CME CME Group Inc

New York Stock Exchange operator Intercontinental Exchange Inc. logged bigger-than-expected increases in profit and revenue for the second quarter as the company continues to reap the benefits of recent acquisitions and as trading volume picked up.

ICE has been snapping up firms in a bid to grow its footprint and broaden its revenue base. ICE last year bought Interactive Data Corp., giving it hard-to-get pricing data on corporate bonds, as well as London-based energy-trading venue Trayport. Earlier this year, the exchange said it was considering a bid for London Stock Exchange Group PLC, after LSE had struck a deal to merge with Germany's Deutsche Bö rse. ICE ultimately passed on LSE, saying in May it wasn't convinced that the potential market and shareholder benefits of a deal were sufficient.

In the latest quarter, IDC continued to drive results. Revenue from data services more than doubled from a year earlier, to $497 million, thanks to the addition of $265 million from IDC and Trayport.

Meanwhile, ICE generated $860 million in transaction and clearing revenue—up 15% from a year earlier. Such fees rise and fall with trading volume, and competitors have similarly reported increases for the latest quarter as market volatility picked up leading up to and in the wake of Brexit. Fellow exchange CME Group Inc. credited its jump in volume to a surge in energy and equity trading.

The company also said its board approved pursuing a 5-for-1 stock split and added $1 billion to its share buyback plan. Stock splits are generally performed to make shares more attractive to a wider set of investors and funds; ICE shares closed Tuesday at $263.93 a share.

In all, ICE reported a profit of $357 million, or $2.98 a share, up from $283 million, or $2.54 a share, a year earlier. Excluding amortization expenses, among other things, per-share profit rose to $3.43 a share from $2.90.

Revenue increased 37% to $1.5 billion.

Analysts projected $3.38 a share in earnings excluding items and $1.12 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 03, 2016 09:05 ET (13:05 GMT)

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