CHICAGO, July 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) today reported revenues of $820 million and operating income of $495 million for the second quarter of 2015. Net income attributable to CME Group was $265 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.78. Excluding the items noted in the reconciliation, adjusted net income attributable to CME Group would have been $320 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share would have been $0.95(1).

"The organic revenue growth of 12 percent we achieved in the second quarter is a testament to the strength and diversity of our business model," said CME Group Executive Chairman and President Terry Duffy. "During the quarter, revenue from agricultural commodities, foreign exchange and energy each rose by more than 20 percent. Total average daily volume improved steadily after a slow April, and we set quarterly volume records in weekly treasury options and heating oil, along with wheat and soybean products. In addition, options volume continued to expand, with volumes up 13 percent during the quarter, and options on our CME Globex platform up 29 percent."

"Total expenses decreased during the second quarter, which boosted our operating margin from the mid 50 percent range a year ago to over 60 percent," said CME Group Chief Executive Officer Phupinder Gill. "We remain focused on driving efficiency throughout the organization and eliminating redundancy to improve agility and customer responsiveness. As part of this effort, we have closed most of our futures trading pits, reduced overall headcount and consolidated data centers. Our investments to expand our business around the world continue to gain traction, with 22 percent volume growth in Asia, 10 percent in Europe and 6 percent in Latin America. In summary, strong top-line growth coupled with expense discipline resulted in adjusted earnings per share growth of 23 percent."



    1. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP
     financial results mentioned to the
     respective GAAP figures can be found
     within the Reconciliation of GAAP to
     non-GAAP Measures chart at the end
     of the financial statements.

Second-quarter 2015 average daily volume was 13.3 million contracts, up 6 percent from second-quarter 2014, and included average daily volume records in agricultural commodities and weekly treasury options. Clearing and transaction fee revenues were $682 million, up 12 percent compared with second-quarter 2014. Market data revenue was $103 million, up 15 percent. Second-quarter 2015 total average rate per contract was 77.7 cents, up from 75.3 cents in first-quarter 2015, driven primarily by a higher proportion of total volume coming from commodities products, which have higher average fees.

As of June 30, 2015, the company had $1.2 billion of cash and marketable securities and $2.2 billion of long-term debt. In June, the company paid out $168 million in its regular quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share.

CME Group will hold a conference call to discuss second-quarter 2015 results at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today. A live audio Webcast of the call will be available on the Investor Relations section of CME Group's Web site at www.cmegroup.com. An archived recording will be available for up to two months after the call.

As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, weather and real estate. CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform, its trading facilities in New York and Chicago, and through its London-based CME Europe derivatives exchange. CME Group also operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers through CME Clearing and CME Clearing Europe, which offer clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded contracts and over-the-counter derivatives transactions. These products and services ensure that businesses everywhere can substantially mitigate counterparty credit risk.

CME Group is a trademark of CME Group Inc. The Globe Logo, CME, Globex and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and the Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are registered trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. KCBOT, KCBT and Kansas City Board of Trade are trademarks of The Board of Trade of Kansas City, Missouri, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) and its products can be found at www.cmegroup.com.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. We want to caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the factors that might affect our performance are increasing competition by foreign and domestic entities, including increased competition from new entrants into our markets and consolidation of existing entities; our ability to keep pace with rapid technological developments, including our ability to complete the development, implementation and maintenance of the enhanced functionality required by our customers while maintaining reliability and ensuring that such technology is not vulnerable to security risks; our ability to continue introducing competitive new products and services on a timely, cost-effective basis, including through our electronic trading capabilities, and our ability to maintain the competitiveness of our existing products and services, including our ability to provide effective services to the swaps market; our ability to adjust our fixed costs and expenses if our revenues decline; our ability to maintain existing customers, develop strategic relationships and attract new customers; our ability to expand and offer our products outside the United States; changes in domestic and non-U.S. regulations, including the impact of any changes in domestic and foreign laws or government policy with respect to our industry, such as any changes to regulations and policies that require increased financial and operational resources from us or our customers; the costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights and our ability to operate our business without violating the intellectual property rights of others; decreases in revenue from our market data as a result of decreased demand; changes in our rate per contract due to shifts in the mix of the products traded, the trading venue and the mix of customers (whether the customer receives member or non-member fees or participates in one of our various incentive programs) and the impact of our tiered pricing structure; the ability of our financial safeguards package to adequately protect us from the credit risks of clearing members; the ability of our compliance and risk management methods to effectively monitor and manage our risks, including our ability to prevent errors and misconduct and protect our infrastructure against security breaches and misappropriation of our intellectual property assets; changes in price levels and volatility in the derivatives markets and in underlying equity, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodities markets; economic, political and market conditions, including the volatility of the capital and credit markets and the impact of economic conditions on the trading activity of our current and potential customers; our ability to accommodate increases in contract volume and order transaction traffic and to implement enhancements without failure or degradation of the performance of our trading and clearing systems; our ability to execute our growth strategy and maintain our growth effectively; our ability to manage the risks and control the costs associated with our strategy for acquisitions, investments and alliances; our ability to continue to generate funds and/or manage our indebtedness to allow us to continue to invest in our business; industry and customer consolidation; decreases in trading and clearing activity; the imposition of a transaction tax or user fee on futures and options on futures transactions and/or repeal of the 60/40 tax treatment of such transactions; the unfavorable resolution of material legal proceedings; and the seasonality of the futures business. For a detailed discussion of these and other factors that might affect our performance, see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent periodic reports filed on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.



                      CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

                        Consolidated Balance Sheets

                               (in millions)


                                        June 30, 2015            December 31,
                                                                      2014
                                        -------------           -------------

    ASSETS

    Current Assets:

    Cash and cash
     equivalents                                       $1,151.0                 $1,366.1

    Marketable
     securities                                  76.3                     74.7

    Accounts
     receivable, net
     of allowance                               399.9                    341.2

    Other current
     assets (includes
     $32.0 and $37.0
     in restricted
     cash)                                      260.0                    196.5

    Performance bonds
     and guaranty
     fund
     contributions                           42,167.9                 40,566.8
                                             --------                 --------

    Total current
     assets                                  44,055.1                 42,545.3

    Property, net of
     accumulated
     depreciation and
     amortization                               499.2                    508.9

    Intangible
     assets-trading
     products                                17,175.3                 17,175.3

    Intangible
     assets-other,
     net                                      2,587.6                  2,637.4

    Goodwill                                  7,569.0                  7,569.0

    Other assets
     (includes $73.5
     and $72.4 in
     restricted cash)                         1,776.9                  1,805.6
                                              -------                  -------

    Total Assets                                      $73,663.1                $72,241.5
                                                      =========                =========

    LIABILITIES AND
     EQUITY

    Current
     Liabilities:

    Accounts payable                                      $22.1                    $36.9

    Other current
     liabilities                                242.6                    927.5

    Performance bonds
     and guaranty
     fund
     contributions                           42,167.9                 40,566.8
                                             --------                 --------

    Total current
     liabilities                             42,432.6                 41,531.2

    Long-term debt                            2,241.0                  2,107.9

    Deferred income
     tax liabilities,
     net                                      7,339.8                  7,302.7

    Other liabilities                           390.9                    376.2
                                                -----                    -----

    Total Liabilities                        52,404.3                 51,318.0
                                             --------

    CME Group
     shareholders'
     equity                                  21,258.8                 20,923.5

    Total Liabilities
     and Equity                                       $73,663.1                $72,241.5
                                                      =========                =========



                                                                   CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

                                                                  Consolidated Statements of Income

                                                 (dollars in millions, except per share amounts; shares in thousands)


                                                                      Quarter Ended                                  Six Months Ended
                                                                         June 30,                                        June 30,
                                                                         --------                                        --------

                                                                   2015                  2014                     2015                     2014
                                                                   ----                  ----                     ----                     ----

    Revenues

    Clearing and transaction fees                                           $681.8                             $609.3                           $1,390.0 $1,261.5

    Market data and information services                          102.8                  89.6                    200.8                    179.0

    Access and communication fees                                  21.5                  20.4                     42.8                     40.8

    Other                                                          13.9                  12.3                     29.1                     27.7
                                                                   ----                  ----                     ----                     ----

    Total Revenues                                                820.0                 731.6                  1,662.7                  1,509.0

    Expenses

    Compensation and benefits                                     141.5                 139.7                    282.8                    275.2

    Communications                                                  6.6                   8.3                     14.2                     16.5

    Technology support services                                    16.1                  14.6                     31.7                     28.5

    Professional fees and outside services                         27.7                  37.5                     56.8                     67.1

    Amortization of purchased intangibles                          25.0                  25.2                     49.9                     50.4

    Depreciation and amortization                                  33.3                  34.3                     65.1                     68.4

    Occupancy and building operations                              23.5                  23.2                     46.3                     46.4

    Licensing and other fee agreements                             28.8                  25.7                     59.4                     54.7

    Other                                                          22.4                  11.1                     54.1                     35.3
                                                                   ----                  ----                     ----                     ----

    Total Expenses                                                324.9                 319.6                    660.3                    642.5
                                                                  -----                 -----                    -----                    -----

    Operating Income                                              495.1                 412.0                  1,002.4                    866.5

    Non-Operating Income (Expense)

    Investment income                                              18.5                  15.1                     24.2                     18.3

    Gains (losses) on derivative investments                          -                    -                   (1.8)                       -

    Interest and other borrowing costs                           (28.6)               (28.3)                  (60.2)                  (62.0)

    Equity in net earnings (losses) of
     unconsolidated subsidiaries                                   26.0                  21.5                     48.5                     43.9

    Other non-operating income (expense)                         (62.9)                  1.8                   (41.2)                     1.8
                                                                  -----                   ---                    -----                      ---

    Total Non-Operating                                          (47.0)                 10.1                   (30.5)                     2.0
                                                                  -----                  ----                    -----                      ---

    Income before Income Taxes                                    448.1                 422.1                    971.9                    868.5

    Income tax provision                                          183.1                 158.3                    376.5                    338.1
                                                                  -----                 -----                    -----                    -----

    Net Income                                                    265.0                 263.8                    595.4                    530.4

    Less: net income (loss) attributable to non-
     controlling interests                                            -                    -                       -                   (0.2)
                                                                    ---                  ---                     ---                    ----

    Net Income Attributable to CME Group                                    $265.0                             $263.8                             $595.4   $530.6
                                                                            ======                             ======                             ======   ======

    Earnings per Common Share Attributable to
     CME Group:

    Basic                                                                    $0.79                              $0.79                              $1.77    $1.59

    Diluted                                                        0.78                  0.79                     1.76                     1.58

    Weighted Average Number of Common Shares:

    Basic                                                       336,036               334,097                  335,859                  334,002

    Diluted                                                     337,796               335,800                  337,574                  335,705




                                                   CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

                                                    Quarterly Operating Statistics


                           2Q 2014           3Q 2014                4Q 2014        1Q 2015            2Q 2015
                           -------           -------                -------        -------            -------

    Trading Days                 63                 64                     64               61                  64



                                          Quarterly Average Daily Volume (ADV)

                                              CME Group ADV (in thousands)


    Product Line           2Q 2014           3Q 2014                4Q 2014        1Q 2015            2Q 2015
                           -------           -------                -------        -------            -------

    Interest rate             6,668              7,181                  7,445            7,564               6,599

    Equity                    2,465              2,586                  3,114            2,772               2,364

    Foreign exchange            638                797                    959              954                 903

    Energy                    1,457              1,562                  1,797            2,142               1,749

    Agricultural commodity    1,084              1,058                  1,173            1,189               1,400

    Metal                       323                308                    361              369                 331
                                ---                ---                    ---              ---                 ---

    Total                    12,636             13,493                 14,848           14,990              13,347

    Venue
    -----

    Electronic               10,888             11,627                 12,982           13,034              11,705

    Open outcry               1,100              1,208                  1,218            1,291               1,108

    Privately negotiated        647                657                    648              665                 534
                                ---                ---                    ---              ---                 ---

    Total                    12,636             13,493                 14,848           14,990              13,347



                                            Average Rate Per Contract (RPC)

                                                     CME Group RPC


    Product Line           2Q 2014           3Q 2014                4Q 2014        1Q 2015            2Q 2015
                           -------           -------                -------        -------            -------

    Interest rate                   $0.473                            $0.473                   $0.472              $0.480 $0.502

    Equity                    0.714              0.687                  0.697            0.721               0.725

    Foreign exchange          0.861              0.788                  0.760            0.831               0.816

    Energy                    1.298              1.291                  1.279            1.250               1.277

    Agricultural commodity    1.430              1.362                  1.321            1.324               1.311

    Metal                     1.715              1.707                  1.664            1.662               1.634
                              -----              -----                  -----            -----               -----

    Average RPC                     $0.749                            $0.725                   $0.731              $0.753 $0.777






                                     CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

                               Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Measures

                  (dollars in millions, except per share amounts; shares in thousands)


                                                           Quarter                Quarter
                                                            Ended                   Ended

                                                          June 30,                June 30,
                                                             2015                    2014
                                                         ---------                ---------

    GAAP Net Income
     Attributable to CME
     Group                                                              $265.0              $263.8


    Foreign exchange
     transaction gains(1)                                    (11.1)                  (5.5)


    Real estate taxes and
     fees(2)                                                   10.0                       -


    Restructuring, severance
     and voluntary exit
     incentive plan                                             1.9                     5.8


    Debt prepayment costs                                      61.8                       -


    Gain on sale of
     BM&FBOVESPA shares                                       (5.9)                      -


    MF Global bankruptcy
     claim                                                        -                 (14.5)


    Acquisition-related
     costs                                                        -                    4.7


    Income tax effect
     related to above                                        (19.1)                    3.6


    Other income tax
     items(3)                                                  17.4                       -


    Adjusted Net Income
     Attributable to CME
     Group                                                              $320.0              $257.9
                                                                        ======              ======


    GAAP Earnings per Common
     Share Attributable to
     CME Group:

         Basic                                                           $0.79               $0.79

         Diluted                                               0.78                    0.79


    Adjusted Earnings per
     Common Share
     Attributable to CME
     Group:

         Basic                                                           $0.95               $0.77

         Diluted                                               0.95                    0.77


    Weighted Average Number
     of Common Shares:

         Basic                                              336,036                 334,097

         Diluted                                            337,796                 335,800




    1.  Second-quarter 2015
     results included foreign
     exchange transaction net
     gains principally related to
     cash held in British pounds
     within foreign entities whose
     functional currency is the
     U.S. dollar.


    2.  In the second quarter of
     2015, the company recognized
     additional real estate taxes
     and fees related to the
     transfer of ownership of the
     NYMEX building, which was
     acquired by CME Group in 2008
     and sold in 2013.


    3. Other income tax items
     include the impact of
     deferred tax expense
     recognized for a rate change
     due to a state and local tax
     law change in the second
     quarter of 2015.

CME-G

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cme-group-inc-reports-strong-second-quarter-2015-financial-results-300121016.html

SOURCE CME Group Inc.