ATLANTA & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services, announced its first quarter dividend will be $0.85 per share, up 13% from $0.75 per share in the fourth quarter of 2015. ICE expects the annual dividend for 2016 to be $3.40 per share, subject to quarterly board authorization.

“We believe in enhancing shareholder returns with a dividend that increases as earnings grow,” said Jeffrey C. Sprecher, ICE Chairman and CEO. “At the same time, our strong cash flows will enable us to reduce our leverage to maintain our strong investment grade credit rating even as we continue to invest in key strategic initiatives to ensure we remain a growth company.”

The first quarter dividend is payable on March 31, 2016, to shareholders of record as of March 16, 2016. The ex-dividend date is March 14, 2016. The record and payable dates for the full year are expected to be as noted below, subject to board authorization.

During the year ended December 31, 2015, ICE paid dividends of $2.90 per share of common stock, including a quarterly dividend for the first quarter of 2015 of $0.65 per share and quarterly dividends for the subsequent quarters of $0.75 per share, for an aggregate payout of approximately $331 million in 2015.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) operates the leading network of global futures and equity exchanges and provides world class clearing, data and listing services across many markets. The New York Stock Exchange is the world leader in capital raising and equities trading.

Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange, Interactive Data and Trayport. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located at www.intercontinentalexchange.com/terms-of-use

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 - Statements in this press release regarding ICE's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, as filed with the SEC on February 4, 2016.

SOURCE: Intercontinental Exchange

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ICE Media and Investor Contact:
Kelly Loeffler
+1 770 857 4726
media@theice.com
investors@theice.com

Source: Intercontinental Exchange