Glencore is not actively considering a bid for embattled rival ENRC, its chief executive said, dismissing reports of a bumper offer as the commodities trader reported a jump in maiden quarterly earnings.

Glencore monitors a wide range of opportunities in the sector and will continue to do so, Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg told reporters after the firm announced a jump in first-quarter profit.

However, we can confirm that although we talk to a lot of people in the sector, we are not actively considering a bid for ENRC, he added.

Shares in Kazakh miner ENRC, which have been hit by a bitter boardroom battle over leadership of the company, jumped almost 8 percent on Monday after a newspaper report that Glencore was pondering a bid.

ENRC, with a free float of less than 20 percent which tends to exacerbate share moves, has long been named as a potential target for Glencore.

Glasenberg said Glencore, which listed last month with a bumper offering in London and Hong Kong, would continue to take an opportunistic approach to acquisitions.

Glencore, the world's largest diversified commodities trader, said in its first quarterly report since the listing that operating profit jumped 45 percent in the first quarter, as market volatility boosted its marketing arm and said it saw demand for commodities remaining healthy.

Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose to $1.8 billion from $1.2 billion in the year-earlier period.

Marketing activities were boosted by a strong performance from its oil and grain divisions that outweighed a lower contribution from its metals and minerals divisions. The energy division accounted for 25 percent of operating profit.

Glencore shares, which have remained below the 530 pence offer price since the listing, were down 1.6 percent at 0707 GMT (3:07 a.m. ET) on Tuesday, changing hands at 514.9 pence.

They are a reasonable set of results, analyst Cailey Barker at Numis said. The only real thing to read from it was the outlook. They felt quite positive about the outlook with the underlying fundamentals despite the choppy markets and the volatile prices.

Barker added: We are not surprised at them saying they are not going to bid for ENRC. It would be quite a chunk for them to chew at this stage and it would potentially complicate matters with Xstrata as well.

Glasenberg reiterated a tie-up between Glencore and Xstrata , in which Glencore owns 34.5 percent, made a lot of sense, but said there were currently no firm discussions.

First quarter net profit rose 47 percent to $1.3 billion as revenues grew 39 percent.

Most of the top diversified mining companies have reported a tough start to 2011, as floods and heavy rains hampered output in Australia, South Africa, Zambia and Columbia.

(Reporting by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Julie Crust; editing by Sophie Walker)

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