IntercontinentalExchange Q1 Profit Surges, Revenues Beat View

(RTTNews) - Global markets operator IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) on Thursday reported a 94 percent surge in profit for the first quarter from last year, as results were boosted by the company's acquisition of NYSE Euronext. Revenues for the quarter beat analysts' estimates.

Atlanta, Georgia-based ICE completed its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of NYSE Euronext during the fourth quarter of 2013.

Scott Hill, CFO of ICE said, "ICE's strong first quarter results were driven by the addition of new businesses, solid growth in our global agriculture complex and a record quarter for CDS clearing. We achieved record revenues and have taken actions that have already allowed us to realize over 40% of our expense synergy target relating to the NYSE Euronext acquisition, increasing the efficiency of our operations globally."

For the first quarter, net income attributable to ICE was $262 million or $2.27 per share, up from $135 million or $1.85 per share in the same period last year. The latest quarter's results include acquisition-related transaction and integration costs of $60 million and the related tax impact, primarily due to the NYSE Euronext integration.

Excluding these items, adjusted earnings for the latest quarter were $301 million or $2.60 per share. On average, 16 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $2.58 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenue for the quarter more than tripled to $1.20 billion from $352 million in the year-ago period. Revenue, less transaction-based expenses, more than doubled to $932 million from $352 million in the prior year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $922.92 million for the quarter.

Market data fees for the quarter more than tripled from the year-ago period to $133 million. During the first quarter, NYSE Group recorded total proceeds of $8.7 billion on 30 initial public offerings or IPOs. NYSE Group also recorded $1.7 billion in proceeds from 10 technology IPOs.

Transaction and clearing revenues almost tripled to $840 million. Consolidated other revenues, which include technology services revenues, trading license fees, regulatory fees and listed company service fees, soared twelve-fold from last year to $134 million.

ICE declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.65 per share for the second quarter of 2014, with a record date of June 16 and a payment date of June 30. The ex-dividend date will be June 12, 2014.

ICE is currently trading at $194.01, down $7.74 or 3.84 percent on a volume of 1.11 million shares.