ICE income rises ahead of expected NYSE merger IntercontinentalExchange, the US derivatives exchange, reported a 7 per cent rise in second-quarter net income on the back of increased trading volumes, just weeks before it is set to complete its takeover of NYSE Euronext. The Atlanta-based company on Tuesday revealed earnings of $153m, or $2.09 per diluted share, compared with $143m during the same period last year. Sales rose 6 per cent year-on-year in the quarter to $372m. IN FT Trading Room Analysts had expected earnings of $2.15 a share, but excluding special items, such as costs related to the merger, ICE posted earnings of $2.19 a share. The results come as the company is set to complete its $10.2bn acquisition of NYSE Euronext. Unlike a previous attempted NYSE merger with Deutsche Börse, which failed to receive regulatory support due to antitrust concerns, the ICE deal is widely expected to pass. Jeff Sprecher, chief executive, said the company was "making continued progress on our acquisition of NYSE Euronext . . . [and] working with regulators to finalise the transaction." The deal is expected to create one of the world's largest derivatives exchanges by contracts traded. Analysts expect it to better position ICE to take on its much larger rival, CME Group, as more of the vast $650tn over-the-counter derivatives market is processed through central clearing. ICE dominates the market for clearing credit default swaps, and said that it had cleared more than $1.3tn in credit derivatives since the first phase of mandatory clearing came into force in the US in March. On Monday, ICE said that Citi, Morgan Stanley, Société Générale and UBS would support CDS trading on its ICE Swap Trade platform, which will trade derivatives linked to European and North American countries and companies. ICE said the platform will be registered as a Swap Execution Facility and is expected to launch in the third quarter. Ahead of the merger, NYSE switched clearing on NYSE Liffe to ICE Clear Europe. It was also appointed the new administrator of the Libor interbank rate, the scandal-plagued reference point for more than $350tn in contracts worldwide, and charged with restoring confidence in the important financial benchmark. ICE's revenues from transaction and clearing fees rose 4 per cent during the quarter to $319m compared with the same period last year, while ICE reported $8.3m in charges related to the NYSE deal and other transactions. Average daily contract volume in the three months to June rose 3 per cent to 3.54m compared with the same period last year. Shares in ICE, which have risen nearly 50 per cent from the start of the year, gained more than 2 per cent, to $189.40, in pre-market trading. Shares in NYSE have risen 35.4 per cent since the start of the year, boosting the value of its cash-and-stock takeover, which was initially valued at $8.2bn.