NYSE earnings fall ahead of merger
NYSE Euronext, the exchange gearing up to be bought by IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) in a $8.2bn (£5.2bn) deal, yesterday said revenues plunged 11 per cent for the quarter ending December due to write-offs and merger expenses.
Writing off investments in its clearing house in Europe and unwinding a stake in its carbon trading exchange meant net income for the fourth quarter fell from $110m to $28m, it said.
This was on the back of a drop in revenues down to $562m.
The exchange is set to be taken over by ICE in the second half of this year. In the meantime, the firm is focusing on stripping costs from the business ahead of the merger.
The NYSE last year said it wanted to cut $250m worth of expenses by next year. Last year it said it managed to strip out $115m of costs.
“We are focused on building momentum in our business prior to closing the deal with ICE,” chief executive Duncan Niederauer said.