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The chief executive of IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) on Wednesday said energy trade looks to rev up in the coming months, rebounding from recent slower patches.

Ramped-up power consumption in the warmer months and the chance for hurricanes to sweep through the Gulf of Mexico bode well for the U.S. and European commodity markets operated by ICE, which reported a 15% rise in first-quarter earnings Wednesday.

"We have high hopes that volatility is going to continue as we move into the typically more-robust summer season," said ICE Chief Executive Jeffrey Sprecher said during a conference call to discuss the Atlanta company's financial results.

The first quarter of 2012 brought another revenue record for ICE, with trading in its over-the-counter energy markets offsetting a slowdown in futures markets that has also afflicted rivals such as CME Group Inc. (CME) and NYSE Euronext (NYX).

ICE's shares fell Wednesday, however, as investors scrutinized a sharp decline in fees collected from energy-derivatives deals last month. The stock recently was down 2.6% at $127.63.

The company's focus on the growing and volatile energy markets, such as those for natural gas and crude oil, as well as its established role in facilitating transactions in more-complex derivatives deals has helped ICE to outpace competitor exchanges that have struggled in recent years amid slumps in trade spanning both equities and derivatives.

For the first quarter, ICE posted a profit of $147.9 million, or $2.02 a share, up from a year-earlier profit of $128.9 million, or $1.74 a share, and matching the consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Total revenue rose 9.2% to $365.2 million as stronger performance in the over-the-counter energy business lifted ICE's transaction and clearing revenue. Analysts expected $362 million in revenue.

ICE also reported a 7% increase in expenses.

The commodities-exchange operator said average daily commissions in the over-the-counter energy business totaled $1.95 million in the first quarter, a record sum, according to the company, and up 20% from a year earlier. In April, that figure dropped to an average $1.5 million per day, which CEO Sprecher attributed, in part, to seasonally slower trading in March and April.

Among the sector's most-active consolidators, Sprecher told analysts Wednesday that he remains on the lookout for acquisitions and that some potential targets look cheaper as regulatory-overhaul efforts move ahead in the derivatives arena.

ICE aims to build on its roster of overseas ventures, last week disclosing plans to help build an electronic market for Brazilian bonds and supplying technology to a planned energy-trading platform in Europe.

The company also aims this year to launch a service that will clear transactions in foreign-exchange derivatives such as non-deliverable forwards and options. Sprecher said 10 major firms have signed agreements to support the effort.

About half of ICE's revenue came from outside the U.S. in 2011, and Chief Financial Officer Scott Hill said the company has no plans to begin repatriating its non-U.S. earnings. Bringing that cash back to the U.S. would add an additional tax rate of 5% to 10% due to discrepancies between the U.S. tax regime and that of the United Kingdom, where ICE does most of its non-U.S. business, Hill said in an interview.

"As we continue to see opportunities outside the U.S., it's important to keep that money outside the U.S.," he said.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4117; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com

--Mia Lamar contributed to this article.

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