NYSE-owner ICE reports higher second-quarter earnings

[July 30, 2020] NEW YORK (Reuters) - Intercontinental Exchange Inc <ICE.N>, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, on Thursday reported a rise in second-quarter profits, helped by a jump in equities and options volumes as volatility remained high due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Net income attributable to the company rose to $523 million, or 95 cents per diluted share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $472 million, or 84 cents per diluted share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, such as M&A costs, ICE posted a profit of $1.07 per share, 3 cents above the mean estimate of analysts, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

ICE, which runs futures and equities exchanges, as well as clearing houses and data services, was helped by a 61% increase in cash equities average daily volume (ADV) and a 44% increase in equity options ADV during the quarter as retail investors helped boost participation in those markets.

Revenue from ICE's transaction and clearing unit, its biggest business, rose 12% to $710 million, while revenue at its data and listings segment, which publishes indexes, analytics and pricing data, grew 3% to $685 million.

Overall revenue, excluding transaction-based expenses, rose 8% to $1.4 billion.

(Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Bernadette Baum)

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