CME Group Inc (CME) has reported revenue of USD814 million and operating income of USD470 million for the fourth quarter of 2015. Net income was USD292 million and diluted earnings per share were USD0.86.
Adjusted for non-recurring items, net income would have been USD311 million and diluted earnings per share would have been USD0.921.
Total revenue for full-year 2015 was USD3.3 billion and operating income was USD2.0 billion. Net income was USD1.25 billion and diluted earnings per share were USD3.69. Adjusted for non-recurring items, 7 per cent year-over-year growth in revenue coupled with operating expenses down 1 per cent drove net income of USD1.3 billion, up 15 per cent compared with 2014, and diluted earnings per share of USD3.861, up 14 per cent.
"In 2015, we reached record levels of volume and revenue as we enabled our increasing number of customers around the world to manage risk," said CME Group Executive Chairman and President Terry Duffy. "We saw year-over-year revenue growth in five of our six product lines, with particular strength in energy and agricultural products as well as our overall options business. Continuing this momentum, we had record monthly volume in January 2016, with more than 18 million contracts per day traded, up 16 per cent. Given the underlying strength of our business, we announced a 20 per cent increase in our next regular quarterly dividend to 60 cents per share. In each of the prior four years, our total dividend yield has exceeded five per cent."
"We were pleased to deliver an increase of 7 per cent in revenue and 15 per cent in adjusted net income during 2015, a year that many considered a challenging environment for financial services companies," says CME Group Chief Executive Officer Phupinder Gill. "We were very active during 2015 in terms of new product innovation and expanding our global partnerships, including securing the long-term rights to the FTSE Russell indexes. Looking at new products, one standout within our interest rate franchise is our recently launched Ultra 10-year treasury product, which has been the most successful start of a new contract in our long history. During the year, we increased our operating margin by reducing costs from the prior year, driving efficiency and improving our agility in serving customers globally."
Fourth-quarter 2015 average daily volume was 13.2 million contracts, down 11 per cent from fourth-quarter 2014. Clearing and transaction fee revenue were USD679 million, down 5 per cent compared with fourth-quarter 2014. Fourth-quarter 2015 total average rate per contract was 78.9 cents, up from 75.9 cents in third-quarter 2015, driven primarily by an increased proportion of the volume from higher paying non-members during the quarter, as well as strong energy volume. Market data revenue was USD99 million, up 11 per cent compared with the fourth quarter last year.
Full-year 2015 record average daily volume was 14.0 million contracts, up 2 per cent from 2014, and included annual records for energy, agricultural commodities, total options and electronic options. Clearing and transaction fee revenue was USD2.8 billion, up 6 per cent compared with 2014. The end of the year rate per contract in 2015 was USD0.769, up 4 per cent from USD0.743 at the end of 2014. Market data revenue was USD399 million, up 12 per cent compared with the prior year.
As of 31 December, 2015, the company had USD1.8 billion of cash and marketable securities and USD2.2 billion of long-term debt. The company declared dividends during 2015 of USD1.6 billion, including the annual variable dividend for 2015 of USD977 million, which was paid in January 2016. The company has returned more than USD5.6 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends since the implementation of the variable dividend policy in early 2012.
