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Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights
- GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.38
- Proforma diluted earnings per share of $0.41
- Net income up 51.3% to $15.1 million
- Average daily trading volume up 17.3% to 2.4 million equity and index options contracts
- Revenues up 22.4% to $53.3 million; Gross margin up 27.3% to $47.6 million
- Record pre-tax margin of 55.8%
The International Securities Exchange Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ISE) today reported that net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2006 increased 51.3% to $15.1 million, or $0.38 per share on a fully diluted basis. This compares to $10.0 million, or $0.26 per share on a fully diluted basis, in the same period in 2005. Included in the results for the quarter are adjustments of $1.2 million for the recovery of legal fees associated with our successful litigation to list options on SPDRs without a license, and $3.3 million for reimbursements to members due to an error in our billing system. Excluding these items, proforma net income for the quarter increased to $16.3 million, or $0.41 per share on a fully diluted basis.
Total revenues for the quarter increased 22.4% to $53.3 million versus $43.6 million in the prior year. Gross margin, or total revenues less cost of revenues, increased 27.3% to $47.6 million from $37.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. The average daily volume of equity and index options contracts traded increased 17.3% to 2.4 million contracts as compared to 2.1 million contracts in the year-ago quarter.
"We ended the year with another strong quarter of continued growth in our average daily volume and the successful implementation of our new business initiatives," said David Krell, ISE's President and Chief Executive Officer. "For the first time in our history, we posted average daily volumes in excess of two million contracts for each quarter and for the full year. We also made steady progress in building our new equities business, the ISE Stock Exchange, as we further expanded into new markets beyond our options business. The successful launch of our fully-displayed market was an important milestone as we prepare for the regulatory and competitive changes that we anticipate will occur later this year."
"All of our key business metrics remain robust. The double digit growth in trading volume, revenues, and profitability demonstrate the depth, breadth and leverage of our business model. Today's economic and competitive environment will present many opportunities and challenges in the year ahead, and we believe that our business model, strategy and management team are positioned to succeed," concluded Krell.
Fourth Quarter Results
Revenues
Transaction fee revenues increased to $40.9 million from $33.7 million last year due to continued strong growth in trading volumes. Member fees and other revenues increased to $7.5 million from $5.6 million in the same period last year due to an increase in connectivity fees which are charged to market makers based on quote capacity usage. There was also an increase in connectivity fees from our subsidiary, Longitude. Market data revenues increased to $5.0 million from $4.3 million in the prior year quarter.
Cost of Revenues, Gross Margin
Cost of revenues for the fourth quarter decreased to $5.8 million as compared to $6.2 million in the same period last year since we no longer pay a license fee for trading options on certain ETFs.
Gross margin increased to $47.6 million from $37.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2005.
Expenses
Total direct expenses for the fourth quarter of 2006 increased to $22.0 million as compared to $19.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2005 principally due to a $2.2 million increase in compensation and benefits expenses, in part attributable to higher incentive compensation. Technology and communications expenses increased to $4.0 million from $3.4 million due to increased network and capacity costs for our trading system. Professional fees decreased to $1.6 million from $1.9 million due to lower legal fees. Marketing and business development expenses decreased to $1.0 million from $1.1 million due to the timing of marketing programs. Depreciation and amortization increased to $1.8 million from $1.5 million due to higher amortization expense of the assets of Longitude, which was acquired in March 2006.
Income, Margins and Taxes
Pre-tax income for the fourth quarter of 2006 increased to $26.6 million versus $18.7 million last year. Interest and investment income increased to $2.9 million from $1.4 million primarily due to interest income from higher cash balances.
Our pre-tax margin for the fourth quarter increased to a record 55.8% from 50.1% last year.
Our tax rate decreased to 43.3% from 46.8% in the fourth quarter of 2005 due to higher levels of non-deductible expenses in the previous year's quarter and lower state and local taxes in the current quarter.
Net income for the fourth quarter increased 51.3% to $15.1 million from $10.0 million in the prior year quarter.
Full Year Results
For the year, average daily volume of equity and index options increased to 2.4 million contracts traded as compared to 1.8 million equity and index options contracts traded in the prior year. Revenues increased to $202.1 million from $155.9 million. Gross margin increased to $178.7 million from $137.0 million. Net income increased to $55.2 million from $35.3 million last year. Earnings per share on a fully diluted basis were $1.38 as compared to $0.93 last year. Excluding our indirect expenses, proforma net income increased to $56.7 million from $36.6 million last year. Proforma earnings per share on a fully diluted basis were $1.42 as compared to $0.96 last year.
Balance Sheet
As of December 31, 2006, ISE had cash and cash equivalents and investments in securities of $292.8 million, total assets of $396.4 million, and stockholders' equity of $258.3 million. The Company recorded minority interest of $36.3 million as of December 31, 2006, which represents interests of minority shareholders in the Company's subsidiary. Included in cash and cash equivalents is $37.8 million, from ISE Stock Exchange which is reserved for its use. There were approximately 38.0 million shares of common stock outstanding.
Fourth Quarter Business Highlights
-- ISE was the largest equity options exchange for the fourth
quarter of 2006 based on total equity options trading.
-- On October 5, 2006, ISE began trading options on the KBW Bank
Index (Ticker: BKX). Timber Hill LLC serves as the Primary
Market Maker.
-- On October 10, 2006, ISE launched options trading on the
ISE-REVERE Natural Gas Index(TM) (Ticker: FUM), a new sector
benchmark for this growing industry. Timber Hill LLC serves as
the Primary Market Maker.
-- On October 16, 2006, ISE launched trading in its Second
Market. As of December 31, 2006, 510 symbols were traded in
the Second Market. When fully rolled out, members will have
access to equity options that represent approximately 99% of
industry volume through the ISE platform.
-- On October 18, 2006, ISE launched ISEE Select(TM), its
customized sentiment data offering. Through an intuitive
browser application, ISEE Select enables subscribers to
identify investor sentiment for individual securities or
select industry sectors based on a unique calculation
methodology that uses proprietary ISE opening customer trade
data.
-- On November 2, 2006, ISE announced that it filed a complaint
in the United States District Court for the Southern District
of New York seeking to end the exclusive listing of certain
index options. ISE has asked the District Court to issue a
declaratory judgment holding that ISE does not need a license
to list index options on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(Ticker: DJX) and S&P 500 Index (Ticker: SPX). Currently,
these two actively-traded index options trade exclusively on
the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) pursuant to
licensing agreements between CBOE and Dow Jones & Company (Dow
Jones), the provider of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (McGraw Hill), the provider of
the S&P 500 Index. Thereafter, on November 15, 2006, Dow
Jones, McGraw Hill and CBOE filed a complaint against the ISE
and The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) in Illinois state
court seeking to enjoin ISE from trading, and OCC from
issuing, clearing and settling any ISE trades in the DJX and
SPX. ISE removed that case to the Federal District Court for
the Northern District of Illinois.
-- On November 9, 2006, ISE declared a quarterly dividend of
$0.05 per outstanding share of its Class A Common Stock,
payable on December 29, 2006 to holders of record as of the
close of business on December 22, 2006.
-- On November 20, 2006, ISE began disseminating the underlying
rates for ISE FX Options(TM), its foreign currency options
product scheduled for launch in 2007, pending regulatory
approval. Rates are now available for the four currency pairs
that ISE will initially list: USD/EUR (Symbol: EUI), USD/GBP
(Symbol: BPX), USD/JPY (Symbol: YUK), and USD/CAD (Symbol:
CDD).
-- On December 8, 2006, the ISE Stock Exchange successfully
launched its fully-displayed stock market. With the launch of
the fully-displayed market, the ISE Stock Exchange now offers
the only fully-electronic dual structure that provides
integrated access to both displayed and non-displayed
liquidity pools.
-- On December 19, 2006, ISE announced the launch of the
ISE-Revere Wal-Mart Supplier Index (Ticker: WMX) in
collaboration with Revere Data LLC. This unique,
relationship-based index allows investors to track the overall
price performance of companies that derive a significant
portion of their revenues from supplying Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,
the world's leading retailer.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended Year Ended
December 31, December 31,
2006 2005 2006 2005
----------- ----------- ----------- ---------
(unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited)
Revenues:
Transaction fees $40,925 $33,689 $157,252 $116,121
Member fees and other 7,467 5,634 26,365 21,739
Market data 4,957 4,260 18,464 18,039
----------- ----------- ----------- ---------
Total revenues 53,349 43,583 202,081 155,899
Cost of revenues:
Activity remittance fees 4,549 4,837 16,125 14,075
License fees 1,207 1,362 7,259 4,816
----------- ----------- ----------- ---------
Total cost of revenues 5,756 6,199 23,384 18,891
Gross margin 47,593 37,384 178,697 137,008
Expenses:
Compensation and benefits 11,293 9,141 46,001 36,567
Technology and
communications 4,008 3,412 15,405 13,648
Occupancy 1,257 1,164 5,244 4,492
Professional fees 1,558 1,908 6,061 5,984
Marketing and business
development 1,010 1,113 3,199 3,949
Depreciation and
amortization 1,762 1,489 6,845 6,017
Other 1,135 1,211 4,798 4,043
----------- ----------- ----------- ---------
Total direct expenses 22,023 19,438 87,553 74,700
Recovery of legal fees (1,210) - (1,210) -
Billing reimbursement 3,297 - 3,297 -
Reorganization - 34 326 339
Offering costs - 569 - 902
----------- ----------- ----------- ---------
Total expenses 24,110 20,041 89,966 75,941
----------- ----------- ----------- ---------
Operating income 23,483 17,343 88,731 61,067
Interest and investment
income 2,934 1,395 8,361 4,063
Minority interest 155 - 650 -
----------- ----------- ----------- ---------
Income before provision
for income taxes 26,572 18,738 97,742 65,130
Provision for income
taxes 11,499 8,778 42,590 29,783
----------- ----------- ----------- ---------
Net income $15,073 $9,960 $55,152 $35,347
=========== =========== =========== =========
Earnings per share:
Basic $0.40 $0.27 $1.47 $0.99
Diluted $0.38 $0.26 $1.38 $0.93
Weighted average number
of shares outstanding:
Basic 37,895 36,803 37,479 35,849
Diluted 40,049 38,976 39,893 37,947
INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
(in thousands)
December 31, December 31,
2006 2005
--------------------------
(unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $200,015 $170,927
(including $37,767 reserved for ISE
Stock Exchange as of December 31,
2006)
Accounts receivable, net 34,815 35,048
Income tax receivable 9,644 -
Securities owned 60,090 9,890
Other current assets 2,415 2,745
------------ ------------
Total current assets 306,979 218,610
Securities owned 32,724 7,244
Accounts receivable - 587
Fixed assets, net 29,009 29,205
Deferred tax asset, net 21,932 22,333
Other assets 5,781 2,517
------------ ------------
Total assets 396,425 280,496
============ ============
LIABILITIES, MINORITY INTEREST AND
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses 19,430 15,406
Compensation and benefits payable 12,453 8,371
Deferred revenue 5,129 4,687
Income tax payable - 372
Payment for order flow payable 10,262 12,233
------------ ------------
Total current liabilities 47,274 41,069
Deferred revenue 50,954 50,238
Other liabilities 3,609 4,211
--------------------------
Total liabilities 101,837 95,518
Minority interest 36,323 -
------------ ------------
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 258,265 184,978
------------ ------------
------------ ------------
Total liabilities, minority interest
and stockholders' equity $396,425 $280,496
============ ============
INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
Year Ended
December 31,
2006 2005
----------- ---------
(unaudited)
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income $55,152 $35,347
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash
provided by/(used in) operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 6,661 6,017
Asset impairment 184 -
Stock based compensation 8,056 4,825
Deferred taxes 401 (6,498)
Unrealized (gain)/loss on securities owned
and available for sale securities, net (401) (357)
Excess tax benefits from share-based payment
arrangements (19,207) (4,011)
(Increase)/decrease in operating assets:
Accounts receivable, net 820 578
Income tax receivable 9,563 11,332
Securities owned 4,143 5,398
Other assets 321 4,084
Increase/(decrease) in operating liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses 4,024 6,972
Compensation and benefits payable 4,082 (6,149)
Income tax payable (372) 4,383
Deferred revenue 1,158 (34)
Payment for order flow payable (1,971) (1,025)
Other liabilities (602) (738)
----------- ---------
Net cash provided by operating activities 72,012 60,124
----------- ---------
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of fixed assets (6,234) (2,395)
Purchase of intangible assets (2,910) -
Purchase of available for sale securities (94,305) -
Maturities of available for sale securities 14,908 4,990
----------- ---------
Net cash (used in)/provided by investing
activities (88,541) 2,595
----------- ---------
Cash flows from financing activities:
Dividend (7,635) (11,784)
Net proceeds from initial public offering - 70,739
Net contribution from minority shareholders 35,563 -
Proceeds from options exercised 1,484 395
Share repurchase (3,002) -
Excess tax benefits from share-based payment
arrangements 19,207 4,011
----------- ---------
Net cash provided by/(used in) financing
activities 45,617 63,361
----------- ---------
Increase in cash and cash equivalents 29,088 126,080
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 170,927 44,847
----------- ---------
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $200,015 $170,927
=========== =========
INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE HOLDINGS, INC.
KEY STATISTICAL INFORMATION
Three Months Ended Year Ended
December 31, December 31,
2006 2005 2006 2005
-------- -------- ---------- --------
Trading Days 63 63 251 252
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Average daily trading volume
(1) (2)
Equity and Index Options
-------------------------------
Total U.S. industry equity and
index options traded (in
thousands) 8,669 7,006 8,078 5,969
Our equity and index options
traded (in thousands) 2,415 2,059 2,359 1,781
Our market share of equity and
index options traded 27.9% 29.4% 29.2% 29.8%
Equity Options
-------------------------------
Total U.S. industry equity
options traded (in thousands) 7,910 6,387 7,347 5,433
Our equity options traded (in
thousands) 2,381 2,035 2,326 1,763
Our market share of equity
options traded 30.1% 31.9% 31.7% 32.4%
Index Options
-------------------------------
Total U.S. industry index
options traded (in thousands) 759 619 731 536
Our index options traded (in
thousands) 34 24 33 18
Our market share of index
options traded 4.5% 3.9% 4.5% 3.4%
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Our member total trading volume
(sides, in thousands): (3)
Account type:
Customer 123,094 105,679 487,310 370,772
Firm proprietary 39,991 25,579 148,990 84,288
Market maker 141,257 128,142 547,623 442,332
-------- -------- ---------- --------
Total Sides 304,342 259,400 1,183,923 897,392
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Our market share of total
industry trading: (4)
Customer 29.6% 30.7% 30.0% 30.3%
Firm proprietary 23.1% 22.7% 25.0% 22.0%
Market maker 28.1% 30.1% 29.8% 31.5%
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Revenue:
Average transaction fee per
side (5) $0.134 $0.130 $0.133 $0.129
Average cost of transaction fee
per side (6) ($0.019) ($0.024) ($0.020) ($0.021)
-------- -------- ---------- --------
Average net transaction fee per
side (6) $0.116 $0.106 $0.113 $0.108
Average transaction fee per
revenue side (7) $0.175 $0.171 $0.176 $0.178
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Our trades:(8)
Average contracts per trade 17.6 18.1 17.6 17.8
Average trades per day (in
thousands) 136.5 114.0 133.9 100.3
Total trades (in thousands) 8,602 7,183 33,601 25,269
Our market share of industry
trade volume 33.2% 32.7% 32.6% 33.8%
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Our listed issues: (9)
Average number of issues traded
during the period 1,203 795 968 743
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Our Members (average number
trading during period)
PMMs 10 10 10 10
CMMs 149 138 146 136
EAMs 104 97 102 95
-------- -------- ---------- --------
Total 263 245 258 241
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Employees (period average)
Full-time equivalent (10) 179 185 180 185
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
(1) Represents single counted contract volume. For example, a
transaction of 500 contracts on our exchange is counted as a single
500 contract transaction for purposes of calculating our volumes,
even though we may receive transaction fees from parties on both
sides of the transaction, one side of a transaction, or in some
cases, neither side of a transaction.
(2) Our market share is calculated based on the number of contracts
executed on our exchange as a percentage of total industry contract
volume.
(3) Represents each side of a buy or sell transaction. For example, a
transaction of 500 contracts on our exchange is counted as two sides
of 500 contracts, representing a buy and a sell transaction. We
generally do not charge our members for executing non-broker-dealer
customer orders on our exchange except for options on our premium
products as well as options for listings in our Second Market.
(4) Represents our market share of total U.S. industry equity and
index trading for members trading on our exchange based on contract
trading volume.
(5) Average transaction fee per side is calculated by dividing our
transaction fees by the total number of sides executed on our
exchange. We generally do not charge our members for executing non-
broker-dealer customer orders on our exchange except for options on
our premium products as well as options for listings in our Second
Market. Comparing our average transaction fee per side to our average
transaction fee per revenue side reflects the negative effect of our
fee waivers or reductions on our revenues, on a per side basis. For
the three months ended December 31, 2006 and 2005, we have waived and
discounted $8,100 and $7,767 of our fees, respectively. For the year
ended December 31, 2006 and 2005, we have waived and discounted
$33,613 and $27,502 of our fees, respectively.
(6) Average cost of transaction fee per side is calculated by
subtracting cost of revenues from transaction fees, which we refer to
as net transaction fees, and dividing the result by the total number
of sides executed on our exchange.
(7) Our average transaction fee per revenue side reflects the
transaction fee we charge to our market participants per our publicly
available pricing schedules. These schedules were part of rule
proposals that became effective upon filing pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
"Exchange Act"). The Securities and Exchange Commission may abrogate
such rule proposals within 60 days of filing if it determines that
such action is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for
the protection of investors or otherwise in furtherance of the
purposes of the Exchange Act.
(8) Members can have several contracts per trade. Trades represent the
number of trades cleared through The Option Clearing Corporation, or
the OCC. Market data revenue is generated on a per trade basis, not
on a contract basis.
(9) By "issues" we mean the number of securities underlying our
options. We trade multiple options series on each underlying
security.
(10) Excludes full-time equivalent employees of ISE Stock Exchange,
LLC, beginning April 2006.
In an effort to provide additional information regarding our results as determined by GAAP, we also disclose certain non-GAAP information which we believe provides useful and meaningful information. Our management reviews this non-GAAP financial measurement when evaluating our financial performance and results of operations; therefore, we believe it is useful to provide information with respect to these non-GAAP measurements so as to share this perspective of management. Non-GAAP measurements do not have any standardized meaning and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in the context with our GAAP results.
We have disclosed financial measures that reference our net transaction fees, which we define as our transaction fees excluding activity remittance fees and license fees. Under GAAP, activity remittance fees and ETF and index license fees are required to be recorded on a gross basis. Since activity remittance fees and ETF and index license fees are entirely offset by corresponding amounts in transaction fees, management believes that presenting net transaction fees provides a clearer measure of our transaction related performance. In addition, we have also disclosed financial measures excluding certain charges or adjustments related to a recovery of legal fees associated with our successful litigation to trade options on SPDRs without a license, reimbursements to members due to an error in our billing system, costs related to our reorganization into a holding company structure and expenses associated with our initial and secondary offerings. Management excludes these items when evaluating the Company's financial performance as they believe these items do not directly relate to the costs of running its business or they do not directly relate to the current period presented as evaluated by management as opposed to accounting standards prescribed under GAAP.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE HOLDINGS, INC.
GAAP TO NON GAAP RECONCILIATION
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended Year Ended
December 31, December 31,
2006 2005 2006 2005
--------- -------- --------- ---------
GAAP Transaction fees, as
reported $40,925 $33,689 $157,252 $116,121
Less activity remittance fees 4,549 4,837 16,125 14,075
Less license fees 1,207 1,362 7,259 4,816
--------- -------- --------- ---------
Net transaction fees, proforma $35,169 $27,490 $133,868 $97,230
--------- -------- --------- ---------
GAAP Income before provision for
income taxes, as reported $26,572 $18,738 $97,742 $65,130
Less Recovery of legal fees (1,210) - (1,210) -
Less Billing reimbursement 3,297 - 3,297 -
Less Reorganization - 34 326 339
Less Offering costs - 569 - 902
--------- -------- --------- ---------
Income before provision for
income taxes, proforma $28,659 $19,341 $100,155 $66,371
--------- -------- --------- ---------
GAAP Net income, as reported $15,073 $9,960 $55,152 $35,347
Less Recovery of legal fees, net
of tax (683) - (683) -
Less Billing reimbursement, net
of tax 1,861 - 1,861 -
Less Reorganization, net of tax - 34 326 339
Less Offering costs, net of tax - 569 - 902
------------------ --------- ---------
Net income, proforma $16,251 $10,563 $56,656 $36,588
------------------ --------- ---------
GAAP Diluted earnings per share,
as reported $0.38 $0.26 $1.38 $0.93
Less Recovery of legal fees, net
of tax (0.02) - (0.02) -
Less Billing adjustment, net of
tax 0.05 - 0.05 -
Less Reorganization, net of tax - 0.00 0.01 0.01
Less Offering costs, net of tax - 0.01 - 0.02
--------- -------- --------- ---------
Diluted earnings per share,
proforma $0.41 $0.27 $1.42 $0.96
--------- -------- --------- ---------
Gross Margin 47,593 37,384 178,697 137,008
GAAP pre-tax margins, as
reported 55.8% 50.1% 54.7% 47.5%
Pre-tax margins, proforma 60.2% 51.7% 56.0% 48.4%
Earnings Conference Call
ISE will host a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter 2006 results at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today. The conference call will be web cast and can be accessed on the Investor Relations section of ISE's web site at www.iseoptions.com. An investor presentation that will be referenced during the call will be posted to the web site. Investors can also listen to the conference call by calling (866) 362-4832 and dialing the participant passcode 52799934. An archived recording of the call will be available from 10:30 a.m. on February 6, 2007 until midnight on February 7, 2007 and can be accessed by calling (888) 286-8010 and dialing the participant passcode 84397432. An archived replay of the call will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company's web site at www.iseoptions.com.
ISE Background
International Securities Exchange Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ISE), through its subsidiaries, operates a family of innovative securities markets. ISE is founded on the principle that technology and competition create better, more efficient markets for investors and consists of an options exchange, a stock exchange and an alternative markets platform. ISE continually enhances its trading systems and develops new products to provide investors with the best marketplace and investment tools to trade smarter.
ISE developed a unique market structure for advanced screen-based trading systems and in May 2000 launched the first fully-electronic U.S. options exchange. Currently, ISE operates the largest U.S. equity options exchange and is among the leading options exchanges in the world. ISE offers index options, including a portfolio of proprietary index products, and enhanced market data products for sophisticated investors. ISE FX Options(TM) are slated to launch in 2007.
ISE Stock Exchange, launched in September 2006 with strategic partners, includes an innovative MidPoint Match(TM) platform which offers investors continuous price improvement. MidPoint Match was integrated with a fully-displayed Best Bid Offer market in December 2006.
ISE's alternative markets business currently consists of an events market trading platform known as Longitude. Longitude's patented and proprietary technology provides a unique pari-mutuel structure for derivatives auctions which results in greater trading and pricing flexibility for market participants.
For more information about ISE and its options exchange, visit www.iseoptions.com and for more information about ISE Stock Exchange, visit www.isestock.com. Additionally, to learn more about ISE alternative markets technology, visit www.longitude.com.
Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, to be materially different from those contemplated by the forward looking statements. We undertake no ongoing obligation, other than that imposed by law, to update these statements. Factors that could affect our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements and cause them to materially differ from those contained in the forward looking statements can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K, current reports on Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
