DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CME Group Inc.'s (CME) first-quarter profit jumped 90% and core
results topped Wall Street's expectations as revenue increased amid
higher trading volume and margins widened.
The world's biggest derivatives exchange operator by contract
volume has enjoyed historic activity levels of late as political
turmoil in Northern Africa and the Middle East roiled fixed-income
markets, alongside the March earthquake in Japan.
It has opted out of the latest round of consolidation, which
could lead to an NYSE Euronext (NYX) tie-up with Deutsche Boerse AG
(DB1.XE, DBOEF)--if the Big Board operator gets its way--or Nasdaq
OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE).
CME reported a profit of $456.6 million, or $6.81 a share, up
from $240.2 million, or $3.62 a share, a year earlier. Excluding a
tax adjustment, the latest quarter's earnings were $4.36 a share.
Revenue jumped 20% to $831.6 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently predicted a
profit of $4.20 a share on $827 million in revenue.
Operating margin widened to 63% from 59.8%.
Earlier this month, CME said its average daily trading volume
jumped 19% to 13.8 million contracts, the second-highest quarterly
volume ever.
Class A shares closed Wednesday at $309.89 and were inactive in
recent premarket trading. Through the latest close, the stock is
down 6.2% the past year.
-By Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240;
matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com