OREANDA-NEWS. CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) today reported revenue of $814 million and operating income of $470 million for the fourth quarter of 2015.  Net income was $292 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.86.  Adjusted for non-recurring items, net income would have been $311 million and diluted earnings per share would have been $0.921.

Total revenue for full-year 2015 was $3.3 billion and operating income was $2.0 billion. Net income was $1.25 billion and diluted earnings per share were $3.69.  Adjusted for non-recurring items, 7 percent year-over-year growth in revenue coupled with operating expenses down 1 percent drove net income of $1.3 billion, up 15 percent compared with 2014, and diluted earnings per share of $3.861, up 14 percent.

"In 2015, we reached record levels of volume and revenue as we enabled our increasing number of customers around the world to manage risk," said CME Group Executive Chairman and President Terry Duffy.  "We saw year-over-year revenue growth in five of our six product lines, with particular strength in energy and agricultural products as well as our overall options business.  Continuing this momentum, we had record monthly volume in January 2016, with more than 18 million contracts per day traded, up 16 percent.  Given the underlying strength of our business, we announced a 20 percent increase in our next regular quarterly dividend to 60 cents per share.  In each of the prior four years, our total dividend yield has exceeded five percent."

"We were pleased to deliver an increase of 7 percent in revenue and 15 percent in adjusted net income during 2015, a year that many considered a challenging environment for financial services companies," said CME Group Chief Executive Officer Phupinder Gill.  "We were very active during 2015 in terms of new product innovation and expanding our global partnerships, including securing the long-term rights to the FTSE Russell indexes.  Looking at new products, one standout within our interest rate franchise is our recently launched Ultra 10-year treasury product, which has been the most successful start of a new contract in our long history.  During the year, we increased our operating margin by reducing costs from the prior year, driving efficiency and improving our agility in serving customers globally."

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.

Fourth-quarter 2015 average daily volume was 13.2 million contracts, down 11 percent from fourth-quarter 2014.  Clearing and transaction fee revenue were $679 million, down 5 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2014.  Fourth-quarter 2015 total average rate per contract was 78.9 cents, up from 75.9 cents in third-quarter 2015, driven primarily by an increased proportion of the volume from higher paying non-members during the quarter, as well as strong energy volume.  Market data revenue was $99 million, up 11 percent compared with the fourth quarter last year.

Full-year 2015 record average daily volume was 14.0 million contracts, up 2 percent from 2014, and included annual records for energy, agricultural commodities, total options and electronic options.  Clearing and transaction fee revenue was $2.8 billion, up 6 percent compared with 2014.  The end of the year rate per contract in 2015 was $0.769, up 4 percent from $0.743 at the end of 2014.  Market data revenue was $399 million, up 12 percent compared with the prior year.

As of December 31, 2015, the company had $1.8 billion of cash and marketable securities and $2.2 billion of long-term debt.  The company declared dividends during 2015 of $1.6 billion, including the annual variable dividend for 2015 of $977 million, which was paid in January 2016.  The company has returned more than $5.6 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 fourth-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.  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)

 
   

December 31, 2015

 

December 31, 2014

ASSETS

       

Current Assets:

       

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

1,692.6

   

$

1,366.1

 

Marketable securities

 

72.5

   

74.7

 

Accounts receivable, net of allowance

 

357.8

   

341.2

 

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

 

228.6

   

196.5

 

Performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions

 

35,553.0

   

40,566.8

 

Total current assets

 

37,904.5

   

42,545.3

 

Property, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization

 

491.7

   

508.9

 

Intangible assets—trading products

 

17,175.3

   

17,175.3

 

Intangible assets—other, net

 

2,537.9

   

2,637.4

 

Goodwill

 

7,569.0

   

7,569.0

 

Other assets (includes $70.5 and $72.4 in restricted cash)

 

1,693.1

   

1,805.6

 

Total Assets

 

$

67,371.5

   

$

72,241.5

 

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

       

Current Liabilities:

       

Accounts payable

 

$

28.7

   

$

36.9

 

Other current liabilities

 

1,242.8

   

927.5

 

Performance bonds and guaranty fund contributions

 

35,553.0

   

40,566.8

 

Total current liabilities

 

36,824.5

   

41,531.2

 

Long-term debt

 

2,241.4

   

2,107.9

 

Deferred income tax liabilities, net

 

7,358.3

   

7,302.7

 

Other liabilities

 

395.5

   

376.2

 

Total Liabilities

 

46,819.7

   

51,318.0

 

Shareholders' equity

 

20,551.8

   

20,923.5

 

Total Liabilities and Equity

 

$

67,371.5

   

$

72,241.5

 

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Income

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

 
   

Quarter Ended
December 31,

 

Year Ended

December 31,

   

2015

 

2014

 

2015

 

2014

Revenues

               

Clearing and transaction fees

 

$

678.9

   

$

713.0

   

$

2,783.9

   

$

2,616.3

 

Market data and information services

 

99.1

   

89.6

   

399.4

   

356.3

 

Access and communication fees

 

21.7

   

21.1

   

86.1

   

82.7

 

Other

 

14.1

   

17.4

   

57.4

   

57.2

 

Total Revenues

 

813.8

   

841.1

   

3,326.8

   

3,112.5

 

Expenses

               

Compensation and benefits

 

134.5

   

144.8

   

553.7

   

552.1

 

Communications

 

6.5

   

7.7

   

27.8

   

32.0

 

Technology support services

 

17.4

   

15.9

   

64.5

   

58.2

 

Professional fees and outside services

 

32.2

   

29.7

   

122.8

   

129.0

 

Amortization of purchased intangibles

 

24.6

   

24.9

   

99.4

   

100.6

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

31.7

   

31.5

   

129.2

   

132.6

 

Occupancy and building operations

 

23.1

   

25.7

   

92.5

   

96.8

 

Licensing and other fee agreements

 

31.3

   

34.0

   

123.8

   

114.2

 

Other

 

42.6

   

55.4

   

124.4

   

128.6

 

Total Expenses

 

343.9

   

369.6

   

1,338.1

   

1,344.1

 

Operating Income

 

469.9

   

471.5

   

1,988.7

   

1,768.4

 

Non-Operating Income (Expense)

               

Investment income

 

3.4

   

10.1

   

30.1

   

35.8

 

Gains (losses) on derivative investments

 

   

   

(1.8)

   

 

Interest and other borrowing costs

 

(28.9)

   

(28.7)

   

(117.4)

   

(119.4)

 

Equity in net earnings (losses) of unconsolidated subsidiaries

 

24.9

   

20.9

   

100.0

   

84.8

 

Other non-operating income (expense)

 

(0.8)

   

   

(42.8)

   

1.8

 

Total Non-Operating

 

(1.4)

   

2.3

   

(31.9)

   

3.0

 

Income before Income Taxes

 

468.5

   

473.8

   

1,956.8

   

1,771.4

 

Income tax provision

 

176.8

   

167.3

   

709.8

   

644.5

 

Net Income

 

291.7

   

306.5

   

1,247.0

   

1,126.9

 

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

 

   

   

   

(0.2)

 

Net Income Attributable to CME Group

 

$

291.7

   

$

306.5

   

$

1,247.0

   

$

1,127.1

 

Earnings per Common Share Attributable to CME Group:

               

Basic

 

$

0.87

   

$

0.91

   

$

3.71

   

$

3.37

 

Diluted

 

0.86

   

0.91

   

3.69

   

3.35

 

Weighted Average Number of Common Shares:

               

Basic

 

336,844

   

335,197

   

336,224

   

334,409

 

Diluted

 

338,253

   

336,630

   

337,894

   

336,063

 

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Quarterly Operating Statistics

 
   

4Q 2014

   

 

1Q 2015

   

2Q 2015

   

 

3Q 2015

 

4Q 2015

Trading Days

 

64

   

61

   

64

   

64

   

64

 
                         
 

Quarterly Average Daily Volume (ADV)

CME Group ADV (in thousands)

 

Product Line

 

4Q 2014

   

1Q 2015

   

2Q 2015

   

3Q 2015

   

4Q 2015

Interest rate

 

7,445

   

7,564

   

6,599

   

6,658

   

6,097

 

Equity

 

3,114

   

2,772

   

2,364

   

3,287

   

2,743

 

Foreign exchange

 

959

   

954

   

903

   

855

   

779

 

Energy

 

1,797

   

2,142

   

1,749

   

1,965

   

2,032

 

Agricultural commodity

 

1,173

   

1,189

   

1,400

   

1,267

   

1,200

 

Metal

 

361

   

369

   

331

   

353

   

326

 

Total

 

14,848

   

14,990

   

13,347

   

14,384

   

13,178

 

Venue

                   

Electronic

 

12,982

   

13,034

   

11,705

   

12,620

   

11,420

 

Open outcry

 

1,218

   

1,291

   

1,108

   

1,110

   

1,055

 

Privately negotiated

 

648

   

665

   

534

   

653

   

704

 

Total

 

14,848

   

14,990

   

13,347

   

14,384

   

13,178

 
 
 

Average Rate Per Contract (RPC)

CME Group RPC

 

Product Line

 

4Q 2014

 

1Q 2015

 

2Q 2015

 

3Q 2015

 

4Q 2015

Interest rate

 

$

0.472

   

$

0.480

   

$

0.502

   

$

0.506

   

$

0.517

 

Equity

 

0.697

   

0.721

   

0.725

   

0.708

   

0.718

 

Foreign exchange

 

0.760

   

0.831

   

0.816

   

0.785

   

0.813

 

Energy

 

1.279

   

1.250

   

1.277

   

1.197

   

1.232

 

Agricultural commodity

 

1.321

   

1.324

   

1.311

   

1.290

   

1.339

 

Metal

 

1.664

   

1.662

   

1.634

   

1.600

   

1.644

 

Average RPC

 

$

0.731

   

$

0.753

   

$

0.777

   

$

0.759

   

$

0.789

 

 

 

CME Group Inc. and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Measures

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

                 
   

Quarter Ended

December 31,

 

Year Ended

December 31,

   

2015

 

2014

 

2015

 

2014

Net Income Attributable to CME Group

 

$

291.7

   

$

306.5

   

$

1,247.0

   

$

1,127.1

 
                 

Restructuring and severance

 

   

12.4

   

21.0

   

18.2

 
                 

Acquisition-related costs

 

   

2.0

   

0.9

   

9.4

 
                 

Data center lease termination fee

 

   

2.1

   

   

2.1

 
                 

Real estate taxes and fees

 

   

   

10.0

   

 
                 

Foreign exchange transaction losses1

 

5.2

   

11.2

   

11.3

   

15.4

 
                 

MF Global bankruptcy claim

 

   

   

   

(14.5)

 
                 

Loss on sale of BM&FBOVESPA shares

 

11.9

   

   

8.5

   

 
                 

Debt prepayment costs, debt costs for refinancing and loss on derivative

 

   

   

64.1

   

 
                 

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

 

   

   

(22.5)

   

 
                 

Income tax effect related to above

 

(3.0)

   

(6.1)

   

(27.9)

   

(7.2)

 
                 

Other income tax items2

 

5.6

   

(9.2)

   

(7.6)

   

(15.2)

 
                 

Adjusted Net Income

 

$

311.4

   

$

318.9

   

$

1,304.8

   

$

1,135.3

 
                 

GAAP Earnings per Common Share:

               

     Basic

 

$

0.87

   

$

0.91

   

$

3.71

   

$

3.37

 

     Diluted

 

0.86

   

0.91

   

3.69

   

3.35

 
                 

Adjusted Earnings per Common Share:

               

     Basic

 

$

0.92

   

$

0.95

   

$

3.88

   

$

3.39

 

     Diluted

 

0.92

   

0.95

   

3.86

   

3.38

 
                 

Weighted Average Number of Common Shares:

               

     Basic

 

336,844

   

335,197

   

336,224

   

334,409

 

     Diluted

 

338,253

   

336,630

   

337,894

   

336,063

 
                 
                 

1.  2014 and 2015 results included foreign exchange transaction net losses principally related to cash held in British pounds within foreign entities whose functional currency is the U.S. dollar.

 

2. Other income tax items include the impact of deferred tax benefit recognized for remeasurement of state and local deferred income tax benefits and settlement of various tax audits.