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Non-Tech : Auric Goldfinger's Short List -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: afrayem onigwecher who wrote (11581)	4/30/2003 8:28:51 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19428

Nasdaq 1st-qtr profits falls 90 percent By Nicole Maestri NEW YORK, April 30 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. on Wednesday said first-quarter earnings fell nearly 90 percent from a year earlier, as the No. 2 U.S. stock market was hurt by slower trading volumes, fewer listed companies and increased competition. Nasdaq said first-quarter earnings fell to $1.9 million after payment of preferred dividends, or 2 cents per share, from $21.3 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier. The New York-based market said revenue fell 21.5 percent in the quarter to $165.9 million. Nasdaq has been cutting expenses in response. In the first quarter, expenses fell 6.2 percent from a year earlier to $161.6 million. "Until market conditions improve we will continue to take the decisive actions to right-size our business while providing increased value to our constituents," said Nasdaq Chairman Hardwick Simmons, in a statement. Nasdaq has been struggling amid increased competition from electronic trading networks that have grabbed its market share, while the ongoing bear market has chopped its number of listed companies to its lowest level in roughly 20 years. Its number of listed companies stood at 3,536 as of March 31, down from 3,659 as of Jan. 1 and 4,109 as of Jan. 1, 2002. Simmons said roughly 800 companies have left the Nasdaq in the past 12 months for "natural reasons" -- they went out of business. Average daily share volume fell nearly 20 percent to 1.46 billion shares a day from 1.82 billion shares in the first quarter a year earlier. "Increased competition and shifts in market composition continued to place pressure on revenue during the first quarter of 2003 as firms executed transactions and reported trades in Nasdaq-listed securities outside of Nasdaq's systems to other exchanges and facilities," the market said in a release. CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP The first quarter marked Simmons' last full quarter at the helm of the market. Earlier this month, Nasdaq named Robert Greifeld chief executive and Furlong Baldwin as nonexecutive chairman . Simmons, who had held both titles, took the helm at Nasdaq in February 2001. But after a rocky tenure, he said in December he would retire this year, likely before his contract ended. The market failed to get the SEC to approve its bid to become a stock exchange during Simmons' tenure, and also failed to hold its long-planned initial public offering. Executives, who hope Nasdaq's exchange application is approved before they hold an IPO, said on Wednesday the application still sits with the SEC and its new chairman, William Donaldson. "We hope that he'll act," said Richard Ketchum, Nasdaq's president and deputy chairman, referring to Donaldson. "But he needs to get to it." Ketchum said Nasdaq has no update on its IPO plans and is focusing on remaining competitive and improving its profitability. Simmons, the former head of Prudential Securities, said Nasdaq had gone through a difficult period but he did the best with the hand he was dealt. "Overall I'm very proud of what we leave behind," he said, adding he will still be a "very big shareholder" of Nasdaq. Simmons said he expects to see consolidation in the industry. When asked if Nasdaq would seek acquisitions, Simmons said: "I hope it would be involved" but declined to be more specific. CUTTING COSTS "We now have the opportunity to really look very, very critically at our systems and processes and look for opportunities to lower costs," Nasdaq Chief Financial Officer David Warren told Reuters. That critical review will include looking at its number of employees, he said. Warren said Nasdaq has cut jobs three times since the second quarter of 2001. The market has 1,284 employees, down from 1,362 one year ago. Transaction services revenue -- fees Nasdaq takes in from traders and investors -- fell 35.5 percent from a year earlier to $67.9 million. Market information services revenue, from charging for access to stock quotes and other trading data, fell nearly 17 percent to $43.9 million. And revenue in its corporate client group, including revenue from annual and initial listing fees, fell 3 percent to $42.6 million. 04/30/03 18:56 ET