Nasdaq OMX Group 3Q Profit Rises On Cost Cuts

STEPHEN BERNARD

NEW YORK (AP) — Global exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said Thursday its profit rose as it cut costs and recorded fewer special charges during the third quarter.

Amid an increasingly competitive marketplace, Nasdaq OMX's revenue dipped 10 percent. However, it was able to offset some of that decline by reducing costs.

The New York-based exchange operator also recorded fewer special charges during the quarter which helped its profit rise about 3 percent.

Nasdaq OMX earned $60 million, or 28 cents per share, during the quarter ended Sept. 30. It earned $58 million, or 27 cents per share, during the year-ago period.

Adjusted earnings, which exclude special charges tied to a debt conversion, asset retirement, severance costs and merger expenses, totaled $89 million, or 42 cents per share, during the most recent quarter. Nasdaq OMX's adjusted earnings during the same quarter in 2008 totaled $108 million, or 51 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast earnings of 42 cents per share on revenue of $354.9 million. Analysts do not typically include special charges in their estimates.