The worlds second largest exchange has shown promising trade volumes for the month of March although results were not so strong for its main competitor CME based on quarterly figures.
Intercontinental Exchange, a leading operator of regulated global futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter markets, today reported futures volume and average daily volume for March and the first quarter of 2012. ICE's futures ADV grew 1% for the month of March 2012 compared to March 2011. ICE achieved record average daily commissions of $1.95 million in its OTC energy business during the quarter, up 20% from the prior first quarter.
Global Futures Exchanges
ICE operates three regulated futures exchanges: ICE Futures Europe, ICE Futures U.S. and ICE Futures Canada.
ICE's futures ADV in March 2012 increased 1% from March 2011 to 1,515,327 contracts. ADV at ICE Futures Europe was flat at 1,055,330 contracts. ADV at ICE Futures U.S. and ICE Futures Canada increased 3% and 60%, respectively, from the prior March.
First quarter 2012 futures ADV declined 3% from the prior first quarter to 1,555,519 contracts and total quarterly futures volume was 96,466,522 contracts.
Energy and Credit OTC Transaction Revenues
First quarter 2012 ADC for ICE's OTC energy markets were a record $1.95 million, an increase of 20% from the first quarter of 2011.
Revenues from ICE's credit default swap (CDS) trade Execution , processing and clearing operations were $40 million, up 2% from the first quarter of 2011, including $16 million in CDS clearing revenues.
Operating and Financial Guidance Update
ICE expects acquisition expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2012 in the range of $3 million to $4 million. M&A is a component of ICE's growth strategy, thus acquisition expenses will not be excluded on a non-GAAP basis, unless the expenses relate to transaction completion or financing.
2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
ICE's 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held on Friday, May 18, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. ET at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead located at 3434 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326. Attendees must present proof of ownership as of the close of business on March 20, 2012, which is the record date for the annual meeting of stockholders.
March 2012 Review
ICE Futures Europe records:
ICE Brent options set a monthly volume record of 558,272 contracts. Monthly volume and ADV records were achieved in ICE Heating Oil and NY Harbor Unleaded (RBOB) Gasoline futures contracts.
The exchange set an open interest record of 5,135,368 contracts on March 30. During the month, open interest records were established in ICE Brent futures and options, ICE Rotterdam Coal futures and options, ICE Dutch Natural Gas, Heating Oil, RBOB and EUAA futures, and UK Natural Gas options contracts.
ICE Futures U.S. records:
ICE U.S. Dollar Index (USDX) futures had record daily volume of 82,689 contracts on March 14.
ICE announced plans to launch OTC FX clearing services in the second quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
ICE introduced "Plus One", an innovative execution-to-clearing workflow for OTC swaps that supports credit Risk Management .
ICE's Creditex subsidiary, in conjunction with Markit, held a Credit Event Auction to settle CDS trades on Hellenic Republic sovereign debt on March 19.
ICE announced the introduction of Interval Price Limits, a market circuit breaker functionality, to markets on ICE Futures U.S. and ICE Futures Europe.
On March 19, ICE launched 28 new cleared OTC contracts for natural gas liquids, North American natural gas and power, crude and refined petroleum products.
Through March 30, ICE's CDS clearing houses have cleared $29.2 trillion in gross notional value on a cumulative basis across 851,784 transactions.
ICE is keen to compete in the congested OTC market place and is offering clearing in over the counter FX products.
