FRANKFURT, April 21 (Reuters) - German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse said on Wednesday it posted a 14% fall in first-quarter net profit, better than analysts had expected.

Net profit attributable to shareholders was 317.3 million euros ($381.62 million), down from 367.2 million euros a year ago, the company said. Analysts had expected a profit decrease of 20%. ($1 = 0.8315 euros) (Reporting by Tom Sims and Patricia Uhlig Editing by Chris Reese)