NYSE Euronext pays price for failed merger
NYSE Euronext admitted yesterday that its profits fell by almost a third in the first quarter due to a slowdown in trading and costs from its failed merger with Deutsche Boerse.
The New York exchange said profits were down 32 per cent to $121m (£74.6m) as revenue fell 17 per cent to $952m in the first three months of the year.
“Our first quarter results reflect the challenging operating environment which carried over into 2012 and will continue to result in near-term headwinds,” said chief executive Duncan Niederauer.
The exchange’s derivatives trading unit was hardest hit, with trading activity at its London-based exchange Liffe down 28 per cent for the period, as derivatives revenue for the group fell a quarter to $176m.
Share trading and listings were down seven per cent to $304m while NYSE’s smaller technology and data business was up four per cent to $121m for the quarter.
The New York bourse also said it incurred $31m of merger and exit costs, including $16m from its failed merger with Deutsche Boerse.
NYSE canned the $7.4bn merger in early February after the deal was rejected by European antitrust authorities.
The exchange has since refocused its attention on new market opportunities and pledged to create its own clearing house for futures transactions, moving away from its current provider LCH.Clearnet.