Canaccord Capital Inc. today reported record quarterly income for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2005.

Net income for the quarter was $24.2 million, up $7.5 million from $16.7 million the same period a year ago, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter was 52¢, up 16¢ from 36¢ for the same period a year ago.

Revenue also soet quarterly record during the quarter at $158.7 million from $123.7 million for the same period a year ago.

“We have experienced early success in the global integration of our U.S., UK and Canadian capital markets operations,” said Peter Brown, chairman & CEO, in a release.

“This quarter we led the largest transaction in our history, a $504 million financing for UrAsia Energy (BVI) Ltd., followed closely by a $453 million secondary offering for NETELLER plc.” Michael Greenwood, president & COO added.

During the quarter, expenses rose to $122.8 million, up 23.9%, or $23.7 million, from $99.1 million, a year ago

Total compensation payout as a percentage of revenue was 58.2%, down from 61.8% in the third quarter of 2005.

Return on equity during the quater was 41%, up from 32.1% a year ago.

Canaccord said its results for the year can support a dividend increase of 2¢ per share, or 33.3%, on the regular quarterly dividend commencing this quarter. Its board approved a common share dividend of 8¢ per share.