INTL FCStone 2011 Annual Report Download - page 7

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT
INTL FCStone achieved record  nancial
performance in  scal year 2011, with 51% growth
in adjusted operating revenue and 106% growth in
adjusted earnings, resulting in a return on average
adjusted stockholders’ equity of 11.6 %, among the
highest of any  nancial services  rm.
These results are in markedly positive contrast
to the overall  nancial services industry. Market
conditions proved di cult throughout the year,
as we witnessed a series of credit crises in Europe
and the collapse of one of the largest Futures
Commission Merchants and a major competitor,
MF Global. The full eff ects of MF Global’s demise
are still to be seen, but they are likely to aff ect the
futures and risk-management industry for some
time.
In this uncertain environment, INTL FCStone
is one of the relatively few fi nancial services
organizations that is customer-oriented and
focused on middle-market customers. We
utilize our expertise, capital and technology
to provide a value-added service to help these
customers manage their risks and protect and
enhance operating performance. We serve as an
intermediary to facilitate fi nancial transactions for
our customers, whether on exchanges or over the
counter, and act either as a principal or a broker.
Unlike some fi rms, however, we do not take
speculative directional views on the market.
We believe that we bring a unique approach that
blends an unwavering commitment to customers
with multi-dimensional fi nancial capabilities,
which allows us to build deep and meaningful
customer relationships and earn suffi cient margin
to provide our shareholders with a fair return on
their capital.
Through successful acquisitions made over the
past two years, we have now assembled a broad
range of capabilities for our growing customer
base across the globe, including:
• Strategic risk-management advisory services
for our commercial customer base to protect
and enhance bottom-line earnings despite
volatile fi nancial and commodities markets;
• General corporate fi nance and investment
banking capabilities related to capital
transactions as well as mergers and
acquisitions, valuations, and other
transactions;
• Clearing, prime brokerage and execution
services for a wide range of exchanges around
the world in all commodity verticals;
• A full spectrum of foreign exchange, global
payments and treasury services;
• A full range of over-the-counter (“OTC”) and
structured products to provide more complex
and customized risk-management solutions
for our customers;
• Physical trading of precious and base metals
and select agricultural products, including
off -take from our customers and sourcing
product on their behalf;
• Customer execution in international and
domestic securities.
At the conclusion of our 2010 fi scal year, which
witnessed the integration of the September 30,
2009 merger between International Assets Holding
Corporation and FCStone, as well as a number
of signifi cant acquisitions, INTL FCStone senior
management made a strategic decision to focus
our eff orts in the coming year predominantly on
creating operating effi ciencies, consolidating our
recent acquisitions, and helping our customers
navigate an increasingly volatile global economic
environment.
At the same time, however, we are willing to make
strategic acquisitions when the right opportunity
presents itself. Most notably, following the end of
fi scal year 2011, we acquired virtually the entire
MF Global Metals Division team in the wake of
MF Global’s dissolution. This acquisition was
made possible by our earlier purchase of Ambrian
Commodities Ltd., the London Metal Exchange
(LME) subsidiary of Ambrian Capital Plc, which
provided us with an LME platform.
6 | 2011 INTL FCStone Annual Report
INTL FCStone achieved
record  nancial performance
in  scal year 2011.