Total revenue in fourth quarter 2003 decreased 23.5% to $138 million from $180.3 million a year ago. The company reported net losses of $10.8 million for the quarter, including a $28.4 million bill for cost-cutting initiatives. Excluding this impact, net income was $5.9 million for the period, against $6.2 million in Q4 2002.

For the year as a whole revenues dropped 25.1% to to $589.8 million from $787.2 million in 2002. Net loss, including pre-tax overhaul charges of $97.9 million, was $45.2 million, versus net income of $65 million, for the year ending 2002.

Nasdaq's share of domestic market trading also took a knock in the final quarter, sliding to 56% against 62% in the preceding period.

Nasdaq's chief executive officer, Robert Greifeld, comments: "We are focused on two key objectives: increasing Nasdaq's share of trading in domestic equity markets; and increasing the number of companies listed on Nasdaq. To achieve this, we are enhancing the functionality of our trading systems and taking steps to achieve price leadership."

Looked at in more detail, transaction services revenue decreased 32% to $53.6 million from $78.8 million in the year-ago quarter as execution services, trade reporting and access revenue were affected by continued competitive pressure and lower market share. Similarly, market information services revenue slipped 33.5% to $32.5 million from $48.9 million. The corporate client group recorded a 2.3% decline to $42.8 million due to the lower number of listed companies. The only bright spot came from the financial product line which reported a $0.3 million rise in revenue to $7.6 million over the year-ago period.