OptionsXpress 4Q Profit Jumps 44 Percent

OptionsXpress Holdings earned $28 million, or 44 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with profit of $19.4 million, or 31 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Revenue, which the company collects mostly through trading commissions, jumped 39 percent to $68.8 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast profit of 43 cents per share on revenue of $69 million.

OptionsXpress runs a Web site allowing clients to buy and sell options, which are contracts entitling the holder to buy or sell a stock at a certain price. Once an obscure corner of the financial markets, OptionsXpress said more retail investors are learning about options and want to trade them.

Customers had 262,400 accounts by the end of the year, a 28 percent increase from the end of 2006. The assets in these accounts swelled 24 percent to $5.8 billion.

Clients executed an average of 41,500 trades through OptionsXpress during the fourth quarter, an increase of 54 percent.

The company said its advertising attracted more customers to the optionsXpress platform. The company spent about $300 for each account added during the quarter.

For 2007, OptionsXpress earned $97.7 million, or $1.55 per share, compared with profit of $71.7 million, or $1.15 per share, in 2006.