CME Group Reports Record Q1 2016 Financial Results

These strong results reflect our continued progress in executing on our long-term growth initiatives.

CME Group Inc., which is listed on the NASDAQ under ticker symbol CME, has today reported record revenues of $934 million and operating income of $574 million for the first quarter of 2016.

The group’s solid first quarter financial performance was driven by the highest quarterly average daily volume to date, including record volumes in energy, and overall options and electronic options trading.

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CME Group Executive Chairman and President Terry Duffy said: "These strong results reflect our continued progress in executing on our long-term growth initiatives. At the same time, we are committed to returning cash to our shareholders, as evidenced by $1.2 billion in dividends being paid out during the quarter."

Balanced Performance

CME Group’s strong, balanced performance across its diverse product portfolio and a continued focus on expense discipline were factors that contributed to the increase in its operating margin during the first quarter.

Group Chief Executive Officer Phupinder Gill added in the press release: "We saw a significant increase in global participation in our markets, with average daily volume of 3.7 million contracts traded from outside of the United States, up 24 percent from first quarter 2015. The solid quarterly activity was underscored by continued momentum in open interest, as we reached a record daily level of 116 million contracts in the first quarter, and open interest remains elevated."

First quarter 2016 average daily volume was a record 16.9 million contracts, up 13 percent compared with first-quarter 2015, on a year-over-year (YoY) basis. Clearing Clearing Clearing is a general term that simply means many different things depending on the subject and related industry. Most commonly, this refers to the reciprocal exchange between banks of checks and drafts, and the settlement of the differences, or the total of claims settled at a clearinghouse. In finance and banking, the word clearing has different meanings depending on the more specific business model. Moving checks from the bank where they were deposited to the bank on which they were drawn. Th Clearing is a general term that simply means many different things depending on the subject and related industry. Most commonly, this refers to the reciprocal exchange between banks of checks and drafts, and the settlement of the differences, or the total of claims settled at a clearinghouse. In finance and banking, the word clearing has different meanings depending on the more specific business model. Moving checks from the bank where they were deposited to the bank on which they were drawn. Th Read this Term and transaction fee revenue was $796 million, up 12 percent compared YoY with first quarter 2015. First quarter 2016 total average rate per contract was 75.6 cents, down from 78.9 cents in fourth quarter 2015, or quarter over quarter (QoQ).

This decline QoQ in the average rate per contract was driven primarily by a sequential product mix shift with an increased proportion of the volume from financial contracts which captures lower fees, according to the update. Market data revenue was $102 million, up 5 percent YoY compared with the first quarter last year.

As of 31 March, 2016, the company had $1.2 billion of cash and marketable securities and $2.2 billion of long-term debt. The quarter-end cash balance includes $130 million from the company's recent sale of its Chicago data centre to CyrusOne.