InterContinental Exchange (ICE), the electronic futures exchange group, said on Tuesday that profits in the fourth quarter of last year fell by 24 per cent from the same period in 2007 as the company was hit by cuts in trading by financial institutions and a $16m write-down of its stake in an Indian derivatives exchange.

Net income for the quarter dropped to $49m or 67 cents a share, from $65m or 90 cents per share a year earlier. Excluding the write-down, profit was 82 cents per share, just below analysts’ average expectations of about 83 cents per share.