LaBranche stock drops after third straight loss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of LaBranche & Co Inc (LAB.N), one of the largest specialist firms on the New York Stock Exchange, fell nearly 12 percent on Friday after it reported its third-straight quarterly loss.

LaBranche has suffered as the Big Board moves to a more automated platform, and said the revenue it derives from commissions and other fees slipped 1.6 percent.

The company had warned that it would log a loss in the third quarter, due once again to the declining value of the NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) stock that it owns.

LaBranche lost $5.6 million, or 9 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with a profit of $6 million, or 10 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

LaBranche previously said it expected a loss of between 7 cents and 11 cents, due to a $19.2 million unrealized loss on the NYSE shares. Shares of NYSE Euronext, operator of the NYSE, fell about 23 percent in the third quarter, and in large part have caused LaBranche's losses this year.

Excluding the unrealized loss from the NYSE Euronext shares, the company earned $13.6 million, or 22 cents a share. Revenue in the period fell 34 percent to $77.3 million.

LaBranche stock was off 64 cents at $4.81. It hit a record low $3.15 last week as financial markets plunged.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Brian Moss and Steve Orlofsky)