Cenkos swings to profit as clients raise funds

(Sharecast News) - Cenkos Securities swung to a first-half profit as revenue was boosted by clients raising funds during the Covid-19 crisis.
Pretax profit for the six months to the end of June was £0.8m compared with a loss of £0.2m a year earlier as revenue rose 21% to £12.9m. Cenkos halved its interim dividend to 1p a share.

Cenkos's results were supported by a 48% increase in corporate finance fees to £9.2m as clients raised money to strengthen their finances and for acquisitions. Revenue from broking, research and advice for AIM-listed companies dropped 6% to £3.2m as client numbers fell and trading gains halved to £445m from £921m.

The corporate broker said it had completed several equity fundraisings for clients since the end of June and that it had a good pipeline of deals and was winning new clients. Cenkos's shares rose 5.6% to 47.5p at 09:12 BST.

Chief Executive Jim Durkin said: "The second half of the current financial year has begun with energy and purpose at Cenkos, despite the ongoing macro challenges presented by the ongoing coronavirus."

Cenkos spent £0.7m on restructuring to cut employee numbers to 89 from 95 during the first half. The company said the cuts would save it £0.8m a year.