--Fourth-quarter profit fell 75% to $28 million
--Charges from clearing deal with ICE, closure of emissions
platform
--Cost-cutting efforts ramp up in fourth quarter
(Adds CEO comment, details from results.)
By Jacob Bunge
NYSE Euronext (NYX) said its fourth-quarter earnings dropped 75%
amid a slump in futures and securities trade spanning both sides of
the Atlantic.
The Big Board parent in the fourth quarter ramped up a
cost-cutting effort, trimming about $115 million in expenses by
exiting some businesses and projects.
"A lackluster trading environment continued to impact our
results," said NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer,
speaking Tuesday on a conference call discussing the results.
Mr. Niederauer said he was "cautiously optimistic" that the
exchange group's planned $8.2 billion acquisition by rival
IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) would close by the end of
2013.
NYSE Euronext (NYX) reported Tuesday that net profit for the
fourth quarter fell 75% to $28 million from $110 million in the
same period a year ago, with deal costs and asset sales weighing on
the results.
NYSE Euronext said it managed to cut $115 million in costs last
year as part of the two-year campaign to trim $250 million in
costs. The plan launched last year in response to a multiyear slide
in stock-trading activity and a low-interest-rate climate in Europe
that has crimped trading fees from NYSE's London-based futures
market.
Revenue from NYSE Euronext's derivatives markets fell 9% over
the quarter to $221 million. Trading on NYSE Euronext's flagship
Liffe futures platform fell 15% in the period from the prior year
to an average 2.3 million contracts changing hands per day.
Securities trading and listings revenues fell 17% to $568
million, as stock trades executed on NYSE's U.S. and European
exchanges fell by one-fourth from 2011 levels.
NYSE Euronext's technology-services division saw revenue fall 6%
in the fourth quarter to $120 million, as spending by banks and
brokers on financial software remained under pressure. The company
is crafting a new strategy for the business that will focus on
solutions including a cloud-based set of market services, Mr.
Niederauer said Tuesday.
Excluding the impact of charges related to a write-off of NYSE
Euronext's clearinghouse project and the unwind of its BlueNext
emissions market, NYSE Euronext's net income in the fourth quarter
was $105 million.
Shares of NYSE settled 0.2% higher Monday at $34.87 and were
inactive in premarket trading Tuesday.
--Inti Landauro contributed to this article.
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@dowjones.com
Order free Annual Report for Deutsche Börse AG
Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=DE0005810055 or
call +44 (0)208 391 6028
Order free Annual Report for IntercontinentalExchange, Inc.
Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=US45865V1008 or
call +44 (0)208 391 6028
Order free Annual Report for NYSE Euronext
Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=US6294911010 or
call +44 (0)208 391 6028
Order free Annual Report for The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=US6311031081 or
call +44 (0)208 391 6028
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires