NYSE-owner ICE's Q2 profit jumps more than double

Intercontinental Exchange Inc, the New York Stock Exchange owner, reported that its profit more than doubled, bolstered by the robust performance of its mortgage technology business.

Revenue of mortgage tech business came in at $340 million, grew six times from a year earlier as the NYSE operator benefitted from its $11 billion Ellie Mae acquisition, with the booming housing market and low-interest rates.

“We’re looking at taking this unprecedented time of volumes that the industry has seen last year and this year to purposely engage with our customers on opportunities to increase the amount of subscription revenue that we have and some of the services that we provide,” said ICE President Benjamin Jackson.

Some of those services include loan origination, mortgage data and analytics, Jackson said on a call with analysts.

ICE said it earned $1.25 billion in the three months ended June 30, more than double from a year earlier.

It posted a quarterly profit of $2.22 per share, from 95 cents per share.

On an adjusted basis, ICE said it had a profit of $1.16 per share.

In April, ICE sold a 1.4% stake in the crypto exchange Coinbase for more than $1.2 billion.

The Atlanta-based company also said it is in the early stages of exploring a sale of its stake in Euroclear, Europe’s largest securities settlement house, seeking to reduce its leverage following the Ellie Mae acquisition.

ICE paid 275 million euros ($327 million) for the stake in October 2017.

Total revenue, excluding transaction-based expenses, rose 22% to $1.71 billion.

Picture Credit: FT