3rd UPDATE: CME Targets Global Growth As 1Q Profit Rises 90%

The international expansion of CME Group Inc. (CME) could see overseas trading of currency and energy futures grow to match the scale of its North American business, its chief executive said Thursday.

The world's largest futures exchange drew 15% of its volume in the first quarter from outside U.S. trading hours--a proxy for overseas business--and the proportion in foreign-exchange derivatives reached 34%. Chief Executive Craig Donohue said currency contracts were the most likely to see an even split between domestic and overseas business, followed by metals, energy and commodity futures and options. "This is a long-term effort, but I think it can be achieved," said Donohue in an interview.

Overseas trading has grown in all of CME's main product groups, with the contribution in equity derivatives doubling to 10% over the past two years. To promote CME's contracts among non-U.S. traders, CME late Thursday moved to extend an incentive program for international customers that grants 50,000 free trades to eligible customers, provided they meet certain criteria. The yearlong effort applies to firms and individuals outside the U.S. and Canada, though CME said traders running automated strategies are excluded from the offering.

The international focus comes while CME sits out the latest round of industry consolidation, having spent more than $20 billion on domestic acquisitions over the past four years. The company said it planned no major deals in the near term, and is focusing on organic growth and its partnerships with overseas exchanges, notably in emerging markets.

CME also aims next week to introduce a new London-based trade-clearing facility, aimed at customers that prefer to maintain collateral under U.K. bankruptcy codes. "We're a pure-play derivatives exchange," said Donohue, seeking to distance the company from the multiasset-class model adopted by rivals, including Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE) and merger partner NYSE Euronext (NYX).

His comments came after CME reported a 90% rise in first-quarter profit, with revenue soaring as market volatility spurred trading and lifted operating margin to 63% from 59.8% a year earlier. 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.

Earlier this month, CME said its average daily trading volume jumped 19%, to 13.8 million contracts, the second-highest quarterly volume ever.

CME shares settled Thursday at $304.05, down 1.9%.

-By Doug Cameron, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4135; doug.cameron@dowjones.com

--Matt Jarzemsky and Jacob Bunge contributed to this article.

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