Transatlantic stock market operator NYSE Euronext, which is being bought by US commodities and derivatives market InterContinentalExchange (ICE), said on Tuesday its net profit fell 29 percent in 2012 to $462 million (343 million euros). Earnings per share excluding exceptional items fell to $1.85, which still beat analyst expectations of $1.81. Earnings per share were $2.48 in 2011. Restructuring costs continued to weigh on the NYSE's results, booking $105 million in the final quarter of 2012. Meanwhile revenue slumped 18 percent to $3.74 billion, from $4.5 billion in 2011, with income from derivatives trading falling by 18 percent. The NYSE did not provide any guidance on its 2013 operating outlook, but said that if it succeeded in refinancing its debt its operating costs would drop significantly. NYSE Euronext agreed in December to be bought by ICE in a $8.2 billion deal that would create the world's biggest market operator. If the takeover is approved by regulators it would end the New York Stock Exchange's nearly 200-year existence as an independent financial market, with the European stock markets under the Euronext unit to be spun off. NYSE Euronext chief executive Ducan Niederauer said the deal should be concluded in the second quarter of this year and generate value for shareholders.
