The Nasdaq stock market has reported a 20.9% fall in first quarter revenue to $128.4 million from $162.4 million a year ago.
Market services revenue decreased 31.8% in the quarter to $76.1 million from $111.6 million in Q1 2003 due to competitive pressures and reduced market share.
Net income was $4.6 million, or $0.02 per common share for the first quarter of 2004, versus net income of $5.9 million, or $0.06 per common share, for the first quarter of 2003.
Direct expenses were $26 million lower than the prior year following a spate of redundancies and cost cutting at the beleagured exchange.
Further measures to reduce operating expenses are in the pipeline, says chief financial officer David Warren: "These potential actions include real estate consolidations and enhancements to our technology systems to improve efficiency of our trading backbone."