| NASDAQ-OMX profit rises beating Wall Street expectations |
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08/02/2010 17:45 (733 Day 12:47 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- Nasdaq OMX Group Inc., the owner of the second-largest U.S. equity exchange, said on February 8 that its fourth quarter net income climbed 23 percent. The results edged analysts’ forecasts.
The Nasdaq Stock Market parent company is very sensitive to myriad planned changes to market regulation, according to Reuters. "Changing dynamics of our industry are providing numerous growth opportunities," it said on Monday.
Nasdaq reported a profit of $43 million, or 20 cents a share, down from $60 million, or 28 cents, a year earlier. Excluding various one-time impairments and gains in both periods, earnings fell to 46 cents from 52 cents, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company's net exchange revenue dropped 8.4% to $369 million.
According to the same source, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 45 cents on $365 million in revenue.
Nasdaq has focused on widening its revenue sources as it faces increased competition in U.S. equities. The company spent $5.05 billion in 2008 to buy Sweden’s OMX AB and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Bloomberg reports. Chief Executive Officer Robert Greifeld has since cut jobs and expenses, helping bring down expenses. He also raised prices at the BX platform.
“Management execution and cost extraction remains on track,” Howard Chen, an analyst with Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group AG, wrote in a report last month, according to the same source. He said he expected lower fourth-quarter expenses “as management continues to realize deal-related synergies and hold the line on discretionary spending.” Operating expenses in 2010 will be $865 million to $885 million, including about $50 million in one-time costs, Nasdaq said today. In 2009, operating costs were $850 million, at the top end of the range that the company projected in November.
Shares closed at $18.80 Friday and were inactive premarket, The Wall Street Journal reports. The stock has fallen 25% in the past year.
NYSE, the owner of the nation’s biggest stock exchange, is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings tomorrow, according to Business Week. The New York-based company will post profit of 48 cents a share, according to the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
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