CBOE Holdings, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2011 Results; Diluted EPS of $0.36, Up 44 Percent

CHICAGO, May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) today reported first quarter 2011 net income allocated to common stockholders of $32.1 million, an increase of 42 percent compared with net income of $22.7 million in the first quarter of 2010.  Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.36, up 44 percent from 2010's first quarter EPS of $0.25.  Operating revenues for the first quarter grew 23 percent to $124.0 million from $101.1 million in the prior year period.  

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"Our strong first quarter results reflect the strength and diversity of our broad product line, as CBOE Holdings reported volume gains across every product category on both a year-over-year and sequential basis and achieved record volume levels in both VIX options and futures," said William J. Brodsky, CBOE Holdings Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  "We plan to continue to introduce innovative new products and services that build on the first quarter's strong momentum, enhance long-term growth and generate value for our stockholders."

"We are pleased with our first quarter financial results, which highlight the fundamental strengths of our business model.  Our operating income grew faster than revenues as we continued to control costs and capture economies of scale," said Alan J. Dean, CBOE Holdings Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "We achieved record quarterly operating revenue, and our adjusted operating margin of 46.7 percent was the highest in nine quarters.  Our strong cash flow enabled us to boost our cash position to $115.7 million, up $61.9 million from year-end 2010.  Looking ahead, we expect to leverage our unique product offerings and pursue targeted growth initiatives, while continuing to manage our business with financial discipline."  

(1) A reconciliation of CBOE Holdings' non-GAAP results to its GAAP results for the reporting periods is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables.

The table below highlights CBOE Holdings' operating results for the comparative quarters ended March 31, 2011 and 2010.

CBOE Holdings' financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 included certain items and allocations that management believes are not representative of its operating performance.  Financial measures presented on an adjusted basis exclude these items as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons.  More information on the adjusted financial measures and a detailed analysis are included in the "Non-GAAP Information."

Revenues

Operating revenues for 2011's first quarter of $124.0 million increased $22.9 million, or 23 percent, compared with $101.1 million in last year's first quarter.  This increase was primarily driven by a $15.4 million increase in access fees and a $6.5 million increase in transaction fees.  The increase in access fees is attributable to a new trading access program.  On July 1, 2010, Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) began charging monthly fees to all trading permit holders.  Prior to the company's demutualization in June 2010, trading permit holders who were CBOE members, or seat holders, were not assessed an access fee; access fees were only assessed to temporary members and interim trading permit holders.  

Transaction fees increased 8 percent for the quarter, primarily driven by a 13 percent increase in trading volume, offset somewhat by a 5 percent decrease in the average transaction fee per contract compared with the first quarter of 2010.  Trading volume for the 2011 first quarter was 315.0 million contracts, or 5.08 million contracts per day, versus 277.8 million contracts, or 4.55 million contracts per day, in the first quarter of 2010.  The average transaction fee per contract was $0.285 for the quarter compared with $0.300 in the comparable period for 2010.  

The decrease in the average transaction fee per contract resulted primarily from a shift in trading volume mix and higher volume discounts.  For the first quarter, higher-margin index options accounted for a lower percentage of total contracts traded, representing 23.1 percent of total contracts traded versus 24.3 percent in the first quarter of 2010.  The average transaction fee per contract was also impacted by certain fee changes implemented in January 2011, including a fee cap for multiply-listed options transactions for firms.  The average transaction fee per contract represents total transaction fee revenue divided by total reported trading volume for CBOE, C2 Options Exchange (C2) and CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE).

Adjusted Operating Expenses

Adjusted operating expenses for the first quarter of 2011 were $66.1 million, which excludes $0.3 million in accelerated stock-based compensation, representing an increase of $3.7 million, or 6 percent, compared with first quarter 2010.  This increase reflects higher expenses for employee costs, depreciation and amortization and trading volume incentives, partially offset by a decrease in outside services and data processing.  

Core operating expenses of $40.6 million for the first quarter of 2011 were relatively unchanged compared with the same period in 2010, as higher employee costs were offset by lower expenses for outside services and data processing.  Employee costs, excluding accelerated stock-based compensation, increased $2.3 million, reflecting the recognition of $3.1 million for continuing stock-based compensation expense, offset somewhat by lower severance expense versus the prior year.  Excluding continuing stock-based compensation expense, core operating expenses decreased $3.0 million, or 7 percent, to $37.5 million compared with $40.5 million in the first quarter of 2010.

Core operating expenses represent total operating expenses less volume-based expenses, depreciation and amortization, accelerated stock-based compensation expense and unusual or one-time expenses.  

Volume-based expenses, which include royalty fees and trading volume incentives, were $16.9 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing an increase of $2.3 million, or 16 percent, compared with the same period last year.  This increase was primarily due to a $2.1 million increase in trading volume incentives, reflecting higher costs to link customer orders to away markets under a program that applies to certain multiply-listed options contracts.    

Adjusted Operating Margin

The company's adjusted operating margin increased 840 basis points to 46.7 percent for the first quarter of 2011, compared with 38.3 percent in the same period in 2010, reflecting the leverage inherent in the company's business model as revenue grows and expenses are prudently controlled.

Effective Tax Rate

The effective tax rate for the quarter increased to 42.2 percent from 41.0 percent for last year's first quarter, primarily reflecting the impact of an increase in the Illinois tax rate effective January 1, 2011 and the associated adjustments to deferred tax items.  The first quarter 2011 effective tax rate exceeded the company's full-year 2011 guidance of 41.0 to 41.4 percent due to the impact of adjustments to deferred tax items, which were recorded on the effective date of the increase.  The company noted that it now expects its effective tax rate for full-year 2011 to be in a range of 41.7 to 42.0 percent.  

First Quarter 2011 Operational Highlights and Recent Developments

• On January 7, the company began publishing volatility index values on five highly active company stocks -- Apple, Amazon, IBM, Google and Goldman Sachs.  This is the first time the company has applied its CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX®) methodology to options on individual stocks. Subsequently, on March 16, CBOE announced that it would seek approval to trade options on those five individual volatility indexes, as well as options on the CBOE Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index (OVX).
• On January 12, the company launched a web page displaying VIX term structure data, calculated every 15 seconds throughout the trading day.
• On February 7, Market Data Express, LLC, a subsidiary of CBOE Holdings, Inc., launched a new market data service known as "CBOE Streaming Markets" (CSM).  The service provides three separate, direct data feeds of real-time quotations and trade information from CBOE, C2 and the CBOE Stock Exchange (CBSX).
• On February 21, CBOE and Standard & Poor's announced that Hang Seng Indexes Company began disseminating a volatility index for the Hang Seng Index, which will use CBOE's VIX methodology.
• On February 23, CBOE began publishing values for the CBOE S&P 500 Skew Index (ticker symbol: SKEW), a benchmark measure of the perceived risk of extreme negative moves – often referred to as "tail risk" or a "black swan" event – in U.S. equity markets.
• On February 28, the company announced plans to list on C2 an electronically-traded, p.m.-settled version of its flagship S&P 500 Index option (SPX), called "SPXpm."  The Company plans to list SPXpm upon SEC approval.
• On March 16, CBOE began applying its VIX methodology to options on six sector-specific exchange-traded funds (ETFs):   iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (Ticker: VXEEM); iShares Trust FTSE China 25 Index Fund (Ticker: VXFXI); iShares MSCI Brazil Index Fund  (Ticker: VXEWZ); Market Vectors Gold Miners Fund (Ticker: VXGDX); iShares Silver Trust (Ticker: VXSLV); and Energy Select Sector SPDR (Ticker: VXXLE). These indexes offer investors a way to monitor volatility in specific sectors for ETFs they hold in their portfolios.
• On March 16, CBOE and Standard & Poor's announced the formation of the "VIX Network," a global network of exchanges with agreements regarding use of CBOE's VIX methodology.
• On March 25, CFE launched trading of CBOE Gold ETF Volatility Index (GVZ) security futures, and on April 12, CBOE began trading options on GVZ.
• On April 1, the company announced that its futures exchange, CFE, experienced its most active trading month in history during March as volume surpassed the one-million-contract milestone for the first time ever.
• On April 19, CFE announced plans to begin offering futures contracts on several Radar Logic 28-Day Real Estate indexes (RPX) – daily spot market equivalents for housing asset valuations covering major U.S. metropolitan centers – pending regulatory approval.  Licensing with Radar Logic Incorporated, which calculates RPX indexes on U.S. metropolitan centers, geographical regions and the broader U.S. housing market would make way for CFE to offer futures contracts on a number of Radar Logic 28-Day Real Estate indexes.
• On May 2, CBOE Holdings reported that average daily volume (ADV) for options in April was 4.48 million contracts, an 8-percent decrease from March 2011 ADV of 4.85 million contracts and a 15-percent decrease from April 2010 ADV of 5.30 million contracts.

2011 Fiscal Year Financial Guidance

The company reaffirmed the 2011 financial guidance provided in its February 10, 2011 earnings press release, with the exception of a revision in the estimated 2011 tax rate, from a range of 41.0 to 41.4 percent to 41.7 to 42.0 percent.

Dividend

On May 3, CBOE Holdings announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share.  The dividend is payable June 24, 2011 to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 3, 2011.

Earnings Conference Call

Executives of CBOE Holdings will host a conference call to review its first quarter financial results today, May 5, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. EDT/7:30 a.m. CDT.  The conference call and any accompanying slides will be publicly available via live webcast from the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.cboe.com under Events & Presentations.  Participants may also listen via telephone by dialing (877) 372-0876 from the United States or Canada, or (253) 237-1167 for international callers.  Telephone participants should place calls 10 minutes prior to the start of the call.

The webcast will be archived on the company's website for replay.  A telephone replay of the earnings call also will be available from approximately noon EDT, May 5, through midnight, May 19, 2011, by calling (800) 642-1687 within the U.S. and Canada, or (706) 645-9291 for international callers, using replay code 52962691.

About CBOE Holdings

CBOE Holdings, Inc. is the holding company for Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and other subsidiaries.  CBOE, the largest U.S. options exchange and creator of listed options, continues to set the bar for options trading through product innovation, trading technology and investor education. CBOE offers equity, index and ETF options, including proprietary products, such as S&P 500 options (SPX), the most active U.S. index option, and options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX). Other products engineered by CBOE include equity options, security index options, LEAPS options, FLEX options, and benchmark products such as the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM). CBOE's Hybrid Trading System incorporates electronic and open-outcry trading and is powered by CBOEdirect, a proprietary, state-of-the-art electronic platform that also supports the C2 Options Exchange (C2), CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE), CBOE Stock Exchange (CBSX) and OneChicago. CBOE is home to the world-renowned Options Institute and www.cboe.com, named "Best of the Web" for options information and education. CBOE is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with all trades cleared by the AAA-rated OCC.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements are those statements that reflect our expectations, assumptions or projections about the future and involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from that expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: legislative or regulatory changes; changes in law or government policy; increasing competition; loss of our exclusive licenses; decrease in trading volumes; an inability to introduce competitive new products and services; competitive pressures on our existing products, services and trading access fees; changes in price levels and volatility in the derivatives and equity markets; economic, political and market conditions; increases in our fixed costs and expenses; loss of existing customers; difficulty developing strategic relationships and attracting new customers; increased costs related to, or the loss of, intellectual property; rapid technological developments; increases in trading volume and order transaction traffic that we cannot accommodate; our ability to maintain our growth effectively; damage to our reputation and brand name; loss of market data revenue; detrimental changes to our fee structure; failure to effectively monitor and manage our risks; customer consolidation; and changes to the tax treatment for options trading.

More detailed information about factors that may affect our performance may be found in our filings with the SEC, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and other filings made from time to time with the SEC.  

The condensed consolidated statements of income, balance sheets and statements of cash flows are unaudited and subject to reclassification.

Trademarks:

CBOE®, Chicago Board Options Exchange®, CBOEdirect®, CBOE Volatility Index®, VIX®, FLEX®, Hybrid®, LEAPS®, CFE®, CBSX® and CBOE Stock Exchange® are registered trademarks of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (CBOE).   SPX(SM), BXM(SM), BuyWrite(SM), The Options Institute(SM), C2(SM), C2 Options Exchange (SM), CBOE Futures Exchange(SM), GVZ(SM), OVX(SM) and SKEW(SM) are service marks of CBOE.  Standard & Poor's®, S&P® and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and have been licensed for use by CBOE. All other trademarks and servicemarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Non-GAAP Information

In addition to disclosing results determined in accordance with GAAP, CBOE Holdings has disclosed certain non-GAAP measures of operating performance.  The non-GAAP measures provided in this press release include core operating expenses, adjusted operating expenses, adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income, adjusted net income allocated to common stockholders and adjusted diluted earnings per share.

Management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures presented in this press release, including adjusted net income and core operating expenses, provide useful and comparative information to assess trends in our core operations and a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons.  Non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by management, including adjusted diluted EPS, are provided as additional information to investors in order to provide them with an alternative method for assessing our financial condition and operating results.  These measures are not in accordance with, or a substitute for, GAAP, and may be different from or inconsistent with non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.

Core operating expenses is the company's operating expenses after excluding (i) volume-based expenses, (ii) depreciation and amortization expense, (iii) accelerated stock-based compensation expense and (iv) other unusual or one-time expenses.

The table below shows the reconciliation of each financial measure from GAAP to non-GAAP.  The footnotes contain a detailed description of each item excluded from the adjusted financial measure.

SOURCE CBOE Holdings, Inc.