CHICAGO, April 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) today reported record revenue of $934 million and record operating income of $574 million for the first quarter of 2016. Net income was $368 million and diluted earnings per share were $1.09. Adjusted for non-recurring items, net income would have been $390 million and diluted earnings per share would have been $1.15(1).

"Our record first-quarter financial performance was driven by our highest quarterly average daily volume to date, including record volumes in energy, overall options and electronic options," said CME Group Executive Chairman and President Terry Duffy. "We delivered record revenue and operating income, and 17 percent growth in adjusted diluted earnings per share. These strong results reflect our continued progress in executing on our long-term growth initiatives. At the same time, we are committed to returning cash to our shareholders, as evidenced by $1.2 billion in dividends being paid out during the quarter."

"Strong, balanced performance across our diverse product portfolio, coupled with a continued focus on expense discipline, allowed us to expand our operating margin in the first quarter," said CME Group Chief Executive Officer Phupinder Gill. "We saw a significant increase in global participation in our markets, with average daily volume of 3.7 million contracts traded from outside of the United States, up 24 percent from first-quarter 2015. The solid quarterly activity was underscored by continued momentum in open interest, as we reached a record daily level of 116 million contracts in the first quarter, and open interest remains elevated."

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.

First-quarter 2016 average daily volume was a record 16.9 million contracts, up 13 percent from first-quarter 2015, and included quarterly records in energy, total options and electronic options. Clearing and transaction fee revenue was $796 million, up 12 percent compared with first-quarter 2015. First-quarter 2016 total average rate per contract was 75.6 cents, down from 78.9 cents in fourth-quarter 2015, driven primarily by a sequential product mix shift with an increased proportion of the volume from financial contracts which capture lower fees. Market data revenue was $102 million, up 5 percent compared with the first quarter last year.

As of March 31, 2016, the company had $1.2 billion of cash and marketable securities and $2.2 billion of long-term debt. The quarter-end cash balance includes $130 million from the company's sale/leaseback transaction with CyrusOne, Inc. related to the company's suburban Chicago data center. The company paid dividends during the first quarter of nearly $1.2 billion, consisting of the annual variable dividend for 2015 of $977 million and the regular first-quarter dividend of $203 million. The company has returned more than $5.8 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends since the implementation of the variable dividend policy in early 2012.

CME Group will hold a conference call to discuss first-quarter 2016 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 products and metals. Around the world, CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform and its exchanges based in Chicago, New York and London. 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 and over-the-counter derivatives. CME Group's products and services ensure that businesses around the world can effectively manage risk and achieve growth.

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, the Chicago Board of Trade, KCBOT, KCBT and Kansas City 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 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; and the unfavorable resolution of material legal proceedings. 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)


                                                   March 31, 2016               December 31, 2015
                                                   --------------               -----------------

    ASSETS

    Current Assets:

    Cash and cash equivalents                                          $1,146.0                     $1,692.6

    Marketable securities                                    79.2                             72.5

    Accounts receivable, net of
     allowance                                              389.3                            357.8

    Other current assets (includes
     $32.0 in restricted cash in both
     periods)                                               141.5                            228.6

    Performance bonds and guaranty
     fund contributions                                  37,497.3                         35,553.0
                                                         --------                         --------

    Total current assets                                 39,253.3                         37,904.5

    Property, net of accumulated
     depreciation and amortization                          449.8                            491.7

    Intangible assets-trading
     products                                            17,175.3                         17,175.3

    Intangible assets-other, net                          2,513.9                          2,537.9

    Goodwill                                              7,569.0                          7,569.0

    Other assets (includes $69.1 and
     $70.5 in restricted cash)                            1,806.9                          1,681.0
                                                          -------                          -------

    Total Assets                                                      $68,768.2                    $67,359.4
                                                                      =========                    =========

    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

    Current Liabilities:

    Accounts payable                                                      $32.2                        $28.7

    Other current liabilities                               321.6                          1,242.8

    Performance bonds and guaranty
     fund contributions                                  37,494.3                         35,553.0
                                                         --------                         --------

    Total current liabilities                            37,848.1                         36,824.5

    Long-term debt                                        2,229.8                          2,229.3

    Deferred income tax liabilities,
     net                                                  7,330.8                          7,358.3

    Other liabilities                                       518.1                            395.5
                                                            -----                            -----

    Total Liabilities                                    47,926.8                         46,807.6
                                                         --------

    Shareholders' equity                                 20,841.4                         20,551.8

    Total Liabilities and Equity                                      $68,768.2                    $67,359.4
                                                                      =========                    =========



                                        CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

                                       Consolidated Statements of Income

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


                                                                           Quarter Ended
                                                                             March 31,
                                                                             ---------

                                                                        2016                  2015
                                                                        ----                  ----

    Revenues

    Clearing and transaction
     fees                                                                        $796.1            $708.2

    Market data and
     information services                                              102.4                  98.0

    Access and communication
     fees                                                               21.6                  21.3

    Other                                                               14.1                  15.2
                                                                        ----                  ----

    Total Revenues                                                     934.2                 842.7

    Expenses

    Compensation and benefits                                          131.9                 141.3

    Communications                                                       6.7                   7.6

    Technology support
     services                                                           17.4                  15.6

    Professional fees and
     outside services                                                   31.7                  29.1

    Amortization of purchased
     intangibles                                                        24.0                  24.9

    Depreciation and
     amortization                                                       33.9                  31.8

    Occupancy and building
     operations                                                         21.3                  22.8

    Licensing and other fee
     agreements                                                         39.0                  30.6

    Other                                                               54.4                  31.7
                                                                        ----                  ----

    Total Expenses                                                     360.3                 335.4
                                                                       -----                 -----

    Operating Income                                                   573.9                 507.3

    Non-Operating Income
     (Expense)

    Investment income                                                   17.6                   5.7

    Gains (losses) on
     derivative investments                                                -                (1.8)

    Interest and other
     borrowing costs                                                  (29.8)               (31.6)

    Equity in net earnings
     (losses) of
     unconsolidated
     subsidiaries                                                       26.8                  22.5

    Other non-operating
     income (expense)                                                 (10.0)                 21.7
                                                                       -----                  ----

    Total Non-Operating                                                  4.6                  16.5
                                                                         ---                  ----

    Income before Income Taxes                                         578.5                 523.8

    Income tax provision                                               210.7                 193.4

    Net Income                                                         367.8                 330.4
                                                                       =====                 =====

    Earnings per Common Share:

    Basic                                                                         $1.09             $0.98

    Diluted                                                             1.09                  0.98

    Weighted Average Number of
     Common Shares:

    Basic                                                            337,014               335,680

    Diluted                                                          338,549               337,416



                                                 CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

                                                 Quarterly Operating Statistics


                         1Q 2015           2Q 2015                3Q 2015        4Q 2015            1Q 2016
                         -------           -------                -------        -------            -------

    Trading Days               61                 64                     64               64                 61




                                       Quarterly Average Daily Volume (ADV)

                                           CME Group ADV (in thousands)


    Product Line         1Q 2015           2Q 2015                3Q 2015        4Q 2015            1Q 2016
                         -------           -------                -------        -------            -------

    Interest rate           7,564              6,599                  6,658            6,097              8,246

    Equity                  2,772              2,364                  3,287            2,743              3,557

    Foreign exchange          954                903                    855              779                944

    Energy                  2,142              1,749                  1,965            2,032              2,536

    Agricultural
     commodity              1,189              1,400                  1,267            1,200              1,206

    Metal                     369                331                    353              326                454
                              ---                ---                    ---              ---                ---

    Total                  14,990             13,347                 14,384           13,178             16,944

    Venue
    -----

    Electronic             13,034             11,705                 12,620           11,420             14,713

    Open outcry             1,291              1,108                  1,110            1,055              1,423

    Privately negotiated      665                534                    653              704                807
                              ---                ---                    ---              ---                ---

    Total                  14,990             13,347                 14,384           13,178             16,944



                                          Average Rate Per Contract (RPC)

                                                   CME Group RPC


    Product Line         1Q 2015           2Q 2015                3Q 2015        4Q 2015            1Q 2016
                         -------           -------                -------        -------            -------

    Interest rate                 $0.480                            $0.502                   $0.506             $0.517 $0.501

    Equity                  0.721              0.725                  0.708            0.718              0.726

    Foreign exchange        0.831              0.816                  0.785            0.813              0.767

    Energy                  1.250              1.277                  1.197            1.232              1.203

    Agricultural
     commodity              1.324              1.311                  1.290            1.339              1.321

    Metal                   1.662              1.634                  1.600            1.644              1.597
                            -----              -----                  -----            -----              -----

    Average RPC                   $0.753                            $0.777                   $0.759             $0.789 $0.756




                                CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

                          Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Measures

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


                                                           Quarter Ended

                                                             March 31,

                                                        2016                  2015
                                                        ----                  ----

    Net Income                                                   $367.8            $330.4


    Restructuring and
     severance                                             -                  5.5


    Loss on disposal of
     building assets                                     1.3                     -


    Loss and expenses related
     to sale-leaseback of
     data center                                        28.6                     -


    Acquisition-related costs                              -                  0.9


    Foreign exchange
     transaction losses(1)                               3.9                  10.0


    Loss on derivatives and
     debt costs for
     refinancing                                           -                  2.3


    GFI termination fee -net
     of the portion paid to
     outside advisers                                      -               (22.5)


    Income tax effect related
     to above                                         (11.7)                  2.9


    Adjusted Net Income                                          $389.9            $329.5
                                                                 ======            ======


    GAAP Earnings per Common
     Share:

         Basic                                                    $1.09             $0.98

         Diluted                                        1.09                  0.98


    Adjusted Earnings per
     Common Share:

         Basic                                                    $1.16             $0.98

         Diluted                                        1.15                  0.98


    Weighted Average Number of
     Common Shares:

         Basic                                       337,014               335,680

         Diluted                                     338,549               337,416



                      1.     Results include foreign
                             exchange transaction net
                             losses principally related
                             to cash held in British
                             pounds within foreign
                             entities whose functional
                             currency is the U.S. dollar.

CME-G

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SOURCE CME Group Inc.