Third-party litigation funder Burford Capital reported record financial results for the first half of 2018 on Thursday, with income climbing 40% to $287 million and profits rising 36% to $225 million after taxes.

The company grew at a faster rate than in the first half of 2018, during which Burford's income rose 17%, to $205.2 million.

Nonetheless, the publicly-traded litigation financier's shares dropped nearly 6% on the London Stock Exchange following the release of the numbers.

Burford chief executive officer Chris Bogart said the company's performance actually exceeded analysts' expectations, and attributed the drop to long-term investors taking the opportunity to cash out.

"Where we are – in a last-stage frothy market, with jittery investors – if you invested at the IPO 10 years ago, you've made 17 times your money," he said. "There's profit-taking that goes on after that."

Bogart highlighted the growing demand for Burford's capital, which was reflected in record new investment commitments of $751 million, up 36% from the first half of 2018.

"The legal industry, long a cash-only business, is starting to become a user of capital," he told investors.

The numbers suggest that Burford is outpacing its rivals when it comes to investments. Bentham IMF, the second-largest publicly-traded litigation outfit, committed AUD147 million, or $102.6 million, in its 2018 fiscal year, a figure Burford outpaced by more than 7% in just the last six months.

Nonetheless, the company has been able to maintain high expectations for returns, even amid surging competition in the marketplace and its internal growth.

"We are not going to reduce return demands in response to competition," Burford chief investment officer Jonathan Molot told investors. "There's not a downward trajectory on returns associated with growth."

The company reported demand for its core litigation finance capital, specifically single claims and portfolios of matters, was up 48%.

Some 17% of the total $751 million invested came in one portfolio deal totalling $130 million. According to Burford, the arrangement took a year to structure and the company faced no competition from peers.

While the company opened a Singapore office in 2017, in conjunction with that jurisdiction's legalisation of third-party finance for arbitration, the country and other Asian markets have been slow to see an uptick in terms of direct utilisation of capital, Molot told investors. But the increased presence on the region has instead fuelled inbound work.

"More Asian clients are using our capital in other jurisdictions, predominantly the U.S., than in Asia itself," he said.