(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) () fell to the lowest in four weeks after the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange reported an 8.2 percent drop in first-quarter profit trailing analyst estimates due to low commodity prices and higher expenses.
Shares declined to C$51.98 the lowest intraday price since April 16 and were trading at C$52.03 down 5.7 percent at 1:38 p.m. in Toronto.
Net income fell to C$42.6 million or C$0.78 per share in the January-to-March quarter from C$46.4 million or C$0.86 per share a year earlier the Toronto-based company said in a statement late yesterday.
Stripping out one-time items the company earned C$0.91 per share. On that basis analysts on average expected TMX to earn C$0.97 per share according to .
Revenue rose about 2 percent to C$185.3 million.
Operating expenses in the quarter rose 13 percent to $118 million driven mainly by a charge related to headcount reductions.
The company anticipates the headcount reductions to generate ongoing cost savings of about $4.3 million annually.
The company’s chief executive officer said today TMX plans to better integrate its disparate units and make more use of data amid rising competition in the domestic exchange industry.
"I now have a pretty good handle on both what we do well and on what we can do better in terms of addressing the complex challenges faced by our customers and how we can provide optimal services in the Canadian marketplace" Reuters quoted Lou Eccelston as telling analysts on a conference call.
TMX has moved to limit the impact of a rival exchange Aequitas Neo with a secondary market for private companies and just last week said it would slash its fees.
Eccelston whose background is heavy on data analytics launched a strategic review of the company after taking the top job late last year.
"We're going to work on solutions that derive more insight and value from the vast amount of data that is generated across our business operations" Eccelston said.
Along with the Toronto bourse the company also owns the Montreal derivatives exchange and the small-cap TSX Venture Exchange clearing and depositary services.
Around 65 percent of the companies listed on TMX exchanges are involved in the natural resources industry making the company particularly sensitive to ebbs and flows in commodity prices.
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