LONDON (Alliance News) - Retail stockbroker Share PLC said Wednesday its commission & fee revenue was up in the first quarter despite the London Stock Exchange reporting a sharp fall in the number of trades.
Share, which owns the Share Centre, said performance in a "challenging market" at the start of 2019 "showed resilience", as commission & fee revenue increased 2% despite the number of trades on the stock exchange decreasing 27%.
The stockbroker noted in the first three months of 2019 its peer group saw commission & fee revenue slip 3%. Share said its peer is a benchmark of 15 stockbrokers put together by Compeer Ltd.
"Continuing the momentum seen in the second half of 2018, the group also generated an operating profit in the first quarter. This reflects the benefits of the acquisitions made in 2018 and the group's digital transformation strategy," added the company.
Share said its market share in the first quarter was 3.70%, which is up on the 3.54% seen in the first quarter of 2018 but behind the 3.90% reported in the previous three month period, the final quarter of 2018.
Since the beginning of 2017, the company's highest market share was in the second quarter of 2017 were it reported a 4.18% market share.
The group's market share of revenue excluding interest, relative to its peer group, was 3.70% in the first quarter of 2019 from 3.54% year-on-year. This compares with 3.90% in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Share was untraded Wednesday, last quoted at 33.25 pence each.
