Nasdaq second-quarter profit rises 81 percent

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The New York-based exchange operator, reporting results from its first full quarter in which Nasdaq operations were combined with those of Sweden's OMX stock exchange, said net profit rose to $101.6 million, or 48 cents per share, from the $56.1 million, or 39 cents a share, earned in total by the two companies a year earlier. Nasdaq completed its acquisition of OMX in February.

Profit excluding merger costs and benefits from foreign currency contracts rose to $101.8 million, or 48 cents a share, from $77.2 million, or 38 cents a share, a year earlier.

Wall Street expected the company would earn 43 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Analyst predictions typically exclude one-time items.

Nasdaq shares rose $2.33, or 8.8 percent, to $28.75 in early trading.

Overall revenue totaled $821.5 million, while revenue excluding liquidity rebates, brokerage, clearance and exchange fees rose to $380.2 million. Wall Street had expected the company's revenue to total $372.7 million.

Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said the company, which has been folding acquisitions into its operations after a string of deals, expects to have integrated the operations of OMX in the first quarter of next year, nine months sooner than expected.

"We are dramatically ahead of the aggressive plans we've established," he said.

The company is also making room for other properties. Two weeks ago, Nasdaq completed its buyout of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, the third-largest options market in the U.S. Nasdaq plans to continue to run its existing options market alongside the newly acquired business. Greifeld said benefits from this deal will begin adding to results by the end of 2008.

Nasdaq OMX is also in the process of acquiring the Boston Stock Exchange.

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