DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CME Group Inc.'s (CME) fourth-quarter earnings fell 3.2%,
falling short of analysts' estimates, as the exchange company
booked $59.9 million of charges, mostly related to tax rates.
The world's biggest derivatives exchange operator by contract
volume has benefited of late from strong trade in its core
interest-rate futures market, thanks to uncertainty driven by the
Federal Reserve's second stab at quantitative easing. The company
last month said its fourth-quarter volume grew 17% from a year
earlier to 12 million contracts a day.
CME reported a profit of $196.2 million, or $2.93 a share, down
from $202.6 million, or $3.04 a share, a year earlier. Excluding
items such as the tax-related charge and an expense related to
paying off a term loan early, earnings totaled $3.77 a share.
Revenue jumped 14% to $763.2 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast
earnings of $3.82 a share on $757 million in revenue.
Operating margin edged down to 60.1% from 60.3%.
Total expenses increased 15% to $304.8 million.
Shares closed Wednesday at $315.14 and were inactive in
premarket trading. As of the close, the stock had risen 7.9% the
past year.
-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855;
nathan.becker@dowjones.com