +6.5%, to €51.1 million in 2017, compared to €48.0 million in 2016, refl ecting stronger derivatives trading activity as well as higher treasury and other clearing income.
Revenue from Interbolsa in Portugal increased by +4.7%, to €20.6 million in 2017, compared €19.6 million, driven by an increase of settlement, public debt and equities under custody during the year.
Revenue from Market Solutions increased by +1.4% in 2017, to €33.5 million. The business continued to benefit from MiFID II projects and related work for commercial technology clients.
| YEAR ENDED | ||
|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
| Salaries and employee benefi ts | (104,363) | (99,776) |
| Depreciation and amortisation | (16,932) | (15,088) |
| Other operational expenses | (130,149) | (112,766) |
| TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES | (251,444) | (227,630) |
Euronext operating expenses in 2017 were €251.4 million, compared to €227.6 million in 2016, an increase of €23.8 million or 10.5%. The overall cost increase in 2017 was due to:
Euronext operating expenses comprise salaries and employee benefits, depreciation and amortisation, and other operational expenses.
Salaries and Employee Benefi ts increased by €4.6 million, or 4.6%, to €104.4 million in 2017, compared to €99.8 million in 2016. This increase is attributable to the increase in headcount following the incorporation of newly acquired businesses.
Depreciation and Amortisation increased by €1.8 million, or 12.2%, to €16.9 million in 2017, compared to €15.1 million in 2016. This increase is mainly related to the acquisition of Company Webcast, iBabs and FastMatch in 2017, and their respective PPA.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Systems and communications | (22,354) | (17,099) |
| Professional services | (45,545) | (38,382) |
| Clearing expenses | (27,925) | (26,311) |
| Accommodation | (9,961) | (10,237) |
| Other expenses | (24,364) | (20,737) |
| TOTAL | (130,149) | (112,766) |
System and Communications increased by €5.3 million, or 30.7%, to €22.4 million in 2017, compared to €17.1 million in 2016. This increase is mainly attributable to costs related to key projects such as the development of Euronext's new trading platform, Optiq®, and compliance with MiFID II .
Professional Services increased by €7.2 million, or 18.7%, to €45.5 million in 2017, compared to €38.4 million in 2016. This increase is mainly attributable to an increase in consultant costs in 2017, related to key projects such as Optiq® and MiFID.
Clearing expenses increased by €1.6 million, or 6.1%, to €27.9 million in 2017, compared to €26.3 million in 2016. This increase is linked to the higher Clearing revenues in 2016.
Accommodation decreased by €0.3 million, or -2.7%, to €10.0 million in 2017, compared to €10.2 million in 2016. This decrease is mainly attributable to the impact additional utilities costs for Cannon Bridge House in London in 2016 and the Belfast offi ce termination in 2017.
Other Expenses increased by €3.6 million, or 17.5%, to €24.4 million in 2017 when compared to €20.7 million in 2016. This increase consists of various smaller elements, the main one being the increase in non-recoverable VAT expenses, membership fees and other expenses related to Agility for Growth initiatives in 2017.
Euronext operating profi t before exceptional items for the year ended 31 December 2017 was €280.9 million, compared to €268.8 million for the year ended 31 December 2016, an increase of €12.0 million.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Restructuring costs | (2,159) | (7,082) |
| ICE Clear Netherlands termination fee | (5,000) | - |
| Acquisition costs | (5,280) | (3,322) |
| Portuguese pension plan settlement | (1,565) | - |
| Refund pre-retirement plan Paris | 2,208 | - |
| Litigation provisions/settlements | (388) | - |
| Impairment intangible assets | (2,621) | - |
| Other | 18 | 366 |
| TOTAL | (14,787) | (10,038) |
In 2017, main exceptional items included:
Euronext operating profi t for the year ended 31 December 2017 was €266.1 million, compared to €258.8 million for the year ended 31 December 2016, an increase of €7.3 million or 2.8%.
Euronext's net fi nancing income / (expense) for the year ended 31 December 2017 was a net expense of €3.6 million, compared to a net expense of €0.8 million for the year ended 31 December 2016, an increase in net expense of €1.4 million. This increase is mainly driven up by the early termination of the previous loan leading to accelerated amortization of transaction cost for €1.0 million and by one-off costs relating to Portuguese stamp duty tax.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Interest expense | (2,373) | (2,142) |
| Other fi nance costs | (1,180) | - |
| Finance costs | (3,553) | (2,142) |
| Interest income | 314 | 572 |
| Gain/ (loss) on disposal of treasury investments | (5) | - |
| Net foreign exchange (loss)/gain | (356) | 764 |
| Other net fi nancing income/(expense) | (47) | 1,336 |
| TOTAL | (3,600) | (806) |
In 2017, the €48.3 million of results from available-for-sale fi nancial assets mainly related to the following items:
Euronext profi t before income tax for the year ended 31 December 2017 was €311.1 million, compared to €264.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2016, an increase of €47.1 million or +17.8%.
Euronext's income tax expense for the year ended 31 December 2017 was €68.9 million, compared to €67.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2016, an increase of €1.9 million or 2.9%. Euronext's effective tax rate was 22.1% for the year ended 31 December 2017 compared to 25.4% for the year ended 31 December 2016. The decrease of the eff ective tax rate in 2017 is primarily attributable to:
Euronext reported profi t for the year ended 31 December 2017 was €242.2 million, compared to €197.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2016, an increase of €45.2 million or 22.9%. Of this profi t, €241.3 million was attributable to the shareholders of the parent.
The table below sets forth Euronext's results of operations for the years ended 31 December 2016 and 2015.
| YEAR ENDED | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2016 | 31 DECEMBER 2015 | |
| Revenue | 496,436 | 518,547 | |
| TOTAL REVENUE | 496,436 | 518,547 | |
| Salaries and employee benefi ts | (99,776) | (112,218) | |
| Depreciation and amortisation | (15,088) | (17,071) | |
| Other operational expenses | (112,766) | (122,487) | |
| Operating profi t before exceptional items | 268,806 | 266,771 | |
| Exceptional items | (10,038) | (28,659) | |
| Operating profi t | 258,768 | 238,112 | |
| Finance costs | (2,142) | (2,906) | |
| Other net fi nancing income/(expense) | 1,336 | (1,238) | |
| Result from available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 6,032 | 4,634 | |
| Share of net (loss) of associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method | (19) | - | |
| Profi t before income tax | 263,975 | 238,602 | |
| Income tax expense | (66,962) | (65,948) | |
| Profi t for the year | 197,013 | 172,654 |
Euronext's total revenue for the year ended 31 December 2016 was €496.4 million, compared to €518.5 million for the year ended 31 December 2015, a decrease of €-22.1 million or -4.3%.
The table below sets forth Euronext's revenue for the years ended 31 December 2016 and 2015.
| In thousands of euros | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Listing | 68,708 | 70,516 |
| Trading revenue | 220,835 | 241,699 |
| of which | ||
| Cash trading | 180,727 | 197,243 |
| Derivatives trading | 40,108 | 44,456 |
| Market data & indices | 105,697 | 99,759 |
| Post-trade | 67,627 | 71,682 |
| of which | ||
| Clearing | 47,992 | 51,937 |
| Custody and Settlement | 19,635 | 19,745 |
| Market Solutions & Other revenue | 33,009 | 34,147 |
| Other income | 560 | 744 |
| TOTAL REVENUE | 496,436 | 518,547 |
For the year ended 31 December 2016:
Listing revenue was €68.7 million in 2016, a decrease of -2.6% compared to the €70.5 million achieved in 2015. This decrease was mainly driven by the fall in IPO activity and reduced listing fees for ETPs in comparison with 2015. In 2015, large transactions such as Lafarge-Holcim, Altice, Amundi and ABN Amro were key contributors to the listing revenue performance. In 2016, twenty eight new listings took place (versus fi fty two in 2015), with a total of €3.7 billion of capital raised, compared to €12.4 billion in 2015.
The cash trading revenue was €180.7 million in 2016, a decrease of -8.4% compared to €197.2 million in 2015. Volumes in cash trading were down -15.3% compared to last year, and average market share for the year has reduced to 61.0%, compared to 63.5% in 2015. Uncertainty created by various global factors throughout the year (United Kingdom referendum, US elections in November), translated into reduced investor confi dence and lower volatility.
Activity on the ETF segment was similary impacted. Average daily transaction value was €554 million, down -9.7% compared to €613 million in 2015.
Derivatives trading revenue decreased by -9.8% in 2016 to €40.1 million (compared to €44.5 million in 2015). Index product trading volumes declined by -9.8% in 2016 compared to 2015. Trading activity on Euronext's individual equity option franchise decreased by -5.2% during 2016, compared to 2015 as market volatility was higher last year.
In 2016 a material sub-standard French wheat harvest impacted volumes in commodity products that declined by -4.1% compared to 2015.
Market data & indices revenue, which accounts for 21.3% of Euronext's revenue, posted a +6.0% increase in revenue compared to 2015 (2016: €105.7 million versus 2015: €99.8 million). The 2016 revenue benefi ted from the positive impact of new products and services launched in the course of 2015, as well as from some fee adjustments.
Consistent with the trend in derivatives trading volumes, clearing revenue decreased by -7.6%, from €51.9 million in 2015 to €48.0 million in 2016.
Revenue from Interbolsa in Portugal was €19.6 million in 2016; in line with the €19.7 million achieved in 2015.
Revenue from market solutions decreased by -3.3% in 2016, to €33.0 million (2015: €34.1 million). The decrease in software solution revenue during the transition to Optiq® platform was partially off set by the introduction of a new Market Abuse regulation compliance service in July 2016.
| YEAR ENDED | ||
|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2016 | 31 DECEMBER 2015 |
| Salaries and employee benefi ts | (99,776) | (112,218) |
| Depreciation and amortisation | (15,088) | (17,071) |
| Other operational expenses | (112,766) | (122,487) |
| TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES | (227,630) | (251,776) |
Euronext operating expenses in 2016 were €227.6 million, compared to €251.8 million in 2015, a decrease of €-24.2 million or -9.6%. The overall cost decrease in 2016 was due to strong cost discipline following Euronext's cost reduction program and also included €3.3 million from releases of accruals. Euronext operating expenses comprise salaries and employee benefi ts, depreciation and amortisation, and other operational expenses.
Salaries and Employee Benefi ts decreased by €-12.4 million, or -11%, to €99.8 million in 2016, compared to €112.2 million in2015. This decrease is attributable to the reduction in headcount following
Depreciation and Amortisation decreased by €-2.0 million, or -12%, to €15.1 million in 2016, compared to €17.1 million in 2015. This decrease is mainly related to the end of the accelerated depreciation of assets in conjunction with the Company's relocations in Paris and Brussels in 2015.
| In thousands of euros | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Systems and communications | (17,099) | (18,582) |
| Professional services | (38,382) | (39,599) |
| Clearing expenses | (26,311) | (27,757) |
| Accommodation | (10,237) | (13,622) |
| Other expenses | (20,737) | (22,927) |
| TOTAL | (112,766) | (122,487) |
5
System and Communication decreased by €-1.5 million, or -8%, to €17.1 million in 2016, compared to €18.6 million in 2015. This decrease is mainly attributable to sustainable maintenance reductions delivered as part of the cost reduction program.
Professional Services decreased by €-1.2 million, or -3%, to €38.4 million in 2016, compared to €39.6 million in 2015. This decrease is mainly attributable to lower costs for Euronext's Data Centre in Basildon following a reduction in number of cabinets, which is partly off set by increased expenses related to studies for the newly defi ned Group strategy in 2016.
Clearing expenses decreased by €-1.4 million, or -5%, to €26.3 million in 2016, compared to €27.8 million in 2015. This decrease is linked to the lower Clearing revenues in 2016.
Accommodation decreased by €-3.4 million, or -25%, to €10.2 million in 2016, compared to €13.6 million in 2015. This decrease is mainly attributable to the closure of Cannon Bridge House in London and the relocation of premises in Paris and Brussels in 2015.
Other Expenses decreased by €-2.2 million, or -10%, to €20.7 million in 2016 when compared to €22.9 million in 2015. This decrease consists of various smaller elements, the main one being the reduction of the insurance costs that were re-negotiated in 2016.
Euronext operating profi t before exceptional items for the year ended 31 December 2016 was €268.8 million, compared to €266.8 million for the year ended 31 December 2015, an increase of €+2.0 million.
| In thousands of euros | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Restructuring costs | (7,082) | (20,581) |
| Share plan vesting acceleration/settlement | - | (349) |
| AMF fi ne | - | (5,000) |
| Acquisition costs | (3,322) | - |
| Litigation settlements | - | (1,976) |
| Other | 366 | (753) |
| TOTAL | (10,038) | (28,659) |
Euronext operating profi t for the year ended 31 December 2016 was €258.8 million, compared to €238.1 million for the year ended 31 December 2015, an increase of €+20.7 million or +8.7%.
Euronext's net fi nancing income / (expense) for the year ended 31 December 2016 was a net expense of €0.8 million, compared to a net expense of €4.1 million for the year ended 31 December 2015, a decrease in net expense of €-3.3 million. This decrease is mainly attributable to the variance in foreign exchange results. In 2016, foreign exchange results mainly relate to historical cumulative unrealised exchange diff erences recognised in Other Comprehensive Income, which have been realised following the dissolution of a U.K. subsidiary. The foreign exchange results in 2015 mainly stem from outstanding accounts receivable and accounts payable held in foreign currencies.
| In thousands of euros | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Interest expense | (2,142) | (2,906) |
| Finance costs | (2,142) | (2,906) |
| Interest income | 572 | 369 |
| Gain/(loss) on disposal of treasury investments | - | 113 |
| Net foreign exchange (loss)/gain | 764 | (1,720) |
| Other net fi nancing income/(expense) | 1,336 | (1,238) |
| NET FINANCING INCOME/(EXPENSE) | (806) | (4,144) |
In 2016, the €6.0 million of dividend income from available-for-sale fi nancial assets mainly related to dividends received from Euroclear plc, LCH Group Ltd. and Sicovam Holding S.A. In the comparative period no dividends from LCH G roup Ltd. was received, explaining the variance to the lower amount of €4.6 million in 2015.
Euronext profi t before income tax for the year ended 31 December 2016 was €264.0 million, compared to €238.6 million for the year ended 31 December 2015, an increase of €+25.4 million or +11%.
Euronext's income tax expense for the year ended 31 December 2016 was €67.0 million, compared to €65.9 million for the year ended 31 December 2015, an increase of €+1.1 million or +2%. Euronext's effective tax rate was 25.4% for the year ended 31 December 2016 compared to 27.6% for the year ended 31 December 2015:
the decrease of the effective tax rate in 2016 is primarily attributable to the release of a €16.3 million tax provision recognised in 2013, as a result of the lapse of the statute of limitation. The eff ective tax rate in 2015 was impacted by the release of a €13.9 million tax provision recognised in 2012, as a result of the lapse of the statute of limitation.
Euronext reported profi t for the year ended 31 December 2016 was €197.0 million, compared to €172.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2015, an increase of €+24.3 million or +14%.
The table below summarises Euronext consolidated cash fl ow for the years ended 31 December 2017, 2016 and 2015:
| YEAR ENDED | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
31 DECEMBER 2015 |
| Net cash provided by operating activities | 213,108 | 181,127 | 139,972 |
| Net cash (used in) investing activities | (191,198) | (29,572) | (5,277) |
| Net cash (used in) fi nancing activities | (8,524) | (128,628) | (220,274) |
| Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 13,386 | 22,927 | (85,579) |
Net cash provided by operating activities was €213.1 million in the year ended 31 December 2017, compared to €181.1 million in the year ended 31 December 2016, an increase of €32.0 million or 17.7%. The main drivers of this increase were:
Net cash provided by operating activities was €181.1 million in the year ended 31 December 2016, compared to €140.0 million in the year ended 31 December 2015, an increase of €+41.1 million or +29.4%. The main drivers of this increase were:
operating profit before income tax, corrected for working capital changes, increased from €210.1 million in the year ended 31 December 2015 to €243.7 million in the year ended 31 December 2016. In addition the income tax paid decreased by €-11.8 million or -12.8%, from €92.2 million in 2015 to €80.4 million in 2016, mainly due to refunds made by the French tax authorities in 2016.
Net cash used in investing activities was €191.2 million in the year ended 31 December 2017, compared to net cash used in investing activities of €29.6 million in the year ended 31 December 2016. This increase of cash outfl ow of €161.6 million is mainly driven by the acquisitions of subsidiaries (net of cash acquired) in 2017 for €157.3 million, and increased capital expenditures, mainly related to the increased activity on the Optiq™ project.
Net cash used in investing activities was €29.6 million in the year ended 31 December 2016, compared to net cash used in investing activities of €5.3 million in the year ended 31 December 2015. This increase of cash outfl ow of €+24.3 million is driven by the investment in associates of €14.8 million in 2016, and the cash infl ow impact of the return of short-term investments of €15.0 million in 2015. The cash outfl ows for purchase of property, plant and equipment and purchase of intangible assets amounted to €14.8 million in 2016, a decrease of €-5.5 million in comparison to the capital expenditure of €20.3 million in 2015.
Net cash used in fi nancing activities was €8.5 million in the year ended 31 December 2017, compared to net cash used in fi nancing activities of €128.6 million in the year ended 31 December 2016, a decrease of €120.1 million. The main fi nancing activities that led to cash outfl ows in 2016 were a repayment of borrowings of €71.2 million and dividend payments to shareholders of €98.8 million. The main financing activity that led to cash inflow in 2017 was the proceed of the new Bank Loan facility agreement to fund the acquisitions of iBabs and FastMatch.
Net cash used in fi nancing activities was €128.6 million in the year ended 31 December 2016, compared to net cash used in fi nancing activities of €220.3 million in the year ended 31 December 2015, a decrease of €-91.7 million. The main financing activities that led to cash outflows in 2016 were a repayment of borrowings of €40.0 million and dividend payments to shareholders of €86.2 million.
On 6 May 2014, the Group entered into a syndicated bank loan facilities agreement ("the Facilities Agreement"), with BNP Paribas and ING Bank N.V. as Lead Arrangers, providing for (i) a €250 million term loan facility and (ii) a €250 million revolving loan facility, both maturing or expiring in three years. On 20 February 2015, Euronext N.V. entered into the amended and extended facility agreement. Based on this agreement, eff ective on 23 March 2015 (i) the undrawn revolving credit facility had been increased by €140 million to €390 million and (ii) €140 million had been repaid as an early redemption of the €250 million term loan facility. On 23 September 2016, Euronext repaid €40 million as an early redemption of the €110 million term loan facility, resulting in a net non-current borrowing of €69 million as of 31 December 2016. On 23 March 2017 Euronext made an early repayment of the outstanding balance resulting in the termination of the term loan facility.
On 12 April 2017, the Group entered into a new revolving loan facility agreement ("the Facility") with BNP Paribas and ABN AMRO BANK N.V. as Lead Arrangers. This new Facility has replaced the revolving credit facility of €390 million.
On 18 July 2017, the Group entered into a syndicated bank loan facility ("the Bank Loan") with BNP Paribas and ABN AMRO BANK N.V. as Lead Arrangers, providing for €175 million. The Bank Loan has been drawn in the amount of €165 million on 9 August 2017 in order to (i) fund the acquisition of 89.8% of the shares and voting rights in FastMatch Inc and (ii) refi nance the acquisition of 60% of the shares and voting rights in iBabs B.V. previously fi nanced through the Facility. The Bank Loan and Facility are together referred to as Instruments.
The Bank Loan and the Facility mature in three and five years, respectively. They include a two times one year extension possibility. At 31 December 2017 the Facility of €250 million was undrawn and the Bank Loan was drawn resulting in a net non-current borrowing of €164.7 million. Euronext will be able to voluntarily cancel both the Bank Loan and Facility in whole or part or prepay amounts it borrows under both the Bank Loan and Facility.
The Bank Loan Agreement includes a mandatory prepayment provision, which requires the net proceeds raised from any debt capital markets issuance (including convertible instruments) by the Company or any of its subsidiaries guaranteed by the Company be used to prepay and permanently reduce the Bank Loan. Any amount prepaid under the Bank Loan may not be redrawn.
The €250 million term loan facility bore an interest rate equal to EURIBOR plus a margin which was initially set at 0.80%. The €390 million revolving credit facility bore an interest rate of EURIBOR plus a margin initially set at 0.50%. As the Company leverage ratio decreased, both margins were lowered to 0.70% and 0.40%, respectively. EURIBOR is fl oored at 0%.
The new €175 million Bank Loan has borne an interest rate equal to EURIBOR plus a margin initially set at 0.45%. The Facility has borne an interest rate of EURIBOR plus a margin initially set at 0.25%. It should be noted that as at 31 December 2017, there was no outstanding advance drawn under the Facility. EURIBOR is fl oored at 0%.
For the Bank Loan, Euronext may request that the maturity date be extended to the fourth or the fi fth anniversary date of the facility agreement. For the revolving credit facility, Euronext may request that the maturity date be extended to the sixth or to the seventh anniversary date of the Facility.
An extension fee of (i) 0.05% of the full amount of the relevant Instrument is payable if Euronext requests that the initial maturity date be extended to the fi rst relevant anniversary date or, (ii) 0.10% of the full amount of the relevant Instrument is payable if Euronext requests that the initial maturity date be extended to the second relevant anniversary date.
For the Facility, a utilisation fee accrues on a daily basis at the following applicable rate per annum to be applied on the amount drawn:
Euronext must also pay customary commitment fees at a rate per annum equal to 35% of the then applicable margin for the relevant Instrument on each lender's available commitment under the relevant Instrument during its availability period.
The Bank Loan contains a number of additional undertakings and covenants that, among other things, restrict, subject to certain exceptions, Euronext ability to:
enter into any amalgamation, demerger, merger or corporate reconstruction, unless the Company remains the surviving entity;
make any substantial change to the general nature of Euronext business;
Euronext is permitted, among other things, to dispose of assets in the ordinary course of trading on arm's length terms for full market value without restriction, and otherwise where the aggregate fair value of the assets disposed of does not exceed 5% of Euronext consolidated total assets in any fi nancial year.
In case of a downgrading event of Euronext, below BBB+ or equivalent by rating agencies, Euronext shall ensure that the leverage ratio as defi ned in the Bank Loan Agreement would not be greater than 3.5x.
The Bank Loan contains customary events of default, in each case with customary and appropriate grace periods and thresholds, including, but not limited to:
The fair value of the Bank Loan approximates its carrying value.
The table below summarises Euronext debt, future minimum payment lease obligations under non-cancellable operating leases and capital expenditure commitments as at 31 December 2017:
| PAYMENTS DUE BY YEAR | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | TOTAL | 2018 | 2019-2022 | THEREAFTER | NOTES |
| Debt (principal and accrued interest obligations) | 164,885 | 203 | 164,682 | - | Note 32.1, "Liquidity risk" |
| Debt (future interest obligations) | 2,215 | 975 | 1,240 | - | |
| Operating leases – minimum payments | 61,362 | 17,078 | 34,171 | 10,113 | Note 34.2, "Non-cancellable operating leases" |
| Capital expenditure commitments | 1,162 | 662 | 500 | - | Note 34.1, "Capital Commitments" |
| TOTAL | 229,624 | 18,918 | 200,593 | 10,113 |
Euronext's capital expenditures were €23.9 million and €14.8 million for the years ended 31 December 2017 and 2016, respectively. Capital expenditures increased in 2017 when compared to 2016, which is primarily driven by investments in Euronext's new trading platform (Optiq®) and "Agility for Growth" initiatives. Euronext's capital expenditure requirements depend on many factors, including the rate of its trading volume growth, strategic plans and acquisitions, required technology initiatives, regulatory requirements, the timing and introduction of new products and enhancements to existing products, the geographic mix of Euronext's business, and the continuing market acceptance of its electronic platform.
For the year ending 31 December 2017, Euronext has made operational capital expenditures as well as incurred capitalised software development costs. These expenditures were aimed at enhancing Euronext technology and supporting the continued expansion of Euronext's businesses. In 2017, Euronext spent approximately €6.1 million on hardware and investments in properties and €17.8 million on development eff orts and acquisition of third party licenses.
Euronext is not a party to any off -balance sheet arrangements that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future material effect on Euronext's financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditure or capital resources, other than the €250 million revolving credit facility under the Facilities Agreement and the commitments described in Note 34 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
As a result of its operating and fi nancing activities, the Group is exposed to market risks such as interest rate risk, currency risk and credit risk. The Group has implemented policies and procedures designed to measure, manage, monitor and report risk exposures, which are regularly reviewed by the appropriate management and supervisory bodies. The Group's central treasury team is charged
5
with identifying risk exposures and monitoring and managing such risks on a daily basis. To the extent necessary and permitted by local regulation, the Group's subsidiaries centralise their cash investments, report their risks and hedge their exposures in coordination with the Group's central treasury team. The Group performs sensitivity analyses to determine the eff ects that may result from market risk exposures. The Group uses derivative instruments solely to hedge fi nancial risks related to its fi nancial position or risks that are otherwise incurred in the normal course of its commercial activities. The Group does not use derivative instruments for speculative purposes.
Substantially all signifi cant interest-bearing fi nancial assets and liabilities of the Group are either based on fl oating rates or based on fi xed rates with an interest term of less than one year. As a result, the Group is not exposed to fair value risk aff ecting fi xed-rate fi nancial assets and liabilities.
The Group is exposed to cash-fl ow risk arising from net fl oatingrate positions. The Group was a net lender in euros at 31 December, 2017 and 2016. The sensitivity of net interest income to a parallel shift in the interest curves is that a 0.5% increase/decrease of the rate would have resulted in an increase/decrease of the net interest income of €0.1 million based on the positions at 31 December 2017 (2016: €0.3 million). The Group was a net lender in pound sterling at 31 December, 2017 and 2016. The sensitivity of net interest income to a parallel shift in the interest curves is that a 0.5% increase/
decrease of the rate would have resulted in an increase/decrease of the net interest income of €0.06 million based on the positions at 31 December 2017 (2016: €0.2 million). The Group was a net lender in US dollars at 31 December, 2017. The sensitivity of net interest income to a parallel shift in the interest curves is that a 0.5% increase/decrease of the rate would have resulted in an increase/ decrease of the net interest income of €0.06 million based on the positions at 31 December 2017.
The Group would be exposed to a liquidity risk in the case where its short-term liabilities become, at any date, higher than its cash, cash equivalents, short-term fi nancial investments and available bank facilities and in the case where the Group is not able to refi nance this liquidity defi cit, for example, through new banking lines.
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term fi nancial investments are managed as a global treasury portfolio invested in non-speculative fi nancial instruments, readily convertible to cash, such as bank balances, money market funds, overnight deposits, term deposits and other money market instruments, thus ensuring a very high liquidity of the fi nancial assets. The Group's policy is to ensure that cash, cash equivalents and available bank facilities allow the Group to repay its fi nancial liabilities at all maturities, even disregarding incoming cash fl ows generated by operational activities, excluding the related party loans granted by the Group's subsidiaries to its Parent.
The net position of current fi nancial assets, fi nancial liabilities and available credit facilities, excluding working capital items, as of 31 December, 2017 and 2016 is described in the table below:
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, cash equivalents and short term fi nancial investments | 187,785 | 174,501 |
| Available credit facilities | 250,000 | 390,000 |
| Financial debt | (164,885) | (69,101) |
| NET POSITION | 272,900 | 495,400 |
On 12 April 2017, the Group entered into a syndicated new revolving loan facility agreement, replacing the €390 million revolving credit facility entered into on 6 May 2014. Reference is made to Note 5.1.10 for more details on the "Facilities Agreement".
| MATURITY BETWEEN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | MATURITY < 1 YEAR | 1 AND 5 YEARS | MATURITY > 5 YEARS | TOTAL |
| 2017 | ||||
| Trade and other payables | 99,161 | - | - | 99,161 |
| Other short-term fi nancial liabilities | 6,654 | - | - | 6,654 |
| Borrowings | 753 | 166,165 | - | 166,918 |
| Other long-term fi nancial liabilities | - | 10,000 | - | 10,000 |
| 2016 | ||||
| Trade and other payables | 90,607 | - | - | 90,607 |
| Borrowings | 497 | 70,112 | - | 70,609 |
Overview
The Group's net assets are exposed to the foreign currency risk arising from the translation of assets and liabilities of subsidiaries with functional currencies other than the Euro. The following table summarises the assets and liabilities recorded in GBP functional currency and the related impact of a 10% in/decrease in the currency exchange rate on balance sheet:
| In thousands | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | £17,975 | £52,191 |
| Liabilities | £(3,310) | £(6,007) |
| Net currency position | £14,665 | £46,184 |
| Absolute impact on equity of 10% in /decrease in the currency exchange rate | €1,650 | €5,405 |
The following table summarises the assets and liabilities recorded in US\$ functional currency and the related impact of a 10% in/decrease in the currency exchange rate on balance sheet:
| In thousands | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | \$182,147 | \$- |
| Liabilities | \$(20,207) | \$- |
| Net currency position | \$161,940 | \$- |
| Absolute impact on equity of 10% in /decrease in the currency exchange rate | €13,47 0 | €- |
Most operating revenue and expenses in the various subsidiaries of the Group are denominated in the functional currency of each relevant subsidiary. The Group's consolidated income statement is exposed to foreign currency risk arising from receivables and payables denominated in currencies diff erent from the functional currency of the related entity.
The Group is exposed to credit risk in the event of a counterparty's default. The Group's exposure to credit risk primarily arises from the investment of cash equivalents and short term fi nancial investments. The Group limits its exposure to credit risk by rigorously selecting the counterparties with which it executes agreements. Credit risk is monitored by using exposure limits depending on ratings assigned by rating agencies as well as the nature and maturity of transactions. Investments of cash and cash equivalents in bank current accounts and money market instruments, such as short term fixed and floating rate interest deposits, are strictly restricted by rules aimed at reducing credit risk: maturity of deposits is lower than six months, counterparties' credit ratings are permanently monitored and individual counterparty limits are reviewed on a regular basis. In addition to the intrinsic creditworthiness of counterparties, the Group's policies also prescribe the diversifi cation of counterparties (banks, fi nancial institutions, funds) so as to avoid a concentration of risk. Derivatives are negotiated with leading high-grade banks.
The Group granted two loans in the total amount of €6.0 million, recorded as non-current other receivable. The loans have a maturity of fi ve years and bear interest rate of EURIBOR six months plus an average margin of 4.5%. The credit risk is closely monitored by analysing fi nancial information.
In addition, the Group is exposed to credit risk with its customers on trade receivables. Most customers of the Group are leading fi nancial institutions that are highly rated.
Euronext Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Registration Document have been prepared and presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and adopted by the European Union. See also Note 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements, on 'Significant accounting policies and judgements'.
In the application of the Group's accounting policies, management is required to make judgments, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. All assumptions, expectations and forecasts used as a basis for certain estimates within Euronext Financial Statements represent good faith assessments of its future performance for which Euronext management believes there is a reasonable basis. These estimates and assumptions represent Euronext's view at the times they are made, and only then. They involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause Euronext actual future results, performance and achievements to diff er materially from those estimated or forecasted. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision aff ects only that period or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision aff ects both current and future periods. The estimates and assumptions that may have a risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next fi nancial year are described below. Euronext has discussed the development and selection of these critical accounting policies and estimates with its independent auditors.
Signifi cant judgments made in the preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements include the following:
Goodwill represents the excess of the consideration paid in a business combination over the Group's share in the fair value of the net identifi able assets and liabilities of the acquired business at the date of acquisition. Goodwill is not amortised but is tested at least annually for impairment, or whenever an event or change in circumstances indicate a potential impairment.
For the purpose of impairment testing, goodwill arising in a business combination is allocated to the cash-generating units ("CGUs") or groups of CGUs that are expected to benefi t from the synergies of the combination. Each CGU or CGU group to which goodwill is allocated represents the lowest level within the group at which the goodwill is monitored for internal management purposes. Goodwill is monitored and tested at the Group level, which represents a single operating segment.
The carrying value of a CGU group is compared to its recoverable amount, which is derived from the discounted future free cash fl ows of the CGU group. Cash fl ow projections are based on budget and business plan approved by management and covering a fi ve year period. Cash fl ows beyond the business plan period are extrapolated using a perpetual growth rate.
The key assumptions used and the related sensitivity analysis are described in Note 17 of the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Registration Document.
Due to the inherent complexities arising from the nature of the Group's business, from conducting business and being taxed in a substantial number of jurisdictions, signifi cant judgments and estimates are required to be made for income taxes. The Group computes income tax expense for each of the jurisdictions in which it operates. However, actual amounts of income tax due only become fi nal upon fi ling and acceptance of the tax return by relevant authorities, which may not occur for several years subsequent to issuance of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
The estimation of income taxes also includes evaluating the recoverability of deferred income tax assets based on an assessment of the ability to use the underlying future tax deductions against future taxable income before they expire. This assessment is based upon existing tax laws and estimates of future taxable income. To the extent estimates diff er from the fi nal tax return, earnings may be aff ected in a subsequent period.
The Group operates in various countries with local tax regulations. New tax legislation being issued in certain territories as well as transactions that the Group enters into regularly result in potential tax exposures. The calculation of Euronext's tax liabilities involves uncertainties in the application of complex tax laws. Euronext's estimate for the potential outcome of any uncertain tax position is highly judgmental. However, Euronext believes that it has adequately provided for uncertain tax positions. Settlement of these uncertainties in a manner inconsistent with Euronext's expectations could have a material impact on its results of operations, fi nancial condition and cash fl ows. The Group recognises a liability for uncertain tax positions when it's probable that an outfl ow of economic recourses will occur. Measurement of the liability for uncertain tax positions is based on management's best estimate of the amount of tax benefi t/ cost that will be realised upon settlement.
The Group holds investments in unlisted equity securities, which are carried at fair value on the balance sheet. In 2017, the Group changed its valuation technique applied to value the Group's investments in unlisted equity securities, which are further described in Notes 19 and 30 of the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Registration Document.
The Group classifi es the interest in LCH S.A. as an investment in associate suggesting signifi cant infl uence even though it owns less than 20% of the voting rights (see Note 7). The Group concludes it has signifi cant infl uence over this investment, which is derived from the governance structure that was put in place and the Group's position as the largest customer and sole minority shareholder of LCH S.A.
The Group may structure its business combinations in a way that leads to recognition of contingent consideration to selling shareholders and/or buy options for equity held by non-controlling interests (see Note 5). Contingent consideration and buy options are recognized at fair value on acquisition date. When the contingent consideration or buy option meets the defi nition of a fi nancial liability or fi nancial instrument, it is subsequently re-measured to fair value at each reporting date. The determination of fair value is based on the expected level of EBITDA over the last 12 months that precede the contractual date (in case of contingent consideration) or exercise date of the underlying call- and put options (in case of buy option). The Group monitors the expected EBITDA based on updated forecast information from the acquired companies involved.
The cost of other intangible assets that are acquired in the course of business combinations, corresponds to their acquisition date fair values. Assets with a fi nite useful life are amortized using the straight-line method over their expected useful life. Assets with an indefi nite useful life are tested for impairment at least once a year.
5
On 14 October 2013, the Group entered into a clearing agreement with LCH SA in respect of the clearing of trades on our continental Europe derivatives markets (the "Derivatives Clearing Agreement"). Under the terms of this Derivatives Clearing Agreement Euronext agreed with LCH SA to share revenues and receives clearing fee revenues based on the number of trades on these markets cleared through LCH SA. In exchange for that we have agreed to pay LCH SA a fi xed fee plus a variable fee based on revenues.
The defi nition of the accounting treatment of this agreement requires signifi cant management judgment for the valuation and weighting of the indicators leading the principal versus agent accounting analysis. Based on all facts and circumstances around this arrangement, management has concluded that Euronext is 'principal' in providing Derivatives clearing services to its trading members. Therefore Euronext recognizes (i) the clearing fees received are classifi ed as post trade revenues, and (ii) the fi xed and variable fees paid to LCH SA as other operational expenses.
Reference is also made to 'Changes in accounting policies and disclosures', with regards to the implication of new IFRS 15 'Revenue from contracts with customers' under 'Principle versus agent considerations.
Material Contracts and Related Party Transactions
The major contracts for Euronext, entered into the ordinary course of business, but essential for its activity as a regulated markets operator, are the clearing agreements signed with LCH S.A., and the licence signed with ICE regarding the use of the UTP electronic platform.
The Clearing Agreements are referred to in section 1.3.6 "Description of the Business / Post Trade / LCH S.A." and 5.1.5 "Key Factors Aff ecting Businesses and Results of Operation / Derivatives Clearing Agreement".
The licence signed with ICE is referred to in section 5.2.2 "Related Party Transactions / UTP and Trading Technology Licence Deed" below.
Euronext has related party relationships with its associates and joint ventures, as disclosed in Note 31 of the Consolidated Financial Statements. The other related parties disclosure relates entirely to the key management of Euronext. For the transactions with its key management personnel, see section 2.4 Remuneration report.
From the IPO on 20 June 2014, the transactions with ICE do not qualify as "related party transactions" under IAS 24. Nevertheless the agreements between Euronext and ICE were in force after the IPO. Some of them are long term agreements. Some of these services have been progressively terminated and replaced over the period 2014-2016.
Over the year 2017, services received from or rendered to ICE include the use of Data centre service, Colocation, Connectivity, UTP and other intellectual property rights as well as ancillary services. As at 31 December 2017, the following agreements remain active:
ICE provides data centre services to Euronext from the Basildon site. Specifi cally, ICE houses the data centre equipment in the Data Centre and provides sub-services, such as power, access, physical security, environment, fire protection, connectivity, monitoring, support, remote hands, installation, receiving and warehouse space.
The agreement will subsist for an initial term of fi ve years, starting 1 April 2014, with automatic renewal for a further fi ve-year period, unless notice of termination is provided by either party at least twelve months before expiry of the initial term but no earlier than 24 months before the end of the initial term. ICE will guarantee to continue providing the services for a further two-year period from the date on which notice of non-renewal is received. Accordingly, the minimum period for this service is fi ve years. In the course of 2015, the agreement has been renegotiated, leading to, under certain conditions, a lower price structure, to come into eff ect on 1 January 2016.
ICE provides co-location services directly to Euronext members on terms that are no worse than the terms on which ICE currently provides equivalent co-location services to its members. As the service is provided to members, there is no services agreement between ICE and Euronext but rather a commitment and payment of commission to Euronext by ICE for the right to provide the services.
This agreement will remain in force for a period of fi ve years, starting 1 April 2014, unless terminated earlier with mutual agreement. ICE will commit not to increase the pricing, nor reduce the service or performance levels of colocation for the initial two-year period to ensure that Euronext customers receive colocation services at an equal (or better) standard to that currently provided by Euronext without any adverse price impact. Euronext is free to build its own colocation facility after the end of this two-year period if it wishes to do so, and in that case ICE will have the right to terminate the agreement on six months' notice.
ICE pays to Euronext commission in respect of the fees received under the colocation contracts as follows: 35% of the colocation hosting fee; 35% of any Liquidity Centre Network ("LCN") fees; and 100% of any subscription fees (for specifi c Euronext exchanges).
Euronext's customers are connected to the SFTI® network either via an SFTI® managed connection, a direct connection, or a thirdparty connection. ICE provides application services, including logical connections to the relevant Euronext products between the subscriber and host infrastructure. ICE agrees to provide the SFTI® services to Euronext customers on terms (including pricing, service, and performance) that, in the aggregate, are no worse than the standard terms on which ICE provides equivalent connectivity services to its customers.
This agreement will remain in force for five years, starting on 1 April 2014, unless terminated earlier with mutual agreement. This agreement contains substantially the same terms as the colocation agreement, including a general commitment not to raise fees or reduce services for two years. Euronext receives a commission based on 50% of the revenue earned from the access/subscription fees to Euronext markets via SFTI® .
Material Contracts and Related Party Transactions
The intellectual property in the UTP and other trading technology, including core software and technology ("Core Items") and related support items ("Support Items") that are currently being used for the continental Euronext market is licensed by ICE (through NYSE Arca, LLC) to Euronext (through one of its subsidiaries) for the operation of the Euronext trading platforms.
Under the licence agreement, Euronext has been granted a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free and fully paid-up licence in respect of the use, modifi cation and maintenance of the Core Items for any purpose and in respect of the use, modifi cation and maintenance of the Support Items for the sole purpose of enabling the use of the Core Items. The licence includes any improvements or enhancements to the Core Items and the Support Items that are made before the IPO on 20 June 2014. Euronext owns improvements or enhancements that it makes or have made to the Core Items and the Support Items after the IPO, and Euronext and ICE are not obliged to share their respective improvements or enhancements after the IPO.
Euronext may sub-licence its rights, including through multiple tiers of sub-licences. However, for a period of two years from the IPO, neither Euronext nor ICE is entitled to permit a defi ned list of exchange operators or owners of registered swap execution facilities or their affi liates to use UTP (though this will not aff ect any licences that were already in place as at 13 November 2013). The restricted list includes any of Nasdaq OMX, CME group, Inc., BM&F Bovespa, London Stock Exchange group Plc, Singapore Exchange Limited, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse group, BATS Global Markets, Inc., Direct Edge, or Chi-X Global Holdings LLC; any person that acquires all or substantially all of the business of any of these entities; any person that at the time of the assignment or licence operates a registered swap execution facility; and any affi liate of any such persons. This restriction terminated in June 2016.
There are no circumstances in which the licence may be terminated by ICE.
Except where there is a breach of warranty by the indemnified parties, Euronext will indemnify NYSE Arca and its affi liates within ICE for all liability incurred under a third-party claim in connection with use of the UTP by Euronext or any of its sub-licensees after the IPO.
In the event of any infringement of the licensed rights, ICE will have the right to determine what enforcement action to take. ICE will off er Euronext the right to participate in any action it takes. If ICE does not take any enforcement action, Euronext will have the sole right to determine what enforcement action to take. If Euronext or any sub-licensee of Euronext is sued for infringement, ICE will provide all such information and assistance as Euronext may reasonably require.
Under this agreement, Euronext is granted a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free and fully paid-up licence to use and sub-license the name "Euronext UTP" in connection with its use of the UTP technology. The licence is not supported by any warranties from ICE. There are no circumstances in which the licence may be terminated by ICE.
To the extent that ICE wishes to use the name "UTP" in connection with its version of the UTP technology, ICE has agreed that it will use the name "NYSE UTP".
Also under this agreement, Euronext and ICE have permitted each other's groups to have until 1 June 2015 to cease current uses of each other's trademarks. From that date onwards, Euronext and ICE have ceased using each other's trademarks.
Under the licence agreement, LIFFE is granted a worldwide and non-exclusive licence in relation to the trademarks and associated logos for the indices generated by the Euronext Regulated Markets. The licence permits the use of these trademarks and associated logos in connection with the marketing, listing and trading of any tradable contract. However, until 1 January 2016, the licensed use is limited to LIFFE's current tradable contracts for listings on Bclear and only in respect of equity indices for AEX®, BEL 20®, CAC 40®, and PSI 20®. This limitation will terminate early in case a thirdparty infrastructure provider acquires control of any Euronext company, or is granted a licence by Euronext company to use any of the trademarks for any of the indices generated by the Euronext Regulated Markets. Subject to appropriate limitations, LIFFE may sub-license the rights to ICE.
For its use of the licensed trademarks and associated logos, LIFFE pays the greater of (i) €0.05 per traded contract and (ii) 15% of the exchange and clearing fees on the traded contracts.
LIFFE will indemnify Euronext and its affiliates for all liability incurred under a third-party claim in connection with ICE's use of the licensed trademarks, other than where the third-party claim is for trademark infringement.
The licence agreement recognises that the parties may need to renegotiate the terms where Euronext is required, by a change in the law, to grant licences at market rates and on a non-discriminatory basis albeit such renegotiation shall take due account for the fact that ICE has already provided value for the use of the equity indices as part of the acquisition of NYSE Euronext by ICE.
Euronext and ICE entered into a deed of separation dealing with the conduct of various matters between the parties following the IPO. The principal terms of the deed of separation are as follows:
Legal Proceedings
Also, in connection with the separation of Euronext from ICE, Euronext and ICE entered into a series of transitional services agreements ("SLAs"). There were some ancillary services provided by ICE to Euronext ("ICE Ancillary Services") and ancillary services provided by Euronext to ICE ("Euronext Ancillary").
The following SLAs were in place up to the end of 2014 and covered the following services:
fi nance: primarily relating to the use of the existing European Shared Service Centre hosted by Euronext Amsterdam;
market operations: (i) the management of UK Derivative Corporate Actions in partnership with the LIFFE Database System team at ICE; (ii) the market maker monitoring support for those market maker schemes that are in place for LIFFE; and (iii) the general business and Management Information reporting services in relation to LIFFE. This includes regular activity reports, performance reports and Liquidity Provider monitoring, inter alia regular (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual) and ad hoc reporting provided internally as well as for external distribution to the website, various regulators and other external parties at the request of LIFFE;
Euronext provides data centre hosting and housing of equipment to ICE for its SFTI access centre requirements in Amsterdam. This SFTI hosting agreement for Amsterdam access centre is a long-term arrangement (i.e. not an SLA) with a rolling two-year term.
FastMatch's operating system for its matching engine is based on the Crossfi nder(R) software licensed by FastMatch from Credit Suisse pursuant to a perpetual license. The license granted by Credit Suisse is limited in scope to use by FastMatch in its operations as an electronic exchange for the trading of foreign exchange. Pursuant to that license, FastMatch has exclusive and unrestricted ownership of all modifi cations made to the Crossfi nder Code by FastMatch, as well as to any software developed by FastMatch independently.
The Group is involved in a number of legal proceedings that have arisen in the ordinary course of its business. Other than as discussed below, management does not expect these pending or threatening legal proceedings to have a signifi cant eff ect on the Group's fi nancial position or profi tability. The outcome of legal proceedings, however, can be extremely diffi cult to predict and the fi nal outcome may be materially diff erent from management's expectations.
Approximately 120 retired and/or former Euronext Amsterdam employees, united in an association, served summons on Euronext Amsterdam on 3 April 2014. The claim is based on the fact that Euronext Amsterdam terminated its pension agreement with the pension fund Mercurius ("PMA") and transferred the pension of the current employees of Euronext to Delta Lloyd Asset Management ("Delta Lloyd"). The pension entitlements of the retired and/or former employees of Euronext Amsterdam have also been transferred by PMA to Delta Lloyd. The retired and/or former employees have been informed by PMA that the transfer of their entitlements to Delta Lloyd will result in a nominal pension entitlement without indexation in the future. The association claims that Euronext Amsterdam should guarantee the same pension entitlements of the retired Euronext Amsterdam employees under the same or similar conditions as those in the agreement between Euronext Amsterdam and PMA with the considerations that (i) the administration fee will be covered, (ii) the liability ratio will be covered and (iii) the loyalty and solidarity between retired and current employees is provided for. The amount will need to be calculated by an actuary.
After Euronext Amsterdam fi led a statement of defence on 27 June 2014, the Subdistrict (Kanton) Division of the Court of Amsterdam on 11 July 2014 granted the retired and/or former employees Euronext Amsterdam a term until 8 August 2014 in order to fi le a rejoinder. 5
On that date the counterparty was granted a postponement until 5 September 2014 for its statement of reply.
Both parties have fi led all documents and statements and an oral hearing took place on 11 June 2015. The judge asked both parties to explore a settlement and Euronext currently assesses the costs of potential out of court solutions. The Court has been informed that no agreement on such a settlement could be reached.
On 24 June 2016 the judge delivered a decision. The claim is rejected that Euronext Amsterdam should guarantee the same pension entitlements of the retired Euronext Amsterdam employees under the same or similar conditions as those in the agreement between Euronext Amsterdam and PMA. However, the judge did hold that there has been an attributable breach by Euronext Amsterdam in the performance of the pension agreements with the members of the association. Euronext Amsterdam is ordered to pay for damages resulting from the loss of indexation perspective incurred by the claimants other than the association. The association is not eligible to claim damages. The amount of the damages needs to be determined in a separate procedure (a "schadestaatprocedure"). Management believes that the decision is insuffi ciently motivated. On 21 September 2016 Euronext Amsterdam has fi led for appeal against the decision. The grounds for appeal were filed on 6 December 2016. On 14 February 2017 the claimants fi led their responses and also fi led for appeal against certain parts of the decision of 24 June 2016. Euronext has responded to the grounds for appeal raised by claimants on 25 April 2017. An oral hearing took place on 24 November 2017. A decision is expected on 1 May 2018. No provision has been booked in connection with this case.
Euronext maintains a comprehensive insurance program with the assistance of an insurance broker allowing Euronext to make an assessment of its risks, take out the proper insurance policies and deal with insurance management as smoothly as possible.
The main characteristics of the insurance program are the following:
The main risks covered by Euronext's insurance program are the following:
professional indemnity & crime: this policy provides fi rst party coverage and indemnifi cation against third-party claims arising out of negligence, errors or omissions in connection with professional services or failure to meet contractual obligations in the conduct of exchange activities and exchange related activities. This policy also covers fi rst party losses resulting directly from dishonest or fraudulent acts committed by Euronext employees or third parties working with Euronext employees;
cyber: this policy provides coverage for an Euronext's business interruption following malicious action on an IT system. Coverage is provided for claims arising from the interruption of systems or other failures of IT Security caused by damage to computer programs or data that results from a computer attack or unauthorised access or use of system. This policy also covers claims for the failure to protect personality identifi able information or unauthorised disclosure of confi dential corporate information in any form;
property damage & business interruption: this policy provides fi rst party coverage for losses to Euronext's property or business interruption. The coverage includes tenant's liability and liability to third parties;
terrorism; and
In addition to the insurance program, risk management and business continuity plan policy and procedures are implemented in a complementary manner. Euronext believes that its existing insurance coverage, including the amounts of coverage and the conditions, provides reasonable protection, taking into account the costs for the insurance coverage and the potential risks to business operations.
Euronext's financial policy seeks to finance the growth of the business, remunerate shareholders and ensure fi nancial fl exibility, while maintaining strong creditworthiness and liquidity.
Euronext primary sources of liquidity are cash fl ows from operating activities, current assets and existing bank facilities. Euronext's principal liquidity requirements are for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate use.
Euronext business is highly dependent upon the levels of activity in its exchanges, and in particular upon the volume of fi nancial instruments traded, the number of shares outstanding of listed issuers, the number of new listings, the number of traders in the market and similar factors. Euronext has no direct control over these activities, which have historically resulted in volatility. While Euronext activities are not subject to signifi cant seasonal trends, cash flows vary from month to month due to Euronext billing
The fi nancial resources ultimo 2017 can be summarised as follows:
and collection eff orts (most notably the annual billings for listed companies during the fi rst quarter).
Euronext business has historically generated signifi cant cash fl ow from operating activities to meet its cash requirements as well as to distribute dividends and make share premium repayments. Euronext expects future cash fl ow from operating activities to be suffi cient to fund its capital expenditures, distribute dividends as well as pay its debts as they become due. In addition, Euronext has access to a €250 million revolving credit facility (see section 5.1.10 "Facilities Agreement"). More information on Euronext's cash fl ows is provided in section 5.1.9 "Cash Flow"
Because of its strict financial policy of maintaining strong creditworthiness and liquidity, and its signifi cant operating cash fl ow generation capacities, Euronext N.V. considers its fi nancial position as at 31 December 2017 as solid, both from a solvency and a liquidity perspective.
| In thousands of euros | FINANCIAL RESOURCES |
|---|---|
| Cash & cash equivalent | 187,785 |
| Revolving credit facility | 250,000 |
| TOTAL FINANCIAL RESOURCES | 437,785 |
Euronext N.V. is subject to regulatory capital requirements. These requirements were fi rst set out in the Exchange License that was issued by the Dutch Minister of Finance in June 2014. Following discussion with the Dutch Minister of Finance in 2015 and 2016 a new exchange license was granted on 23rd of May 2016, including new capital requirements for both Euronext consolidated and Euronext Amsterdam N.V.
As from 23 May 2016 the following capital requirements apply to Euronext.
Euronext N.V. is subject to minimum regulatory capital requirements defined by the Minister of Finance and the AFM, under which Euronext is required:
to ensure that its shareholders equity, liquidity and solvency satisfy what is required with a view to the interests which the Dutch Act on Financial Supervision (Wet op het fi nancieel toezicht –Wft) aims to protect;
determined on beforehand, Euronext will provide the AFM with a prognosis of how it expects to again comply with the prescribed prudential requirements. Dividend distributions will be possible in such a situation, unless the AFM is of the opinion that the future development of the shareholders equity or the regulatory capital of Euronext do not allow for this. If necessary, the AFM can prescribe within which term and in which manner Euronext will need to comply with the prudential requirements.
In addition, Euronext is required to obtain the prior approval of the AFM in the following circumstances:
Euronext is also required to ensure that, in the event of a possible insolvency of Euronext N.V., the local exchanges can continue to function operationally.
The AFM may impose further requirements with respect to the shareholders equity position, liquidity and solvency of Euronext, to the extent necessary for the compliance with the requirements of the regulated markets.
In addition, each of the Group's subsidiaries that is an operator of a regulated market and subsidiaries that are investment fi rms are subject to regulatory capital requirements relating to their general financial soundness, which include certain minimum capital requirements.
The main tangible fi xed assets of the Group consist of the following categories:
Euronext's headquarters are located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands at Beursplein 5, and in Paris, France, at La Défense (92054), 14 Place des Refl ets. Euronext's registered offi ce is located at Beursplein 5, 1012 JW Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| REAL ESTATE EURONEXT – PER 31 DECEMBER 2017 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOCATION / BUILDING |
ADDRESS | ZIP | CITY | COUNTRY | LEASE COMMENCE |
LEASE EXPIRY |
SURFACES (SQM) |
OWNED / LEASED |
|
| Amsterdam, BEURSPLEIN 5 |
5 BEURSPLEIN | 1012 JW | Amsterdam | Netherlands | N/A | N/A | 14,450 | Owned | |
| London | 110 Cannon Street | EC4N6EU | London | UK | 2017 | 2022 | 540 | Leased | |
| Brussels/LE MARQUIS |
1 RUE DE MARQUIS | 1000 | Brussels | Belgium | 2014 | 2030 | 860 | Leased | |
| Lisbon/VICTORIA Seuros vida |
196-7 AVENIDA DA LIBERDADE |
1250-147 | Lisbon | Portugal | 2016 | 2018 | 949 | Leased | |
| Porto/ INTERBOLSA | 3433 AVENIDA DA BOAVISTA |
410-138 | Porto | Portugal | 2016 | 2021 | 1,089 | Leased | |
| Porto/ENX Technologies |
3433 AVENIDA DA BOAVISTA |
410-138 | Porto | Portugal | 2016 | 2021 | 2,265 | Leased | |
| Paris/ PRAETORIUM | 14 PLACE DES REFLETS | 92054 | Paris Cedex | France | 2015 | 2024 | 10,217 | Leased | |
| ZI Rosny sous Bois | 17 RUE MONTGOLFIER | 93110 | Rosny sous Bois |
France | 2012 | 2021 | 328 | Leased | |
| Enternext Nantes | 6 RUE BISSON | 44000 | Nantes | France | 2017 | 2018 | 15 | Leased | |
| Enternext Lyon | 3 PLACE DE LA BOURSE | 69002 | Lyon | France | 2017 | 2018 | 15 | Leased | |
| Enternext Bordeaux | 17 PLACE DE LA BOURSE | 33076 | Bordeaux Cedex |
France | 2017 | 2018 | 15 | Leased | |
| Enternext Marseille | 10 PLACE DE LA JOLLETTE |
13567 | Marseille Cedex |
France | 2017 | 2018 | 15 | Leased | |
| Suisse/ TECHNOPARK |
1 Technoparkstrasse | CH-8005 | Zurich | Switzerland | 2017 | 2018 | 24 | Leased | |
| Espagne/ REGUS / Cuzco IV |
141 Paseo de Castellana – 5 fl oor |
28046 | Madrid | Spain | 2017 | 2018 | 12 | Leased | |
| Italie/ Thurma Business Center |
1 Corso Italia | 20122 | Milan | Italy | 2017 | 2018 | 16 | Leased | |
| Francfort/ Contora | 1 TaunusTor | 60310 | Frankfurt | Germany | 2017 | 2018 | 16 | Leased | |
| Munich/Design Offi ces |
4 Mies-van-der-Rohe-Str. | 80807 | Munich | Germany | 2017 | 2018 | 14.45 | Leased | |
| Hong Kong | 18 Westlands Road, level 60 One Island |
Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 2017 | 2018 | 44 | Leased |
| 6.1 | Consolidated Income Statement | 136 |
|---|---|---|
| 6.2 | Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income |
137 |
| 6.3 | Consolidated Balance Sheet | 138 |
| 6.4 | Consolidated Statement of cash fl ows |
139 |
| 6.5 | Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity |
140 |
| 6.6 | Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements |
141 |
| 6.7 Company Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2017 |
191 |
|---|---|
| Company Income Statement | 191 |
| Company Balance Sheet | 192 |
| 6.8 Notes to the Company Financial Statements |
193 |
| 7.1 Profi t Appropriation Section |
206 |
| Provisions in the Articles of Association Relating to | |
| Profi t Appropriation | 206 |
| Auditor Information | 206 |
| 7.2 Independent Auditors Report |
206 |
| Report on the audit of the fi nancial statements 2017 | |
| included in the registration document | 206 |
| Report on other information included | |
| in the registration document | 209 |
| Report on other legal and regulatory requirements | 209 |
| Description of responsibilities for the fi nancial statements 209 |
| YEAR ENDED | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros (except per share data) | NOTE | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
| Revenue | 8 | 532,294 | 496,436 |
| TOTAL REVENUE | 532,294 | 496,436 | |
| Salaries and employee benefi ts | 9 | (104,363) | (99,776) |
| Depreciation and amortisation | 10 | (16,932) | (15,088) |
| Other operational expenses | 11 | (130,149) | (112,766) |
| Operating profi t before exceptional items | 280,850 | 268,806 | |
| Exceptional items | 12 | (14,787) | (10,038) |
| Operating profi t | 266,063 | 258,768 | |
| Finance costs | 13 | (3,553) | (2,142) |
| Other net fi nancing income/(expense) | 13 | (47) | 1,336 |
| Results from available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 14 | 48,325 | 6,032 |
| Share of net profi t/(loss) of associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method |
7 | 287 | (19) |
| Profi t before income tax | 311,075 | 263,975 | |
| Income tax expense | 15 | (68,886) | (66,962) |
| Profi t for the year | 242,189 | 197,013 | |
| Profi t attributable to: | |||
| owners of the parent | 241,297 | 197,013 | |
| non-controlling interests | 892 | - | |
| Basic earnings per share | 23 | 3.47 | 2.83 |
| Diluted earnings per share | 23 | 3.45 | 2.82 |
The above Consolidated Statement of Profi t or Loss should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
| In thousands of euros | NOTE | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profi t for the year | 242,189 | 197,013 | |
| Other comprehensive income | |||
| Items that may be reclassifi ed to profi t or loss: | |||
| exchange diff erences on translation of foreign operations; | (2,763) | (8,651) | |
| change in value of available-for-sale fi nancial assets; | 19 | 78,635 | 2,779 |
| realisation of historical revaluation upon sale of available-for-sale fi nancial assets; |
19 | (40,534) | - |
| income tax impact change in value of available-for-sale fi nancial assets; | (6,401) | (846) | |
| Items that will not be reclassifi ed to profi t or loss: | |||
| remeasurements of post-employment benefi t obligations; | 26 | 3,629 | (4,847) |
| income tax impact post-employment benefi t obligations. | (255) | 298 | |
| Other comprehensive income for the year, net of tax | 32,311 | (11,267) | |
| TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR | 274,500 | 185,746 | |
| Comprehensive income attributable to: | |||
| owners of the parent; | 273,697 | 185,746 | |
| non-controlling interests. | 803 | - |
The above Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.
| In thousands of euros | NOTE | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assets | |||
| Non-current assets | |||
| Property, plant and equipment | 16 | 27,782 | 27,492 |
| Goodwill and other intangible assets | 17 | 515,134 | 321,156 |
| Deferred tax assets | 18 | 7,991 | 5,021 |
| Investments in associates and joint ventures | 7 | 75,004 | 15,957 |
| Available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 19 | 147,503 | 117,060 |
| Other receivables | 32.4 | 7,968 | 7,086 |
| Total non-current assets | 781,382 | 493,772 | |
| Current assets | |||
| Trade and other receivables | 20 | 94,986 | 81,599 |
| Income tax receivable | 1,428 | 7,645 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 21 | 187,785 | 174,501 |
| Total current assets | 284,199 | 263,745 | |
| TOTAL ASSETS | 1,065,581 | 757,517 | |
| Equity and liabilities | |||
| Equity | |||
| Issued capital | 112,000 | 112,000 | |
| Share premium | 116,560 | 116,560 | |
| Reserve own shares | (17,269) | (18,883) | |
| Retained earnings | 468,882 | 332,271 | |
| Other reserves | 35,096 | 6,070 | |
| shareholders' equity | 22 | 715,269 | 548,018 |
| Non-controlling interests | 14,211 | - | |
| Total equity | 729,480 | 548,018 | |
| Non-current liabilities | |||
| Borrowings | 25 | 164,682 | 69,005 |
| Other long-term fi nancial liabilities | 30 | 10,000 | - |
| Deferred tax liabilities | 18 | 19,834 | 600 |
| Post-employment benefi ts | 26 | 11,713 | 13,249 |
| Provisions | 27 | 5,081 | 6,488 |
| Total non-current liabilities | 211,310 | 89,342 | |
| Current liabilities | |||
| Borrowings | 25 | 203 | 96 |
| Other short-term fi nancial liabilities | 30 | 6,654 | - |
| Current income tax liabilities | 17,429 | 27,202 | |
| Trade and other payables | 28 | 99,161 | 90,607 |
| Provisions | 27 | 1,344 | 2,252 |
| Total current liabilities | 124,791 | 120,157 | |
| TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES | 1,065,581 | 757,517 | |
The above Consolidated Balance Sheet should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.
| In thousands of euros | NOTE | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profi t before income tax | 311,075 | 263,975 | |
| Adjustments for: | |||
| depreciation and amortisation; | 10 | 16,932 | 15,088 |
| share based payments; | 9 | 3,782 | 2,772 |
| impairment losses; | 14 | 5 | - |
| gain on disposal of available-for-sale fi nancial assets; | 14 | (42,225) | - |
| share of profi t from associates and joint ventures; | (287) | 19 | |
| changes in working capital and provisions; | (7,740) | (20,298) | |
| Cash fl ow from operating activities | 281,542 | 261,556 | |
| Income tax paid | (68,434) | (80,429) | |
| Net cash generated by operating activities | 213,108 | 181,127 | |
| Cash fl ow from investing activities | |||
| Acquisition of associates and joint ventures | 7 | (2,107) | (14,805) |
| Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired | 5 | (157,343) | - |
| Purchase of available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 19 | (9,583) | - |
| Proceeds from disposal of available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 14 | 1,707 | - |
| Purchase of property, plant and equipment | 16 | (6,103) | (5,539) |
| Purchase of intangible assets | 17 | (17,774) | (9,228) |
| Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets | 5 | - | |
| Net cash (used in) investing activities | (191,198) | (29,572) | |
| Cash fl ow from fi nancing activities | |||
| Proceeds from borrowings, net of transaction fees | 25 | 165,000 | - |
| Repayment of borrowings, net of transaction fees | 25 | (71,150) | (40,000) |
| Interest paid | (712) | (1,269) | |
| Interest received | 275 | 278 | |
| Dividends paid to the Company's shareholders | 22 | (98,809) | (86,210) |
| Transactions of own shares | 22 | (986) | (1,427) |
| Employee Share transactions | (2,142) | - | |
| Net cash (used in) fi nancing activities | (8,524) | (128,628) | |
| Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents | 13,386 | 22,927 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents - Beginning of year | 174,501 | 158,642 | |
| Non-cash exchange (losses)/gains on cash and cash equivalents | (102) | (7,068) | |
| CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - END OF YEAR | 187,785 | 174,501 |
The above Consolidated Statement of cash fl ows should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
| OTHER RESERVES | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | ISSUED CAPITAL |
SHARE PREMIUM |
RESERVE OWN SHARES |
RETAINED EARNINGS |
CURRENCY TRANSLA TION RESERVE |
CHANGE IN VALUE OF AVAILABLE FOR-SALE FINANCIAL ASSETS |
TOTAL OTHER RESERVES |
TOTAL SHAREHOL DERS' EQUITY |
NON CONTROL LING INTERESTS |
TOTAL EQUITY |
| Balance as at 31 December 2015 |
112,000 | 116,560 | (18,791) | 224,610 | 8,776 | 4,012 | 12,788 | 447,167 | - 447,167 | |
| Profi t for the year | - | - | - | 197,013 | - | - | - | 197,013 | - | 197,013 |
| Other comprehensive income for the year |
- | - | - | (4,549) | (8,651) | 1,933 | (6,718) | (11,267) | - | (11,267) |
| Total comprehensive income for the year |
- | - | - | 192,464 | (8,651) | 1,933 | (6,718) | 185,746 | - 185,746 | |
| Share based payments | - | - | - | 3,222 | - | - | - | 3,222 | - | 3,222 |
| Dividend paid to owners of the Company |
- | - | - | (86,210) | - | - | - | (86,210) | - | (86,210) |
| Acquisition of own shares |
- | - | (1,427) | - | - | - | - | (1,427) | - | (1,427) |
| Other movements | - | - | 1,335 | (1,815) | - | - | - | (480) | - | (480) |
| Balance as at 31 December 2016 |
112,000 | 116,560 | (18,883) | 332,271 | 125 | 5,945 | 6,070 | 548,018 | - 548,018 | |
| Profi t for the year | - | - | - | 241,297 | - | - | - | 241,297 | 892 242,189 | |
| Other comprehensive income for the year |
- | - | - | 3,374 | (2,674) | 31,700 | 29,026 | 32,400 | (89) | 32,311 |
| Total comprehensive income for the year |
- | - | - | 244,671 | (2,674) | 31,700 | 29,026 | 273,697 | 803 274,500 | |
| Share based payments | - | - | - | 3,778 | - | - | - | 3,778 | - | 3,778 |
| Recognition of redemption liability |
- | - | - | (8,200) | - | - | - | (8,200) | - | (8,200) |
| Dividend paid to owners of the Company |
- | - | - | (98,809) | - | - | - | (98,809) | - (98,809) | |
| Acquisition of own shares |
- | - | (986) | - | - | - | - | (986) | - | (986) |
| Non-controlling interests on acquisition of subsidiary |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13,408 | 13,408 |
| Other movements | - | - | 2,600 | (4,829) | - | - | - | (2,229) | - | (2,229) |
| BALANCE AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
112,000 | 116,560 | (17,269) | 468,882 | (2,549) | 37,645 | 35,096 | 715,269 | 14,211 729,480 |
The above Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.
Euronext N.V. ("the Group" or "the Company") is a public limited liability company incorporated and domiciled at Beursplein 5, 1012 JW Amsterdam in the Netherlands under Chamber of Commerce number 60234520 and is listed at all Continental Euronext local markets i.e. Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Brussels, Euronext Lisbon and Euronext Paris.
The Group operates securities and derivatives exchanges in Continental Europe. It off ers a full range of exchange –and corporate services including security listings, cash and derivatives trading, and market data dissemination. It combines the Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Paris exchanges in a highly integrated, crossborder organisation. The Group has also a securities exchange in London (Euronext London Ltd.) and operates Interbolsa S.A., the Portuguese national Central Securities Depositories. The Group's in-house IT function supports its exchange operations. In addition, the Group provides software licenses as well as IT development and operation and maintenance services to third-party exchanges. In 2017, the Group acquired several new businesses of which the main acquisition related to a majority stake in FastMatch Inc., a US-based Electronic Communication Network in the spot foreign exchange market.
These Consolidated Financial Statements were authorised for issuance by Euronext N.V.'s Supervisory Board on 29 March 2018 and will be submitted for adoption by the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") of shareholders on 15 May 2018.
The fi nancial position and performance of the Group was particularly aff ected by the following events and transactions that have occurred during the year:
On 14 February 2017, the Group acquired a 51% majority stake in Company Webcast B.V., a Dutch company specialised in professional webcast and webinar services. The transaction includes an initial cash payment of €3.6 million and a deferred payment estimated at €1.8 million. Call- and put options were granted by minority shareholders and the Group, with similar conditions. When executed, the Group acquires the minority stake of 49%, in 2020 at the earliest. A redemption liability is recorded at fair value of €8.2 million refl ecting this commitment (see Note 5).
On 2 March 2017, the Group acquired a 7.59% stake in Algomi Ltd. for \$10.0 million, including a warrant. By executing this warrant the Group acquired additional shares, increasing the total interest in Algomi Ltd. to 7.74%, in November 2017. The investment was recognized as an available-for-sale fi nancial asset at fair value for €9.6 million as per 31 December 2017 (see Note 19).
On 22 May 2017, a Long-Term Incentive plan ("LTI 2017") was established under the revised Remuneration Policy that was approved by the AGM on 6 May 2015. The LTI cliff vests after 3 years whereby performance criteria will impact the actual number of shares at vesting date. The share price for this grant at grant date was €46.87 and 129,181 RSU's were granted. The total share based payment expense at the vesting date in 2020 is estimated to be €5.0 milli on. Compensation expense recorded during the year for this LTI 2017 plan amounted to €1.0 million (see Notes 9 and 24).
On 23 March 2017, the Group repaid the remaining outstanding non-current borrowing of €70.0 million, enabling the Group to terminate its term loan facility, which was supposed to mature on 23 March 2018. The Group also terminated its €390.0 million revolving credit facility agreement and entered into a new €250.0 million revolving credit facility ("RCF") on 12 April 2017.
The Group signed a new bank loan facility as per 18 July 2017 with five banks to the amount of €175.0 million with accordion of €125.0 million. This resulted in the recognition of a non-current borrowing of €165.0 million to fund the acquisitions of iBabs B.V. and FastMatch Inc.
The bank loan facility has a maturity of three years, with two oneyear extensions and will bear an interest rate of EURIBOR plus a margin initially set at 0.45%. Euronext is required to maintain a leverage ratio of no more than 3.5x. For further details on the bank loan facility, the RCF and the non-current borrowing recognised as per 31 December 2017, reference is made to Note 25.
On 7 July 2017, the Group acquired a 60% majority stake in iBabs B.V., a Dutch provider of dematerialised board portal solutions for corporate and public organisations, for a consideration of €32.1 million. iBabs' solutions will be integrated into the Euronext Corporate Services off ering (see Note 5).
(1) Includes the individually immaterial acquisition of MSI Services B.V.
On 14 August 2017, the Group acquired a 90% majority stake in FastMatch Inc., a US-based Electronic Communication Network in the spot Foreign Exchange market. The acquisition includes an initial cash payment of \$153 million (on a debt-free and cash-free basis), a contingent earn-out payment for an additional \$10 million and customary minority rights for the management of FastMatch Inc. that will remain committed to the development of the business and stay invested with a 10% interest (see Note 5).
On 1 November 2017, the Group announced the signing of the renewal of its agreement with LCH S.A. on the continued provision of derivatives and commodities clearing services for a period of 10 years, starting 2019. As a consequence, the Group terminated the agreement on derivatives clearing signed in April 2017 with ICE Clear Netherlands, resulting in a €5.0 million breakup fee, which was recognised in exceptional items (see Note 12).
Following the outcome of EU referendum in the UK and elections in the US, euro-zone was facing additional political pressure at the end of 2016. Increased political risk in economies long considered bastions of political stability were expected to aff ect risk-free rates, potentially reviving the euro crisis and raising the risk of an EU break-up scenario. In the fi rst part of the year, this risk of destabilization in Europe was reduced by the results of elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany. The economic sentiment and outlook signifi cantly improved and funds are fl owing back to the euro-zone and translated into a robust share price performance across listed fi nancial institutions within the EU.
This changing environment had an impact on the valuation of our available-for-sale financial assets, especially on investments in fi nancial institutions with a signifi cant EU exposure, such as Euroclear plc. The sentiment in Europe, that had a dampening eff ect on the value of our direct- and indirect (through Sicovam Holding S.A.) equity investment in Euroclear plc at the end of 2016, positively impacted this value as per 31 December 2017. This ultimately led to an increase in fair value of our investments in Euroclear plc and Sicovam S.A. in 2017 of €40.2 million (see also Note 19).
In the second half of 2017, the Group announced its intentions to swap its current 2.31% stake in LCH group for a 11.1% stake in LCH S.A., subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The transaction was finalised, and shares were transferred, on 29 December 2017 and will strengthen the longstanding relationship between Euronext and LCH S.A.. Euronext will remain on the board of LCH S.A. following completion of the share swap. Euronext will also nominate one representative to LCH S.A. Audit Committee and will continue to be represented at LCH S.A. Risk Committee. A new Consultative Committee dedicated to Euronext derivatives business will be created. The parties have agreed that Euronext will have certain minority protection rights connected with its new shareholding in LCH S.A..
The share swap transaction led to a change in fair value of €38.4 million and subsequent de-recognition in available-for-sale fi nancial assets with carrying value of €57.6 million, in relation to the 2.31% stake in LCH group Ltd. (see Note 19). The 11.1% stake in LCH S.A. has been recognised in investments in associates and joint ventures (see Note 7). The share swap transaction resulted in a capital gain recognised in results from equity investments of €40.6 million (see Note 14), from the recycling to profi t or loss of cumulative historical revaluations that were recognised in Other Comprehensive Income.
The signifi cant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these Consolidated Financial Statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless stated otherwise. The Financial Statements are for the Group consisting of Euronext N.V. and its subsidiaries.
The Consolidated Financial Statements of the Group have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") adopted by the European Union. They also comply with the fi nancial reporting requirements included in Title 9 Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code, as far as applicable.
The Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis, unless stated otherwise.
These Consolidated Financial Statements include the financial results of all subsidiaries in which entities in the Group have a controlling fi nancial interest and it also incorporates the share of results from associates and joint ventures. The list of individual legal entities which together form the Group, is provided in Note 4. All transactions and balances between subsidiaries have been eliminated on consolidation. All transactions and balances with associates and joint ventures are refl ected as related party transactions and balances (see Note 31).
Subsidiaries are all entities controlled by the Group. The Group controls an entity when the Group is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to aff ect those returns through its power to direct the activities of the entity. Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is transferred to the Group. They are deconsolidated from the date that control ceases.
The acquisition method of accounting is used to account for business combinations by the Group.
Intergroup transactions, balances and unrealised gains and losses on transactions between companies within the Group are eliminated upon consolidation unless they provide evidence of impairment. Accounting policies of subsidiaries have been changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the policies adopted by the Group.
Non-controlling interest in the results and equity of subsidiaries are shown separately in the consolidated statement or profi t or loss, statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and balance sheet respectively.
(ii) Associates and Joint Arrangements
Associates are entities over which the Group has the ability to exercise significant influence, but does not control. Generally, signifi cant infl uence is presumed to exist when the Group holds 20% to 50% of the voting rights in an entity. Joint arrangements are joint operations or joint-ventures over which the Group, together with another party or several other parties, has joint control. Investments in associates and joint ventures are accounted for using the equity method of accounting.
Under the equity method of accounting, the investments are initially recognised at cost and adjusted thereafter to recognise the Group's share of the post-acquisition profi ts or losses of the investee in profi t or loss, and the Group's share of movements in other comprehensive income of the investee in other comprehensive income. Dividends received or receivable from associates and joint ventures are recognised as a reduction in the carrying amount of the investment. When the Group's share of losses in an equityaccounted investment equals or exceeds its interest in the entity, including any other unsecured long-term receivables, the Group does not recognise further losses, unless it has incurred obligations or made payments on behalf of the other entity. Unrealised gains on transactions between the Group and its associates and joint ventures are eliminated to the extent of the Group's interest in these entities. Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred. Accounting policies of equity accounted investees have been changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the policies adopted by the Group. The carrying amount of equityaccounted investments is tested for impairment.
Acquisition-related costs are expensed as incurred. Identifi able assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured initially at their fair values at the acquisition date. On an acquisition by acquisition basis, the Group recognises any non-controlling interest in the acquiree either at fair value or at the non-controlling interest's proportionate share of the acquiree's net assets. The consideration transferred is measured at the fair value of any assets transferred, liabilities incurred and equity interests issued. The excess of the consideration transferred over the fair value of the Group's share of the identifi able net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. To the extent applicable, any non-controlling interest in the acquiree and the acquisition-date fair value of any previous equity interest in the acquiree are added to consideration transferred for purposes of calculating goodwill. Contingent consideration is classifi ed either as equity or a fi nancial liability. Amounts classifi ed as a fi nancial liability are subsequently re-measured to fair value with changes in fair value recognised in profi t or loss.
Segments are reported in a manner consistent with how the business is operated and reviewed by the chief operating decision maker, who is responsible for allocating resources and assessing performance of the operating segments. The chief operating decision maker of the Group is the Managing Board. The organisation of the Group refl ects the high level of mutualisation of resources across geographies and product lines. Operating results are monitored on a Group-wide basis and, accordingly, the Group represents one operating segment and one reportable segment. Operating results reported to the Managing Board are prepared on a measurement basis consistent with the reported Consolidated Statement of Profi t or Loss.
These Consolidated Financial Statements are presented in Euro (EUR), which is the Group's presentation currency. The functional currency of each Group entity is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates.
(ii) Transactions and Balances
Foreign currency transactions are converted into the functional currency using the rate ruling at the date of the transactions. Foreign exchange gains or losses resulting from the settlement of such transactions and from the translation at year-end rates of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the Income Statement.
Exceptions to this are where the monetary items form part of the net investment in a foreign operation or are designated as hedges of a net investment, in which case the exchange diff erences are recognised in Other Comprehensive Income.
The results and financial position of Group entities that have a functional currency diff erent from the presentation currency are converted into the presentation currency as follows:
Property, plant and equipment is carried at historical cost, less accumulated depreciation and any impairment loss. The cost of purchased property, plant and equipment is the value of the consideration given to acquire the assets and the value of other directly attributable costs. All repairs and maintenance costs are charged to expense as incurred.
Property, plant and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, except land and construction in process assets, which are not depreciated. The estimated useful lives, which are reviewed annually and adjusted if appropriate, used by the Group in all reporting periods presented are as follows:
| Buildings (including leasehold improvement | 5 to 40 years; |
|---|---|
| IT equipment | 2 to 3 years; |
| Other equipment | 5 to 12 years; |
| Fixtures and fi ttings | 4 to 10 years. |
Goodwill represents the excess of the consideration transferred in a business combination over the Group's share in the fair value of the net identifi able assets and liabilities of the acquired business at the date of acquisition. Goodwill is not amortised but is tested at least annually for impairment, or whenever an event or change in circumstances indicate a potential impairment.
For the purpose of impairment testing, goodwill arising in a business combination is allocated to the cash-generating units ("CGUs") or groups of CGUs that are expected to benefi t from the synergies of the combination. Each CGU or CGU group to which goodwill is allocated represents the lowest level within the Group at which the goodwill is monitored for internal management purposes.
The carrying value of a CGU group is compared to its recoverable amount, which is the higher of its value in use and its fair value less costs of disposal. Impairment losses on goodwill are not subsequently reversed. Value in use is derived from the discounted future free cash fl ows of the CGU group. Fair value less costs of disposal is based on discounted cash fl ows and market multiples applied to forecasted earnings. Cash fl ow projections are based on budget and business plan approved by management and covering a 2-year period in total. Cash fl ows beyond the business plan period are extrapolated using a perpetual growth rate. Key assumptions used in goodwill impairment test are described in Note 17.
Software development costs are capitalised only from the date when all of the following conditions are met:
Capitalised software development costs are amortised on a straightline basis over their useful lives, generally from 2 to 7 years. Other development expenditures that do not meet these criteria, as well as software maintenance and minor enhancements, are expensed as incurred.
(iii) Other Intangible Assets
Other intangible assets, which are acquired by the Group, are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation and impairment losses (if applicable). The estimated useful lives are as follows:
| Purchased software and licenses: | 2-5 years; |
|---|---|
| Customer relationships: | 17-18 years; |
| Brand names: | indefi nite. |
Assets that are subject to amortisation and depreciation are reviewed for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Assets that have an indefi nite useful life are not subject to amortisation nor depreciation and are tested at least annually for impairment. An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset's carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset's fair value less costs to sell or value in use. For purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped into cash generating units ("CGUs"). A CGU is the smallest identifi able Group of assets that generates cash infl ows that are largely independent from other groups of assets. Non-fi nancial assets, other than goodwill, that were previously impaired are reviewed for possible reversal of the impairment at each reporting date.
Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently remeasured at their fair value at each balance sheet date. The method of recognising the resulting gain or loss depends on whether or not the derivative is designated as a hedging instrument for accounting purpose, and if so the nature of the item being hedged. In order to qualify for hedge accounting, a transaction must also meet strict criteria as regards to documentation, eff ectiveness, probability of occurrence and reliability of measurement. To date, the Group did not elect to apply hedge accounting and, accordingly, gains and losses on remeasurement of derivatives instruments are systematically recognised in profi t or loss, within fi nancial income and expense.
Upon initial recognition, the Group classifi es its fi nancial assets in one of the categories described hereafter. The classifi cation depends on the purpose for which the financial assets were acquired. Management determines the classifi cation of its fi nancial assets at initial recognition and, in the case of assets classifi ed as held-tomaturity, re-evaluates this designation at the end of each reporting period. See Note 30 for details about Euronext's fi nancial assets.
At initial recognition, the Group measures a fi nancial asset at its fair value plus, in the case of a fi nancial asset not at fair value through profi t or loss, transaction costs that are directly attributable to the acquisition of the fi nancial asset. Transaction costs of fi nancial assets carried at fair value through profi t or loss are expensed in profi t or loss. Financial assets are derecognized when the rights to receive cash fl ows from the fi nancial assets have expired or have been transferred and the Group has transferred substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership.
Financial assets at fair value through profi t or loss include fi nancial assets held for trading purposes and are initially recognised at fair value and any subsequent changes in fair value are recognised directly in profi t or loss. This category also includes derivatives fi nancial instruments that are not designated as accounting hedges although they are used to hedge economic risks.
Financial assets classifi ed as available-for-sale ("AFS") are initially recognised at fair value and remeasured at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Unrealised gains and losses resulting from changes in fair value are recognised in Other Comprehensive Income and are recycled in the income statement upon impairment or disposal. AFS fi nancial assets include long-term equity investments in companies over which the Group does not have control, joint control or signifi cant infl uence. Equity instruments without a quoted price are valued using valuation techniques with (un) observable inputs. If the fair value of an unlisted equity instrument is not reliably measurable, the investment is held at cost less impairment. Interests and dividends are recognised in profi t or loss when the Group's right to receive payments is established. If a decline in fair value below cost has occurred and has become other than temporary, an impairment is recognised in profi t or loss. The Group assesses at the end of each reporting period whether there is objective evidence that a fi nancial asset is impaired. A fi nancial asset is impaired and impairment losses are incurred only if there is objective evidence of impairment as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the asset ("loss event") and that the loss event (or events) has an impact on the estimated future cash fl ows of the fi nancial asset.
Loans and receivables are non-derivative fi nancial assets/liabilities with fi xed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. Initially recognised at fair value they subsequently are measured at amortised cost, using the eff ective interest method, less impairment. They are included in current assets, except for those with maturities greater than 12 months after the balance sheet date which are classifi ed as non-current assets. Loans and receivables include: related party loans, trade and other receivables, cash and cash equivalents in the balance sheet.
Trade receivables are amounts due from customers for services performed in the ordinary course of business. Trade receivables are recognised initially at their fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the eff ective interest method, less impairment. Impairment losses are measured as the diff erence between the asset's carrying amount and the present value of estimated future cash flows (excluding future credit losses that have not been incurred) discounted at the financial asset's original effective interest rate. The carrying amount of the asset is reduced and the amount of the loss is recognised in profi t or loss.
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at banks, highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less and investments in money market funds that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and are subject to insignifi cant risk of changes in value.
Borrowings are initially recorded at the fair value of proceeds received, net of transaction costs. Subsequently, these liabilities are carried at amortised cost, and interest is charged to profi t or loss over the period of the borrowings using the eff ective interest method. Accordingly, any diff erence between the proceeds received, net of transaction costs, and the redemption value is recognised in profi t or loss over the period of the borrowings using the eff ective interest rate method. Fees paid on the establishment of loan facilities are recognised as transaction costs of the loan to the extent that it is probable that some or all of the facility will be drawn down. In this case, the fee is deferred until the draw down occurs. To the extent there is no evidence that it is probable that some or all of the facility will be drawn down, the fee is capitalized as a prepayment for liquidity services and amortised over the period of the facility to which it relates.
Provisions are recognised when the Group has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of past events; it is probable that an outfl ow of resources will be required to settle the obligation; and the amount can be reliably estimated. Restructuring provisions primarily comprise employee termination payments. Provisions are not recognised for future operating losses, unless there is an onerous contract. Provisions are measured at the present value of the expenditures expected to be required to settle the obligation using a pre-tax risk-free discount rate. The increase in the provision due to passage of time is recognised as interest expense.
An onerous contract is a contract in which the unavoidable costs of meeting the obligations under the contract exceed the economic benefi ts expected to be received under it. The unavoidable costs under a contract refl ect the least net cost of exiting from the contract, which is the lower of the cost of fulfi lling it and any compensation or penalties arising from failure to fulfi l it.
Trade payables are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business. Trade and other payables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the eff ective interest method.
The Group operates defi ned benefi t and defi ned contribution pension schemes. When the Group pays fi xed contributions to a pension fund or pension insurance plan and the Group has no legal or constructive obligation to make further contributions if the fund's assets are insuffi cient to pay all pension benefi ts, the plan is considered to be a defi ned contribution plan. In that case, contributions are recognised as employee expense when they become due.
6
For the defi ned benefi t schemes, the net asset or liability recognised on the balance sheet comprises the diff erence between the present value of the defi ned benefi t pension obligation and the fair value of plan assets. A net asset is recognised only to the extent the Group has the right to eff ectively benefi t from the plan surplus. The service cost, representing benefi ts accruing to employees in the period, and the net interest income or expense arising from the net defi ned benefi t asset or liability are recorded within operating expenses in the Statement of Profi t or Loss. Actuarial gains and losses arising from experience adjustments, changes in actuarial assumptions or differences between actual and expected returns on assets are recognised in equity as a component of Other Comprehensive Income. The impact of a plan amendment, curtailment or settlement is recognised immediately when it arises in profi t or loss.
Certain employees of the Group participate in Euronext's sharebased compensation plans. Awards granted by Euronext under the plans are restricted stock units ("RSUs"). Under these plans, Euronext receives services from its employees as consideration for equity instruments of the Group. As the awards are settled in shares of Euronext N.V., they are classifi ed as equity settled awards.
The share-based compensation refl ected in the Statement of Profi t or Loss relates to the RSUs granted by Euronext to the Group's employees. The equity instruments granted do not vest until the employee completes a specifi ed period of service, typically three years. The grant-date fair value of the equity settled RSUs is recognised as compensation expense over the required vesting period, with a corresponding credit to equity.
Euronext has performance share plans, under which shares are conditionally granted to certain employees. The fair value of awards at grant date is calculated using market-based pricing, i.e. the fair value of Euronext shares. This value is expensed over their vesting period, with a corresponding credit to equity. The expense is reviewed and adjusted to refl ect changes to the level of awards expected to vest, except where this arises from a failure to meet a market condition or a non-vesting condition in which case no adjustment applies.
The Group reacquires its own equity instruments. Those instruments ('treasury shares') are deducted from equity. No gain or loss is recognised in profi t or loss on the purchase, sale, issue or cancellation of an entity's own equity instruments. Such treasury shares may be acquired and held by the entity or by other members of the consolidated Group. Consideration paid or received is recognised directly in equity.
Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for services provided in the normal course of business, net of discounts, rebates, VAT and other sales related taxes.
Listing fees primarily consist of original listing fees paid by issuers to list securities on the various cash markets (admission fees), subsequent admission fees for other corporate actions (such as admission of additional securities) and annual fees paid by companies whose fi nancial instruments are listed on the cash markets. Admission fees are recognised at the time of admission to trading. Annual listing fees are recognised on a pro rata basis over the annual service period.
The Group earns cash trading fees for customer orders of equity securities, debt securities and other cash instruments on the Group's cash markets. The Group earns derivative trading fees for the execution of trades of derivative contracts on the Group's derivative markets. Cash and derivative trading fees are recognised when the trade transaction is completed.
The Group charges clients on a per-user basis for the access to its real-time and proprietary market data information services. The Group also collects periodic license fees from clients for the right to distribute the Group data to third parties. These fees are recognised on a monthly basis as services are rendered.
Post-trade revenue primarily include clearing, settlement and custody fees. Clearing fees are recognised when the clearing of the trading transaction is completed. Settlement fees are recognised when the settlement of the trading transaction is completed. Custody fees are recognised as the service is performed.
Market solutions and other revenue include software license and IT services provided to third-party market operators, connection services and data center colocation services provided to market participants, and other revenue. Software license revenue is recognised upon delivery and acceptance when the software does not require signifi cant customisation or modifi cation. Implementation and consulting services are recognised either on a time-and material basis or under the percentage of completion method, depending upon the nature of the contract. When software requires signifi cant modification or customisation, fees from software license and professional services are recognised altogether on a percentageof-completion basis. The stage of completion is measured based on the number of man-days incurred to date as a percentage of total estimated number of man-days to complete. Software maintenance fees, connection and subscription service fees, and annual license fees are recognised ratably over the life of the agreement.
Leases are classifi ed as fi nance leases whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the risks and rewards to the lessee. When the Group is the lessee in a fi nance lease, the underlying asset is recognised in the balance sheet at the inception of the lease, at its fair value or at the present value of minimum lease payments, whichever is lower. The corresponding liability to the lessor is included within borrowings. Payments made under operating leases are recognised in the Income Statement on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.
Exceptional income and expense are identifi ed based on their size, nature and incidence, and are disclosed separately in the Statement of Profi t or Loss in order to provide further understanding of the fi nancial performance of the Group. It includes clearly identifi able income and expense items which are infrequent and unusual by their size or by their nature.
The income tax expense for the fi scal year is comprised of current and deferred income tax. Income tax expense is recognised in the Income Statements, except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity. In this case, the income tax impact is also recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity.
The current income tax expense is calculated on the basis of the tax laws enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date in the countries where the Group operates and generates taxable income. The Group recognises liabilities for uncertain tax positions when it is more likely than not that an outfl ow will occur to settle the position. The liabilities are measured based upon management's estimation of the expected settlement of the matter. Estimated liabilities for uncertain tax positions, along with estimates of interest and penalties, are presented within income taxes payable on the Balance Sheet and are included in current income tax expense in the Statement of Profi t or Loss.
Deferred income tax is recognised on temporary diff erences arising between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in these Consolidated Financial Statements. However, deferred income tax liabilities are not recognised if they arise from the initial recognition of goodwill. Deferred income tax is not accounted for if it arises from initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction, other than a business combination, that at the time of the transaction aff ects neither accounting nor taxable profi t or loss. Deferred income tax is determined using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date and are expected to apply when the related deferred income tax asset is realised or the deferred income tax liability is settled.
Deferred income tax assets are recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profi t will be available against which the temporary diff erences or tax losses can be utilised.
Deferred income tax is provided on temporary diff erences arising from investments in subsidiaries and associates, except where the timing of the reversal of the temporary diff erence is controlled by the Group and it is probable that the temporary diff erence will not reverse in the foreseeable future.
Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are off set when there is a legally enforceable right to off set current tax assets against current tax liabilities and when they relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority on the same taxable entity.
In the application of the Group's accounting policies, management is required to make estimates and assumptions about the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may diff er from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision aff ects only that period or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision aff ects both current and future periods.
The following critical assumptions concerning the future, and other critical sources of estimation uncertainty at the end of the reporting period, have a signifi cant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next fi nancial year:
The Group performs goodwill impairment reviews in accordance with the accounting policy described above in Note 17. The recoverable amount of a CGU group is determined based on a discounted cash fl ow approach, which requires the use of estimates. The critical assumptions used and the related sensitivity analysis are described in Note 17.
Due to the inherent complexities arising from the nature of the Group's business, and from conducting business and being taxed in a substantial number of jurisdictions, critical assumptions and estimates are required to be made for income taxes. The Group computes income tax expense for each of the jurisdictions in which it operates. However, actual amounts of income tax due only become fi nal upon fi ling and acceptance of the tax return by relevant authorities, which may not occur for several years subsequent to issuance of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
The estimation of income taxes also includes evaluating the recoverability of deferred income tax assets based on an assessment of the ability to use the underlying future tax deductions against future taxable income before they expire. This assessment is based upon existing tax laws and estimates of future taxable income. To the extent estimates diff er from the fi nal tax return, earnings may be aff ected in a subsequent period.
The Group operates in various countries with local tax regulations. New tax legislation being issued in certain territories as well as transactions that the Group enters into regularly result in potential tax exposures. The calculation of our tax liabilities involves uncertainties in the application of complex tax laws. Our estimate for the potential outcome of any uncertain tax position is highly judgmental. However, the Group believes that it has adequately provided for uncertain tax positions. Settlement of these uncertainties in a manner inconsistent with our expectations could have a material impact on our results of operations, fi nancial condition and cash fl ows. The Group recognises a liability for uncertain tax positions when it's probable that an outfl ow of economic recourses will occur. Measurement of the liability for uncertain tax positions is based on management's best estimate of the amount of tax benefi t/cost that will be realised upon settlement.
The Group holds investments in unlisted equity securities which are carried at fair value in the balance sheet. In 2017, the Group changed its valuation technique applied to value the Group's investments in unlisted equity securities, which are further described in Notes 19 and 30.
The Group classifi es the interest in LCH S.A. as an investment in associate suggesting signifi cant infl uence even though it owns less than 20% of the voting rights (see Note 7). The Group concludes it has signifi cant infl uence over this investment, which is derived from the governance structure that was put in place and the Group's position as the largest customer and sole minority shareholder of LCH S.A..
The Group may structure its business combinations in a way that leads to recognition of contingent consideration to selling shareholders and/or buy options for equity held by non-controlling interests (see Note 5). Contingent consideration and buy options are recognized at fair value on acquisition date. When the contingent consideration or buy option meets the defi nition of a fi nancial liability or fi nancial instrument, it is subsequently re-measured to fair value at each reporting date. The determination of fair value is based on the expected level of EBITDA over the last 12 months that precede the contractual date (in case of contingent consideration) or exercise date of the underlying call- and put options (in case of buy option). The Group monitors the expected EBITDA based on updated forecast information from the acquired companies involved.
The cost of other intangible assets that are acquired in the course of business combinations, corresponds to their acquisition date fair values.
Depending on the nature of the intangible asset, fair value is determined by application of:
Assets with a fi nite useful life are amortized using the straight-line method over their expected useful life. Assets with an indefi nite useful life are tested for impairment at least once a year.
On 14 October 2013, the Group entered into a clearing agreement with LCH SA in respect of the clearing of trades on our continental Europe derivatives markets (the "Derivatives Clearing Agreement"). Under the terms of this Derivatives Clearing Agreement Euronext agreed with LCH SA to share revenues and receives clearing fee revenues based on the number of trades on these markets cleared through LCH SA. In exchange for that we have agreed to pay LCH SA a fi xed fee plus a variable fee based on revenues.
The defi nition of the accounting treatment of this agreement requires signifi cant management judgment for the valuation and weighting of the indicators leading the principal versus agent accounting analysis. Based on all facts and circumstances around this arrangement, management has concluded that Euronext is 'principal' in providing Derivatives clearing services to its trading members. Therefore Euronext recognizes (i) the clearing fees received are classifi ed as post trade revenues, and (ii) the fi xed and variable fees paid to LCH SA as other operational expenses.
Reference is also made to 'Changes in accounting policies and disclosures', with regards to the implication of new IFRS 15 'Revenue from contracts with customers' under 'Principle versus agent considerations'.
The International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") continues to issue new standards and interpretations, and amendments to existing standards. The Group applies these new standards when eff ective and endorsed by the European Union. The Group has not opted for early adoption for any of these standards.
(i) Implication of New and Amended Standards and Interpretations
The Group has applied the following standards and amendments for the fi rst time for their annual reporting period commencing 1 January 2017:
Amendments to IAS 7, "Statement of cash flows: Disclosure Initiative"
The amendments require entities to provide disclosure of changes in their liabilities arising from fi nancing activities, including both changes arising from cash fl ows and non-cash changes (such as foreign exchange gains or losses). The Group has provided the information for both the current and the comparative period in Note 32.7;
Amendments to IAS 12, "Income Taxes: Recognition of deferred tax assets for unrealized losses"
The amendments clarify that an entity needs to consider whether tax law restricts the sources of taxable profi ts against which it may make deductions on the reversal of deductible temporary difference related to unrealized losses. Furthermore, the amendments provide guidance on how an entity should determine future taxable profi ts and explain the circumstances in which taxable profi t may include the recovery of some assets for more than their carrying amount. The application of these amendments had no eff ect on the Group's fi nancial position and performance, as the Group has no deductible temporary diff erences or assets that are in scope of the amendments;
Annual Improvement Cycle 2014-2016
Amendments to IFRS 12, "Disclosure of interests in other entities: Clarifi cation of the scope of disclosure requirements in IFRS 12"
The amendments clarify that the disclosure requirements in IFRS 12, other than those in paragraphs B10-B16, apply to an entity's interest in a subsidiary, a joint venture or an associate (or a portion of its interest in a joint venture or an associate) that is classifi ed (or included in a disposal Group that is classifi ed) as held for sale. These amendments did not aff ect the Consolidated Financial Statements, as the Group had no interests in other entities classifi ed as held for sale.
(ii) Future Implications of New and Amended Standards and Interpretations Not Yet Adopted
Certain new accounting standards and interpretations have been published that are not mandatory for 31 December 2017 reporting periods. The Group's assessment of the impact of these new standards and interpretations is set out below. These standards have not been applied in preparing these Consolidated Financial Statements. The quantitative information disclosed in this note may be subject to further changes in 2018.
IFRS 9 replaces the guidance from International Accounting Standard ("IAS") 39. The new standard addresses the classifi cation, measurement and de-recognition of fi nancial assets and fi nancial liabilities, introduces new rules for hedge accounting and a new impairment model for fi nancial assets.
The Group plans to adopt the new standard on the required eff ected date of 1 January 2018 and will not restate comparative information. During 2017, the Group has assessed the impact of IFRS 9 on its fi nancial assets and liabilities. This assessment is based on currently available information and may be subject to changes arising from further reasonable and supportable information being made available to the Group in 2018. Overall, the Group expects no signifi cant impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements.
The Group's fi nancial assets currently held as available-for-sale ("AFS"), consist of unlisted equity securities held for long-term strategic purposes. No impairment losses were recognised in profi t or loss during prior periods for these instruments. The Group opts to apply the available election for classifi cation as fair value through other comprehensive income ("FVOCI") for these instruments under IFRS 9. Accordingly, the Group does not expect the new guidance to significantly affect the classification and measurements of these fi nancial assets. However, gains and losses realised on the sale of fi nancial assets at FVOCI will no longer be transferred to profi t or loss on sale, but instead reclassifi ed below the line from FVOCI reserve to retained earnings. During the 2017 fi nancial year, €40.6 million of such gains were recognised in profi t or loss in relation to the disposal of available-for-sale fi nancial assets. The AFS reserve of €37.6 million related to these fi nancial assets, which is currently presented as accumulated OCI, will be reclassifi ed to retained earnings on transition to the new standard.
Trade receivables are held to collect contractual cash fl ows and are expected to give rise to cash fl ows representing solely payments of principal and interest. The Group analysed the contractual cash fl ow characteristics of these instruments and concluded that they meet the criteria for amortised cost measurement under IFRS 9. Therefore, reclassifi cation of these instruments is not required.
On the classifi cation and measurement of fi nancial liabilities under IFRS 9, the Group's assessment did not indicate any signifi cant impact.
IFRS 9 requires the recognition of impairment provisions based on expected credit losses ("ECL") rather than only incurred credit losses as it is the case under the current standard. The new standard requires the Group to record lifetime expected credit losses on all of its trade receivables, for which the Group will apply the simplifi ed approach by using a provision matrix for determining the impairment provision. The Group determined that, based on the assessment undertaken to date and due to the secure nature of its trade receivables, a possible increase of the loss allowance is not expected to be material (approximately €0.2 million ).
The new hedge accounting rules will have no impact as the Group doesn't apply hedge accounting.
Derivative instruments continue to be recorded at fair value through profi t or loss and carried as assets when their fair value is positive, and as liabilities when their fair value is negative. Embedded derivative instruments are no longer separated and the fi nancial assets are classifi ed as a whole based on the business model and SPPI assessments.
In summary, as at reporting date the adoption of IFRS 9 is expected to negatively impact total assets and equity by €0.2 million.
The new standard also introduces expanded disclosure requirements and changes in presentation. These are expected to change the nature and extent of the Group's disclosures about its fi nancial instruments particularly in the year of adoption of the new standard.
IFRS 15 will replace IAS 18 which covers contracts for goods and services and IAS 11 which covers construction contracts. The new standard is based on the principle that revenue is recognised when control transfers to a customer.
The Group plans to adopt the new standard on the required eff ective date of 1 January 2018 using the modifi ed retrospective approach, which means that the cumulative impact of the adoption will be recognised in retained earnings as of 1 January 2018 and that comparatives will not be restated. During 2016, the Group performed a preliminary assessment of IFRS 15, which was continued with a more detailed analyses in 2017. In preparing to adopt IFRS 15, the Group's main considerations are the following:
For contracts with customers in which the service provided to exchange securities is generally expected to be the only performance obligation, adoption of IFRS 15 is not expected to have any impact on the Group's revenue and profi t or loss. The Group expects the revenue recognition to occur at a point in time when control of the asset is transferred to the customer, generally on execution of the trade.
For contracts with customers containing listing services, the Group is still assessing the expected impact of IFRS 15 and in particular on determining performance obligations and the related timing of listing revenue recognition. The Group will fi nalise its assessment of the impact of the new standard on their listing revenues before adoption of the impact in both the interim and annual 2018 Financial Statements.
For contracts with customers in which providing an index-license is generally expected to be the only performance obligation, adoption of IFRS 15 is not expected to have any impact on the Group's revenue and profi t or loss. The nature of an index-license is considered a 'right-to-access' license as the customer can reasonably expect the Group to undertake ongoing activities to support and maintain the value of its trademark names. Revenue generated from these licenses are therefore recognised over time being the contractual period, as the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefi t from the license. Outstanding contract balances fl owing over the period-end will be recognised as 'contract liabilities' under IFRS 15. On transition the 'contract liabilities' related to index license revenues amounted to €0.1 million.
For contracts with customers containing software licenses that are distinct or combined with a signifi cant modifi cation service, adoption of IFRS 15 is not expected to have any impact on the Group's revenue and profi t or loss. Given the signifi cant stand-alone functionality of the underlying intellectual property, a distinct software license can be considered a 'right-to-use' license and consequently revenue will be recognised at the point in time of acceptance of the software and the source Code by the customer. Software licenses that are combined with a signifi cant modifi cation service are recognised over time, being the signifi cant modifi cation period, as the Group has no alternative use for these combined performance obligations and would have an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date. Outstanding contract balances fl owing over the period-end will be recognised as 'contract liabilities' under IFRS 15. On transition the 'contract liabilities' related to software license revenues amounted to €1.9 million.
For contracts with customers that reflect hosting services, the adoption of IFRS 15 will have an impact on the Group's revenue and profi t or loss. The service applied by the Group for installing software in Euronext's data centre in Basildon before starting the hosting service are currently recognised at the moment the installation service is finalised. Under IFRS 15 however, as the installation service itself does not transfer a good or service to the customer, these installation services will be combined with the hosting services and are used as inputs to produce the combined output specified in the contract. Consequently revenue will be recognised over time, being the full service period of the combined hosting contract. During 2017, €0.1 million of such installation service revenues were recognised in profi t or loss. On transition this change in recognition would have an impact of €0.1 million on retained earnings. Outstanding contract balances fl owing over the period-end will be recognised as 'contract liabilities' under IFRS 15. On transition the 'contract liabilities' related to combined hosting revenues amounted to €1.1 million.
IFRS 15 requires assessment of whether the Group controls a specifi ed good or service before it is transferred to the customer. Customers of the Group that are willing to trade on Euronext's markets are obliged to obtain clearing service for that trade. The promise that the Group makes to its customers is to execute the trade and arrange for the clearing of that trade. As the Group does not own its own clearing operation, it has put in place an agreement with LCH SA in which the latter is providing clearing service as a sub-contractor, executing the service under control of the Group. The nature of the promise is the execution of a cleared trade on the Group's derivatives platform. The Group controls this services that are derived from that promise, before it is transferred to the customer. This makes the Group the principal in the transaction of providing derivative clearing services to its customers. Consequently, the adoption of IFRS 15 is not expected to have any impact on the Group's revenue and profi t or loss, as the Group will still recognises revenue for the gross amount of consideration to which it expects to be entitled in exchange for the derivatives service transferred.
The Group does not incur material costs to obtain contracts such as sales commissions.
The Group does not expect to have any contracts where the period between the transfer of the promised goods or services to the customer and payment by the customer exceeds one year. As a consequence, the Group does not adjust any of the transaction prices for the time value of money.
The presentation and disclosure requirements in IFRS 15 are more detailed than under current IFRS. The presentation requirements present a signifi cant change from current practice and signifi cant increase the volumes of disclosure required in the Group's Consolidated Financial Statements. The Group will disaggregate revenue recognised from contracts with customers into categories that depict how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash fl ows are aff ected by economic factors. It will also disclose information to illustrate the relationship between the revenue recognised and changes in the overall balances of the total contract assets and liabilities during a particular reporting period. In addition, extended disclosure are expected on signifi cant judgements made and descriptive information of performance obligations.
As the Group is still assessing the impact of IFRS 15 on its listing revenues, quantitative information on the impact of the adoption of IFRS 15 on the Group's total assets, total liabilities and equity can't be disclosed yet.
IFRS 16 replaces the current IAS 17 guidance on the subject of accounting for lease contracts. The new standard will result in almost all leases being recognised on the balance sheet, as the distinction between operating and finance leases is removed. Under the new standard an asset (right to use the leased item) and a fi nancial liability to pay rentals are recognised. The only exceptions are short-term (i.e., leases with a lease term of 12 months or less) and low value leases (e.g., personal computers).
The standard will aff ect the accounting of the Group's operating leases. As at reporting date, the Group has non-cancellable operating lease commitments of €61.4 million (see Note 34). The Group estimates that approximately 10% of these relate to payments for short-term and low value leases which will be recognised on a straight-line basis as an expense in profi t or loss.
However, the Group has not yet assessed what other adjustments, if any, are necessary. It is therefore not yet possible to estimate the amount of right-to-use assets and lease liabilities that will have to be recognised on adoption of the new standard and how this may aff ect the Group's profi t or loss and classifi cation of cash fl ows going forward.
The Group does not intend to adopt the standard before its eff ective date of 1 January 2019. The Group intends to apply the simplifi ed transition approach and will not restate comparative amounts for the year prior to fi rst adoption.
In May 2017, the IASB issued IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts (IFRS 17), a comprehensive new accounting standard for insurance contracts covering recognition and measurement, presentation and disclosure. Once eff ective, IFRS 17 will replace IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts (IFRS 4) that was issued in 2005. IFRS 17 applies to all types of insurance contracts (i.e., life, non-life, direct insurance and re-insurance), regardless of the type of entities that issue them, as well as to certain guarantees and fi nancial instruments with discretionary participation features.
A few scope exceptions will apply. The overall objective of IFRS 17 is to provide an accounting model for insurance contracts that is more useful and consistent for insurers. In contrast to the requirements in IFRS 4, which are largely based on grandfathering previous local accounting policies, IFRS 17 provides a comprehensive model for insurance contracts, covering all relevant accounting aspects. The core of IFRS 17 is the general model, supplemented by:
IFRS 17 is effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2021, with comparative fi gures required. Early application is permitted, provided the entity also applies IFRS 9 and IFRS 15 on or before the date it first applies IFRS 17. This standard is not applicable to the Group.
The IASB issued amendments to IFRS 2 Share-based Payment that address three main areas: the eff ects of vesting conditions on the measurement of a cash-settled share-based payment transaction; the classifi cation of a share-based payment transaction with net settlement features for withholding tax obligations; and accounting where a modifi cation to the terms and conditions of a share-based payment transaction changes its classifi cation from cash settled to equity settled. On adoption, entities are required to apply the amendments without restating prior periods, but retrospective application is permitted if elected for all three amendments and other criteria are met. The amendments are eff ective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018, with early application permitted. The Group is assessing the potential effect of the amendments on its Consolidated Financial Statements.
The amendments address concerns arising from implementing the new fi nancial instruments standard, IFRS 9, before implementing IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts, which replaces IFRS 4. The amendments introduce two options for entities issuing insurance contracts: a temporary exemption from applying IFRS 9 and an overlay approach. The temporary exemption is fi rst applied for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018. An entity may elect the overlay approach when it fi rst applies IFRS 9 and apply that approach retrospectively to fi nancial assets designated on transition to IFRS 9. The entity restates comparative information refl ecting the overlay approach if, and only if, the entity restates comparative information when applying IFRS 9. These amendments are not applicable to the Group.
The amendments clarify when an entity should transfer property, including property under construction or development into, or out of investment property. The amendments state that a change in use occurs when the property meets, or ceases to meet, the defi nition of investment property and there is evidence of the change in use. A mere change in management's intentions for the use of a property does not provide evidence of a change in use. Entities should apply the amendments prospectively to changes in use that occur on or after the beginning of the annual reporting period in which the entity first applies the amendments. An entity should reassess the classifi cation of property held at that date and, if applicable, reclassify property to refl ect the conditions that exist at that date. Retrospective application in accordance with IAS 8 is only permitted if it is possible without the use of hindsight. Eff ective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018. Early application of the amendments is permitted and must be disclosed. The Group will apply the amendments when they become eff ective. However, since Group's current practice is in line with the clarifi cations issued, the Group does not expect any eff ect on its Consolidated Financial Statements.
The amendments address the confl ict between IFRS 10 and IAS 28 in dealing with the loss of control of a subsidiary that is sold or contributed to an associate or joint venture. The amendments clarify that the gain or loss resulting from the sale or contribution of assets that constitute a business, as defi ned in IFRS 3, between an investor and its associate or joint venture, is recognised in full. Any gain or loss resulting from the sale or contribution of assets that do not constitute a business, however, is recognised only to the extent of unrelated investors' interests in the associate or joint venture. The IASB has deferred the eff ective date of these amendments indefi nitely, but an entity that early adopts the amendments must apply them prospectively. The Group will apply these amendments when they become eff ective.
Annual Improvements 2014-2016 Cycle (issued in December 2016)
These improvements include:
IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards – 'Deletion of short-term exemptions for first-time adopters'. Short-term exemptions in paragraphs E3–E7 of IFRS 1 were deleted because they have now served their intended purpose. The amendment is eff ective from 1 January 2018. This amendment is not applicable to the Group;
IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures – 'Clarifi cation that measuring investees at fair value through profi t or loss is an investment-by-investment choice'.
The amendments clarify that:
The amendments should be applied retrospectively and are eff ective from 1 January 2018, with earlier application permitted. If an entity applies those amendments for an earlier period, it must disclose that fact. These amendments are not applicable to the Group.
The Interpretation clarifi es that, in determining the spot exchange rate to use on initial recognition of the related asset, expense or income (or part of it) on the derecognition of a non-monetary asset or non-monetary liability relating to advance consideration, the date of the transaction is the date on which an entity initially recognises the non-monetary asset or non-monetary liability arising from the advance consideration. If there are multiple payments or receipts in advance, then the entity must determine the transaction date for each payment or receipt of advance consideration. Entities may apply the amendments on a fully retrospective basis. Alternatively, an entity may apply the Interpretation prospectively to all assets, expenses and income in its scope that are initially recognised on or after:
(I ) the beginning of the reporting period in which the entity fi rst applies the interpretation;
Or
(II ) the beginning of a prior reporting period presented as comparative information in the Financial Statements of the reporting period in which the entity fi rst applies the interpretation.
The Interpretation is eff ective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018. Early application of interpretation is permitted and must be disclosed. However, since the Group's current practice is in line with the Interpretation, the Group does not expect any eff ect on its Consolidated Financial Statements.
The Interpretation addresses the accounting for income taxes when tax treatments involve uncertainty that aff ects the application of IAS 12 and does not apply to taxes or levies outside the scope of IAS 12, nor does it specifi cally include requirements relating to interest and penalties associated with uncertain tax treatments.
The Interpretation specifi cally addresses the following:
An entity must determine whether to consider each uncertain tax treatment separately or together with one or more other uncertain tax treatments. The approach that better predicts the resolution of the uncertainty should be followed. The interpretation is eff ective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019, but certain transition reliefs are available. The Group will apply interpretation from its eff ective date. Since the Group operates in a multinational tax environment, applying the Interpretation may aff ect its Consolidated Financial Statements and the required disclosures. In 2018, the Group will further assess the potential impact of this IFRIC interpretation.
The amendments enable companies to measure at amortised cost some pre-payable fi nancial assets with negative compensation. The assets aff ected, that include some loans and debt securities, would otherwise have been measured at fair value through profi t or loss ("FVTPL"). In addition, the amendments address on how to account for the modifi cation of a fi nancial liability. The amendment confi rms that most of such modifi cations will result in immediate recognition of a gain or loss. The amendments are eff ective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. The Group will apply the amendments when they become eff ective. In 2018, the Group will further assess the potential impact of these amendments.
The amendments clarify that an entity should apply IFRS 9 to longterm interests in an associate or joint venture to which it does not apply the equity method. This includes long-term interests that, in substance, form part of the entity's net investment in an associate or joint venture. The amendments are eff ective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. The Group will apply the amendments when they become eff ective. In 2018, the Group will further assess the potential impact of these amendments.
These improvements include:
IFRS 3 Business Combinations and IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements, "Previously held interest in a joint operation"
The amendments to IFRS 3 clarify that when an entity obtains control of a business that is a joint operation, it re-measures previously held interests in that business. The amendments to IFRS 11 clarify that when an entity obtains joint control of a business that is a joint operation, the entity does not re-measure previously held interests in that business.
IAS 12 Income Taxes, "Income tax consequences of payments on fi nancial instruments classifi ed as equity" The amendments clarify that all income tax consequences of dividends (i.e. distribution of profi ts) should be recognised in profi t or loss, regardless of how the tax arises.
IAS 23 Borrowing Costs, "Borrowing costs eligible for capitalization"
The amendments clarify that if any specifi c borrowing remains outstanding after the related asset is ready for its intended use or sale, that borrowing becomes part of the funds that an entity borrows generally when calculating the capitalisation rate on general borrowings.
The amendments must be applied for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. The Group will apply the amendments when they become eff ective. In 2018, the Group will further assess the potential impact of these amendments.
The amendments address if a plan amendment, curtailment or settlement occurs, it is now mandatory that the current service cost and the net interest for the period after the re-measurement are determined using the assumptions used for the re-measurement. In addition, amendments have been included to clarify the eff ect of a plan amendment, curtailment or settlement on the requirements regarding the asset ceiling. The amendments must be applied to plan amendments, curtailments or settlements occurring on or after the beginning of the fi rst annual reporting period that begins on or after 1 January 2019. The Group will apply the amendments when they become eff ective. In 2018, the Group will further assess the potential impact of these amendments.
There are no other IFRS's or IFRIC interpretations not yet eff ective, that would be expected to have a material impact on the Group in the current or future reporting periods and on foreseeable future transactions.
The following tables provide an overview of the Group's subsidiaries, associates, joint-ventures and non-current investments:
| OWNERSHIP | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUBSIDIARIES | DOMICILE | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 | ||
| Enternext S.A. | France | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext Amsterdam N.V. | The Netherlands | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext Brussels S.A./N.V. | Belgium | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext IP & IT Holding B.V. | The Netherlands | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext Hong Kong Limited | Hong Kong | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext Lisbon S.A.(a) | Portugal | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext London Ltd. | United Kingdom | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext Paris S.A. | France | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext Technologies Holding S.A.S. | France | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext Technologies Ltd. | United Kingdom | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext Technologies S.A.S. | France | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext Technologies Unipessoal Lda. | Portugal | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Interbolsa S.A.(b) | Portugal | 100.00% | 100.00% | ||
| Euronext Corporate Services B.V.(c) | The Netherlands | 100.00% | 0.00% | ||
| Company Webcast B.V.(d) | The Netherlands | 51.00% | 0.00% | ||
| iBabs B.V.(e) | The Netherlands | 60.00% | 0.00% | ||
| MSI Services B.V.(e) | The Netherlands | 60.00% | 0.00% | ||
| IR Soft Ltd.(f) | United Kingdom | 100.00% | 0.00% | ||
| Euronext US Inc.(g) | United States | 100.00% | 0.00% | ||
| Euronext Synapse LLC(h) | United States | 100.00% | 0.00% | ||
| FastMatch Inc.(i) | United States | 89.78% | 0.00% | ||
| Stichting Euronext Foundation(j) | The Netherlands | 0.00% | 0.00% | ||
| Associates | Domicile | ||||
| Tredzone S.A.S. | France | 34.04% | 34.04% | ||
| European Central Counterparty N.V. | The Netherlands | 20.00% | 20.00% | ||
| LCH S.A.(k) | France | 11.10% | 0.00% | ||
| Joint Ventures | Domicile | ||||
| Algonext Ltd. | United Kingdom | 50.00% | 50.00% | ||
| LiquidShare S.A.(l) | France | 13.57% | 0.00% | ||
| Non-current investments | Domicile | ||||
| Sicovam Holding S.A. | France | 9.60% | 9.60% | ||
| Euroclear plc. | United Kingdom | 3.34% | 3.26% | ||
| LCH group(m) | United Kingdom | 0.00% | 2.31% | ||
| Algomi Ltd.(n) | United Kingdom | 7.74% | 0.00% |
(a) Legal name of Euronext Lisbon S.A. is Euronext Lisbon - Sociedade Gestora de Mercados Regulamentados, S.A.
(b) Legal name of Interbolsa S.A. is Interbolsa - Sociedade Gestora de Sistemas de Liquidaçao e de Sistemas Centralizados de Valores Mobiliários, S.A.
(c) Euronext Corporate Services B.V. was incorporated on 9 February 2017.
(d) Company Webcast B.V. was acquired on 14 February 2017. The Group was able to derive benefi ts from this investment as from 1 January 2017 .
(e) iBabs B.V. and MSI Services B.V. were acquired on 7 July 2017.
(f) IR Soft Ltd. was acquired on 1 March 2017.
(g) Euronext US Inc. was incorporated on 15 May 2017.
(h) Euronext Synapse LLC was incorporated on 7 July 2017.
(i) FastMatch Inc. was acquired on 14 August 2017.
(j) Stichting Euronext Foundation is not owned by the Group but included in the scope of consolidation.
(k) The investment in associate LCH S.A. became eff ective on 29 December 2017, following the fi nalisation of regulatory approvals.
(l) LiquidShare S.A. was incorporated on 10 July 2017 and was setup as a joint venture arrangement together with six other founders.
(m) The disposal of the interest in LCH group became eff ective on 29 December 2017, following the fi nalisation of regulatory approvals.
(n) On 2 March 2017, the Group acquired a 7.59% in joint venture partner Algomi Ltd., which was increased to 7.74% on 17 November 2017.
The material acquisitions that occurred during the year are set out below.
On 14 February 2017, the Group acquired 51% of the ordinary shares in Company Webcast B.V., a Dutch company specialised in professional webcast and webinar services, for a consideration of €5.4 million. The Group has acquired Company Webcast B.V. to expand the "Euronext's Corporate Services" off er, which aims to help issuers make the most eff ective use of capital markets. The Group was able to derive benefi ts from this investment as from 1 January 2017 .
Details of the purchase consideration, the net assets acquired and goodwill are refl ected in the tables below (fair value approximates book value).
Purchase consideration :
| Cash paid | 3,600 |
|---|---|
| Contingent consideration | 1,800 |
| TOTAL PURCHASE CONSIDERATION | 5,400 |
The assets and liabilities recognised as a result of the acquisition are as follows:
| In thousands of euros | FAIR VALUE |
|---|---|
| Assets | |
| Property, plant and equipment | 328 |
| Other intangible assets | 170 |
| Deferred tax assets | 243 |
| Non-current other receivables | 2 |
| Trade and other receivables | 988 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 778 |
| Liabilities | |
| Non-current borrowings | (82) |
| Current borrowings | (35) |
| Current income tax liabilities | (8) |
| Trade and other payables | (1,612) |
| Net identifi able assets acquired | 772 |
| Less: non-controlling interest | (378) |
| Add: Goodwill | 5,006 |
| TOTAL PURCHASE CONSIDERATION | 5,400 |
The goodwill is primarily attributable to the expected synergies and other benefi ts from combining the assets and activities of Company Webcast B.V. with those of the Group. The goodwill is not deductible for income tax purposes.
The contingent consideration arrangement requires the Group to pay the former owners of Company Webcast B.V. 30% of the purchase consideration, ultimately on 31 March 2020. The fair value of the contingent consideration arrangement of €1.8 million was estimated based on a multiple of earnings and the average of actual 2016 and forecasted 2019 EBITDA. The liability is presented within other long-term fi nancial liabilities in the balance sheet and subsequent measurement will be through profi t or loss (see Note 30).
The fair value of trade and other receivables was €1.0 million and included €0.9 million of trade receivables, which is not materially different to the gross contractual amount. None of the trade receivables have been impaired and it is expected that the full contractual amounts can be collected.
The Group has chosen to recognise the non-controlling interest at the proportionate share of the net assets acquired. As such, noncontrolling interest on acquisition amounted to €0.4 million (49% of €0.8 million).
From the date of the acquisition, Company Webcast B.V. has contributed €4.3 million of revenue and €0.3 million of net profi t to the Group. As the group was able to derive benefi ts from this investment as from 1 January 2017 , the Group's full year result includes the full year contribution from Company Webcast B.V.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Acquisition related costs | (141) |
| Included in cash fl ows from operating activities | (141) |
| Cash consideration | (3,600) |
| Less: Balances acquired | 778 |
| Included in cash fl ows from investing activities | (2,822) |
| NET CASH FLOW ON ACQUISITION | (2,963) |
Acquisition related costs of €0.1 million have been expensed and are included in professional services in profi t or loss.
As from 1 January 2020, the Group will be entitled to acquire all shares from the minority shareholders ("call option"). As from the same date, the minority shareholders will be entitled to sell their shares to the Group ("put option"). The call- and put options have similar conditions. Based on a multiple of earnings and the forecasted 2019 EBITDA, the fair value of this transaction consideration is estimated at €8.2 million, for which the Group recorded a redemption liability as a reduction of shareholders' equity. The liability is presented in other long-term fi nancial liabilities in the balance sheet and subsequent measurement will be through profi t or loss (see Note 30).
On 7 July 2017, the Group acquired 60% of the ordinary shares in iBabs B.V., a leading Dutch provider of dematerialised board portal solutions for corporate and public organisations, for a total consideration of €32.1 million. As the use of board portal services is expected to grow signifi cantly over the coming years, the Group has acquired iBabs B.V. to expand the "Euronext's Corporate Services" off er, into which the iBabs' solutions will be integrated. The founding management team of iBabs B.V. will remain in place, continuing to grow the business while benefi ting from the Group's reach and expertise with listed companies.
Details of the purchase consideration, the net assets acquired and goodwill are refl ected in the tables below.
| In thousands of euros | FAIR VALUE |
|---|---|
| Cash paid | 30,106 |
| Purchase consideration fi nalisation payment accrued(a) | 2,020 |
| TOTAL PURCHASE CONSIDERATION | 32,126 |
(a) At reporting date an amount of €2.0 million was recognised in trade and other payables relating to the fi nalisation of the purchase consideration. This amount was paid in January 2018.
(1) Includes the individually immaterial acquisition of MSI Services B.V.
The assets and liabilities recognised as a result of the acquisition are as follows:
| In thousands of euros | FAIR VALUE |
|---|---|
| Assets | |
| Property, plant and equipment | 103 |
| Intangible assets: brand names | 1,243 |
| Intangible assets: customer relations | 20,349 |
| Intangible assets: software platform | 3,549 |
| Trade and other receivables | 725 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 2,704 |
| Liabilities | |
| Deferred tax liabilities | (6,285) |
| Trade and other payables | (1,502) |
| Net identifi able assets acquired | 20,886 |
| Less: non-controlling interest | (8,354) |
| Add: Goodwill | 19,594 |
| TOTAL PURCHASE CONSIDERATION | 32,126 |
The goodwill is primarily attributable to the expected synergies and other benefi ts from combining the assets and activities of iBabs B.V. with those of the Group. The goodwill is not deductible for income tax purposes.
The fair value of trade and other receivables was €0.7 million and included €0.3 million of trade receivables, which is not materially different to the gross contractual amount. None of the trade receivables have been impaired and it is expected that the full contractual amounts can be collected.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Acquisition related costs | (298) |
| Included in cash fl ows from operating activities | (298) |
| Cash consideration | (30,106) |
| Less: Balances acquired | 2,704 |
| Included in cash fl ows from investing activities | (27,402) |
| NET CASH FLOW ON ACQUISITION | (27,700) |
Acquisition related costs of €0.3 million have been expensed and are included in professional services in profi t or loss.
As from 1 January 2021, the Group has the right to acquire all of the shares held by the minority shareholders. This right to acquire the remaining 40% minority stake meets the defi nition of a derivative fi nancial instrument. The exercise price of this call option is based on an EBITDA multiple which also is considered best proxy for fair market value. The value of this instrument is therefore zero at initial recognition. The Group will continue to monitor this instrument over its lifetime and will recognise any future change in value through profi t or loss.
In addition, if the minority shares are sold to a third party, the Group has the obligation (or the right) to compensate (or to get compensated) for any variance between the price and a lower actual third party price off ered. Whenever the value of the expected exercise price is lower than fair value, a negative value for the option will be recorded, for the part that relates to the 'make-good' condition.
The Group has chosen to recognise the non-controlling interest at the proportionate share of the net assets acquired. As such, noncontrolling interest on acquisition amounted to €8.4 million (40% of €20.9 million).
From the date of the acquisition, iBabs B.V. has contributed €4.1 million of revenue and €0.8 million of net profi t to the Group. If the acquisition would have occurred on 1 January 2017, consolidated revenue and profi t for the year ended 31 December 2017 would have been €536.4 million and €242.1 million respectively.
On 14 August 2017, the Group acquired 89.78% of the ordinary shares in FastMatch Inc., a US-based Electronic Communication Network ("ECM") in the spot foreign exchange market, for a consideration of €138.5 million. The Group has acquired FastMatch Inc. to strengthen the Group's revenue-, product- and geographic diversification and accelerate its growth profile. The current FastMatch Inc. management will remain invested with a 10.22% ownership.
Details of the purchase consideration, the net assets acquired and goodwill are refl ected in the tables below.
| In thousands of euros | FAIR VALUE |
|---|---|
| Cash paid | 131,674 |
| Contingent consideration | 6,784 |
| TOTAL PURCHASE CONSIDERATION | 138,458 |
The assets and liabilities recognised as a result of the acquisition are as follows:
| In thousands of euros | FAIR VALUE |
|---|---|
| Assets | |
| Property, plant and equipment | 541 |
| Intangible assets: brand names | 5,766 |
| Intangible assets: customer relations | 32,477 |
| Intangible assets: software platform | 4,240 |
| Other intangible assets | 2,504 |
| Non-current other receivables | 132 |
| Trade and other receivables | 3, 790 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 4,723 |
| Liabilities | |
| Deferred tax liabilities | (6,005) |
| Current income tax liabilities | (151) |
| Trade and other payables | (2,271) |
| Net identifi able assets acquired | 45,746 |
| Less: non-controlling interest | (4,675) |
| Add: Goodwill | 97,387 |
| TOTAL PURCHASE CONSIDERATION | 138,458 |
The goodwill is primarily attributable to the expected synergies and other benefi ts from combining the assets and activities of FastMatch Inc. with those of the Group. The goodwill is not deductible for income tax purposes.
The acquisition includes a contingent earn-out payment payable on the 1st anniversary of the acquisition date. At acquisition date a fi nancial liability of €6.8 million was recognised as contingent consideration in other short-term fi nancial liabilities and subsequent measurement will be through profi t or loss (see Notes 30).
The fair value of trade and other receivables was €3.8 million and included €3.6 million of trade receivables, which is not materially different to the gross contractual amount. None of the trade receivables have been impaired and it is expected that the full contractual amounts can be collected.
The Group has chosen to recognise the non-controlling interest at the proportionate share of the net assets acquired. As such, noncontrolling interest on acquisition amounted to €4.7 million (10.22% of €45.8 million).
From the date of the acquisition, FastMatch Inc. has contributed €7.2 million of revenue and €0.3 million of net profi t to the Group. If the acquisition would have occurred on 1 January 2017, consolidated revenue and profi t for the year ended 31 December 2017 would have been €551.6 million and €242.0 million respectively.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Acquisition related costs | (2,899) |
| Included in cash fl ows from operating activities | (2,899) |
| Cash consideration | (131,674) |
| Less: Balances acquired | 4,723 |
| Included in cash fl ows from investing activities | (126,951) |
| NET CASH FLOW ON ACQUISITION | (129,850) |
Acquisition related costs of €2.9 million have been expensed and are included in professional services in profi t or loss.
The minority shareholders will have to off er their shares in FastMatch Inc. for sale to the Group between the 2nd and 4th anniversary of the acquisition date. This right to acquire the remaining 10.22% minority stake by the Group meets the defi nition of a derivative fi nancial instrument. The exercise price of this call option is based on an EBITDA multiple which also is considered best proxy for fair value. The value of this instrument is therefore zero at initial recognition. The Group will continue to monitor this instrument over its lifetime and will recognise any future change in value through profi t or loss.
In addition, if the minority shares are sold to a third party, the Group has the obligation (or the right) to compensate (or to get compensated) for any variance between the price and a lower actual third party price off ered. Whenever the value of the expected exercise price is lower than fair value, a negative value for the option will be recorded, for the part that relates to the 'make-good' condition.
Financial information of subsidiaries that are signifi cant to the Group is provided below:
Proportion of equity interest held by non-controlling interests:
| PLACE OF | % OF OWNERSHIP INTEREST HELD BY NCI |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME OF ENTITY | BUSINESS / COUNTRY OF INCORPORATION |
2017 | 2016 | ||
| % | % | ||||
| Company Webcast B.V. | The Netherlands | 49.00 | - | ||
| iBabs B.V. | The Netherlands | 40.00 | - | ||
| FastMatch Inc. | United States | 10.22 | - |
The summarized fi nancial information of these subsidiaries is provided below. This information is based on amounts before inter-company eliminations.
| COMPANY WEBCAST B.V. | IBABS B.V. | FASTMATCH INC. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summarised balance sheet (In thousands of euros) | 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
| Current assets | 1,708 | - | 4,838 | - | 11,660 | - |
| Current liabilities | 1,345 | - | 1,300 | - | 3,476 | - |
| Current net assets | 363 | - | 3,538 | - | 8,184 | - |
| Non-current assets | 1,101 | - | 24,333 | - | 43,536 | - |
| Non-current liabilities | 47 | - | 6,059 | - | 6,556 | - |
| Non-current net assets | 1,054 | - | 18,274 | - | 36,980 | - |
| Net assets | 1,417 | - | 21,812 | - | 45,164 | - |
| Accumulated NCI | 694 | - | 8,725 | - | 4,616 | - |
| COMPANY WEBCAST B.V. | IBABS B.V. | FASTMATCH INC. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summarised statement of comprehensive income (In thousands of euros) |
31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
| Revenue | 4,336 | - | 3,867 | - | 7,239 | - |
| Profi t for the year | 645 | - | 1,206 | - | 269 | - |
| Other comprehensive income | - | - | - | - | 29 | - |
| Total comprehensive income | 645 | - | 1,206 | - | 298 | - |
| Profi t/ (loss) allocated to NCI | 316 | - | 483 | - | 30 | - |
| Dividends paid to NCI | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| COMPANY WEBCAST B.V. | IBABS B.V. | FASTMATCH INC. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summarised cash fl ow information (In thousands of euros) |
31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
| Cash fl ow from operating activities | 715 | - | 878 | - | 4,551 | - |
| Cash fl ow from investing activities | (31) | - | 2,270 | - | 3,981 | - |
| Cash fl ow from fi nancing activities | (35) | - | - | - | (162) | - |
| Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
649 | - | 3,148 | - | 8,370 | - |
Set out below are the associates and joint ventures of the Group as at 31 December 2017. The country of incorporation or registration is also their principal place of business, and the proportion of ownership interest is the same as the proportion of voting rights held.
| PLACE OF BUSINESS / |
% OF OWNERSHIP INTEREST |
QUOTED FAIR VALUE (IN AMOUNT (IN MEASUREMENT THOUSANDS THOUSANDS METHOD OF EUROS) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME OF ENTITY | COUNTRY OF INCORPORATION |
2017 | 2016 | NATURE OF RELATIONSHIP |
2017 | 2016 | 2017 | 2016 |
| % | % | |||||||
| European Central Counterparty N.V. | The Netherlands | 20.0 | 20.0 | Associate(a) | - | - | 14,109 | 13,467 |
| LCH S.A. | France | 11.1 | - | Associate(b) | - | - | 57,951 | - |
| Immaterial joint ventures | - | - | 1,799 | 1,171 | ||||
| Immaterial associates | - | - | 1,145 | 1,319 | ||||
| TOTAL EQUITY ACCOUNTED INVESTMENTS | 75,004 | 15,957 |
(a) European Central Counterparty N.V. ("EuroCCP") is a CCP for pan-European equity markets providing clearing and settlement services.
(b) LCH S.A. is a Continental European clearing house, off ering clearing services for a diverse range of asset classes. As described in Note 3, the Group has determined that it has signifi cant infl uence over LCH S.A. even though it only holds 11.1% of the voting rights.
As part of the acquisition of its 20% stake in EuroCCP, Euronext is providing a liquidity guarantee towards ABN Amro Clearing Bank, who acts as liquidity provider to EuroCCP. This liquidity guarantee is an independent fi rst demand guarantee, provided by all shareholders in EuroCCP to ABN Amro Clearing Bank, with a maximum amount of €6.0 million per shareholder. This guarantee serves as security for the due fulfi lment by EuroCCP of its obligations towards the liquidity provider. Having concluded that its fair value is insignifi cant, Euronext is not recognizing a liability for this Financial Guarantee contract.
The tables below provide summarised fi nancial information for those associates and joint ventures that are material to the Group. The information disclosed refl ects the amounts presented in the Financial Statements of the relevant associates or joint ventures and not Euronext's share of those amounts. They have been amended to refl ect adjustments made by the entity when using the equity method, including fair value adjustments and modifications for diff erences in accounting policy.
| EUROCCP | LCH S.A. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summarised balance sheet (In thousands of euros) | 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
31 DECEMBER 2017 |
31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|
| Non-current assets | 2,216 | 2,260 | 102,721 | - | |
| Current assets | 598,189 | 539,058 | 289,076,000 | - | |
| Non-current liabilities | - | - | 6,400 | - | |
| Current liabilities | 557,024 | 501,147 | 288,812,000 | - | |
| Net assets | 43,381 | 40,171 | 360,321 | - | |
| Reconciliation to carrying amounts: | - | ||||
| Opening net assets 1 January | 40,171 | 38,443 | 324,800 | - | |
| Additions | - | - | 32,621 | - | |
| Profi t/(loss) for the year(a) | 3,217 | 4,841 | 42,600 | - | |
| Other comprehensive income | (7) | 49 | 300 | - | |
| Dividends paid | - | (3,162) | (40,000) | - | |
| Closing net assets | 43,381 | 40,171 | 360,321 | - | |
| Group's share in % | 20.0% | 20.0% | 11.1% | - | |
| Group's share in thousands of euros | 8,676 | 8,034 | 39,996 | - | |
| Goodwill | 5,433 | 5,433 | 17,955 | - | |
| CARRYING AMOUNT | 14,109 | 13,467 | 57,951 | - | |
(a) The share of profi t from EuroCCP recognised in the Group's Statement of Profi t or Loss amounted to €0.6 million in 2017 (2016: €22 k, refl ecting the Group's interest as from the acquisition date of 15 December 2016). The investment in LCH S.A. did not generate any share of profi t in 2017, as the acquisition was fi nalised on 29 December 2017.
| EUROCCP | LCH S.A. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summarised statement of comprehensive income (In thousands of euros) | 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| Revenue | 22,556 | 23,771 | 118,500 | - | |
| Profi t from continuing operations | 3,217 | 4,841 | 42,600 | - | |
| Profi t from discontinued operations | - | - | - | - | |
| Profi t for the year | 3,217 | 4,841 | 42,600 | - | |
| Other comprehensive income | (7) | 49 | 300 | - | |
| TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME | 3,210 | 4,890 | 42,900 | - | |
| Dividends received from associates | - | - | - | - |
In addition to the interest in material associates and joint ventures disclosed above, the Group also has interests in an individually immaterial associate and two individually immaterial joint ventures, that are all accounted for using the equity method.
The Group has an 34.04% interest in Tredzone S.A.S., a low latency software developer, as part of its innovation strategy.
| (In thousands of euros) | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Aggregate carrying amount of individually immaterial associates | 1,145 | 1,319 |
| Aggregate amounts of the Group's share of: | ||
| Profi t/(loss) from continuing operations | (175) | (41) |
| Post-tax profi t or loss from discontinued operations | - | - |
| Other comprehensive income | - | - |
| TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME | (175) | (41) |
On 10 July 2017 the Group, together with six other leading fi nancial institutions, incorporated LiquidShare, a fi ntech joint venture with the objective to improve SME's access to capital markets and improving the transparency and security of post-trading operations using blockchain technology. The Group, sharing joint control with the other founders, has an interest of 13.57% in LiquidShare.
The Group also has an interest of 50% in Algonext Ltd. that was incorporated after the Group entered into a 10 year partnership with fi xed income technology provider Algomi Ltd. in 2016, to create a long-term joint venture.
| (In thousands of euros) | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Aggregate carrying amount of individually immaterial joint ventures | 1,799 | 1,171 |
| Aggregate amounts of the Group's share of: | ||
| Profi t/(loss) from continuing operations | (181) | - |
| Post-tax profi t or loss from discontinued operations | - | - |
| Other comprehensive income | - | - |
| TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME | (181) | - |
| YEAR ENDED | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 | |
| Listing | 84,247 | 68,708 | |
| Trading revenue | 237,854 | 220,835 | |
| of which | |||
| Cash trading | 190,276 | 180,727 | |
| Derivatives trading | 40,339 | 40,108 | |
| FX trading | 7,239 | - | |
| Market data & indices | 104,673 | 105,697 | |
| Post-trade | 71,698 | 67,627 | |
| of which | |||
| Clearing | 51,132 | 47,992 | |
| Custody and Settlement | 20,566 | 19,635 | |
| Market solutions & other revenue | 33,465 | 33,009 | |
| Other income | 357 | 560 | |
| TOTAL | 532,294 | 496,436 |
At 31 December 2017 and 2016, there were no customers that individually exceeded 10% of the Group's revenue. The revenue line "FX trading" results from the acquisition of FastMatch Inc. in 2017 (see Note 5).
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Salaries and other short term benefi ts | (74,893) | (72,258) |
| Social security contributions(a) | (23,536) | (22,569) |
| Share-based payment costs | (3,782) | (2,772) |
| Pension cost - defi ned benefi t plans | (1,106) | (1,115) |
| Pension cost - defi ned contribution plans(a) | (1,046) | (1,062) |
| TOTAL | (104,363) | (99,776) |
(a) In the comparative period a reclassifi cation of €0.8 million has been made from 'pension costs – defi ned contribution plans' to 'social security contributions' to better refl ect the nature of those expenses.
At the end of the year, the number of employees, based on full-time equivalents ("FTE") stood at 670.8 (2016:573.7). The increase in FTE was primarily caused by the newly acquired companies during the year In 2017, 'Share based payments costs' primarily contains costs related to the LTI plans 2015, 2016, 2017. Details of these plans are disclosed in Note 24.
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation of tangible fi xed assets | (6,684) | (6,075) |
| Amortisation of intangible fi xed assets | (10,248) | (9,013) |
| TOTAL | (16,932) | (15,088) |
In 2017, the amortisation of intangible fi xed assets includes €2.4 million of software and customer relations amortisation from newly acquired companies in 2017 (see Note 17).
| YEAR ENDED | ||
|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
| Systems and communications | (22,354) | (17,099) |
| Professional services | (45,545) | (38,382) |
| Clearing expenses | (27,925) | (26,311) |
| Accommodation | (9,961) | (10,237) |
| Other expenses(a) | (24,364) | (20,737) |
| TOTAL | (130,149) | (112,766) |
(a) Other expenses include marketing, taxes, insurance, travel, professional membership fees, corporate management and other expenses.
| YEAR ENDED | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 | |
| Restructuring costs | (2,159) | (7,082) | |
| ICE Clear Netherlands termination fee | (5,000) | - | |
| Acquisition costs | (5,280) | (3,322) | |
| Portuguese pension plan settlement | (1,565) | - | |
| Refund pre-retirement plan Paris | 2,208 | - | |
| Litigation provisions/settlements | (388) | - | |
| Impairment intangible assets | (2,621) | - | |
| Other | 18 | 366 | |
| TOTAL | (14,787) | (10,038) |
In 2017, exceptional items included:
€5.3 million of costs incurred for contemplated acquisitions of major signifi cance to the Group, potentially changing the Group's form or character (transformational acquisitions);
€1.6 million of past service costs recognised as a result of the Portuguese pension plan settlement from defined benefit to defi ned contribution (see Note 26);
In 2016, exceptional items included:
expenses for employee termination benefits in the various Euronext locations for €3.2 million,
expenses attributable to the execution and completion of the French restructuring plans for €1.7 million, and
If the exceptional items were presented by nature, salaries and employee benefi ts would amount to €0.7 million (2016: €6.2 million), depreciation and amortization would amount to €3.2 million (2016: €0.0 million) and other operational items would amount to €10.9 million (2016: €3.8 million).They relate to both income and expense.
| YEAR ENDED | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 | |
| Interest expense | (2,373) | (2,142) | |
| Other fi nance costs | (1,180) | - | |
| Finance costs | (3,553) | (2,142) | |
| Interest income | 314 | 572 | |
| Gain/ (loss) on disposal of treasury investments | (5) | - | |
| Net foreign exchange (loss)/gain | (356) | 764 | |
| Other net financing income/(expense) | (47) | 1,336 | |
| TOTAL | (3,600) | (806) |
In 2017, the other fi nance costs relate to a provision made for stamp duty tax on cash-pooling arrangements in Portugal.
| YEAR ENDED | ||
|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
| Dividend income | 6,105 | 6,032 |
| Impairment of non-current investments | (5) | - |
| Gains on disposal of non-current investments | 42,225 | - |
| TOTAL | 48,325 | 6,032 |
The gains on disposal of non-current investments primarily include: (i) €1.7 million of deferred consideration received from LSE group, in connection to a partial sale of LCH group shares in 2013 and (ii) a €40.6 million gain related to the share exchange transaction of the Group's 2.31% interest in LCH group for an 11.1% interest in LCH S.A., which is further described in Notes 2 and 7.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Current tax expense | (71,127) | (59,968) |
| Deferred tax expense | 2,241 | (6,994) |
| TOTAL | (68,886) | (66,962) |
The actual tax charge incurred on the Group's profi t before income tax diff ers from the theoretical amount that would arise using the weighted average tax rates applicable to profi t before income tax of the consolidated entities as follows:
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Profi t before income tax | 311,075 | 263,975 |
| Income tax calculated at domestic tax rates applicable to profi ts in the respective countries | (96,184) | (79,246) |
| Tax eff ects of: | ||
| (De) recognition tax losses | (125) | (65) |
| Non-deductible expenses | (2,065) | (1,839) |
| Other tax exempt income(a) | 12,676 | 1,931 |
| Over provided in prior years(b) | 22,096 | 15,456 |
| Other(c) | (5,284) | (3,199) |
| TOTAL | (68,886) | (66,962) |
(a) Other tax exempt income includes the partially exempt capital gain recognized on the LCH share swap transaction in December 2017.
(b) In 2016 'over provided in prior years' were positively impacted by the release of a €16.3 million tax provision recognised in 2013, as a result of the lapse of the statute of limitations. In 2017 'over provided in prior years' were again positively impacted by the release of €20.4 million tax provisions recognised in 2013 and 2014, as a result of the lapse of statute of limitations.
(c) As from 2014, the Company applies the statutory tax rates without (temporary) surcharges (in Portugal and France) to the profi t before income tax to calculate tax at domestic rates. The (temporary) surcharges have been included in the line 'Other'. Within 'Other' a one off impairment on a tax receivable resulting from the carve out in 2014 was recognised.
The decrease in eff ective tax rate from 25.4% for the year ended 31 December 2016 to 22.1% for the year ended 31 December 2017 was primarily attributable to items that were included in the income tax expense for the years ended 31 December, 2017 and 2016, as discussed above.
Due to the implementation of new US federal corporate income tax rate (21%) as per 1 January 2018, the recognised deferred taxes have been calculated at these new rates.
| OTHER | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | LAND & BUILDINGS | HARDWARE & IT | EQUIPMENT(a) | TOTAL |
| As at 1 January 2016 | ||||
| Cost | 17,602 | 28,100 | 45,431 | 91,133 |
| Accumulated depreciation and impairment | (7,076) | (20,307) | (34,971) | (62,354) |
| Net book amount | 10,526 | 7,793 | 10,460 | 28,779 |
| As at 1 January 2016 net book amount | 10,526 | 7,793 | 10,460 | 28,779 |
| Exchange diff erences | - | (749) | (2) | (751) |
| Additions | - | 3,204 | 2,335 | 5,539 |
| Depreciation charge (Note 10) | (211) | (4,078) | (1,786) | (6,075) |
| As at 31 December 2016 net book amount | 10,315 | 6,170 | 11,007 | 27,492 |
| As at 31 December 2016 | ||||
| Cost | 14,776 | 29,265 | 47,491 | 91,532 |
| Accumulated depreciation and impairment | (4,461) | (23,095) | (36,484) | (64,040) |
| Net book amount | 10,315 | 6,170 | 11,007 | 27,492 |
| AS AT 1 JANUARY 2017 NET BOOK AMOUNT | 10,315 | 6,170 | 11,007 | 27,492 |
| Exchange diff erences | - | (63) | (6) | (69) |
| Additions | - | 4,357 | 1,746 | 6,103 |
| Disposals & other | - | 31 | (64) | (33) |
| Acquisitions of subsidiaries (Note 5) | - | 286 | 687 | 973 |
| Depreciation charge (Note 10) | (212) | (4,188) | (2,284) | (6,684) |
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 NET BOOK AMOUNT | 10,103 | 6,593 | 11,086 | 27,782 |
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | ||||
| Cost | 14,776 | 24,702 | 50,204 | 89,682 |
| Accumulated depreciation and impairment | (4,673) | (18,109) | (39,118) | (61,900) |
| Net book amount | 10,103 | 6,593 | 11,086 | 27,782 |
(a) Other Equipment includes building fi xtures and fi tting and lease improvements.
The Company does not hold assets under fi nance leases.
| PURCHASED SOFTWARE |
INTANGIBLE ASSETS RECOGNISED ON ACQUISITION OF SUBSIDIARIES |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | GOODWILL | INTERNALLY DEVELOPED SOFTWARE |
CONSTR. IN PR.PATENTS & TRADEMARK |
SOFTWARE | CUSTOMER RELATIONS |
BRAND NAMES |
TOTAL |
| As at 31 December 2015 | |||||||
| Cost | 354,759 | 54,673 | 34,130 | - | - | - | 443,562 |
| Accumulated amortisation and impairment | (53,341) | (43,096) | (25,768) | - | - | - | (122,205) |
| Net book amount | 301,418 | 11,577 | 8,362 | - | - | - | 321,357 |
| As at 1 January 2016 net book amount | 301,418 | 11,577 | 8,362 | - | - | - | 321,357 |
| Exchange diff erences | - | - | (416) | - | - | - | (416) |
| Additions | - | 7,340 | 1,888 | - | - | - | 9,228 |
| Amortisation charge (Note 10) | - | (5,087) | (3,926) | - | - | - | (9,013) |
| As at 31 December 2016 net book amount | 301,418 | 13,830 | 5,908 | - | - | - | 321,156 |
| As at 31 December 2016 | |||||||
| Cost | 354,759 | 62,013 | 34,839 | - | - | - | 451,611 |
| Accumulated amortisation and impairment | (53,341) | (48,183) | (28,931) | - | - | - | (130,455) |
| Net book amount | 301,418 | 13,830 | 5,908 | - | - | - | 321,156 |
| AS AT 1 JANUARY 2016 NET BOOK AMOUNT |
301,418 | 13,830 | 5,908 | - | - | - | 321,156 |
| Exchange diff erences | (1,857) | (44) | (71) | (66) | (605) | (110) | (2,753) |
| Additions | - | 13,277 | 4,497 | - | - | - | 17,774 |
| Impairment charge | - | (523) | (2,621) | - | - | - | (3,144) |
| Transfers and other | - | (608) | 608 | - | - | - | - |
| Acquisitions of subsidiaries (Note 5) | 122,052 | 2,334 | 339 | 7,789 | 52,826 | 7,009 | 192,349 |
| Amortisation charge (Note 10) | - | (5,136) | (2,757) | (1,152) | (1,203) | - | (10,248) |
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 NET BOOK AMOUNT |
421,613 | 23,130 | 5,903 | 6,571 | 51,018 | 6,899 | 515,134 |
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | |||||||
| Cost | 474,953 | 80,365 | 43,689 | 7,708 | 52,208 | 6,899 | 665,822 |
| Accumulated amortisation and impairment | (53,340) | (57,235) | (37,786) | (1,137) | (1,190) | - | (150,688) |
| Net book amount | 421,613 | 23,130 | 5,903 | 6,571 | 51,018 | 6,899 | 515,134 |
Goodwill is monitored and tested for impairment at the lowest CGU group level of the Group to which goodwill acquired in a business combination is allocated (see Note 3). Following the acquisition of FastMatch Inc. in 2017 and the allocation of goodwill from this transaction to the "FX Trading" CGU, the Group tests goodwill at the level of two CGU (group)'s: "Euronext" and "FX Trading".
The recoverable value of the "Euronext" CGU group is based on its fair value less cost of disposal, applying a discounted cash flow approach, and corroborated by observation of Company's market capitalisation. The fair value measurement uses signifi cant unobservable inputs and is therefore categorised as a Level 3 measurement under IFRS 13.
Cash fl ow projections are derived from the 2018 budget and the business plan for 2019. Key assumptions used by management include third party revenue growth, which factors future volumes of European equity markets, the Group's market share, average fee per transaction, and the expected impact of new product initiatives. These assumptions are based on past experience, market research and management expectation of market developments.
For the impairment test performed as of 31 December 2017, revenues have been extrapolated using a perpetual growth rate of 2.3% (2016: 1.5%) after 2019. The weighted average cost of capital applied was 8.6% (2016: 8.5%).
The annual impairment testing of the "Euronext" CGU group performed at each year-end did not result in any instance where the carrying value of the operating segment exceeded its recoverable amount.
Recoverable amount is sensitive to key assumptions. As of 31 December 2017, a reduction to 0% per year of third party revenue growth during the explicit forecast period , a reduction to 1% per year of perpetual growth rate, or an increase by 1% per year in discount rate, which management believes are individually reasonably possible changes to key assumptions, would not result in a goodwill impairment. The sensitivity test on the key assumptions defi ned in 2017 would not result in a goodwill impairment. Possible correlations between each of these parameters were not considered.
Given the recent nature of the acquisition of FastMatch Inc., the Group considers the purchase price in this transaction as the best proxy for fair value and recoverable amount of FastMatch Inc.
The analysis of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities is as follows:
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Deferred income tax assets(a) | 7,991 | 5,021 |
| Deferred income tax liabilities(a) | (19,834) | (600) |
| TOTAL NET DEFERRED TAX ASSETS (LIABILITIES) | (11,843) | 4,421 |
(a) As shown in the balance sheet, after off setting deferred tax assets and liabilities related to the same taxable entity.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Deferred tax assets / (liabilities): | ||
| Property, plant and equipment | (812) | 1,203 |
| Intangible assets(a) | (16,206) | (1,220) |
| Investments(b) | (7,556) | (2,025) |
| Provisions and employee benefi ts | 6,650 | 5,328 |
| Other | 177 | 430 |
| Loss carried forwardc) | 5,904 | 705 |
| Deferred tax assets (net) | (11,843) | 4,421 |
(a) The increase mainly relates to the recognition of a deferred tax liability resulting from the intangible assets recognised upon the acquisitions of Fastmatch Inc. and iBabs B.V.
(b) The increase in investments mainly relates to the increase in the revaluation of assets available for sale (Euroclear plc. and Sicovam Holding S.A.S.).
(c) The increase relates to losses carried forward recognized on carry forward losses of Fastmatch Inc and losses recognised on the closure of Euronext Technology Ltd in the UK.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Balance at beginning of the year | 4,421 | 12,346 |
| Recognised in income statement | 2,241 | (6,994) |
| Reclassifi cations and other movements(a) | (11,851) | 61 |
| Exchange diff erence | 2 | (444) |
| Charge related to other comprehensive income | (6,656) | (548) |
| Balance at end of the year | (11,843) | 4,421 |
(a) Reclassifi cations and other movements's includess (i) a deferred tax asset of €2.9 million as part of the net assets acquired of FastMatch Inc. and (ii) deferred tax liabilities for FastMmatch Inc. (€8.9 million) and iBabs B.V. (€6.3 million) resulting from the intangible assets recognised upon acquisition of those subsidiaries in 2017.
As per 31 December 2017, no losses were unrecognised by the Group that can be carried forward against future taxable income.
In 2016, no losses were unrecognised by the Group that can be carried forward against future taxable income.
The majority of the net deferred tax asset is expected to be recovered or settled after more than twelve months.
Due to the implementation of new US federal corporate income tax rate (21%) as per 1 January 2018, the recognised deferred taxes have been calculated at these new rates.
| In thousands of euros | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Euroclear plc. | 96,159 | 67,626 |
| Sicovam Holding S.A. | 41,696 | 30,000 |
| LCH group | - | 19,233 |
| Algomi Ltd. | 9,583 | - |
| Other | 65 | 201 |
| TOTAL | 147,503 | 117,060 |
Available-for-sale fi nancial assets primarily include long-term investments in unlisted equity securities.
As of 31 December 2017, the Group holds a 3.34% ownership interest in Euroclear plc. (31 December 2016: 3.26%), an unlisted company involved in the settlement of securities transaction and related banking services. The increase from 3.26% to 3.34% was due to share buy-backs by Euroclear plc. in 2017. The Group also holds a 9.60% ownership interest in Sicovam Holding S.A. (31 December 2016: 9.60%), resulting in an indirect 1.53% interest in Euroclear plc. (31 December 2016: 1.49%). The common stock of Sicovam Holding S.A. and Euroclear plc are not listed.
In relation to a changing political- and economic sentiment in Europe in 2017, the Group identifi ed a signifi cant increase in value of its investments in Euroclear plc and Sicovam Holding S.A. (see also Note 2 "Signifi cant events and transactions"). This ultimately led to an increase in fair value of €40.2 million for these investments in combination in 2017, recognized against Other Comprehensive Income.
Until 31 December 2016, the Group applied a combination of Capitalization- and Present value of dividend fl ows in perpetuity valuation techniques to establish fair value for the investments in Euroclear plc and Sicovam Holding S.A. In 2017, the Group changed methodology and applied a standardised multicriteria approach valuation for fi nancial institutions based on the Gordon Growth Model valuation technique as its primary valuation method and the regression valuation technique (P/B.V. and ROE) and trading multiples as control methods. With this change, the Group is shifting its valuation methodology to what is the industries' standard.
Having performed a fair-value calculation of the investments in Euroclear plc and Sicovam Holding S.A. as per 31 December 2016 and 31 December 2017 applying both the legacy- and the newly adopted methodology, the Group concludes that the change in methodology is not a material factor in the revaluation that is recognized over 2017.
In 2017, as for the investments in Euroclear plc. and Sicovam Holding S.A., the Group changed methodology and applied the Gordon valuation technique to measure fair value of its investment in LCH group. This however did not lead to a change in fair value of the investment in LCH group until 29 December 2017.
On 29 December 2017, the Group finalised the share exchange transaction of its 2.31% interest in LCH group for an 11.1% interest in LCH S.A., resulting in a full disposal of the investment in LCH group as per 31 December 2017. Immediately before this disposal, a revaluation to transaction value of €57.6 million was recorded against Other Comprehensive Income. The total revaluation of the investment in LCH group of €40.6 million has been recognised through the Statement of Profi t or Loss upon fi nalization of the share exchange transaction in the fourth quarter of 2017.The 11.1% interest in LCH S.A. was classifi ed as an investment in associate as per transaction date and therefore further described in Note 7 'Investments in associates and joint ventures'.
On 2 March 2017, the Group acquired a 7.59% interest in fixed income technology provider and joint venture partner Algomi Ltd., for a purchase consideration of €9.6 million (\$10.0 million). As part of this investment, the Group acquired a warrant to receive additional shares. The Group excercised this warrant in the second half of the year, increasing the total interest in Algomi Ltd. to 7.74% as per 31 December 2017. The Group determined the purchase price observed in this acquisition and another recent transaction to be best proxy for fair value as per 31 December 2017.
The classifi cation of the measurement within the fair value hierarchy is presented in Note 30.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Trade receivables | 61,156 | 46,383 |
| Less provision for impairment of trade receivables | (1,256) | (1,206) |
| Trade receivables net | 59,900 | 45,177 |
| Tax receivables (excluding income tax) | 7,673 | 5,927 |
| Prepayments and accrued income | 24,492 | 24,114 |
| Other receivables | 2,921 | 6,381 |
| TOTAL | 94,986 | 81,599 |
As of 31 December 2017, the total amount of trade receivables that were past due but not impaired was €19.0 million (2016: €11.5 million) of which €2.3 million (2016: €2.3 million) was overdue by more than three months.
The movement in the provision for impaired trade receivables in 2017 refl ects usages of €0.3 million (2016: €0.8 million) and accruals of €0.3 million (2016: €0.5 million) recorded during the year.
Management considers the fair value of the trade and other receivables to approximate their carrying value. The carrying value represents the Group's maximum exposure to credit risk.
Cash and cash equivalents consist of the following:
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and bank balances | 162,387 | 129,717 |
| Short term investments | 25,398 | 44,784 |
| TOTAL | 187,785 | 174,501 |
Short term investments are presented as cash and cash equivalents if they have a maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition and are repayable with 24 hours' notice with no loss of interest.
Under the Articles of Association, the Company's authorised share capital amounts to €200,000,001.60 and is divided into 125,000,000 Ordinary Shares and one Priority Share, each with a nominal value of €1.60 per share. All of Euronext's shares have been or will be created under Dutch law.
As of 31 December 2017, the Company's issued share capital amounts to €112,000,000 and is divided into 70,000,000 Ordinary Shares. The Priority Share is currently not outstanding. The fully paid ordinary shares carry one vote per share and rights to dividends, if declared. The Group's ability to declare dividends is limited to distributable reserves as defi ned by Dutch law.
Number of shares outstanding:
| (In numbers of shares) | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Issued shares | 70,000,000 | 70,000,000 |
| Treasury shares | ||
| Treasury shares as at 1 January | (463,799) | (464,387) |
| Liquidity contract | 30,691 | (33,010) |
| Share buy back | (45,659) | - |
| From share-based payments vesting | 65,447 | 33,598 |
| Treasury shares as at 31 December | (413,320) | (463,799) |
| OUTSTANDING AS AT 31 DECEMBER | 69,586,680 | 69,536,201 |
Treasury shares are accounted for at trade date and all held by Euronext N.V.
The movement on the line 'acquisition of own shares' in the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity consists of the impact from transactions by the liquidity provider of €1.3 million, minus the impact from transactions under the share repurchase program for €2.3 million. Details of these movements are disclosed below at (i) and (ii).
Part of the movement in the reserve during the reporting period relates to the transactions in Euronext N.V. shares conducted by the liquidity provider on behalf of the Group under the liquidity contract established (€1.3 million in 2017).
The liquidity Agreement (the «Agreement») has been established in accordance with applicable rules, in particular the regulation
The movement schedule for the reported years are as follows:
IN 2016
(EC) 2273/2003 of the European Commission of 22 December 2003 implementing the Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and Council as regards exemptions for buyback programs and stabilisation of fi nancial instruments, the provisions of Article 2:95 of the Book II of Dutch Civil Code, the provisions of the General Regulation of the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (the «AMF»), the decision of the AMF dated 21 March 2011 updating the Accepted Market Practice n° 2011-07 on liquidity agreements, the code of conduct issued by the French Association Française des Marchés Financiers ("AMAFI") on 8 March 2011 and approved by the AMF by its aforementioned decision dated 21 March 2011 (the «AMAFI Code») and as the case maybe the relevant Dutch rules applicable to liquidity agreements in particular the regulation on Accepted Market Practices WFT (Regeling gebruikelijke marktpraktijken WFT) dated 4 May 2011 and Section 2.6 of the Book II – General Rules for the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Market (the «Dutch Rules»).
As at 31 December 2017 Euronext N.V. holds 22,306 shares under the program with a cost of €0.5 million.
| TRANSACTION DATE (in euro) |
BUY EURONEXT N.V. SHARES |
SELL EURONEXT N.V. SHARES |
AVERAGE SHARE PRICE |
TOTAL VALUE TRANSACTION INCLUDING COMMISSIONS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As at 31 December 2015 | 19,987 | 416,208 | ||
| Purchases January | 93,633 | €45.07 | 4,220,149 | |
| Sales January | 76,218 | €44.90 | (3,422,544) | |
| Purchases February | 87,397 | €40.14 | 3,508,350 | |
| Sales February | 60,014 | €39.84 | (2,390,795) | |
| Purchases March | 61,434 | €37.11 | 2,279,843 | |
| Sales March | 59,313 | €37.26 | (2,209,844) | |
| Purchases April | 49,024 | €36.07 | 1,768,157 | |
| Sales April | 47,325 | €36.28 | (1,716,930) | |
| Purchases May | 35,011 | €37.59 | 1,316,138 | |
| Sales May | 34,888 | €37.85 | (1,320,417) | |
| Purchases June | 60,521 | €34.77 | 2,104,343 | |
| Sales June | 56,607 | €34.56 | (1,956,572) | |
| Purchases July | 29,048 | €33.46 | 971,811 | |
| Sales July | 46,132 | €33.86 | (1,561,905) | |
| Purchases August | 30,015 | €39.59 | 1,188,256 | |
| Sales August | 33,632 | €39.93 | (1,343,049) | |
| Purchases September | 43,407 | €38.24 | 1,660,047 | |
| Sales September | 41,048 | €38.32 | (1,573,070) | |
| Purchases October | 37,211 | €36.80 | 1,369,448 | |
| Sales October | 30,735 | €36.88 | (1,133,609) | |
| Purchases November | 53,593 | €35.81 | 1,919,004 | |
| Sales November | 47,479 | €35.88 | (1,703,387) | |
| Purchases December | 35,060 | €38.25 | 1,341,030 | |
| Sales December | 48,953 | €38.56 | (1,887,621) | |
| Total buy/sell | 615,354 | 582,344 | 1,426,833 | |
| TOTAL AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 | 52,997 | 1,843,041 |
| TRANSACTION DATE (in euro) |
BUY EURONEXT N.V. SHARES |
SELL EURONEXT N.V. SHARES |
AVERAGE SHARE PRICE |
TOTAL VALUE TRANSACTION INCLUDING COMMISSIONS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As at 31 December 2016 | 52,997 | 1,843,041 | ||
| Purchases January | 40,132 | €41.62 | 1,670,312 | |
| Sales January | 50,802 | €41.93 | (2,130,039) | |
| Purchases February | 48,882 | €40.73 | 1,990,988 | |
| Sales February | 53,509 | €40.83 | (2,184,720) | |
| Purchases March | 31,558 | €40.55 | 1,279,792 | |
| Sales March | 32,677 | €40.62 | (1,327,439) | |
| Purchases April | 24,714 | €42.79 | 1,057,423 | |
| Sales April | 28,318 | €42.92 | (1,215,437) | |
| Purchases May | 49,451 | €47.02 | 2,325,173 | |
| Sales May | 66,413 | €46.82 | (3,109,212) | |
| Purchases June | 48,939 | €46.39 | 2,270,157 | |
| Sales June | 44,908 | €46.47 | (2,087,073) | |
| Purchases July | 35,276 | €46.97 | 1,656,801 | |
| Sales July | 39,055 | €47.17 | (1,842,238) | |
| Purchases August | 49,270 | €48.66 | 2,397,318 | |
| Sales August | 48,011 | €48.78 | (2,342,024) | |
| Purchases September | 19,395 | €50.37 | 976,946 | |
| Sales September | 29,415 | €50.52 | (1,486,158) | |
| Purchases October | 38,346 | €52.27 | 2,004,455 | |
| Sales October | 30,126 | €52.37 | (1,577,619) | |
| Purchases November | 70,903 | €48.99 | 3,473,558 | |
| Sales November | 68,850 | €49.03 | (3,375,474) | |
| Purchases December | 33,206 | €51.42 | 1,707,508 | |
| Sales December | 28,679 | €51.48 | (1,476,397) | |
| Total buy/sell | 490,072 | 520,763 | (1,343,401) | |
| TOTAL AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 22,306 | 499,640 |
The Group has entered into a discretionary management agreement with a bank to repurchase Euronext shares within the limits of relevant laws and regulations (in particular EC Regulation 2273/2003) and the Group's Articles of Association to cover the Group's outstanding obligations resulting from employee shares plans for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The share repurchase program aims to hedge price risk arising for granted employee share plans. In 2017 the Group repurchased 45,659 shares for a total consideration of €2.3 million. In 2016 no transactions under the Share Repurchase Program occurred.
The movement schedule for the reported years are as follows:
| TRANSACTION DATE (in euro) |
BUY EURONEXT N.V. SHARES |
AVERAGE SHARE PRICE |
TOTAL VALUE TRANSACTION INCLUDING COMMISSIONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| As at 31 December 2015 | 450,279 | 18,608,353 | |
| Total buy/sell | - | - | |
| TOTAL AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 | 450,279 | 18,608,353 | |
| TRANSACTION DATE (in euro) |
BUY EURONEXT N.V. SHARES |
AVERAGE SHARE PRICE |
TOTAL VALUE TRANSACTION INCLUDING COMMISSIONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| As at 31 December 2016 | 450,279 | 18,608,353 | |
| Purchases September | 42,959 | €51.04 | 2,192,627 |
| Purchases October | 2,700 | €50.69 | 136,863 |
| Total buy/sell | 45,659 | 2,329,490 | |
| TOTAL AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 495,938 | 20,937,843 |
shareholders of Euronext N.V.
In 2017, the Group delivered 65,447 shares with a cost of €2.6 million to employees for whom share plans had (early) vested (2016: 33,598 shares, with a cost of €1.3 million). This movement is disclosed on the line 'other' in the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity.
Retained earnings are not freely available for distribution for an amount of €1.1 million relating to legal reserves (see Note 46).
Earnings per share are computed by dividing profi t attributable to the shareholders of the Company by the weighted average number of shares outstanding for the period. The number of weighted average shares used for the year ended 31 December 2017 as 69,580,344 and 31 December 2016 was 69,526,615.
Diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares. The impact of share plans is determined by the number of shares that could have been acquired at fair value (determined as the average quarterly market price of Euronext's shares) based on the fair value (measured in accordance with IFRS 2) of any services to be supplied to Euronext in the future under these plans. The number of weighted average shares used for the diluted earnings per share for the year ended 31 December 2017 was 69,908,523 and 31 December 2016 was 69,849,836.
On 19 May 2017, the Annual General Meeting of shareholders voted for the adoption of the proposed €1.42 dividend per ordinary share. On 26 May 2017, a dividend of €98.8 million was paid to the
The Restricted Stock Units ("RSUs") granted under LTI Plan 2014 fully cliff -vested in 2017.
Directors and certain employees of the Group benefited from Restricted Stock Units ("RSUs") granted by Euronext N.V. under the LTI Plans on their applicable grant dates. RSUs granted under LTI Plans cliff -vest after 3 years, subject to continued employment and a "positive EBITDA" performance condition. These equity awards are measured by reference to the grant-date market price of Euronext's common share ("grant-date fair value").
In addition to these RSUs granted to all participants in the LTI Plans, Performance RSUs have been awarded to members of the
Movements in the number of shares granted as awards is as follows:
IN 2016
Managing Board and Senior Leadership team. The vesting of these Performance RSUs is subject to two performance conditions:
The grant-date fair value of such performance shares was adjusted for the possible outcomes of the TSR performance condition. This has been assessed by applying a Monte Carlo simulation to model possible share prices of Euronext and its peer companies. At the end of each reporting period, the number of vesting performance shares is reconsidered based on the Group's EBITDA performance relative to budgeted EBITDA and the total cost for the performance RSUs could be adjusted accordingly.
Grant-date fair value of RSU's granted under the LTI Plans 2015, 2016 and 2017 refl ect the present value of expected dividends over the vesting period.
| PLAN | YEAR OF GRANT |
1 JANUARY 2016 |
GRANTED | VESTED | FORFEITED | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
FAIR VALUE AT GRANT DATE PER SHARE (in €) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTI, no performance | 2014 | 215,876 | - | - | (27,653) | 188,223 | €17.30 |
| LTI, with performance | 2015 | 58,892 | - | - | (10,577) | 48,315 | €48.03 |
| LTI, no performance | 2015 | 86,692 | - | - | (8,710) | 77,982 | €34.23 |
| LTI, with performance | 2016 | - | 119,019 | - | - | 119,019 | €35.48 |
| LTI, no performance | 2016 | - | 35,725 | - | - | 35,725 | €34.70 |
| TOTAL | 361,460 | 154,744 | - | (46,940) | 469,264 |
| PLAN | YEAR OF GRANT |
1 JANUARY 2017 |
GRANTED | VESTED | FORFEITED | 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
FAIR VALUE AT GRANT DATE PER SHARE (in €) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTI, no performance | 2014 | 188,223 | - | (185,672) | (2,551) | - | €17.30 |
| LTI, with performance | 2015 | 48,315 | - | - | (10,717) | 37,598 | €48.03 |
| LTI, no performance | 2015 | 77,982 | - | - | (12,862) | 65,120 | €34.23 |
| LTI, with performance | 2016 | 119,019 | - | - | (22,566) | 96,453 | €35.48 |
| LTI, no performance | 2016 | 35,725 | - | - | - | 35,725 | €34.70 |
| LTI, with performance | 2017 | - | 88,468 | - | (3,413) | 85,055 | €45.40 |
| LTI, no performance | 2017 | - | 40,713 | - | - | 40,713 | €42.19 |
| TOTAL | 469,264 | 129,181 | (185,672) | (52,109) | 360,664 |
Euronext has taken into consideration the fact that the employees will not receive dividends during the vesting period of three years. The fair value has been adjusted taking into account the fi nancials loss for the participants to not receive the payment of the dividends during the vesting period.
Share-based payment expenses recognised in the income statement for shares granted for all plans to directors and selected employees in 2017 amounted to €3.8 million (2016: €2.8 million), see Note 9.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Non-current | ||
| Borrowings | ||
| Term Loan facility | - | 70,000 |
| Bank Loan facility | 165,000 | - |
| Issue costs | (318) | (995) |
| TOTAL | 164,682 | 69,005 |
| Current | ||
| Borrowings (accrued interest) | 203 | 96 |
| TOTAL | 203 | 96 |
On 6 May 2014, the Group entered into a syndicated bank loan facilities agreement ("the Facilities Agreement"), with BNP Paribas and ING Bank N.V. as Lead Arrangers, providing for (i) a €250 million term loan facility and (ii) a €250 million revolving loan facility, both maturing or expiring in three years. On 20 February 2015, Euronext N.V. entered into the amended and extended facility agreement. Based on this agreement, effective on 23 March 2015 (i) the undrawn revolving credit facility had been increased by €140 million to €390 million and (ii) €140 million had been repaid as an early redemption of the €250 million term loan facility. On 23 September 2016, Euronext repaid €40 million as an early redemption of the €110 million term loan facility, resulting in a net non-current borrowing of €69 million as of 31 December 2016. On 23 March 2017 Euronext made an early repayment of the outstanding balance resulting in the termination of the term loan facility.
On 12 April 2017, the Group entered into a new revolving loan facility agreement ("the Facility") with BNP Paribas and ABN AMRO BANK N.V. as Lead Arrangers. This new Facility has replaced the revolving credit facility of €390 million.
On 18 July 2017, the Group entered into a syndicated bank loan facility ("the Bank Loan") with BNP Paribas and ABN AMRO BANK N.V. as Lead Arrangers, providing for €175 million. The Bank Loan has been drawn in the amount of €165 million on 9 August 2017 in order to (i) fund the acquisition of 89.8% of the shares and voting rights in FastMatch Inc and (ii) refi nance the acquisition of 60% of the shares and voting rights in iBabs B.V. previously fi nanced through the Facility. The Bank Loan and Facility are together referred to as Instruments.
The Bank Loan and the Facility mature in three and five years, respectively. They include a two times one year extension possibility. At 31 December 2017 the Facility of €250 million was undrawn and the Bank Loan was drawn resulting in a net non-current borrowing of €164.7 million. Euronext will be able to voluntarily cancel both the Bank Loan and Facility in whole or part or prepay amounts it borrows under both the Bank Loan and Facility.
The Bank Loan Agreement includes a mandatory prepayment provision, which requires the net proceeds raised from any debt capital markets issuance (including convertible instruments) by the Company or any of its subsidiaries guaranteed by the Company be used to prepay and permanently reduce the Bank Loan. Any amount prepaid under the Bank Loan may not be redrawn.
The €250 million term loan facility bore an interest rate equal to EURIBOR plus a margin which was initially set at 0.80%. The €390 million revolving credit facility bore an interest rate of EURIBOR plus a margin initially set at 0.50%. As the Company leverage ratio decreased, both margins were lowered to 0.70% and 0.40%, respectively. EURIBOR is fl oored at 0%.
The new €175 million Bank Loan has borne an interest rate equal to EURIBOR plus a margin initially set at 0.45%. The Facility has borne an interest rate of EURIBOR plus a margin initially set at 0.25%. It should be noted that as at 31 December 2017, there was no outstanding advance drawn under the Facility. EURIBOR is fl oored at 0%.
For the Bank Loan, Euronext may request that the maturity date be extended to the fourth or the fi fth anniversary date of the facility agreement. For the revolving credit facility, Euronext may request that the maturity date be extended to the sixth or to the seventh anniversary date of the Facility.
An extension fee of (i) 0.05% of the full amount of the relevant Instrument is payable if Euronext requests that the initial maturity date be extended to the fi rst relevant anniversary date or, (ii) 0.10% of the full amount of the relevant Instrument is payable if Euronext requests that the initial maturity date be extended to the second relevant anniversary date.
For the Facility, an utilisation fee accrues on a daily basis at the following applicable rate per annum to be applied on the amount drawn:
Euronext must also pay customary commitment fees at a rate per annum equal to 35% of the then applicable margin for the relevant Instrument on each lender's available commitment under the relevant Instrument during its availability period.
The Bank Loan contains a number of additional undertakings and covenants that, among other things, restrict, subject to certain exceptions, Euronext ability to:
Euronext is permitted, among other things, to dispose of assets in the ordinary course of trading on arm's length terms for full market value without restriction, and otherwise where the aggregate fair value of the assets disposed of does not exceed 5% of Euronext consolidated total assets in any fi nancial year.
In case of a downgrading event of Euronext, below BBB+ or equivalent by rating agencies, Euronext shall ensure that the leverage ratio as defi ned in the Bank Loan Agreement would not be greater than3.5x.
The Bank Loan contains customary events of default, in each case with customary and appropriate grace periods and thresholds, including, but not limited to:
The fair value of the Bank Loan approximates its carrying value.
The Group operates defi ned benefi t pension plans for its employees, with the most signifi cant plans being in France and Portugal. The Group's plans are funded by contributions from the employees and the relevant Group entities, taking into account applicable government regulations and the recommendations of independent, qualifi ed actuaries. The majority of plans have plan assets held in trusts, foundations or similar entities, governed by local regulations and practice in each country. The assets for these plans are generally held in separate trustee administered funds. The benefi ts provided to employees under these plans are based primarily on years of service and compensation levels. The French plans relate almost completely to retirement indemnities. French law stipulates that employees are paid retirement indemnities in form of lump sums on the basis of the length of service at the retirement date and the amount is prescribed by collective bargaining agreements. The Portuguese plan is for both Euronext Lisbon and Interbolsa and is managed by CGD Pensoes – Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Pensoes S.A. The plan was defi ned benefi t based on fi nal pay. The funds covered payment of pensions to employees with a minimum of 5 year service. Annual contributions were based on actuarial calculations.
In September 2017, the Portuguese defi ned benefi t plan was frozen and replaced by a new defi ned contribution plan, with an retroactive impact as from 1 January 2017. The old arrangement remains a defi ned benefi t plan, and is disclosed as such in this Note. The oneoff service costs related to the frozen defi ned benefi t plan amounted to €1.6 million and are refl ected in exceptional items (see Note 12). Part of these one-off costs are the past service costs as disclosed in this Note.
The movement in the defi ned obligation over the years presented is as follows:
| In thousands of euros | PRESENT VALUE OF OBLIGATION |
FAIR VALUE OF PLAN ASSETS |
TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| As at 31 December 2015 | 27,814 | (19,579) | 8,235 |
| (Income) / expense: | |||
| Current service cost | 757 | - | 757 |
| Interest expense / (income) | 726 | (520) | 206 |
| 1,483 | (520) | 963 | |
| Remeasurements: | |||
| Return on plan assets, excluding amounts included in interest expense / (income) | - | 301 | 301 |
| (Gain) / loss from change in fi nancial assumptions | 5,128 | - | 5,128 |
| Experience (gains) / losses | (582) | - | (582) |
| 4,546 | 301 | 4,847 | |
| Payments: | |||
| Employer contributions | (258) | (538) | (796) |
| Benefi t payments | (123) | 123 | - |
| As at 31 December 2016 | 33,462 | (20,213) | 13,249 |
| (Income) / expense: | |||
| Current service cost | 636 | - | 636 |
| Past service cost | 1,396 | - | 1,396 |
| Interest expense / (income) | 618 | (367) | 251 |
| 2,650 | (367) | 2,283 | |
| Remeasurements: | |||
| Return on plan assets, excluding amounts included in interest expense / (income) | - | (641) | (641) |
| (Gain) / loss from change in fi nancial assumptions | (2,186) | - | (2,186) |
| Experience (gains) / losses | (802) | - | (802) |
| (2,988) | (641) | (3,629) | |
| Payments: | |||
| Employer contributions | (58) | (132) | (190) |
| Benefi t payments | (140) | 140 | - |
| Settlement payments from plan assets | (50) | 50 | - |
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 32,876 | (21,163) | 11,713 |
The defi ned benefi t obligation and plan assets are composed by country as follows:
| 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | BELGIUM | PORTUGAL | FRANCE | TOTAL | |
| Present value of obligation | 54 | 23,755 | 9,067 | 32,876 | |
| Fair value of plan assets | - | (17,720) | (3,443) | (21,163) | |
| TOTAL | 54 | 6,035 | 5,624 | 11,713 |
| 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | BELGIUM | PORTUGAL | FRANCE | TOTAL | |
| Present value of obligation | 100 | 24,371 | 8,991 | 33,462 | |
| Fair value of plan assets | - | (16,873) | (3,340) | (20,213) | |
| TOTAL | 100 | 7,498 | 5,651 | 13,249 |
The signifi cant actuarial assumptions were as follows:
| 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BELGIUM | PORTUGAL | FRANCE | ||
| Discount rate | 0.5% | 2.2% | 1.9% | |
| Salary growth rate | 0.0% | 2.0% | 1.8% | |
| Pension growth rate | 0.0% | 2.0% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BELGIUM | PORTUGAL | FRANCE | ||
| Discount rate | 0.3% | 1.9% | 1.4% | |
| Salary growth rate | 0.0% | 2.0% | 2.5% | |
| Pension growth rate | 0.0% | 2.0% | 0.0% |
The Group derives the discount rate used to determine the defi ned benefi t obligation from yields on high quality corporate bonds of the duration corresponding to the liabilities.
As of 31 December 2017, the sensitivity of the defi ned benefi t obligation to changes in the weighted principal assumptions were:
| CHANGE IN ASSUMPTION |
INCREASE IN ASSUMPTION |
DECREASE IN ASSUMPTION |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Discount rate | 0.25% | -4.7% | 5.0% |
| Salary growth rate | 0.50% | 2.0% | -1.8% |
| Pension growth rate | 0.50% | 4.2% | -3.9% |
The pension plan assets allocation diff ers per plan. On a weighted average basis, the allocation was as follows:
| 2017 | 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAN ASSETS | FAIR VALUE OF PLAN ASSETS in thousands of euros |
FAIR VALUE OF PLAN ASSETS in percent |
FAIR VALUE OF PLAN ASSETS in thousands of euros |
FAIR VALUE OF PLAN ASSETS in percent |
|
| Equity securities | 6,005 | 28.4% | 5,611 | 27.8% | |
| Debt securities | 12,487 | 59.0% | 11,737 | 58.1% | |
| Property | 648 | 3.1% | 672 | 3.3% | |
| Investment funds | 1,694 | 8.0% | 1,606 | 7.9% | |
| Cash | 329 | 1.5 % | 587 | 2.9% | |
| TOTAL | 21,163 | 100% | 20,213 | 100% |
The maturity of expected benefi t payments over the next ten years is as follows:
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | LESS THAN A YEAR | BETWEEN 1-2 YEAR | BETWEEN 2-5 YEARS | BETWEEN 5-10 YEARS | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pension benefi ts | 181 | 267 | 1,666 | 4,567 | 6,681 |
The weighted average duration of the defi ned benefi t obligation for retirement plans is twenty years at 31 December 2017. For 2018, the expected obligations contributions are approximately €0.1 million.
| In thousands of euros | RESTRUCTURING | BUILDING | JUBILEE | LEGAL CLAIMS |
PLAN AGENTS |
OTHERS | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Changes in provisions | |||||||
| AS AT 1 JANUARY 2017 | 1,935 | 317 | 2,338 | 80 | 1,368 | 2,702 | 8,740 |
| Additional provisions charged to income statement |
251 | 204 | 160 | 840 | - | 1,180 | 2,635 |
| Used during the year | (1,837) | - | (108) | (1) | - | - | (1,946) |
| Unused amounts reversed | (92) | - | (195) | - | - | (2,702) | (2,989) |
| Exchange diff erences | (15) | - | - | - | - | - | (15) |
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 242 | 521 | 2,195 | 919 | 1,368 | 1,180 | 6,425 |
| Composition of provisions | |||||||
| Current | 242 | 521 | - | 581 | - | - | 1,344 |
| Non Current | - | - | 2,195 | 338 | 1,368 | 1,180 | 5,081 |
| TOTAL | 242 | 521 | 2,195 | 919 | 1,368 | 1,180 | 6,425 |
The provision decreased following the execution of the restructuring plan for the relocation of Belfast IT operations to Porto in the fi rst half of the 2017.
The increase in building provision fully relates to the Praetorium building in Paris.
The Jubilee provision decreased, mainly due to the increase in discount rates.
The increase in legal claims provision related to two individual litigation settlement cases, which expenses were recognised in exceptional items (see Note 12).
The provision for Plan Agents relates to a retirement allowance for retired stockbrokers in Belgium, which is determined using actuarial assumptions. No cash outfl ows are expected for 2018.
As per 31 December 2017, the Others provision relates to a €1.2 million provision made for stamp duty tax on cash-pooling arrangements in Portugal (see Note 13). The unused amounts reversed of €2.7 million fully refl ect the opening balance position at 1 January 2017. This opening balance position related to provisions made in 2014 for certain taxes, which have been fully released in 2017.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Trade payables | 3,539 | 4,408 |
| Social security and other taxes (excluding income tax) | 21,290 | 20,149 |
| Employees' entitlements and other payables(a) | 40,315 | 38,118 |
| Accrued expenses | 28,772 | 27,286 |
| Other | 5,245 | 646 |
| TOTAL | 99,161 | 90,607 |
(a) Amounts include salaries payable, bonus accruals, severance (signed contracts) and vacation accruals.
The carrying values of current trade and other payables are reasonable approximations of their fair values. These balances do not bear interest.
| In thousands of euros | FRANCE NETHERLANDS | UNITED KINGDOM |
BELGIUM | PORTUGAL | UNITED STATES |
HONG KONG |
TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | ||||||||
| Revenue and other income(a) | 309,617 | 150,751 | 266 | 28,229 | 36,138 | 7,239 | 54 | 532,294 |
| Property, plant and equipment | 8,715 | 12,898 | 81 | 300 | 5,245 | 543 | - | 27,782 |
| Intangible assets other than Goodwill(b) | 1,806 | 45,738 | 907 | - | 2,209 | 42,861 | - | 93,521 |
| 2016 | ||||||||
| Revenue and other income(a) | 295,115 | 137,198 | 242 | 29,835 | 34,046 | - | - | 496,436 |
| Property, plant and equipment | 8,138 | 12,231 | 4,391 | 335 | 2,397 | - | - | 27,492 |
| Intangible assets other than Goodwill(b) | 3,990 | 12,233 | 1,867 | - | 1,648 | - | - | 19,738 |
(a) Trading, listing and market data revenue is attributed to the country where the exchange is domiciled. Other revenue is attributed to the billing entity.
(b) Goodwill is monitored at the Group level and therefore not allocated by country.
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | LOANS AND RECEIVABLES / PAYABLES |
AVAILABLE FOR-SALE |
FVTPL | TOTAL | |
| Assets | |||||
| Available-for-sale fi nancial assets | - | 147,503 | - | 147,503 | |
| Trade and other receivables excluding prepayments | 70,494 | - | - | 70,494 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 187,785 | - | - | 187,785 | |
| TOTAL | 258,279 | 147,503 | - | 405,782 | |
| Liabilities | |||||
| Borrowings (non-current) | 164,682 | - | - | 164,682 | |
| Other long-term fi nancial liabilities(a) | - | - | 10,000 | 10,000 | |
| Other short-term fi nancial liabilities(b ) | - | - | 6,654 | 6,654 | |
| Trade and other payables | 99,161 | - | - | 99,161 | |
| TOTAL | 263,843 | - | 16,654 | 280,497 |
(a) .Consists of the contingent consideration payable of €1.8 million and the redemption liability of €8.2 million, both related to the acquisition of Company Webcast B.V. (see Note 5.1). Refl ects the FastMatch Inc. contingent consideration payable including foreign exchange impacts after acquisition date.
(b) Refl ects the FastMatch Inc. contingent consideration payable including foreign exchange impacts after acquisition date (see Note 5.3).
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | LOANS AND RECEIVABLES / PAYABLES |
AVAILABLE FOR-SALE |
FVTPL | TOTAL | |||
| Assets | |||||||
| Available-for-sale fi nancial assets | - | 117,060 | - | 117,060 | |||
| Trade and other receivables excluding prepayments | 57,485 | - | - | 57,485 | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 174,501 | - | - | 174,501 | |||
| TOTAL | 231,986 | 117,060 | - | 349,046 | |||
| Liabilities | |||||||
| Borrowings (non-current) | 69,005 | - | - | 69,005 | |||
| Trade and other payables | 90,607 | - | - | 90,607 | |||
| TOTAL | 159,612 | - | - | 159,612 |
The Group's exposure to various risks associated with the fi nancial instruments is discussed in Note 32. The maximum exposure to credit risk at the end of the reporting period is the carrying amount of each class of fi nancial assets mentioned above.
The table below analyses fi nancial instrument carried at fair value, by valuation method. The diff erent levels have been defi ned as follows:
| In thousands of euros | LEVEL 1 | LEVEL 2 | LEVEL 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | |||
| Assets | |||
| Available-for-sale fi nancial assets | |||
| Unlisted equity securities (Note 19) | - | - | 147,503 |
| TOTAL ASSETS | - | - | 147,503 |
| Liabilities | |||
| Financial liabilities at FVPL | |||
| Contingent consideration payables (Note 5) | - | - | 8,454 |
| Redemption liability (Note 5) | - | - | 8,200 |
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | - | - | 16,654 |
| As at 31 December 2016 | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
| Assets | |||
| Available-for-sale fi nancial assets | |||
| Unlisted equity securities (Note 19) | - | - | 117,060 |
| TOTAL ASSETS | - | - | 117,060 |
The Group's policy is to recognise transfers into and transfers out of fair value hierarchy levels at the end of the reporting period. The Group did not measure any fi nancial assets or fi nancial liabilities at fair value on a non-recurring basis as at 31 December 2017.
The following table presents the changes in level 3 instruments for the period ended 31 December 2017:
| In thousands of euros | UNLISTED EQUITY SECURITIES |
CONTINGENT CONSIDERATION PAYABLES |
REDEMPTION LIABILITY |
TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As at 31 December 2015 | 114,282 | - | - | 114,282 |
| Revaluation recognised in OCI | 2,779 | - | - | 2,779 |
| Acquisitions/(incurrences) | - | - | - | - |
| As at 31 December 2016 | 117,060 | - | - | 117,060 |
| Revaluation recognised in OCI | 78,635 | - | - | 78,635 |
| Gains/(losses) recognised in OCI | (40,534) | - | - | (40,534) |
| Disposals | (17,241) | - | - | (17,241) |
| Acquisitions/(incurrences) | 9,583 | (8,454) | (8,200) | (7,071) |
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 147,503 | (8,454) | (8,200) | 130,849 |
There were no transfers between the levels of fair value hierarchy in 2017 and 2016.
Concerning the valuation process for fair value measurement categorised within level 3 of the fair value hierarchy, the Group's central treasury department collects and validates the available level 3 inputs and performs the valuation according to the Group's valuation methodology for each reporting period. The fair value estimates are discussed with-, and challenged by the Group Financial Controller and the Chief Financial Offi cer. Periodically the values of investments categorized in "level 3" are validated by staff with extensive knowledge of the industry in which the invested companies operate. Although valuation techniques are applied consistently as a principle, Management, upon advice from the Group's valuation experts, may decide to replace a valuation technique if such a change would improve the quality or the reliability of the valuation process. Management decided to change valuation techniques in 2017, as described in this footnote.
In 2017, the Group changed its valuation methodology for measuring fair value of its long-term investments in unlisted equity securities in Euroclear plc., Sicovam Holding S.A. and LCH Group (see Note 19) and applied the Gordon valuation technique as its primary valuation method with return on equity and expected dividend growth rate as key non-observable parameters. In 2017, the Group swapped its 2.31% interest in LCH Group, resulting in a full disposal of the investment at 31 December 2017.
As at 31 December 2016, the fair value of the long-term investments in these unlisted equity securities was estimated by applying a combination of capitalization and present value of dividend fl ows. Key assumptions were a long-term growth rate of 1.5%, cost of equity of 9.76% and a 25-20% discount for lack of marketability.
As per 31 December 2017, the fair value of these investments was estimated by applying the Gordon valuation model. Key assumptions were as follows:
| In thousands of euros | FAIR VALUE AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
UNOBSERVABLE INPUTS* |
RANGE OF INPUTS (PROBABILITY WEIGHTED AVERAGE) |
RELATIONSHIP OF UNOBSERVABLE INPUTS TO FAIR VALUE |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Increase | decrease | ||||
| Euroclear plc. | 96,159 | Return on equity | 7.9%-8.9% (8.4%) | 10,131 | (6,321) |
| Expected dividend growth rate |
0.83%-1.83% (1.33%) | ||||
| Sicovam Holding S.A. | 41,696 | Return on equity | 7.9%-8.9% (8.4%) | 4,386 | (2,374) |
| Expected dividend growth rate |
0.83%-1.83% (1.33%) |
* There were no signifi cant inter-relationships between unobservable inputs that materially aff ect fair value.
The sensitivity analysis shows the impact on fair value using the most favorable combination (increase), or least favorable combination (decrease) of the unobservable inputs per investment in unlisted equity securities.
6
The long-term investment in unlisted equity securities of Algomi Ltd was acquired in 2017 (see Note 19). The Group determined the purchase price observed in this acquisition and another recent transaction to be best proxy for fair value as per 31 December 2017.
The inputs used for the valuation of the contingent consideration payables and the redemption liability related to the acquisitions of company Webcast B.V. and FastMatch Inc. are described in Note 5 "Business combinations". Management considers the impact of changes of these unobservable inputs not material for the total level 3 portfolio.
The fair values of trade and other receivables and payables, as well as borrowings, approximate their carrying amounts.
Euronext has related party relationships with its associates and joint ventures (as described in Note 7). Transactions with associates and joint ventures are generally conducted with terms equivalent to arm's length transactions. Transactions between subsidiaries are not included in the description as these are eliminated in the Consolidated Financial Statements. The interests in Group Companies are set out in Note 4.
For more information on the share exchange transaction with associate LCH S.A., please refer to Note 2.
The transactions with related parties and outstanding year-end balances are reported in the tables below:
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Sales to related parties | 3 | - |
| Purchases from related parties | 9 | 405 |
| In thousands of euros | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Receivables from related parties | 2,809 | - |
| Payables to related parties | 113 | 1,309 |
The other related parties disclosure relates entirely to the key management of Euronext, being represented by the Company's Managing Board and Supervisory Board.
The compensation expense recognised for key management is as follows:
| 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | MANAGING BOARD |
SUPERVISORY BOARD |
TOTAL | |
| Short term benefi ts | (4 ,302 ) | (529) | (4 ,831 ) | |
| Share-based payment costs(a) | (1,511) | - | (1,511) | |
| Post-employment benefi ts | (123) | - | (123) | |
| Termination benefi ts | (218) | - | (218) | |
| TOTAL BENEFITS | (6 ,154 ) | (529) | (6 ,683 ) |
(a) Share based payments costs are recognised in accordance with IFRS 2.
| MANAGING BOARD |
SUPERVISORY BOARD |
TOTAL |
|---|---|---|
| (4,485) | (521) | (5,006) |
| (830) | - | (830) |
| (103) | - | (103) |
| - | - | - |
| (5,418) | (521) | (5,939) |
| 2016 |
(a) Share based payments costs are recognised in accordance with IFRS 2.
As a result of its operating and fi nancing activities, the Group is exposed to market risks such as interest rate risk, currency risk and credit risk. The Group has implemented policies and procedures designed to measure, manage, monitor and report risk exposures, which are regularly reviewed by the appropriate management and supervisory bodies. The Group's central treasury team is charged with identifying risk exposures and monitoring and managing such risks on a daily basis. To the extent necessary and permitted by local regulation, the Group's subsidiaries centralise their cash investments, report their risks and hedge their exposures in coordination with the Group's central treasury team. The Group performs sensitivity analyses to determine the eff ects that may result from market risk exposures. The Group uses derivative instruments solely to hedge fi nancial risks related to its fi nancial position or risks that are otherwise incurred in the normal course of its commercial activities. The Group does not use derivative instruments for speculative purposes.
The Group would be exposed to a liquidity risk in the case where its short-term liabilities become, at any date, higher than its cash, cash equivalents, short-term fi nancial investments and available bank facilities and in the case where the Group is not able to refi nance this liquidity defi cit, for example, through new banking lines.
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term fi nancial investments are managed as a global treasury portfolio invested in non-speculative financial instruments, readily convertible to cash, such as bank balances, money market funds, overnight deposits, term deposits and other money market instruments, thus ensuring a very high liquidity of the fi nancial assets. The Group's policy is to ensure that cash, cash equivalents and available bank facilities allow the Group to repay its fi nancial liabilities at all maturities, even disregarding incoming cash fl ows generated by operational activities, excluding the related party loans granted by the Group's subsidiaries to its Parent.
The net position of current fi nancial assets, fi nancial liabilities and available credit facilities, excluding working capital items, as of 31 December, 2017 and 2016 is described in the table below:
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, cash equivalents and short term fi nancial investments | 187,785 | 174,501 |
| Available credit facilities | 250,000 | 390,000 |
| Financial debt | (164,885) | (69,101) |
| NET POSITION | 272,900 | 495,400 |
On 6 May 2014, the Group entered into a syndicated bank loan facilities agreement ("the Facilities Agreement"), with BNP Paribas and ING Bank N.V. as Lead Arrangers, providing for (i) a €250 million term loan facility and (ii) a €250 million revolving loan facility, both maturing or expiring in three years. On 20 February 2015, Euronext N.V. entered into the amended and extended facility agreement. Based on this agreement, effective on 23 March 2015 (i) the undrawn revolving credit facility had been increased by €140 million to €390 million and (ii) €140 million had been repaid as an early redemption of the €250 million term loan facility. On 23 September 2016, Euronext repaid €40 million as an early redemption of the €110 million term loan facility, resulting in a net non-current borrowing of €69 million as of 31 December 2016. On 23 March 2017 Euronext made an early repayment of the outstanding balance resulting in the termination of the term loan facility.
On 12 April 2017, the Group entered into a new revolving loan facility agreement ("the Facility") with BNP Paribas and ABN AMRO BANK N.V. as Lead Arrangers. This new Facility has replaced the revolving credit facility of €390 million.
On 18 July 2017, the Group entered into a syndicated bank loan facility ("the Bank Loan") with BNP Paribas and ABN AMRO BANK N.V. as Lead Arrangers, providing for €175 million. The Bank Loan has been drawn in the amount of €165 million on 9 August 2017 in
order to (i) fund the acquisition of 89.8% of the shares and voting rights in FastMatch Inc and (ii) refi nance the acquisition of 60% of the shares and voting rights in iBabs B.V. previously fi nanced through the Facility. The Bank Loan and Facility are together referred to as Instruments.
| MATURITY BETWEEN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | MATURITY < 1 YEAR | 1 AND 5 YEARS | MATURITY > 5 YEARS | TOTAL |
| 2017 | ||||
| Trade and other payables | 99,161 | - | - | 99,161 |
| Other short-term fi nancial liabilities | 6,654 | - | - | 6,654 |
| Borrowings | 753 | 166,165 | - | 166,918 |
| Other long-term fi nancial liabilities | - | 10,000 | - | 10,000 |
| 2016 | ||||
| Trade and other payables | 90,607 | - | - | 90,607 |
| Other short-term fi nancial liabilities | - | - | - | - |
| Borrowings | 497 | 70,112 | - | 70,609 |
Substantially all signifi cant interest-bearing fi nancial assets and liabilities of the Group are either based on fl oating rates or based on fi xed rates with an interest term of less than one year. As a result, the Group is not exposed to fair value risk aff ecting fi xed-rate fi nancial assets and liabilities.
The Group may enter into derivatives contracts in order to hedge interest rate risk if need be. The sole purpose of using derivatives would be to limit interest rate exposure to safeguard shareholder value. The Group will not use derivative instruments for speculative purposes. As at 31 December 2017, the Group has not any interest rate derivatives contracts outstanding
As at 31 December 2017, the interest rate exposure of the Company was as follows:
| CURRENCY | POSITION IN EUROS | POSITIONS IN POUND STERLING | POSITIONS IN DOLLAR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TYPE OF RATE AND MATURITY In thousands of euros |
FLOATING RATE (OR FIXED RATE WITH MATURITY < 1 YEAR) |
FLOATING RATE (OR FIXED RATE WITH MATURITY > 1 YEAR) |
FLOATING RATE (OR FIXED RATE WITH MATURITY < 1 YEAR) |
FLOATING RATE (OR FIXED RATE WITH MATURITY > 1 YEAR) |
FLOATING RATE (OR FIXED RATE WITH MATURITY < 1 YEAR) |
FLOATING RATE (OR FIXED RATE WITH MATURITY > 1 YEAR) |
| 2017 | ||||||
| Interest bearing fi nancial assets(a) | 165,137 | 6,000 | 13,329 | - | 9,319 | - |
| Interest bearing fi nancial liabilities | (203) | (164,682) | - | - | - | - |
| Net position before hedging | 164,934 | (158,682) | 13,329 | - | 9,319 | - |
| Net position after hedging | 164,934 | (158,682) | 13,329 | - | 9,319 | - |
| 2016 | ||||||
| Interest bearing fi nancial assets(a) | 129,064 | 6,000 | 45,437 | - | - | - |
| Interest bearing fi nancial liabilities | (96) | (69,005) | - | - | - | - |
| Net position before hedging | 128,968 | (63,005) | 45,437 | - | - | - |
| Net position after hedging | 128,968 | (63,005) | 45,437 | - | - | - |
(a) Includes cash and cash equivalent and non-current other receivables.
The Group is exposed to cash-fl ow risk arising from net fl oatingrate positions. The Group was a net lender in Euros at 31 December, 2017 and 2016. The sensitivity of net interest income to a parallel shift in the interest curves is that a 0.5% increase/decrease of the rate would not have had a material impact on the net interest income based on the positions at 31 December 2017 (2016: €0.3 million).
The Group was a net lender in Pound Sterling at 31 December, 2017 and 2016. The sensitivity of net interest income to a parallel shift in the interest curves is that a 0.5% increase/decrease of the rate would not have had a material impact on the net interest income based on the positions at 31 December 2017 (2016: €0.2 million).
The Group was a net lender in US Dollar at 31 December, 2017 and 2016. The sensitivity of net interest income to a parallel shift in the interest curves is that a 0.5% increase/decrease of the rate would not have had a material impact on net interest income based on the positions at 31 December 2017.
The Group's net assets are exposed to the foreign currency risk arising from the translation of assets and liabilities of subsidiaries with functional currencies other than the euro. The following table summarises the assets and liabilities recorded in respectively GBP and USD functional currency and the related impact of a 10% in/ decrease in the currency exchange rate on balance sheet:
| In thousands | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | £17,975 | £52,191 |
| Liabilities | £(3,310) | £(6,007) |
| Net currency position | £14,665 | £46,184 |
| Absolute impact on equity of 10% in/decrease in the currency exchange rate | €1,650 | €5,405 |
| In thousands | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | \$182,147 | \$ - |
| Liabilities | \$ (20,207) | \$ - |
| Net currency position | \$ 161,940 | \$ - |
| Absolute impact on equity of 10% in/decrease in the currency exchange rate | €13,470 | € - |
Most operating revenue and expenses in the various subsidiaries of the Group are denominated in the functional currency of each relevant subsidiary. The Group's consolidated income statement is exposed to foreign currency risk arising from receivables and payables denominated in currencies diff erent from the functional currency of the related entity.
The Group may use derivatives instruments designated as hedge of net investment or foreign denominated debt to manage its net Investment exposures. The decision to hedge the exposure is considered on a case by case basis since the Group is generally exposed to major, well established and liquid currencies. The Group would, by the same token, hedge transaction risk arising from cash fl ows paid or received in a currency different from the functional currency of the Group contracting entity on a case by case basis. As at 31 December 2017, the Group has not any foreign exchange rate derivatives outstanding.
The Group is exposed to credit risk in the event of a counterparty's default. The Group's exposure to credit risk primarily arises from the investment of cash equivalents and short-term fi nancial investments. The Group limits its exposure to credit risk by rigorously selecting the counterparties with which it executes agreements. Credit risk is monitored by using exposure limits depending on ratings assigned by rating agencies as well as the nature and maturity of transactions. Investments of cash and cash equivalents in bank current accounts and money market instruments, such as short-term fixed and floating rate interest deposits, are strictly restricted by rules aimed at reducing credit risk: maturity of deposits is lower than six months, counterparties' credit ratings are permanently monitored and individual counterparty limits are reviewed on a regular basis. In addition to the intrinsic creditworthiness of counterparties, the Group's policies also prescribe the diversifi cation of counterparties (banks, fi nancial institutions, funds) so as to avoid a concentration of risk. Derivatives are negotiated with leading high-grade banks.
The Group granted two loans in the total amount of €6.0 million, recorded as non-current other receivable. The loans have a maturity of 5 years and bear interest rate of EURIBOR 6 months plus an average margin of 4.5%. The credit risk is closely monitored by analysing fi nancial information.
In addition, the Group is exposed to credit risk with its customers on trade receivables. Most customers of the Group are leading fi nancial institutions that are highly rated.
The Group's investment in publicly-traded equity securities was insignifi cant in 2017 and 2016.
The Group's objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the Group's ability to continue as a going concern, to comply with regulatory requirements and to maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce the cost of capital and provide return to shareholders.
Certain entities of the Group are regulated as exchanges or as Central Securities Depository ("CSD") and are subject to certain statutory regulatory requirements based on their local statutory Financial Statements. Euronext Amsterdam N.V. is subject to a minimum statutory capital requirement of €730 thousand, shall have a regulatory capital in the amount of 50% of the direct fi xed cost of Euronext Amsterdam N.V. during the preceding fi nancial year and in addition the cash and cash equivalents shall be higher than the required minimum regulatory capital to operate as an exchange in the Netherlands. Euronext Paris S.A. shall maintain statutory regulatory equity at no less than 50% of its yearly expenses and a solvency ratio on operational risks at no less than 8%. Euronext Lisbon S.A. and Interbolsa shall maintain minimum statutory share capital of €3.0 million and €2.75 million, respectively, and shall maintain minimum statutory equity of €6.0 million and €5.5 million, respectively. Euronext London Ltd. should maintain a minimum level of fi nancial resources of £5.3 million to be able to properly perform its exchange functions. As at 31 December 2017 and 2016, the regulated entities of the Group were compliant with these statutory regulatory requirements.
The changes in liabilities arising from the Group's fi nancing activities in 2017 and 2016 were as follows:
| As at 1 January 2016 104 108,153 108,257 Cash fl ows (1,269) (40,000) (41,269) Accrued interest 1,260 - 1,260 Amortisation and transfer of issue costs - 852 852 As at 31 December 2016 95 69,005 69,100 Cash fl ows (712) 93,850 93,138 Accrued interest 820 - 820 Amortisation and transfer of issue costs - 1,827 1,827 |
In thousands of euros | BORROWINGS DUE WITHIN 1 YEAR |
BORROWINGS DUE AFTER 1 YEAR |
TOTAL LIABILITIES FROM FINANCING ACTIVITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 203 164,682 164,885 |
The Group is involved in a number of legal proceedings that have arisen in the ordinary course of our business. Other than as discussed below, management does not expect these pending or threatening legal proceedings to have a signifi cant eff ect on the Group's fi nancial position or profi tability. The outcome of legal proceedings, however, can be extremely diffi cult to predict and the fi nal outcome may be materially diff erent from managements' expectation.
Approximately 120 retired and/or former Euronext Amsterdam employees, united in an association, served summons on Euronext Amsterdam on 3 April 2014. The claim is based on the fact that Euronext Amsterdam terminated its pension agreement with the pension fund Mercurius ("PMA") and transferred the pension of the current employees of Euronext Amsterdam to Delta Lloyd Asset Management ("Delta Lloyd"). The pension entitlements of the retired and/or former employees of Euronext Amsterdam have also been transferred by PMA to Delta Lloyd. The retired and/or former employees have been informed by PMA that the transfer of their entitlements to Delta Lloyd will result in a nominal pension entitlement without indexation in the future. The association claims that Euronext Amsterdam should guarantee the same pension entitlements of the retired Euronext Amsterdam employees under the same or similar conditions as those in the agreement between Euronext Amsterdam and PMA with the consideration that (i) the administration fee will be covered, (ii) the liability ratio will be covered and (iii) the loyalty and solidarity between retired and current employees is provided for. The amount will need to be calculated by an actuary.
After Euronext Amsterdam fi led a statement of defence on 27 June 2014, the Subdistrict (Kanton) Division of the Court of Amsterdam on 11 July 2014 granted the retired and/or former employees of Euronext Amsterdam a term until 8 August 2014 in order to fi le a rejoinder. On that date the counterparty was granted a postponement until 5 September 2014 for its statement of reply. Both parties have fi led all documents and statements and an oral hearing took place on 11 June 2015. The judge asked both parties to explore a settlement and Euronext assessed the costs of potential out of court solutions. The Court has been informed that no arrangement on such settlement could be reached.
On 24 June 2016 the judge delivered a decision. The claim that Euronext Amsterdam should guarantee the same pension entitlements of the retired Euronext Amsterdam employees under the same or similar conditions as those in the agreement between Euronext Amsterdam and PMA is rejected. However, the judge did hold that there has been an attributable breach by Euronext Amsterdam in the performance of the pension agreements with the members of the association. Euronext Amsterdam is ordered to pay for damages resulting from the loss of indexation perspective incurred by the claimants other than the association. The association is not eligible to claim damages. The amount of the damages needs to be determined in a separate procedure (a "schadestaatprocedure"). Management believes that the decision is insuffi ciently motivated. On 21 September 2016, Euronext Amsterdam has filed for appeal against the decision. The grounds for appeal were filed on 6 December 2016. On 14 February 2017 claimants fi led their responses and also fi led for appeal against certain parts of the decision of 24 June 2016. Euronext Amsterdam has responded to the grounds for appeal raised by claimants on 25 April 2017. An oral hearing took place on 24 November 2017. A decision is expected on 1 May 2018. No provision has been booked in connection with this case.
As of 31 December, capital expenditures contracted but not yet incurred were as follows:
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| No later than one year | 662 | 457 |
| Later than 1 year and no later than 5 years | 500 | 85 |
| Later than 5 years | - | - |
| TOTAL | 1,162 | 542 |
As of 31 December, minimum lease payments due under non-cancellable operating leases were as follows:
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| No later than one year | 17,078 | 11,316 |
| Later than 1 year and no later than 5 years | 34,171 | 25,405 |
| Later than 5 years | 10,113 | 9,785 |
| TOTAL | 61,362 | 46,506 |
Expenses in 2017 for operating leases were €18.8 million (2016: €6.8 million).
Except for the fi nancial guarantee related to its associate European Central Counterparty N.V. (see Note 7), Euronext N.V. has no guarantees given at 31 December 2017.
In Portugal, the Group acts as a National Central Securities Depository and manages the National Settlement Securities System.
As at 31 December 2017, the value of securities kept in custody by Interbolsa amounted to €338 billion (2016: €314 billion) based on the market value of shares and the nominal value of bonds. The procedures of these National Central Securities Depositories are focused on the control of securities registered in its systems and safeguarding the assets in custody. The settlement risks are mitigated by early warning systems for non-settlement, and buy-in procedures in case certain thresholds are surpassed.
On 29 November 2017, the Group announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares and voting rights of the Irish Stock Exchange plc ("ISE"), Ireland's incumbent stock exchange operator and a leading global debt and fund listing venue. The Group is to pay for 100% of ISE's shares €137 million of enterprise value on a debt free, cash free basis, and excluding existing regulatory capital requirements (estimated at €21.8 million). The transaction will be fully funded by debt. On 27 March 2018, Euronext announces the completion of the acquisition of 100% of the shares and voting rights of The Irish Stock Exchange plc(1), after receiving regulatory approvals.
At the time these Consolidated Financial Statements were authorised for issue, the Group had not yet completed the accounting for the acquisition of the Irish Stock Exchange plc. As a consequence it is not yet possible to provide all detailed information required under IFRS 3, B66.
On 25 January 2018, Euronext, announced that Lee Hodgkinson, Head of Markets and Global Sales of Euronext and CEO of Euronext London Ltd, has decided to pursue a new professional project and will leave the Company in early April 2018.
Amsterdam, 29 March 2018
Rijnhard van Tets (Chairman) Stéphane Boujnah (CEO and Chairman) Dick Sluimers (Vice-Chairman) Anthony Attia Koenraad Dom Maurice van Tilburg Ramon Fernandez Vincent van Dessel Manuel Ferreira da Silva Paulo Rodrigues da Silva Jim Gollan Kerstin Günther Lieve Mostrey Franck Silvent
On 19 March 2018, Euronext announced that Rijnhard van Tets, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Euronext N.V. decided to step down following the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) to be held on 15 May 2018. Rijnhard van Tets notifi ed the Supervisory Board that he will not be available for a new term.
Following the announcement of Rijnhard van Tets step down on 19 March 2018, the Supervisory Board has elected Dick Sluimers as its next Chairman, subject to regulatory approval.
On 22 March 2018, Euronext announced that Paul Humphrey, Head of Fixed Income, Rates and FX (FICC), has been appointed in addition to his current position and subject to regulatory approvals, interim CEO of Euronext London, interim Head of Global Sales, and interim member of the Managing Board of Euronext N.V., in replacement of Lee Hodgkinson.
Euronext is in the process of actively searching for Lee Hodgkinson's permanent replacement.
(1) The announcement of 29 November 2017 on the signing of the agreement with the shareholders of the ISE is available on www.euronext.com
Company Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2017
| In thousands of euros | NOTE | YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net turnover | 37 | - | - |
| Other operating expenses | 38 | (12,143) | (9,554) |
| Total operating (loss) | (12,143) | (9,554) | |
| Income from available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 39 | 3,891 | 3,817 |
| Other interest income and similar income | 39 | 1,478 | 7,351 |
| Interest expenses and similar charges | 39 | (4,695) | (3,603) |
| Result before tax | (11,469) | (1,989) | |
| Tax | 40 | 3,213 | (349) |
| Share in result of participations | 41 | 249,553 | 199,351 |
| NET RESULT FOR THE YEAR | 241,297 | 197,013 |
The above Company Income Statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.
Company Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2017
(Before appropriation of profi t)
| AS AT | AS AT | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | NOTE | 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
| Assets | |||
| Fixed assets | |||
| Goodwill and other intangible assets | 1,513 | - | |
| Investments in consolidated subsidiaries | 41 | 1,251,109 | 1,040,796 |
| Investments in associates and joint ventures | 41 | 73,860 | 14,638 |
| Available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 42 | 105,742 | 67,626 |
| Related party loans | 41 | 91,715 | - |
| Other receivables | 43 | 6,605 | 6,000 |
| TOTAL FINANCIAL FIXED ASSETS | 1,530,544 | 1,129,060 | |
| TOTAL FIXED ASSETS | 1,530,544 | 1,129,060 | |
| Current assets | |||
| Trade and other receivables | 44 | 42,200 | 34,993 |
| Income tax receivable | 20,102 | 17,791 | |
| Related party loans | 45 | 34,974 | - |
| TOTAL RECEIVABLES | 97,276 | 52,784 | |
| CASH | 2,866 | 2,293 | |
| TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS | 100,142 | 55,077 | |
| TOTAL ASSETS | 1,630,686 | 1,184,137 | |
| Shareholders' equity and liabilities | |||
| Shareholders' equity | |||
| Issued capital | 112,000 | 112,000 | |
| Share premium | 107,562 | 107,562 | |
| Reserve for own shares | (17,269) | (18,883) | |
| Retained earnings | 249,932 | 124,790 | |
| Legal reserves and other | 21,747 | 25,536 | |
| Profi t for the year | 241,297 | 197,013 | |
| TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | 46 | 715,269 | 548,018 |
| Long-term liabilities | |||
| Borrowings | 47 | 164,635 | 69,005 |
| Deferred tax liabilities | 6,551 | - | |
| TOTAL LONG-TERM LIABILITIES | 171,186 | 69,005 | |
| Short-term liabilities | |||
| Borrowings | 47 | 159 | 96 |
| Related party borrowings | 48 | 427,398 | 369,760 |
| Trade and other payables | 49 | 316,674 | 197,258 |
| TOTAL SHORT-TERM LIABILITIES | 744,231 | 567,114 | |
| TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY AND LIABILITIES | 1,630,686 | 1,184,137 |
The above Company Balance Sheet should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.
Euronext N.V. is a Dutch public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap) which has its registered office in Amsterdam under Chamber of Commerce number 60234520.
The company Financial Statements of Euronext N.V. (hereafter: the Company) have been prepared in accordance with Part 9, Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code. In accordance with sub 8 of Article 362, Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code, the Company's Financial Statements are prepared based on the accounting principles of recognition, measurement and determination of profit, as applied in the Consolidated Financial Statements. These principles also include the classifi cation and presentation of fi nancial instruments, being equity instruments or fi nancial liabilities.
In case no other policies are mentioned, refer to the accounting policies as described in the accounting policies in the Consolidated Financial Statements of this annual report. For an appropriate interpretation, the Company Financial Statements of Euronext N.V. should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Investments in consolidated subsidiaries are presented at net asset value. Net asset value is based on the measurement of assets, provisions and liabilities and determination of profi t based on the principles applied in the Consolidated Financial Statements.
If the valuation of an consolidated subsidiary based on the net asset value is negative, it will be stated at nil. If and insofar the Company can be held fully or partially liable for the debts of the consolidated subsidiary, or has the fi rm intention of enabling the consolidated subsidiary to settle its debts, a provision is recognised for this. In determining the value of consolidated subsidiaries with a negative equity, any non-current loans, issued to the consolidated subsidiary, that should be seen as part of the net investment are taken into account. Non-current loans are considered to be part of the net investment if these loans are not expected to be settled in the near future nor planned to be settled in the near future.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Market Data revenues | 97,186 | 99,737 |
| Recharge of Market Data revenues | (97,186) | (99,737) |
| TOTAL | - | - |
Euronext N.V. receives market data revenues on behalf of its subsidiaries, which is subsequently recharged to these subsidiaries. Euronext N.V. does not charge its subsidiaries a fee for its role of administering the sale of market data to third parties and as such does not recognise a margin on the sales.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Systems and communications | (116) | (52) |
| Professional Services | (10,937) | (8,085) |
| Other expenses | (1,090) | (1,417) |
| TOTAL | (12,143) | (9,554) |
In 2017 the professional services expenses contain €4.6 million (2016: €3.3 million) of acquisition costs which qualify as exceptional item (see Note 12 of the Consolidated Financial Statements).
Euronext N.V. had no employees during 2017 and 2016. The remuneration of the Supervisory Board is included in other expenses.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Income from available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 3,891 | 3,817 |
| Interest and similar income | 1,478 | 7,351 |
| Interest and similar expenses | (2,695) | (3,128) |
| Exchange diff erences | (2,000) | (475) |
| TOTAL | 674 | 7,565 |
The income from available-for-sale fi nancial assets refl ects the dividend received from Euroclear plc. The decrease of interest and similar income was due to the non-current related party loan settlement in 2016 (see Note 41). The increase in exchange diff erences related to foreign exchange impacts resulting from the \$110 million non-current related party loan with Euronext US Inc. (see Note 41).
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Result before tax | (11,469) | (1,989) |
| Corporate income tax current fi nancial year | 2,276 | (382) |
| Corporate income tax previous fi nancial years | 937 | 33 |
| TOTAL | 3,213 | (349) |
In 2017, the eff ective tax rate mainly deviates from the applicable tax rate as a result of acquisition costs not being tax deductible in 2016, becoming tax deductible in 2017 as contemplated acquisition was not closed. In 2016, the eff ective tax rate mainly deviates from the applicable tax rate as a result of non-deductible acquisition expenses.
| 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Eff ective tax rate | 28% | -18% |
| Applicable tax rate | 25% | 25% |
| INVESTMENTS IN CONSOLIDATED |
INVESTMENTS IN ASSOCIATES AND |
RELATED PARTY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | SUBSIDIARIES | JOINT VENTURES | LOANS | TOTAL |
| NET BOOK AMOUNT AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2015 | 722,568 | - | 860,000 | 1,582,568 |
| Investments | - | 14,616 | - | 14,616 |
| Conversion loan into equity | 200,000 | - | (200,000) | - |
| Loan settlement | - | - | (660,000) | (660,000) |
| Exchange diff erences | (8,651) | - | - | (8,651) |
| Share-based payments, subsidiaries | 3,222 | - | - | 3,222 |
| Acturial gains/ losses IAS 19 | (4,549) | - | - | (4,549) |
| Revaluation available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 1,539 | - | - | 1,539 |
| Share in result of participations | 199,329 | 22 | - | 199,351 |
| Dividend received | (67,367) | - | - | (67,367) |
| Other | (5,295) | - | - | (5,295) |
| TOTAL MOVEMENTS IN BOOK VALUE | 318,228 | 14,638 | (860,000) | (527,134) |
| NET BOOK AMOUNT AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 | 1,040,796 | 14,638 | - | 1,055,434 |
| Investments | 38,307 | 58,901 | 91,715 | 188,923 |
| Redemption liability | (8,200) | - | - | (8,200) |
| Exchange diff erences | (2,534) | (140) | - | (2,674) |
| Share-based payments, subsidiaries | 3,778 | - | - | 3,778 |
| Acturial gains/ losses IAS 19 | 3,374 | - | - | 3,374 |
| Revaluation available-for-sale fi nancial assets | 10,301 | - | - | 10,301 |
| Share in result of participations | 249,092 | 461 | - | 249,553 |
| Dividend received | (76,548) | - | - | (76,548) |
| Other | (7,257) | - | - | (7,257) |
| TOTAL MOVEMENTS IN BOOK VALUE | 210,313 | 59,222 | 91,715 | 361,250 |
| NET BOOK AMOUNT AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 1,251,109 | 73,860 | 91,715 | 1,416,684 |
In 2017, Euronext N.V. acquired the interests in Euronext Corporate Services B.V. and Euronext US Inc. for a total of €38.3 million. For additional information on these interests please refer to Note 4 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
In 2017, Euronext N.V. acquired interests in LiquidShare S.A. and LCH S.A. for a total of €58.9 million. In 2016, Euronext N.V. acquired interests in European Central Counterparty N.V. and Algonext Ltd. for a total of €14.6 million. For additional information on the interest in associates and joint ventures, see Notes 4 and 7 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
On 14 August 2017, Euronext N.V. entered into a loan agreement of \$110 million with Euronext US Inc. to enable the acquisition of FastMatch Inc. The loan has a maturity of ten years with a fi xed interest rate of 3.36%. The interest amount is received annually and recognised in Note 45.
On 22 June 2016 Euronext France (Holding) S.A.S. merged with Euronext Paris S.A. Upfront this merger, Euronext N.V. converted €200 million of loan into equity as a capital increase in Euronext France (Holding) S.A.S. After the merger, Euronext N.V. settled the outstanding related party loans for €660 million against the loan payable with Euronext Paris S.A. (see Note 48).
The available-for-sale fi nancial assets of €105.7 million represent the direct investments in Euroclear plc. and Algomi Ltd. For additional information see Note 19 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
For additional information on the other receivables positions, a reference is made to Note 32.4 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
| In thousands of euros | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Trade receivables | 11,382 | 10,455 |
| Less provision for impairment of trade receivables | (22) | (46) |
| Trade receivables net | 11,360 | 10,409 |
| Related party receivables | 20,089 | 14,993 |
| Tax receivables (excluding income tax) | 2,838 | 1,756 |
| Prepayments and accrued income | 7,913 | 7,794 |
| Other receivables | - | 41 |
| TOTAL | 42,200 | 34,993 |
The fair value of the receivables approximates the book value, due to their short-term character
As of 31 December 2017, the total amount of trade receivables that were past due but not impaired was €3.2 million (2016: €2.2 million) of which €0.3 million (2016: €0.7 million) was overdue more than three months.
| In thousands of euros | AS AT 1 JANUARY 2017 |
LOANS ADVANCED INTEREST ACCRUED | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | ||||
| Euronext Corporate Services B.V. | - | 33,784 | - | 33,784 |
| Interest receivable on non current intercompany loans | - | - | 1,180 | 1,180 |
| Interest receivable on current intercompany loans | - | - | 10 | 10 |
| TOTAL | - | 33,784 | 1,190 | 34,974 |
The fair value of the related party loans receivable approximate their carrying values.
The €33.8 million loan receivable from Euronext Corporate Services B.V. has no maturity and is repayable at lender's or borrower's request upon 48 hours' notice. The interest amount is paid received and based on EONIA OIS and EURIBOR 3 months as reference rates plus 0.125%.
The movements in shareholder's equity were as follows:
| LEGAL RESERVES AND OTHER | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | ISSUED CAPITAL |
SHARE PREMIUM |
RESERVE FOR OWN SHARES |
RETAINED EARNINGS |
PROFIT FOR THE YEAR |
NON DISTRIBUTABLE PROFITS AND OTHER GAINS REGARDING SUBSIDIARIES |
REVALUATION EUROCLEAR RESERVE |
RESERVE FOR TRANSLATION DIFFERENCES |
TOTAL |
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2015 | 112,000 | 107,562 | (18,791) | 43,989 | 172,654 | 19,612 | 2,951 | 7,190 | 447,167 |
| Share based payments | - | - | - | 3,222 | - | - | - | - | 3,222 |
| Appropriation of the result of preceding year |
- | - | - | 9,877 | (172,654) | 76,567 | - | - | (86,210) |
| Net result for the period | - | - | - | - | 197,013 | - | - | - | 197,013 |
| Transfer to retained earnings | - | - | - | 72,527 | - | (72,527) | - | - | - |
| Exchange rate diff erences | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | (8,651) | (8,651) |
| Revaluation subsidiaries | - | - | - | (3,010) | - | - | - | - | (3,010) |
| Other revaluation | - | - | - | - | - | - | 394 | - | 394 |
| Purchase of shares | - | - | (1,427) | - | - | - | - | - | (1,427) |
| Other movements | - | - | 1,335 | (1,815) | - | - | - | - | (480) |
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 | 112,000 | 107,562 | (18,883) | 124,790 | 197,013 | 23,652 | 3,345 | (1,461) | 548,018 |
| Share based payments | - | - | - | 3,778 | - | - | - | - | 3,778 |
| Appropriation of the result of preceding year |
- | - | - | 98,204 | (197,013) | - | - | - | (98,809) |
| Net result for the period | - | - | - | - | 241,297 | - | - | - | 241,297 |
| Redemption liability subsidiaries |
- | - | - | (8,200) | - | - | - | - | (8,200) |
| Transfer to retained earnings | - | - | - | 22,513 | - | (22,513) | - | - | - |
| Exchange rate diff erences | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | (2,674) | (2,674) |
| Revaluation subsidiaries | - | - | - | 13,675 | - | - | - | - | 13,675 |
| Other revaluation | - | - | - | - | - | - | 21,399 | - | 21,399 |
| Purchase of shares | - | - | (986) | - | - | - | - | - | (986) |
| Other movements | - | - | 2,600 | (4,829) | - | - | - | - | (2,229) |
| AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 | 112,000 | 107,562 | (17,269) | 249,931 | 241,297 | 1,139 | 24,744 | (4,135) | 715,269 |
For further information to the shareholder's equity, see Note 22 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
The movements in the shareholder's equity are before the proposed profi t appropriation (see Note 53). The proposed profi t appropriation included the addition to retained earnings (€120.6 million) and dividends (€120.6 million).
As per 31 December 2017, profi ts and other gains from subsidiaries are not freely available for distribution for an amount of €1.1 million relating to legal reserves. In 2017, an amount of €22.5 million was transferred to retained earnings, because distribution restrictions that were remaining from prior year were lifted for Euronext Paris S.A. In 2016, an amount of €72.6 million was transferred to retained earnings, mainly because distribution restrictions were lifted following the merger between Euronext France (Holding) S.A.S. and Euronext Paris S.A.
The revaluation reserve is maintained for the revaluation for the available-for-sale fi nancial instruments, net of tax. This reserve is a non-distributable legal reserve.
The reserve for translation diff erences concerns all exchange rate diff erences arising from the translation of the net investment in foreign entities and the related goodwill. This reserve is a nondistributable legal reserve.
For additional information on the borrowings positions, a reference is made to Note 25 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
| In thousands of euros | AS AT 1 JANUARY2017 |
LOAN SETTLEMENTS MADE |
LOANS ADVANCED | INTEREST PAID | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | |||||
| Euronext Paris S.A. | 200,000 | - | 57,639 | - | 257,639 |
| Euronext Technologies Holding S.A.S. | 84,686 | - | - | - | 84,686 |
| Euronext Amsterdam N.V. | 25,000 | - | - | - | 25,000 |
| Euronext Brussels S.A./N.V. | 60,000 | - | - | - | 60,000 |
| Interest payable on intercompany loan | 74 | - | - | (1) | 73 |
| TOTAL | 369,760 | - | 57,639 | (1) | 427,398 |
| In thousands of euros | AS AT 1 JANUARY2016 |
LOAN SETTLEMENTS MADE |
LOANS ADVANCED | INTEREST PAID | AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | |||||
| Euronext Paris S.A. | 860,000 | (660,000) | - | - | 200,000 |
| Euronext Technologies Holding S.A.S. | 84,686 | - | - | - | 84,686 |
| Euronext Amsterdam N.V. | 25,000 | - | - | - | 25,000 |
| Euronext Brussels S.A./N.V. | 60,000 | - | - | - | 60,000 |
| Interest payable on intercompany loan | 545 | - | - | (471) | 74 |
| TOTAL | 1,030,231 | (660,000) | - | (471) | 369,760 |
The fair value of the related party loans payable approximate their carrying values.
The €257.6 million loan payable to Euronext Paris S.A. has no maturity and is repayable at lender's or borrower's request upon 48 hours' notice. The interest is EONIA OIS plus 0.125% payable annually on one loan. The sensitivity of the related party loan payables to changes in the EONIA interest rate is that a 0.5% increase/decrease of the interest rate will result in an increase/ decrease of the interest income by €1.3 million (2016: €1.0 million).
The €84.7 million loan payable to Euronext Technologies Holdings S.A.S. has no maturity and is repayable at lender's or borrower's request upon 48 hours' notice. The interest is EURIBOR 3 months plus 0.125% payable annually on two loans. The sensitivity of the related party loan payables to changes in the EURIBOR interest rate is that a 0.5% increase/decrease of the interest rate will result in an increase/decrease of the interest income by €0.4 million (2016: €0.4 million).
The €25.0 million loan payable to Euronext Amsterdam N.V. has no maturity and is repayable at lender's or borrower's request upon 48 hours' notice. The interest is EONIA plus 0.125% payable annually on one loan. The sensitivity of the related party loan payables to changes in the EONIA interest rate is that a 0.5% increase/decrease of the interest rate will result in an increase/decrease of the interest income by €0.1 million (2016: €0.1 million).
The €60.0 million loan payable to Euronext Brussels S.A./N.V. has no maturity and is repayable at lender's or borrower's request upon 48 hours' notice. The interest is EURIBOR 3 months plus 0.125% payable annually on one loan. The sensitivity of the related party loan payables to changes in the EONIA interest rate is that a 0.5% increase/decrease of the interest rate will result in an increase/ decrease of the interest income by €0.3 million (2016: €0.3 million).
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Trade payables | 510 | 303 |
| Amounts due to subsidiaries | 308,018 | 191,928 |
| Other | 8,146 | 5,027 |
| TOTAL | 316,674 | 197,258 |
Amounts due to subsidiaries mainly consist of a €298.9 million payable with Euronext Paris S.A. (2016: €179.0 million).
The carrying values of current trade and other payables are reasonable approximations of their fair values. These balances do not bear interest.
| 2017 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | FIXED BENEFITS |
VARIABLE BENEFITS |
SHARE-BASED PAYMENT COSTS |
POST EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS |
TERMINATION PAYMENTS |
TOTAL BENEFITS |
| Stéphane Boujnah | 776 | 816 | 291 | - | - | 1,883 |
| Anthony Attia | 356 | 265 | 258 | - | - | 879 |
| Jos Dijsselhof(a) | 265 | - | 311 | 10 | 204 | 790 |
| Lee Hodgkinson | 384 | 137 | 421 | 28 | - | 970 |
| Vincent van Dessel | 298 | 110 | 157 | 34 | - | 599 |
| Maurice van Tilburg | 325 | 190 | 72 | 17 | - | 604 |
| Paulo Rodrigues da Silva(b) | 201 | 138 | - | 29 | - | 368 |
| Maria João Carioca(c) | 41 | - | 1 | 5 | 14 | 61 |
| TOTAL | 2,646 | 1,656 | 1,511 | 123 | 218 | 6,154 |
(a) Jos Dijsselhof resigned from the Managing Board on 30 June 2017.
(b) Paulo Rodrigues da Silva was formally appointed to the Managing Board at the Annual General Meeting on 19 May 2017.
(c) On 1 March 2017 Maria João Carioca resigned from the Managing Board.
| 2016 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In thousands of euros | FIXED BENEFITS |
VARIABLE BENEFITS |
SHARE-BASED PAYMENT COSTS |
POST EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS |
TERMINATION PAYMENTS |
TOTAL BENEFITS |
|
| Stéphane Boujnah | 746 | 798 | 66 | - | - | 1,610 | |
| Anthony Attia | 354 | 210 | 161 | - | - | 725 | |
| Jos Dijsselhof | 461 | 160 | 220 | 19 | - | 860 | |
| Lee Hodgkinson | 421 | 273 | 210 | 17 | - | 921 | |
| Vincent van Dessel | 304 | 106 | 77 | 34 | - | 521 | |
| Maurice van Tilburg | 311 | 162 | 86 | 16 | - | 575 | |
| Luis Laginha de Sousa(a) | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Maria João Carioca | 149 | 30 | 10 | 17 | - | 206 | |
| TOTAL | 2,746 | 1,739 | 830 | 103 | - | 5,418 |
(a) On 28 January 2016 it was announced that Luis Laginha de Sousa had resigned and would step down from his role in the Managing Board. His resignation became eff ective on 22 February 2016. No remuneration was paid in 2016.
The Company has not granted any loans, advanced payments and guarantees to the members of the Managing Board and Supervisory Board.
The fi xed compensation components consist of base salary and other benefi ts in kind like company car and health care insurance, if applicable. These components are linked to the overall job responsibilities of the individual Managing Board member and refl ect internal consistency.
The variable salary consists of an annual performance compensation component as a percentage of base salary. The percentages are target percentages of the annual base salary, which are only payable if all objectives are met. Performance criteria are set and reviewed on an annual basis by the Remuneration Committee and the Supervisory Board. For 2017 all bonus targets have been met by the Managing Board.
| In number of RSU | PLAN | YEAR OF GRANTING |
OUTSTANDING AS AT 1 JANUARY 2017 |
GRANTED | FORFEITED | VESTED | OUTSTANDING AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stéphane Boujnah | LTI | 2016 | 18,518 | - | - | - | 18,518 |
| LTI | 2017 | - | 15,469 | - | - | 15,469 | |
| Anthony Attia | LTI | 2014 | 18,367 | - | - | (18,367) | - |
| LTI | 2015 | 6,028 | - | - | - | 6,028 | |
| LTI | 2016 | 5,747 | - | - | - | 5,747 | |
| LTI | 2017 | - | 4,801 | - | - | 4,801 | |
| Jos Dijsselhof | LTI | 2014 | 24,490 | - | - | (24,490) | - |
| LTI | 2015 | 8,038 | - | (8,038) | - | - | |
| LTI | 2016 | 9,159 | - | (9,159) | - | - | |
| Lee Hodgkinson | LTI | 2014 | 19,765 | - | - | (19,765) | - |
| LTI | 2015 | 8,693 | - | - | - | 8,693 | |
| LTI | 2016 | 9,886 | - | - | - | 9,886 | |
| LTI | 2017 | - | 6,042 | - | - | 6,042 | |
| Vincent van Dessel | LTI | 2014 | 6,723 | - | - | (6,723) | - |
| LTI | 2015 | 3,530 | - | - | - | 3,530 | |
| LTI | 2016 | 3,381 | - | - | - | 3,381 | |
| LTI | 2017 | - | 2,856 | - | - | 2,856 | |
| Maurice van Tilburg | LTI | 2014 | 5,102 | - | - | (5,102) | - |
| LTI | 2015 | 4,421 | - | - | - | 4,421 | |
| LTI | 2016 | 5,172 | - | - | - | 5,172 | |
| LTI | 2017 | - | 4,320 | - | - | 4,320 | |
| Paulo Rodrigues da Silva | LTI | 2017 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Maria João Carioca | LTI | 2016 | 2,937 | - | (2,937) | - | - |
| In number of RSU | PLAN | YEAR OF GRANTING |
OUTSTANDING AS AT 1 JANUARY 2016 |
GRANTED | FORFEITED | VESTED | OUTSTANDING AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stéphane Boujnah | LTI | 2016 | - | 18,518 | - | - | 18,518 |
| Anthony Attia | LTI | 2014 | 18,367 | - | - | - | 18,367 |
| LTI | 2015 | 6,028 | - | - | - | 6,028 | |
| LTI | 2016 | - | 5,747 | - | - | 5,747 | |
| Jos Dijsselhof | LTI | 2014 | 24,490 | - | - | - | 24,490 |
| LTI | 2015 | 8,038 | - | - | - | 8,038 | |
| LTI | 2016 | - | 9,159 | - | - | 9,159 | |
| Lee Hodgkinson | LTI | 2014 | 19,765 | - | - | - | 19,765 |
| LTI | 2015 | 8,693 | - | - | - | 8,693 | |
| LTI | 2016 | - | 9,886 | - | - | 9,886 | |
| Vincent van Dessel | LTI | 2014 | 6,723 | - | - | - | 6,723 |
| LTI | 2015 | 3,530 | - | - | - | 3,530 | |
| LTI | 2016 | - | 3,381 | - | - | 3,381 | |
| Maurice van Tilburg | LTI | 2014 | 5,102 | - | - | - | 5,102 |
| LTI | 2015 | 4,421 | - | - | - | 4,421 | |
| LTI | 2016 | - | 5,172 | - | - | 5,172 | |
| Maria João Carioca | LTI | 2016 | - | 2,937 | - | - | 2,937 |
For additional information on the value of awards granted to the Managing Board Reference is made to Note 24 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Rijnhard van Tets | 93 | 93 |
| Dick Sluimers | 81 | 52 |
| Koenraad Dom | 61 | 61 |
| Ramon Fernandez | 61 | 59 |
| Manuel Ferreira de Silva | 67 | 67 |
| Jim Gollan | 99 | 100 |
| Kerstin Günther | 58 | 35 |
| Lieve Mostrey | - | - |
| Franck Silvent | 9 | - |
| Dominique Aubernon | - | - |
| Arnoud de Pret | - | 28 |
| Jan-Michel Hessels | - | 26 |
| TOTAL | 529 | 521 |
Dominique Aubernon retired immediately after the Extraordinary General Meeting that was held on 19 October 2017. Franck Silvent was appointed on 19 October 2017 subject to regulatory approval. His appointment became eff ective on 3 November 2017, the date on which the regulatory approval was granted.
was held on 12 May 2016. Dick Sluimers and Kerstin Günther were appointed on 12 May 2016 subject to regulatory approval. Their appointment became eff ective on 14 July 2016, the date on which the regulatory approval was granted.
During the comparative period, Arnoud de Pret and Jan-Michiel Hessels retired immediately after the Annual General meeting that
| In thousands of euros | EY ACCOUNTANTS 2017 |
PWC ACCOUNTANTS 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Audit services - Group and statutory | 1,018 | 1,426 |
| Other assurance services | 125 | 400 |
| Tax services | - | 63 |
| Other non-audit services | - | - |
| TOTAL | 1,143 | 1,889 |
The audit services relate to the fi nancial year to which the Financial Statements relate, regardless of whether the activities were performed by the external auditor and the audit fi rm during the fi nancial year. In addition to the performance of the statutory audit of the Group Financial Statements and other (statutory) Financial Statements of Euronext N.V. and its subsidiaries, EY provides a number of other assurance services. These other assurance services consist of the review of the half-year interim Financial Statements and the work related to the registration document. The comparative fi gures have been adjusted accordingly, in line with the relevant EU Regulation.
The total fees of EY Netherlands, charged to Euronext N.V. and its consolidated Group entities amounted to €384,000 in 2017 (2016: €526,000 charged by PWC Netherlands).
The Company is the head of a fi scal unity with Euronext Amsterdam N.V., Euronext IP & IT Holding B.V. and Euronext Corporate Services B.V. Under the standard conditions, the members of the tax Group are jointly and severally liable for any taxes payable by the fi scal unity. Each company within the fi scal unity recognises its own tax position on its company balance sheet.
The Financial Statements of Euronext N.V., Euronext Amsterdam N.V., Euronext IP & IT Holding B.V., and Euronext Corporate Services B.V. recognise a tax liability based on their taxable profi t.
The company participates in a number of guarantees within the Group, the Company Act in the guarantor for certain liabilities of its subsidiary up to an amount of €13.3 million. It should be noted that the Group consistently waives guarantee fees for intergroup guarantees, meaning these transactions are not at arm's length.
The management board proposes to appropriate the profi t of €241.3 million as follows:
| In thousands of euros | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Addition to legal reserves | - | - |
| Addition to retained earnings | 120,649 | 98,507 |
| At the disposal of the Annual General Meeting of shareholders (Dividend) | 120,648 | 98,506 |
| TOTAL | 241,297 | 197,013 |
A dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 2017 of €1.73 per share (2016: €1.42 per share), amounting to a total dividend of €120.6 million, representing a 50% pay-out ratio of net profi t, is to be proposed at the Annual General meeting on 15 May 2018. These Financial Statements do not refl ect the dividend payable of the result 2017.
In 2017, there were no additions to the legal reserve. Instead, an amount of €22.5 million was transferred to retained earnings, because distribution restrictions that were remaining from prior year were lifted for Euronext Paris S.A. (see Note 46).
In 2016, an amount of €72.6 million was transferred from legal reserves to retained earnings, mainly because distribution restrictions were lifted following the merger between Euronext France (Holding) S.A.S and Euronext Paris S.A. (see Note 46).
The events occurred between 31 December 2017 and the date of this report that could have a material impact on the economic decisions made based on these Financial Statements, are described in Note 35 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Amsterdam, 29 March 2018
Dick Sluimers (Vice-Chairman) Anthony Attia Koenraad Dom Maurice van Tilburg Ramon Fernandez Vincent van Dessel Manuel Ferreira da Silva Paulo Rodrigues da Silva Jim Gollan Kerstin Günther Lieve Mostrey Franck Silvent
Rijnhard van Tets (Chairman) Stéphane Boujnah (CEO and Chairman)
| 7.1 Profi t Appropriation Section |
208 |
|---|---|
| Provisions in the Articles of Association Relating to | |
| Profi t Appropriation | 208 |
| Auditor Information | 208 |
| 7.2 Independent Auditors Report |
208 |
|---|---|
| Report on the audit of the fi nancial statements 2017 included in the registration document |
208 |
| Report on other information included | |
| in the registration document | 211 |
| Report on other legal and regulatory requirements | 211 |
| Description of responsibilities for the fi nancial statements 211 |
Article 28.2 of the Articles of Association states that from the profi ts, as they appear from the adopted annual accounts, fi rst, in the event that the priority share has been issued and is held by a party other than the Company, a dividend of ten per cent (10%) of the par value of the priority share will be paid to the holder of the priority share. The profi ts which remain after application of the fi rst sentence of this Article 28.2 shall be at the free disposal of the General meeting, provided that there shall be no further distribution on the priority share, and provided that the General meeting may only resolve on any reservation or distribution of profi ts pursuant to and in accordance with a proposal thereto of the Supervisory Board or a proposal of the Managing Board, which proposal has been approved by the Supervisory Board.
Pursuant to mandatory audit firm rotation rules in The Netherlands, Ernst & Young Accountants LLP has succeeded PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V. as independent auditor of Euronext N.V. and audited the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2017 included in this Registration Document and issued an unqualifi ed independent auditor's report thereon.
Ernst & Young Accountants LLP, whose principal place of business is at Boompjes 258, 3011 XZ Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Ernst & Young Accountants LLP is registered at the Chamber of Commerce of Rotterdam in The Netherlands under number 24432944. The registeraccountants of Ernst & Young Accountants LLP are members of the NBA (Koninklijke Nederlandse Beroepsorganisatie van Accountants – the Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants). The NBA is the professional body for accountants in the Netherlands.
To: the Shareholders and Supervisory Board of Euronext N.V.
We have audited the financial statements 2017 of Euronext N.V. based in Amsterdam. The fi nancial statements include the consolidated financial statements and the company financial statements.
In our opinion:
The consolidated fi nancial statements comprise:
The company fi nancial statements comprise:
We conducted our audit in accordance with Dutch law, including the Dutch Standards on Auditing. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the "Our responsibilities for the audit of the fi nancial statements" section of our report.
We are independent of Euronext N.V. in accordance with the EU Regulation on specifi c requirements regarding statutory audit of public-interest entities, the Wet toezicht accountantsorganisaties (Wta, Audit firms supervision act), the Verordening inzake de onafhankelijkheid van accountants bij assurance-opdrachten (ViO, Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, a regulation with respect to independence) and other relevant independence regulations in the Netherlands. Furthermore we have complied with the Verordening gedrags- en beroepsregels accountants (VGBA, Dutch Code of Ethics).
We believe the audit evidence we have obtained is suffi cient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
| Materiality | € 15.5 million (2016: € 13.7 million) |
|---|---|
| Benchmark applied | 5% of profi t before tax |
| Explanation | Based on our professional judgement we consider profi t before tax as the most appropriate basis to determine materiality as it is the key performance measure for the users of the fi nancial statements. |
We have also taken misstatements into account and/or possible misstatements that in our opinion are material for the users of the fi nancial statements for qualitative reasons.
We agreed with the supervisory board that misstatements in excess of €0.7 million, which are identifi ed during the audit, would be reported to them, as well as smaller misstatements that in our view must be reported on qualitative grounds.
Euronext N.V. is the parent company of a group of entities. The fi nancial information of this group is included in the consolidated fi nancial statements of Euronext N.V.
A full scope audit of the fi nancial information is performed based on signifi cance and risk characteristics of the group components. In 2017, four components have been subject to a full scope audit as those components are individually signifi cant to the Group. These components comprise Euronext Paris SA, Euronext Technologies SAS, Euronext Amsterdam N.V. and Euronext N.V. Two components, Interbolsa SA and Fastmatch Inc, were subject to specifi c riskfocused audit procedures as they include signifi cant risk areas.
In total these procedures represent approximately 90% of the group's total assets and 96% of profi t before income tax. For the remaining entities we performed, among other things, analytical procedures to corroborate our assessment that there were no signifi cant risks of material misstatements within those components.
We applied a central combined approach on the audit of revenue, trade receivables, trade payables, cash and cash equivalents, property, plant and equipment and ITGC's for the French and Dutch group components. The group consolidation and fi nancial statement disclosures are audited by the engagement team in the Netherlands. We also used component auditors, who are familiar with the local laws and regulations, for the specifi c risk-focused audit procedures. Where the work was performed by component auditors, we determined the level of involvement we needed to have in their audit work to be able to conclude whether suffi cient appropriate audit evidence has been obtained.
By performing the procedures mentioned above at group entities, together with additional procedures at group level, we have been able to obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence about the group's fi nancial information to provide an opinion about the consolidated fi nancial statements as a whole.
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most signifi cance in our audit of the fi nancial statements. We have communicated the key audit matters to the supervisory board. The key audit matters are not a comprehensive refl ection of all matters discussed.
These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the fi nancial statements as a whole and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
| Accounting for the acquisition of businesses | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key audit matter | During 2017 Euronext acquired majority interests in a number of companies. As disclosed in notes 2 and 5 to the fi nancial statements total considerations were EUR 176 million, of which EUR 19 million is deferred or contingent. The acquisitions have been included in the consolidated fi nancial position and results of Euronext from the moment control was obtained. Based on the purchase price allocations performed, with the help of external valuators, separately identifi able intangible assets of € 67 million and goodwill of € 122 million have been recognized. Accounting for business combinations involves a number of judgments concerning, among others, the identifi cation of intangible assets, the choice of valuation techniques and the allocation to cash generating units. The use of diff erent techniques and assumptions could produce signifi cantly diff erent estimates. Given the relative size of the amounts involved and the inherent complexity, we consider the accounting for acquisition of businesses as a key audit matter. |
|||
| Our audit approach | We gained an understanding of the material business acquisitions and assessed whether the correct accounting treatment has been applied. Furthermore, we tested the considerations paid and the identifi cation and valuation of the identifi able tangible and intangible assets acquired, as well as the liabilities and non-controlling interests resulting from the acquired majority stakes. We have tested whether the accounting treatment is in line with IFRS 3. We have engaged our valuation specialists to evaluate the methodology and assumptions applied by Euronext in the valuation of the separately identifi able intangible assets, in particular the brand name, customer relations and software platforms. We evaluated whether the assumptions used for the purpose of valuing acquired intangible assets were consistent with what a market participant would use, challenged the key assumptions (for example discount rate and longevity of acquired client relationships) against available market data and tested key data inputs to source records. We also performed sensitivity analysis to determine the impact of changes in the key assumptions, both individually and in aggregate. We have evaluated the completeness and appropriateness of the disclosure related to business combinations, included in note 5 within the fi nancial statements, to assess compliance with the disclosure requirements, as included in EU-IFRS. |
|||
| Key observations | We found the identifi cation and measurement of the identifi able assets, liabilities and non-controlling interests related to the 2017 acquisitions reasonable. The disclosures on the business combinations are in line with the requirements under EU-IFRS. |
| Key audit matter | Euronext holds a direct and indirect minority interest in Euroclear Plc. As described in note 19 to the fi nancial statements this interest is classifi ed as available for sale with re-measurement to fair value through the other comprehensive income component of equity. As Euroclear is a non-listed company, Euronext is applying internal models to measure the fair value of its interests. During 2017, as part of its eff ort to further standardize and formalize the valuation policies, the company undertook a study of universal valuation methods used in the industry. Accordingly, the model framework was enhanced with valuation techniques driven by return on equity and expected dividend growth rates and regression approaches and trading multiples as control methods. Following the share swap transaction as disclosed in note 2 to the fi nancial statements, Euronext derecognized its minority interest in LCH Group Ltd. in return for an interest in LCH SA, a subsidiary of LCH Group Ltd. The interest in LCH Group Ltd. used to be classifi ed as available for sale and was remeasured based on the internal valuation methodology and benchmarked against the envisaged bid on all shares of LCH Group Ltd. from the beginning of 2017. As the new interest in LCH SA is accompanied with certain representative and protective rights for Euronext, the interest has been classifi ed as an investment in associate. Reference is made to note 7 of the fi nancial statements. The determination of the fair value of the investments involves signifi cant management judgement and assumptions as the shares are not traded on an active market. Given the inherent subjectivity we determined this to be a key matter for our audit. |
|---|---|
| Our audit approach | Our audit procedures comprised, amongst others of an assessment of the methodology and the appropriateness of the valuation models against generally accepted market practice and inputs used to value the available for sale fi nancial assets. Further, we used our valuation specialists to independently assess the valuations performed. As part of these audit procedures we assessed the accuracy of key inputs used in the valuation such as return on equity and expected dividend growth rates. Finally, we evaluated the completeness and appropriateness of the disclosure related to available-for-sale fi nancial assets as included in note 7 and note 19 of the fi nancial statements, to assess compliance with the disclosure requirements, as included in EU-IFRS. |
| Key observations | Based on our procedures we assessed the valuation techniques used adequate and the key inputs reasonable. We have not identifi ed any material misstatements regarding the measurement of the fair value of fi nancial instruments as at 31 December 2017. We found the disclosures on the fair value of available for sale fi nancial assets and investment in associates are in line with the requirements under EU-IFRS. |
| Key audit matter | A proper IT infrastructure ensures the reliability and continuity of Euronext's business processes and fi nancial reporting. Euronext continuously makes investments to further improve the IT environment and IT systems. As described in the other information under the section operational risk, Euronext's business depends on the performance and stability of complex computer systems and the company is transforming its technology organization to meet the new regulatory requirements under MIFID2 and to develop a new core trading platform. The role of external reports and the increased granularity of fi nancial and non-fi nancial data are important to stakeholders and supervisors, and require high quality data and an adequate IT environment. We therefore consider this as a key audit matter. |
|---|---|
| Our audit approach | We tested the IT general controls at Euronext related to logical access and change management and application controls as embedded in the automated data processing systems, where we relied upon for fi nancial reporting. In some areas we performed additional procedures on access management for the related systems. We also assessed the reliability and continuity of the IT environment and the possible impact of changes during the year resulting from the internal transformation activities. We assessed the reliability and continuity of automated data processing only to the extent necessary within the scope of the audit of the fi nancial statements. In addition, our audit procedures consisted of assessing the developments in the IT infrastructure and analyzing the impact on the IT organization. |
| Key observations | For the audit of the fi nancial statements we found the reliability and continuity of the automated data processing systems reasonable. |
In addition to the fi nancial statements and our auditor's report thereon, the registration document contains other information that consists of:
Based on the following procedures performed, we conclude that the other information:
We have read the other information. Based on our knowledge and understanding obtained through our audit of the financial statements or otherwise, we have considered whether the other information contains material misstatements. By performing these procedures, we comply with the requirements of Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code and the Dutch Standard 720. The scope of the procedures performed is less than the scope of those performed in our audit of the fi nancial statements.
Management is responsible for the preparation of the other information, including the management board's report in accordance with Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code and other information pursuant to Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
We were engaged by the general meeting of shareholders of Euronext N.V. on 19 May 2017, as of the audit for the year 2017 and have operated as statutory auditor since that date.
We have not provided prohibited non-audit services as referred to in Article 5(1) of the EU Regulation on specifi c requirements regarding statutory audit of public-interest entities.
Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the fi nancial statements in accordance with EU-IFRS and Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code. Furthermore, management is responsible for such internal control as management determines is necessary to enable the preparation of the fi nancial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
As part of the preparation of the fi nancial statements, management is responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern. Based on the financial reporting frameworks mentioned, management should prepare the fi nancial statements using the going concern basis of accounting unless management either intends to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so. Management should disclose events and circumstances that may cast signifi cant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern in the fi nancial statements.
The supervisory board is responsible for overseeing the company's fi nancial reporting process.
Our objective is to plan and perform the audit assignment in a manner that allows us to obtain suffi cient and appropriate audit evidence for our opinion.
Our audit has been performed with a high, but not absolute, level of assurance, which means we may not have detected all material errors and fraud.
Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to infl uence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these fi nancial statements. The materiality aff ects the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures and the evaluation of the eff ect of identifi ed misstatements on our opinion.
We have exercised professional judgment and have maintained professional skepticism throughout the audit, in accordance with Dutch Standards on Auditing, ethical requirements and independence requirements. Our audit included e.g.,:
Amsterdam, 29 March 2018
Ernst & Young Accountants LLP A.B. Roeders
company's ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor's report to the related disclosures in the fi nancial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor's report. However, future events or conditions may cause a company to cease to continue as a going concern;
Because we are ultimately responsible for the opinion, we are also responsible for directing, supervising and performing the group audit. In this respect we have determined the nature and extent of the audit procedures to be carried out for group entities. Decisive were the size and/or the risk profi le of the group entities or operations. On this basis, we selected group entities for which an audit or review had to be carried out on the complete set of fi nancial information or specifi c items.
We communicate with the supervisory board regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and signifi cant audit fi ndings, including any signifi cant fi ndings in internal control that we identify during our audit. In this respect we also submit an additional report to the supervisory board in accordance with Article 11 of the EU Regulation on specifi c requirements regarding statutory audit of public-interest entities. The information included in this additional report is consistent with our audit opinion in this auditor's report.
We provide the supervisory board with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical requirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.
From the matters communicated with the supervisory board, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the financial statements of the current period and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor's report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, not communicating the matter is in the public interest.
| ACPR | The French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution) |
|---|---|
| AFM | Stichting Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets |
| Alternext | Multilateral trading facilities operated by the Company in Paris, Brussels and Lisbon. |
| AMF | French Authority for the Financial Markets (Autorité des Marchés Financiers) |
| Articles of Association | The Articles of Association (statuten) of the Company |
| Brexit | British exit, referring to the UK's decision in a referendum on 23 June 2016 to leave the European Union |
| CAGR | Compounded annual growth rate |
| Cash Clearing Agreement | The Cash Clearing Agreement entered into between Euronext and certain of its affi liates and LCH S.A. S.A. and LCH S.A. group Limited on 22 January 2013 |
| CCPs | Central counterparties |
| CDP | Carbon Disclosure Project: CDP is a not-for-profi t organization that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. |
| CEO | Chief Executive Offi cer |
| CFO | Chief Financial Offi cer |
| Clearing Services | Clearing Services is the procedure by which an organisation ("CCP") acts as an intermediary and assumes the role of a buyer and seller in a transaction through the process of novation in order to reconcile orders between transacting parties. |
| CMVM | Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários, the Portuguese Securities Markets Commission |
| Code of conduct and ethics Code that reaffi rms the Euronext N.V.'s commitment to high standards of ethical conduct and reinforces its business ethics, policies and procedures |
|
| Company | Euronext N.V. and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated |
| Compliance department | The Compliance department of Euronext N.V. |
| COO | Chief Operating Offi cer |
| Core Items | The intellectual property in the UTP and other trading technology, including core software and technology |
| CSD | Central Securities Depositories |
| CSD Regulation | EU Regulation on securities settlement and central securities depositories (published on the Offi cial Journal of the European Union on 23 July 2014) |
| DBAG | Deutsche Börse AG |
| Derivatives Clearing Agreement |
The Derivatives Clearing Agreement entered into between Euronext and certain of its affi liates and LCH S.A. S.A. and LCH S.A. Group Limited on 14 October 2013. The revenue sharing agreement became eff ective as of 1 April 2014 |
| Code | The Dutch Corporate Governance Code |
| Dutch Financial Supervision Act |
The Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het Financieel Toezicht) and the rules promulgated thereunder |
| EBITDA | Operating Profi t Before Exceptional Items and Depreciation and Amortisation |
| ECB | European Central Bank |
| EEA | European Economic Area |
| EMEA | Europe, Middle East and Africa |
| EMIR | The EU Regulation on OTC derivative transactions, central counterparties and trade repositories (regulation 648/2012) |
| ESG | Environmental, Social and Governance |
| ESMA | European Securities and Markets Authority |
| ETF or ETFs | Exchange traded funds |
| ETPs | Exchange traded products |
| EU | European Union |
| EU Market Abuse Rules | The EU Market Abuse regulation 596/2014/EU, providing for specifi c rules that intend to prevent market abuse, such as the prohibitions on insider trading, divulging inside information and tipping, and market manipulation. |
| €, Euro | The lawful currency of the Member states of the European Union that have adopted it |
| Euroclear | Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V. |
| Euronext | Euronext N.V. and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated |
| Euronext Amsterdam | Euronext Amsterdam N.V. and/or the Regulated Market of the Company in Amsterdam |
| Euronext Brussels | Euronext Brussels S.A./N.V. and/or the Regulated Market of the Company in Brussels |
|---|---|
| Euronext College of Regulators |
The parties to a Memorandum of Understanding between the competent authorities regarding the co-ordinated regulation and supervision of Euronext being the FCA, the AMF, the AFM, the FSMA and the CMVM |
| Euronext Lisbon | Euronext Lisba-Sociedade Gestora de Mercados Regulamentados and/or the Regulated Market of the Company in Lisbon |
| Euronext London | Euronext London Ltd. and/or the Regulated Market of the Company in London |
| Market Operator | The operator of a Regulated Market |
| Euronext Market Subsidiary or Subsidiaries |
(A) each and any of (1) Euronext Paris S.A., (2) Euronext Amsterdam N.V., (3) Euronext Brussels S.A./N.V., (4) Euronext Lisbon S.A., (5) Euronext London Ltd and (6) any other Subsidiary of the Company operating a Regulated Market, and (B) any other Subsidiary that is subject to regulatory supervision controlled, directly or indirectly, by any of the entities listed in sub-paragraph (A), including without limitation Interbolsa S.A. |
| Euronext Paris | Euronext Paris S.A. and/or the Regulated Market of the Company in Paris |
| Euronext Rulebooks | The Euronext Rulebook containing the rules applicable to the Euronext Market Operators (Rulebook I) and the various non-harmonised Euronext Rulebooks containing local exchange-specifi c rules (Rulebook II) |
| Exchange Licence | (A) each declaration of no-objection or approval granted by or on behalf of the College of European Regulators to the Company in relation to the operation or holding of one or more Regulated Markets and/or the operation of one or more multilateral trading facilities by the Company or any of the Euronext Market Subsidiaries, (B) each licence granted by or on behalf of the Minister of Finance of the Netherlands to the Company in relation to the operation or holding of one or more Regulated Markets, as well as (C) each declaration of no-objection granted by or on behalf of the Minister of Finance of the Netherlands to any person holding a qualifying participation in the Company and/or any of its Euronext Market Subsidiaries in the Netherlands within the meaning of section 1 of the Act, in each case such licence, approval or declaration of no-objection (i) as granted pursuant to the Act or other applicable law implementing Directive 2004/39/EC or the relevant memorandum of understanding constituting the College of European Regulators and (ii) as in force and as amended at the relevant time |
| Facilities Agreement | The Facilities Agreement relates to a term loan facilities and a revolving loan facilities entered into between Euronext N.V. and Bank syndicates |
| FCA | The UK Financial Conduct Authority |
| FCPE | Fonds Commun de Placement d'Entreprise "Euronext group" |
| FICC | Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities |
| FinTech or fi ntech | abbreviation for Financial Technology |
| FRSA | The Dutch Financial Reporting Supervision Act (Wet toezicht fi nanciële verslaggeving) |
| FSMA | Belgian Authority for the Financial Markets (Financial Services and Markets Authority) |
| FTEs | Full-time employee equivalents |
| FTT | The Financial Transaction Tax proposed by the European Union |
| General Meeting | The General Meeting of shareholders (algemene vergadering van aandeelhouders) of Euronext N.V. |
| GHG | Green House Gaz |
| GOA | The further amended and restated governance and option agreement, to which ICE, the stichting and the Company are parties |
| Group | The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries |
| ICE | Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (formerly named Intercontinental Exchange group, Inc.), together with its consolidated subsidiaries |
| IFRS | International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union |
| IPO | Initial public off ering |
| IT | Information technology |
| Interbolsa | The CSD in Portugal for the Portuguese market |
| JV SPV | Joint Venture Special Purpose Vehicle |
| LCH S.A. | Banque Centrale de Compensation, trading as LCH S.A. |
| LCH S.A. Agreements | The Cash Clearing Agreement and the Derivatives Clearing Agreement |
| LIFFE | LIFFE Administration and Management |
| LTI | Long Term Incentive |
| LSEG | London Stock Exchange group plc, |
| MAD | The EU Market Abuse Directive (2003/6/EC), now superseded by MAR |
| Managing Board | The Managing Board (bestuur) of Euronext N.V. |
| MAR | EU Regulation on insider dealing and market manipulation (published on the Offi cial Journal of the European Union on 16 April 2014) which replaces MAD since its entry into force on 3 July 2016 |
| MiFID I | The EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2004/39/EC) |
|---|---|
| MiFID II | The revised EU Directive on MiFID (published on the Offi ciel Journal of the European Union on 12 June 2014) |
| MiFID II / MiFIR legislation e |
MiFID II and MiFIR |
| MiFIR | EU Regulation on Markets in Financial Instruments (published on the Offi cial Journal of the European Union on 12 June 2014) |
| MTFs | Multilateral trading facilities designated under MiFID and MiFID II |
| NYSE Euronext | The Parent through 13 November 2013 |
| Off ering | The off ering of Ordinary Shares as that took place on 20 June 2014 |
| Optiq ® | New enhanced multi-market trading platform |
| Ordinary Shares | Issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the share capital of the Company |
| OTC | Over-the-counter |
| Parent | NYSE Euronext, through 13 November 2013, and ICE, from 13 November 2013 until 20 June 2014 |
| Priority Share | Priority share in the share capital of the Company |
| Prospectus Directive | Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Union, and any amendments thereto, including Directive 2010/73/EU |
| Qualifying Participation | Direct or indirect interest of 10% or more of the share capital or voting rights |
| Quantitative Easing | Quantitative easing is a monetary policy in which a central bank purchases government securities or other securities from the market in order to lower interest rates and increase the money supply |
| Reference shareholders | A Group of institutional investors comprised ofNovo Banco., an affi liate of Banco Espírito Santo, S.A., BNP Paribas S.A., BNP Paribas Fortis S.A./N.V., ABN AMRO Bank N.V. through its subsidiary ABN AMRO Participaties Fund I B.V., ASR Levensverzekering N.V. (a company of the ASR Nederland group), Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Bpifrance Participations, Euroclear S.A./N.V., Société Fédérale de Participations et d'Investissement/Federale Participatie- en Investeringsmaatschappij, Société Générale and BancoBPI Pension Fund represented by BPI Vida e Pensões – Companhia de Seguros, S.A. |
| Reference shareholders Agreement |
The agreement entered into by the Reference shareholders dated 3 June 2014. |
| Regulated Market | A multi-lateral system or trading venue designated to be a "regulated market" under MiFID and MiFID II |
| RIE | Recognised investment exchange |
| Selling shareholder | ICE Europe Parent Ltd |
| Separation | Establishment of Euronext as an independent, publicly traded company by means of an initial public off ering |
| SFTI® | Secure Financial Transactions Infrastructure |
| shareholder | Any shareholder of the Company at any time |
| Share Purchase Agreement |
The sale and purchase agreement of Ordinary Shares in Euronext N.V. entered into between ICE, the Selling shareholder and the Reference shareholders dated 27 May 2014 |
| Single Order Book | Single Order Book for Euronext Paris, Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Brussels and Euronext London which unites trading, clearing and settlement across the exchanges in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, which results in one single trading line for all listed securities, including those listed currently on more than one Euronext markets for which the Single Order Book executes trades on the designated market of reference |
| SLAs | Transitional services agreements and related agreements |
| SMEs | Small and medium enterprises |
| SRI | Socially Responsible Investing refers to investment strategies that seek to maximise fi nancial return while maximising social good and minimizing environmental footprint |
| Subsidiary | Has the meaning as referred to in section 2: 24a of the Dutch Civil Code |
| Supervisory Board | The Supervisory Board of Euronext N.V. |
| Support Items | Related support items to the Core Items |
| Tech or tech | abbreviation for technology |
| Transparency Directive | The EU Transparency Directive 2004/109/EC, as amended by Directive 2013/50/EU with respect to transparency and disclosure obligations |
| T2S | TARGET2-Securities, the European technical platform set up and operated by the Eurosystem that allow core, neutral and borderless settlement of securities transactions on a delivery-versus-payment ("DvP") basis in Central Bank Money. |
| UK FSMA | UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 |
| UTP or Euronext UTP | Universal Trading Platform or Euronext Universal Trading Platform |
AMSTERDAM | BRUSSELS | LISBON | LONDON | PARIS | DUBLIN Hong Kong | New-York | Porto
www.euronext.com
Building tools?
Free accounts include 100 API calls/year for testing.
Have a question? We'll get back to you promptly.