Nasdaq Second Quarter Profits Rise, Despite Facebook IPO Failure

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Nasdaq Second Quarter Profits Rise, Despite Facebook IPO Failure

NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) released its second quarter financial results on Wednesday. The exchange operator, which is called the Mecca of tech listings, reported a 1.1 percent increase in profits to $93 million, from $92 million in the same quarter of 2011. Net revenues rose 2.2 percent, to $424 million from $415 million in the corresponding quarter last year. The revenue figures are after deducting the clearance, brokerage, exchange fees, and rebates.

After excluding special items, such as restructuring costs, earning per diluted share stands at $0.64, better than $0.60 per diluted share estimated by analysts. Net operating expenses reduced 3.1% to $249 million. The company said rise in revenues from data business, and decline in costs helped it boost earnings.

“The second quarter saw a continuation of solid growth in our recurring and subscription-based businesses. Strong growth in our Global Market Data, Access Services, and Global Index businesses offset continued weak trends in our transaction-based businesses. This performance was a direct result of our continued focus on cost management, and the execution of our strategy to build strong, recurring and subscription-based revenue businesses that can drive growth, despite the trading environment,” said Bob Greifeld, CEO of Nasdaq OMX.

Nasdaq has been in the limelight since May 18, when Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s much hyped IPO was plagued by technical glitches in the stock exchange. Brokers are said to have lost over $100 million. Though Nasdaq said in June that it will be paying $40 million to the brokers who lost money during the botched IPO, the move was heavily criticized by market makers and other stock exchanges. Finally, Nasdaq revised its plan on Friday and said that it will pay $62 million to brokers who lost money in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) IPO.

The exchange operator’s share prices have declined 14 percent in the past three months, and stood at $21.83 on Tuesday.

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