Commodities broker Marex Spectron announced record profits 

Marex Spectron, the global commodities broker, today announced record profits before tax of $27.0 million for the year through to 31 December 2016, a 53% increase on the $17.6 million reported in 2015, and maintains the firm’s positive earnings trajectory.

Adjusted EBITDA* for the year was also a record $37.1 million, compared with $31.0 million in 2015, $24.8 million in 2014 and $11.3 million in 2013. Gross revenue for the year was $330.4 million, compared with 2015’s $347.7 million, with the decline due essentially to exiting non-profitable businesses.

In 2016 Marex Spectron maintained a leading position across its markets. In the Metals business, Marex Spectron was number one by volume on the LME, with a 20% share, and 22% on the LME Select electronic platform. In Energy, it was a top three broker across key products, and in Agriculture, it was a market leader in sugar, coffee, cocoa and European grains options market.

Over the past few years, the firm has rationalised and exited non-profitable activities. In 2016 there was a change in emphasis to growth through hiring new talent, adding new products, and the expansion of the firm’s geographic footprint.

Highlights during the year included:

• Active North American expansion, having hired a leading Canadian Physical Oil team, opened a Calgary office, and built an in-house electronic marketplace to trade physical and financial crude products. It also hired one of the largest Light Ends brokers in the US and grew the US Power business.
• Growth in Asia, with a new Metals trading capability added to Singapore (reflecting the importance of the Asian markets to Marex Spectron’s business) and further development of its brokerage capabilities.
• Positive developments in Europe, building Energy Clearing capabilities and establishing a team to broker Clean Freight in London.
• Leveraging the new NEON Platform, a leading trading, risk and data platform, to win electronic business.
• Building-out its Metals OTC offering and developing an alternative marketplace to LME’s electronic platform.
• Strengthening the firm’s liquidity resources, with the addition of Barclays as the third bank in the Working Capital Facility.

Ian Lowitt, Marex Spectron’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “These are strong results and maintain our positive earnings trajectory with significant improvements in profitability over a five-year period.  2016 was an important year for our business as we moved from a cost to a growth focus, investing broadly across products and geographies to improve our diversification and providing a platform for future growth. We have also increased our competiveness, through better content, market intelligence and technology capabilities.  In 2017, our focus continues to be on developing our business, winning new clients, adding to our offerings, and gaining market share.

“Today our business offers clients a unique proposition, with an unrivalled breadth of coverage across metals, energy and agricultural markets, with leading franchises in all the commodity markets. We are providing extensive services in each of these markets, from global exchange connectivity to leading proprietary data, technology, and quantitative and qualitative analysis.   It is these attributes, alongside a robust set of cultural values, that give us our competitive advantage.”

*Adjusted EBITDA reflects the underlying profitability of the business by excluding specific one-time items and the impact of investments and cost to exit businesses

Source: Marex Spectron

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