Swiss stock exchange operator SIX hit by losses related to Worldline stake

ZURICH (Reuters) -Swiss stock exchange operator SIX said on Thursday it expects a 2025 net loss of about 300 million Swiss francs ($378.26 million), citing an impairment of roughly 550 million francs on its 10.5% stake in French payments group Worldline.

SIX, owned by around 120 financial institutions, said the charge reflects mainly the goodwill impairment Worldline announced with its half-year 2025 results on Thursday.

The expected write-down marks the third year in a row that SIX has suffered impairment charges related to its Worldline investment.

SIX suffered a 167.7 million franc impairment tied to Worldline in 2024, while the Swiss company reported a total net loss of 1.0 billion francs in 2023 partly driven by a slump in Worldline's shares.

Worldline, spun off from IT group Atos in 2014, has seen its market value collapse about 97% from a peak above 20 billion euros in 2021 after suffering customer churn, repeated profit warnings, leadership instability and softer consumer spending.

A criminal probe into suspected money-laundering at its Belgian unit further hurt sentiment.

Worldline now plans to raise 500 million euros ($583.10 million) in new equity to fund a turnaround and restore investor confidence; its shares fell 6% in early Paris trade.

SIX said it supports Worldline's restructuring but will not participate in the capital increase and accepts dilution of its 10.5% stake.

Following the expected dilution and reduced influence after its representative Giulia Fitzpatrick leaves Worldline's board, SIX will reclassify the holding as a financial investment.

It still aims to pay a stable 2025 dividend compared to the 5.30 francs per share paid out for 2024 and said its capital position remains solid.

($1 = 0.7931 Swiss francs)

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

(Reporting by Oliver Hirt, Gianluca Lo Nostro and John RevillEditing by Tomasz Janowski)