More of NYSE Euronext’s growth will come from Asia and South America than Europe, where its takeover by Deutsche Boerse AG was blocked by regulators, according to Chief Executive Officer Duncan Niederauer.

“I just don’t think I can count on them for a lot of growth in the near-term,” Niederauer said in a television interview Monday on CNBC, referring to the company Europe operations. As volume in equity derivatives and short-term interest rate futures have dropped in Europe, NYSE Euronext will focus on increasing business in Asia and South America and by marketing its technology expertise, he said.

Profit at NYSE Euronext climbed 19 percent in 2011 from the prior year and is projected by analysts on average to increase 5.6 percent this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 2.7 percent last year and are forecast to slide 13 percent in 2012, the data show. Revenue from the derivatives business gained 25 percent, while it rose 11 percent in technology and information services.

Investors’ lack of confidence in the European economy due to the debt crisis has had a “muting effect” on business, according to Niederauer.

“I love being exposed to those businesses, but we have to be realistic,” he said. This year is “going to be ‘steady as she goes’ at best.”

NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse had planned to merge and create the world’s largest exchange operator. The European Commission blocked the transaction on Feb. 1. A completed deal with Deutsche Boerse would have allowed NYSE Euronext to “scale” its derivatives business into asset classes the company is currently less exposed to, Niederauer said. Deutsche Boerse’s takeover would put more than 90 percent of the European exchange-traded derivatives market in the hands of one company.

“I’m glad we tried,” Niederauer said of the failed merger bid in the interview. “We quickly shift gears.”