Reto Francioni, chief executive of Deutsche Börse, has leapt to the defence of the German exchange group, saying its success does not rest on consolidation, and that it will not be broken up, as pre-tax profits hit a record during his first full year in charge.

The exchange group, which includes the Eurex derivatives exchange and Clearstream settlement agency, said equity derivatives and electronic trading growth propelled pre-tax profits up almost half to €1.03bn ($1.35bn). Revenues also hit a record, rising 14% to €1.9bn.