FINANCIAL spread-betting operation Delta Index says it has returned to profit in the first half of the year for the first time since 2007.

The company said in a statement yesterday that it made a profit in the six months to July. The statement came the same day as details of its financial results for 2009 became available. These showed the company booked losses of €630,000 in 2009, an improvement on the €950,000 reported in 2008.

In its statement, the company said it had “maintained” revenues over the last three years and would shortly report that 2009 revenues were €3.1 million.

Accounts for 2009 that Delta filed with the Companies’ Registration Office show that its turnover was down last year at €2.75 million from €3.6 million in 2008.

Delta invested €4 million in its online trading systems and in recruiting staff over the last few years. Delta said that, following its investment programme, it intends expanding into the British and German markets, which are worth a total of €465 million.

Joint managing director Conor O’Neill pointed out that the Irish financial spread-betting market is worth between €8 million and €10 million a year. In comparison, the British market is valued at €350 million, while the German equivalent is worth €115 million.

Recent changes in UK law allow pension funds to invest in contracts for difference, which enable investors to benefit from both increases and decreases in an asset’s value without owning the asset itself.