Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has reported its financial results for both the final quarter and full year of 2018 this Thursday.
For the fourth quarter, which ended on December 31, 2018, consolidated net revenue was $1.31 billion. This represents an increase of 14 percent when compared to the same time period in the previous year.
From this, trading and clearing revenues contributed $657 million, which represents a jump of 27 percent year-over-year. Breaking this down, fixed income and credit revenue was $83 million, up by a significant 152 percent from the $32 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Cash equities and equity options revenue for the fourth quarter also increased by 35 percent year-on-year, moving from $70 million in Q4 of 2017 to $93 million in the current period.
Jeffrey Sprecher
Source: Intercontinental Exchange
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."
ICE Saw Strong Performance in 2018
Taking a look at the whole year, consolidated net revenues rose from 7 percent year-on-year to reach $5 billion, with trading and clearing net revenues coming in at 2.4 percent. This is up by 14 percent from the previous year.
The fixed income and credit segment was again the stand out for the unit, with net revenues increasing by an impressive 72 percent from $139 million to reach $240 million for the whole year.
Cash equities and equity options also saw a year-on-year increase. Specifically, net revenue for the segment was $327 million which is 14 percent higher than that achieved in 2017 ($286 million).
Scott Hill
Source: Intercontinental Exchange
"In addition to record revenues, we generated record cash flows in 2018, enabling us to return nearly $1.8 billion in capital to stockholders, more than any year in our history,” added Scott Hill, ICE Chief Financial Officer.
