Euronext, the merger between the stock exchanges in Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels, has boosted the prospects for its own initial public offering in May by posting a 46% surge in profits for last year.

The exchange, which is planning to float on itself at the end of May, earned €127m ($110m) in net profits in 2000, helped by a 60% surge in trading volumes on the three exchanges. Revenues jumped 34% to €752m, but an increase in costs of just 13% helped boost its profitability.