UPDATE 2-Canada exchange operator TMX posts profit despite slowdown
* Revenue jumps, as does operating expenses
* Results hamstrung by global economic headwinds -CEO
TORONTO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - TMX Group Ltd, operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, reported a profit for the first full quarter since a consortium of Canadian financial institutions took control, even as slow trading and listing activity held back the results.
Fourth-quarter profit came in at C$32.8 million, or 61 Canadian cents a share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, the company said on Wednesday. Excluding one-time items, TMX earned 95 Canadian cents a share.
TMX Group Inc, predecessor of TMX Group Ltd, reported a loss of C$10.2 million, or C$54.77 a share, in the fourth quarter of 2011, before the Maple Group consortium won control late last year.
The company said year-earlier comparisons were not meaningful because of the reorganization of the group after Maple's C$3.8 billion acquisition.
As part of its sweeping plan, Maple also acquired Alpha Trading, a smaller TMX rival, as well as Canadian Depository for Securities Ltd, a trading clearinghouse, and folded them into the enlarged company.
Along with the Toronto Stock Exchange, TMX operates the TSX Venture Exchange for small-capitalization stocks, the Montreal Exchange for derivatives, and other options and energy markets.
Revenue rose 12 percent to C$181.1 million, with Alpha and CDS contributing C$27.1 million, while sales slipped in a range of markets, including energy, derivatives and junior equities.
The new units helped boost revenue from cash market trading and clearing activities.
TMX's chief executive, Tom Kloet, said economic uncertainty hurt the company's results and also held back its peers during the quarter but that he expected TMX to grow as conditions improve.
TMX said operating expenses jumped because of the cost of running the new units and paying the additional staff. The combined group employs 1,310 people, compared with 906 that worked for the smaller TMX a year ago.
Macquarie Capital analyst Ed Ditmire, who has an "underperform" rating on the stock, said the company had edged past expectations by limiting its costs.
The Maple Group, comprising 13 major financial institutions, was formed as an all-Canadian alternative to a takeover deal between TMX and the London Stock Exchange.
The company also said it would pay a dividend of 40 Canadian cents a share in the current quarter.