The Montréal Exchange posted net earnings last year for the first time since it announced in 1999 it was focusing solely on futures and derivatives trading.

The exchange also announced Monday increases in both revenue and earnings for the first quarter of 2003. Revenues were up 12% over the year-earlier quarter to $9.2 million, while net earnings came in at $1 million, up from $83,000 in 2002.

For all of 2002, its first complete year as a fully automated specialized exchange, the ME reported $32.5 million in revenues, $1.6 million in operating earnings and $61,000 in net earnings.

“In terms of results, the Montréal Exchange surpassed its financial objectives in 2002, achieving net earnings for the first time since its transformation, primarily due to a more than 18% increase in revenues from transactions, stringent managed costs and savings stemming from the automation
of its operations,” Luc Bertrand, president and CEO, said in a statement.

Betrand said the ME’s strategy is paying off, even in tough markets. “Our electronic trading platform and our unique market model in North America have attracted first-rate foreign participants to Montréal. The Montréal Exchange’s know-how has not only elicited praise from the industry, but has also piqued the interest of American partners with whom we will soon be launching a new U.S. options exchange, primarily based on the model implemented at the Montréal Exchange.”

In other results, the ME said total volume was up 15% in 2002 and 23% in the first quarter of 2003, while there was a 31% jump in open interest, a lead indicator of future activity. The exchange’s share of inter-listed options market increased to 35% in 2002 from 9% in 2001.

The exchange said access to its trading platform extended to the U.S. and British markets, while participation, as shareholder and technical operator, in BOX, a new U.S. automated options exchange, is expected to be launched this year.