NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - North American stock exchange Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc. (NDAQ) reported Wednesday a profit for the fourth quarter that declined from last year, primarily reflecting lower operating margins and charges. However, the bourse saw a 6 percent increase in net exchange revenues. Both adjusted earnings per share and quarterly revenues topped analysts' expectations. The New York-based exchange reported net income of $82 million or $0.45 per share for the fourth quarter, lower than $137 million or $0.69 per share in the prior-year quarter. The results for the latest quarter include $44 million of pre-tax expenses associated with debt refinancing, the impairment of an available-for-sale investment security and merger and strategic initiatives. Excluding items, net income for the quarter grew to $113 million or $0.63 per share from $110 million or $0.55 per share in the prior-year quarter. On average, 19 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.61 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Net exchange revenues, excluding liquidity rebates, brokerage, clearance and exchange fees, increased 6 percent to a record high of $422 million from $400 million in the same quarter last year, and topped sixteen Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $417.16 million. Market Services net exchange revenues for the fourth quarter increased 6 percent to $281 million. These include a 3 percent growth in net exchange revenues from transaction services and a 10 percent growth in market data revenues. Issuer services revenues grew 4 percent to $80 million and market Technology revenues also increased 4 percent to $48 million from the year-ago quarter. Operating margins declined 200 basis points to 44 percent from last year's 46 percent, reflecting higher operating costs. During the fourth quarter, the company got a total of 56 new listings, including 16 initial public offerings, compared to total listings of 63 in the fourth quarter of 2010. 'In 2011, our strategic decision-making continued to pay off as we achieved double digit growth in revenues and earnings. Investments in new initiatives, contributions from acquisitions, and capital deployment decisions all contributed to our success despite the backdrop of a difficult macroeconomic environment,' President and CEO Bob Greifeld said in a statement. For fiscal 2011, the company reported net income of $387.0 million or $2.15 per share, compared to $395 million or $1.91 per share in the prior year. Excluding one-time items, adjusted net income for the year grew to $455 million or $2.53 per share from $411 million or $1.99 per share in the prior year. Analysts expected the company to report earnings of $2.50 per share for fiscal 2011. Net exchange revenues for the full year grew 11 percent to $1.69 billion from $1.52 billion in the previous year. Street was looking for full-year 2011 revenues of $1.69 billion. NDAQ closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $24.76, down $0.75 on a volume of 3.01 million shares, higher than the three-month average volume of 1.71 million shares. In the past 52-week period, the stock has been trading in a range of $20.32 to $29.71.
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