TMX Group profit rises 27 per cent

TMX Group Ltd. (TSX:X), operator of the country's largest stock market, is reporting a bigger fourth-quarter profit and better revenue than analysts were expecting.

The owner of the Toronto and TSX Venture stock exchanges, Montreal derivatives market and other securities exchanges, had $41.4-million of net income in the fourth quarter, or 77 cents per share.

That was up 27 per cent from $32.6-million, or 61 cents per share, a year earlier.

Its adjusted earnings for the three-month period amounted to 96 cents per share, up one cent from fourth quarter of 2012 and 11 cents above analyst estimates.

TSX Group's revenue was essentially unchanged from a year earlier, slipping by less than one per cent to $180.7-million, and were about $7-million above analyst estimates.

Analysts had been looking for about $173-million of revenue and 85 cents per share of adjusted earnings, according to estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.

The company's chief executive, Thomas Kloet, says last year marked the successful integration of TMX Group with two companies acquired from the Maple Group as part of a major reorganization.

The Maple Group's members, which included several major Canadian banks, pension funds and other financial businesses, became the leading shareholders of TMX Group during 2012.

As part of the deal, TMX Group acquired Maple Group's Alpha trading system and CDS Inc., which runs the main clearing house for Canadian securities.

"We were very pleased with our accomplishments in 2013, including the successful integration of TMX Group Inc., CDS, and Alpha," Kloet said in a statement.

"Despite subdued equities market activity in Canada, TMX Group produced good results for the fourth quarter, with adjusted EPS higher than both the fourth quarter of 2012 and the third quarter of 2013."