Net revenues at the demutualised futures and options exchange climbed 25% to a record $126 million for the first quarter of this year, compared with $101.1 million for the same period of 2002. Net income was $26.1 million, versus $18.7 million for the first quarter last year.

At 1.1 million average contracts a day, trading on CME's Globex electronic trading platform grew 109% in the first quarter of 2003 versus 2002 and represented 44% of total volume, compared with 25% for the same period a year ago. E-mini equity contract volume led CME's electronic volume growth, averaging nearly 958,000 contracts a day for the first quarter of 2003 - more than double the 450,000 contracts a day recorded in the first quarter of 2002.

For the first time, notes CME president and CEO Jim McNulty, the Globex electronic trading platform was the largest contributor to transaction fee revenue, at 48%. The platform also contributed to a new monthly record in foreign exchange futures of more than 3.1 million contracts in March.

McNulty comments: "While open outcry and privately negotiated transactions were strong, much of our foreign exchange growth has been coming from Globex, which handled about 36 percent of our total foreign exchange volume in the first quarter, compared with 23 percent in the first quarter of last year."

For the first quarter of 2003, revenue from clearing and transaction fees increased 31% to $102.4 million from $77.9 million for the same period of 2002. The category represented 81 percent of net revenues in the 2003 quarter.

Quotation data fees were $11.8 million for the 2003 period, versus $12.5 million for the 2002 quarter, a decline attributed to job-losses in the financial services industry.