TSX Group Inc. CEO Barbara Stymiest says the TSX Group won’t be converted into an income trust anytime soon.

In a conference call with analysts Tuesday, Stymiest said that it continues to watch the income trust market, but it isn’t actively considering taking the TSX Group that route just yet. She said that the company is still relatively young and growing, and for those purposes it’s better to be organized in a traditional corporate structure without the restriction of a fixed payout. Also, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other sorts of deals would be harder if the TSX was an income trust while the other major publicly-traded exchanges are traditional firms.

That said, the firm continues to generate cash impressively, and it raised its dividend to 33¢ from 25¢ Tuesday. That prompted one analyst to ask whether the firm was more confident than market skeptics who worry about low trading volumes. Stymiest said that there is typically a seasonal summer slowdown, and that it does remain upbeat about the market’s prospects.

She also noted that in a prolonged bear market, it could slow down spending on new product launches and in the tech spending necessary to increase trading capacity. This year, the TSX has done a number of product launches, and Stymiest said it continues to add stocks to its US-dollar trading and market-on-close products.

Revenues were $74.3 million for the second quarter of 2004, up 41% as compared to $52.8 million for the same period in 2003, mainly due to increased listing and trading revenue. Net income was $24.9 million for the second quarter of 2004, representing an increase of 53.7% over $16.2 million for the second quarter of 2003, largely attributable to the higher revenue, somewhat offset by an increase in expenses.

Listing revenue increased by $12.5 million, or 60%, compared with $21.0 million in the second quarter of 2003. Trading and related revenue increased by $7.2 million, or 45%, up from $16.1 million.

Market data revenue of $14.5 million, was up by $1.5 million, or 12%. Business services revenue of $2.1 million decreased by $0.1 million, or 5%, compared with the second quarter of 2003.

Commenting on TSX Group’s outlook, Stymiest said, “We continue to remain confident in our goal of long-term annual earnings per share growth in the 10% to 12% range although we expect to see variation in growth rates on both a quarterly and annual basis.

“We will continue to be prudent in managing our expenses, and at the same time invest in opportunities as we move forward in implementing our growth strategies. We remain committed to pursuing the many opportunities that surround us for enhancing our core business, extending our pre-eminent domestic position through diversification and expanding geographically.”