The New York exchange said profits were down 32 percent to $121 million as revenue fell 17 percent to $952 million in the first quarter.

"Our first quarter results reflect the challenging operating environment which carried over into 2012 and will continue to result in near-term headwinds," said Duncan Niederauer, Chief Executive of NYSE Euronext.

The exchange's derivatives trading unit was hardest hit, with trading activity at its London-based exchange Liffe down 28 percent for the period, as derivatives revenue for the group fell a quarter to $176 million.

Share trading and listings was down 7 percent to $304 million while NYSE's smaller technology and data business was up 4 percent to $121 million for the quarter.

The New York exchange also said it incurred $31 million of merger and exit costs, including $16 million from its failed merger with Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE).

NYSE canned the $7.4 billion merger in early February after the deal was rejected by European antitrust authorities.

The exchange has since refocused its attention on new market opportunities such as clearing and pledged last month to create its own clearing house for futures transactions, and move away from its current provider LCH.Clearnet.

NYSE said its British futures business will move to the new clearing facility in the summer of next year while its European futures business will follow in the first quarter of 2014.

The move to launch its own clearing unit next year and switch off LCH at that point comes as NYSE's rival, the London Stock Exchange (LSE.L), forges ahead with its plan to buy LCH in the fourth quarter of this year.

"Our clients have long asked for a consolidation of clearing arrangements and the strength of our European derivatives business allows us to deliver meaningful benefits for them in the form of capital efficiencies and savings," said Niederauer last month.

Clearing houses, which sit between trading firms, insulating them against the possibility of a company default, are set to take on greater importance next year when regulation will take effect forcing more asset classes to use clearing.

Policy-makers in the United States and Europe are keen to force the vast over-the-counter derivatives market to use clearing houses to tackle some of the problems exposed by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

(Editing by Chris Vellacott)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency