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By Lilla Zuill

NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - Aon Corp AOC.N, the No.2 global insurance broker by market value, reported a higher-than-expected profit on Thursday as its international business expanded and income from fees and commissions rose.

While revenue from U.S. clients grew only 1 percent, Europe and the Middle East expanded by about a quarter while revenue in the Asia-Pacific region increased 10 percent.

Overall income from continuing operations fell 8 percent to $168 million, or 55 cents a share. But excluding certain items, profit amounted to 71 cents a share, above the average forecast of 69 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net income soared to $1.1 billion compared with $240 million in the year-earlier quarter, boosted by a $1 billion one-time gain from the sale of insurance underwriting units.

Aon, which competes with market leader Marsh & McLennan (MMC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in helping businesses find insurance, said total revenue rose 6 percent to $2 billion, boosted by 8 percent growth in fees and commissions to $1.9 billion.

Revenue from its main business, risk and insurance brokerage, rose 8 percent to $1.6 billion.

U.S. revenues, about 40 percent of the total, were little changed at $625 million, while Europe and the Middle East grew about 24 percent to $382 million and Asia-Pacific increased 10 percent to $152 million.