On Thursday, the IntercontinentalExchange Group (ICE) reported its first-quarter net income was $262 million or $2.27 per share, compared to $137 million or $1.85 per share, last year. Excluding items, adjusted net income was $301 million or $2.60 per share, for the quarter.
Total revenues, less transaction-based expenses, were a record $932 million; this compared to 2013’s $352 million. ?
Analysts had estimated earnings at $2.58 a share and $922.92 million in revenue.
ICE Chief Financial Officer Scott Hill, said,?”We achieved record revenues and have taken actions that have already allowed us to realize over 40% of our expense synergy target relating to the NYSE Euronext acquisition, increasing the efficiency of our operations globally.”?
Later in the earnings conference call, ICE?Chief Executive Jeffrey Sprecher said that the exchange would petition the Securities and Exchange Commission to cut the number of stock order types to decrease market complexity, reported the Wall Street Journal.
He added that ICE will continue evaluating?additional order types to get rid of as they don’t give market “true utility.” Specher added, “We believe that exchanges and dark pools should adopt a moratorium on creating any new types of orders.”?