Nasdaq’s profit drops 18% in Q1

PanARMENIAN.Net - The New York exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. reported an 18 percent drop in its first-quarter profit due a sharp decline in trading of stocks and derivatives, according to AP.

Nasdaq said Wednesday, April 25 that its net income fell to $85 million, or 48 cents per share, for the three months ended March 31 from $104 million, or 57 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding one-time items including restructuring charges and a reduction in the value of an investment, the company said its adjusted earnings were 61 cents per share. That was slightly lower than the 63 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue excluding fees and rebates slipped to $411 million compared to $413 million a year ago. Analysts expected revenue of $416.6 million. Its shares fell 22 cents to $25.11 in late morning trading. Its shares have traded in a 52-week range of $20.32 to $28.08.

Revenue from stock trades fell $9 million to $53 million as trading volumes overall fell. Investors stayed away from the markets because of uncertainty over the pace of U.S. economic recovery, Europe's debt issues and signs of a global slowdown.

By staying away, investors missed one of the best first quarter rallies in the stock markets in over a decade. The Nasdaq composite index rose 19 percent, its best gain since 1991. The S&P 500 index posted a 12 percent gain, the best in 14 years. Revenue from derivative trading and clearing at Nasdaq fell $6 million to $74 million in the first quarter.

However, some of its more technology-oriented businesses performed better. Nasdaq's access and broker services division, which provides risk management services to brokers, increased its revenue by $5 million to $62 million. Revenue grew by $6 million to $87 million at its market data unit, which provides news about companies and economic indicators to subscribers.

Nasdaq has been investing more on these technology products. Nasdaq is looking at new ways to grow its business because of increased competition from newer electronic venues for trading and also because its efforts to get bigger by merging with another exchange such as NYSE Euronext did not pan out.

It has also launched a cost reduction plan to achieve $50 million in cost savings by the end of 2012. For the quarter, its operating expenses were higher than last year - totaling $240 million, compared to $230 million in the first quarter of 2011.