Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- ICAP Plc, the world's largest broker of transactions between banks, said first-half profit increased as clients bought and sold more securities electronically and record-high oil prices drove a surge in energy trading.

ICAP boosted computer-based trading by 32 percent to average $540 billion a day in the first half, compared with the same period a year ago, the company said in a statement today. Electronic trades are more profitable for ICAP because the costs per transaction are lower. Revenue from energy trading jumped 45 percent as oil prices reached a record.

``Electronic broking is the sexy side of ICAP,'' said Andy Brough, a fund manager at Schroder Investment Management in London, who helps oversee $6.5 billion. ``They take a small commission each time a deal is done'' and personnel costs are low, Brough said.

Net income rose 22 percent to 60.7 million pounds ($104.25 million), or 9.9 pence a share, for the six months ended Sept. 30, from 49.9 million pounds, or 8.1 pence, a year earlier, the London-based company said. Revenue increased 12 percent to 443.9 million pounds.

ICAP Chief Executive Michael Spencer said he's seeking acquisitions to expand further in electronic trading. The average profit margin on computer-based trades is 31 percent, compared with 20 percent on transactions done by telephone, Spencer said in an interview.

Electronic trading revenue increased 24 percent to 49.3 million pounds for the half year, compared with a 35 percent increase in the same period a year ago.

ICAP shares fell 0.25 pence, or 0.07 percent, to 365.25 pence at 10:30 a.m. in London, after trading as high as 371.75 pence today. The shares reached a record 373.25 pence on Oct. 3. They started the year at 276 pence.

Profit before tax, one-time items and goodwill rose 23 percent to 95.4 million pounds in the period compared with last year. The median forecast of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 96 million pounds.

Oil ranged between $46 and a record $70 a barrel in the six-month period. ICAP's revenue from energy contracts rose to 34.3 million pounds from 23.7 million pounds in the same period a year ago.

``The level of uncertainty in the financial markets is higher than it has been for a long while and I think it's likely to stay that way,'' Spencer said.

ICAP's share of trades in U.S. Treasuries, the world's largest government bond market, was little changed, at about 58 percent, from the same period a year ago.

Trading in Treasuries among the 22 primary dealers of U.S. government securities averaged $551 billion at the end of the third quarter, up from $480 billion in the previous quarter, according to the Federal Reserve.

Earnings from derivatives and money markets rose 11 percent to 172.7 million pounds as the company traded more options based on interest rates. Options provide the right, though not the obligation, to buy or sell assets at a set date and price. A derivative is a financial obligation whose value is derived from an underlying asset such as debt, equities, commodities and currencies.

Trading in debt insurance and other so-called credit derivatives soared in the six-month period after automakers Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. had their debt ratings cut to junk, and auto parts maker Delphi Corp. filed for bankruptcy.

ICAP Finance Director Jim Pettigrew will leave the company in 2006 after seven years to pursue a career outside of the company, the statement said. Pettigrew recently became a non- executive director of Edinburgh Investment Trust Plc, ICAP's statement said.

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