Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has released its financial results for the final quarter ending December 2018 and for the full year 2018.
Overall, the exchange reported solid growth during the year marking the 13th consecutive year to deliver record revenues. For the fourth quarter ending December 2018, the consolidated net revenue was $1.31 billion, representing an increase of 14 per cent year-on-year.
During the quarter, the revenue from trading and clearing contributed $657 million, representing a jump of 27 per cent year-over-year. The fixed income and credit revenue was $83 million, up by 152 per cent from $32 million in the fourth quarter in 2017. The cash and equity options revenue during the fourth quarter also increased by 35 per cent year-on-year to $93 million from $70 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Taking a look at the full year performance, the total consolidated net revenues during the period increased to $4.9 billion, a growth of 7.4 per cent year-on-year. Breaking up the revenue, trading and clearing segment contributed $1.3 billion in revenue, an increase of 14.1 per cent year-on-year. The fixed income and credit revenue came in at $240 million, increased by an impressive 72 per cent from $139 million. Cash equities and equity options revenue witnessed an increase of 14 per cent to $327 million from $287 million in 2017.
Also, the company generated record cash flow in 2018, allowing it to return shareholders approximately $1.8 billion in the capital, highest ever in the company’s history.
Commenting on the quarterly performance, ICE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Sprecher said:
“2018 marked our 13th consecutive year of record revenues – a track record directly attributable to customer demand for our risk management solutions and the investments we’ve made to enhance our technology, expand our content and broaden our distribution.”
“As we look to 2019, we remain focused on bringing mission-critical solutions to our customers and delivering value to our stockholders.”
The company also provided guidance for the first quarter of 2019 with data revenue estimated between $540 million and $545 million and for the full year, it is estimated between $2.19 billion and $2.24 billion.
