Intercontinental Exchange Q2 Profit Up 25%

(RTTNews) - Exchange operator Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) on Wednesday reported a 25 percent increase in profit for the second quarter from last year on higher revenues and lower expenses.

Atlanta, Georgia-based ICE completed its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of NYSE Euronext during the fourth quarter of 2013.

For the second quarter, net income attributable to ICE was $283 million or $2.54 per share, up from $226 million or $1.95 per share in the same period last year.

Excluding items, adjusted net income from continuing operations for the latest quarter were $2.90 per share, compared to $2.10 per share in the year-ago quarter. On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $2.77 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Consolidated revenue, less transaction-based expenses, rose 6 percent to $797 million from $750 million in the prior-year quarter. This includes net transaction and clearing revenues, less transaction-based expenses, of $448 million. Analysts' revenue consensus was $797.64 million for the quarter.

Transaction and clearing fees edged down slightly from last year to $724 million, while consolidated data services revenues rose 29 percent to $191 million. Listings fees increased 12 percent to $101 million and consolidated other revenues grew 10 percent to $57 million.

Total operating expenses for the quarter declined 13 percent from last year to $367 million.

ICE declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.75 per share for the third quarter of 2015, payable on September 30, 2015 to shareholders on record September 16. The ex-dividend date is September 14, 2015.

Looking ahead, ICE expects third and fourth quarter 2015 adjusted operating expenses in a range of $330 million to $335 million per quarter.

In a separate statement, ICE reported that its July 2015 futures and options average daily volume or ADV for July 2015 increased 1 percent compared to the year-ago period.

Commodity ADV for the month increased 4 percent, led by increases in gasoil, other oil, natural gas and sugar ADV. Meanwhile, financials ADV declined 2 percent from the previous year primarily due to single stock equity futures volume declines.

ICE is trading at $231.67, up $1.02 or 0.44 percent on a volume of 95,204 shares.