Nasdaq profit falls 8% on higher expenses, charges

Oct 23 (Reuters) - U.S. exchange operator Nasdaq Inc reported an 8% drop in third-quarter profit, hit by higher expenses and restructuring charges.

Net income attributable to Nasdaq fell to $150 million, or 90 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, from $163 million, or 97 cents per share, a year earlier. [https://reut.rs/32FN0ot ]

Operating expenses at the New York-based company climbed about 15% to $406 million.

Nasdaq said it incurred a pre-tax restructuring charge of $30 million in the quarter, and expects to take another $35 million to $45 million in charges over a two-year period.

Revenue, excluding transaction-based expenses, rose 5.3% to $632 million in the quarter.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.27 per share.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.21 per share. It was not immediately clear if the numbers were comparable.

(Reporting by Abhishek Manikandan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)