ICE commissions lower; shares tumble

NEW YORK (Reuters) - IntercontinentalExchange Inc (ICE.N) said on Monday fourth-quarter commissions from its energy business lagged both the previous quarter and the year-earlier period, knocking its shares down 7.8 percent and leading one analyst cut earnings estimates by 20 percent.

The futures exchange said average daily commissions for the fourth quarter were $870,934 in its over-the-counter energy business. That is down 22 percent from $1.1 million in the third quarter and off 5 percent from $912,967 in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Edward Ditmire, analyst at Fox-Pitt Kelton, cut his estimate on ICE's fourth-quarter earnings from $1.04 a share to 83 cents, noting that commissions were 32 percent below his expectations.

"(W)e don't expect meaningful recovery (in the shares) in the coming days unless the market is somehow reassured that fourth-quarter OTC energy figures were depressed for some transitory reason," Ditmire wrote to clients.

Roger Freeman, analyst at Barclays Capital, wrote: "(W)e would expect ICE shares to underperform today, given the significant decline in OTC commissions.

"We are not changing estimates pending a more thorough review, but we would not be surprised to see consensus estimates come down by some $0.15 to $0.20," Freeman told clients.

On average, analysts polled by Reuters Estimates expected Atlanta-based ICE to earn $1.05 in the fourth quarter. ICE is scheduled to report earnings February 10.

ICE said total futures volume last month rose 36 percent from December 2007. Volume for all of 2008 was up 21 percent from 2007, it said.

ICE's closest competitor, CME Group Inc (CME.O), said on Monday that 2008 volume increased 4 percent from 2007. In releasing the data, CME combined its volume with that of the New York Mercantile Exchange, which it bought last year.

ICE shares were down $6.57 at $78.00 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange, their biggest intra-day drop since December 15. The company was the biggest decliner by both percentage and weight on the S&P Financial index .GSPF.

CME shares rose 1.9 percent to $216.54 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; editing by John Wallace)