• New York Stock Exchange / Archipelago merger had a significant positive impact on the financial results for the first quarter 2006.
• Earnings per common share € 0.25 in the first quarter of 2006.
Van der Moolen announces that it earned profit attributable to its common shareholders of € 11.1 million in the first quarter 2006 compared with € 5.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2005 and
€ 1.5 million in the first quarter of 2005.

First quarter 2006 net income attributable to common shareholders includes a net gain of € 10.5 million in relation to the NYSE merger consideration received in March 2006 in consideration of the six NYSE seats then owned by the Company.

Before amortization of intangible assets, Curvalue contributed € 0.2 million to our first quarter 2006 net income; amortization of intangible assets related to this acquisition amounted to a net charge of € 0.5 million.

First quarter 2006 net income attributable to common shareholders, adjusted for the gain recognized on the NYSE seats and the impact of Curvalue amounted to € 0.9 million. This amount includes a net charge of € 1.1 million in respect of finance cost on preferred financing shares (an increase of € 0.4 million compared to € 0.7 million recognized in the fourth and first quarter of 2005) and a net charge of € 0.2 million for the additional provision recognized in relation to legal expenses incurred in respect of certain former members of VDM Specialists.

Richard den Drijver, Van der Moolen’s newly appointed CEO, commented: "Our European equity business performed better than expected amid good market conditions. Nevertheless we experienced a challenging first quarter in our fixed income futures business and our NYSE Specialist operation was affected by reduced volatility in our traded specialist stocks. Our results this quarter benefited strongly from the gain relating to the NYSE merger.




I am confident that we have prepared ourselves well for the introduction of the NYSE’s hybrid trading model later this year.
My main objective for the future is to deliver growth and increased profitability. Earlier this month we delivered on an important growth objective with the launch of equity and index options market making in the US. I continue to look forward to building on the growth of our specialist and market making businesses, expanding our position as a liquidity provider on global option and futures exchanges and continuing the successful roll-out of Online Trader as an electronic direct access brokerage for professional traders."

For more information: For more information about Van der Moolen, please contact Investor Relations/Corporate Communications, telephone +31 (0)20 535 6789