Crisis pinches Spanish exchange profits

Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), the group that operates all Spain’s domestic stock exchanges, has reported a 39.5% fall in first-quarter net profit to €33.5 million on the back of reduced trading volumes. The company cited “severe uncertainty gripping markets” as the main contributor to the trading slump.

Revenues from the firm’s equities division declined 37.3% in Q1 to €28.7 million, and share volume traded slumped to 27.12 billion shares, a 17.6% decline compared with Q1 2008.

Quarter-by-quarter revenues were also down 38% for clearing and settlement services to €12.5 million and 11.8% for derivatives to €6.5 million, despite a 39.9% increase in volume in futures and options contracts.