Numis profits slump amid 'difficult' markets

(Sharecast News) - Stockbroker Numis reported slump in full-year profit on Wednesday amid "difficult" markets.
In the year to the end of September, pre-tax profit fell 60.7% to £12.4m on revenue of £111.6m down 18% from 2018. Earnings per share tumbled 64.9% to 8.8p and the full-year dividend was maintained at 12p a share.

Numis said a "difficult" market environment and political uncertainty persisted throughout the year, impacting revenues across the business.

Investment banking revenue declined 16.1% to £74.3m due to a "substantial" fall in UK deal activity. Within that, capital markets revenue was down 17.8% at £48.4m, while advisory revenue was 27.5% lower at £12.6m.

Revenue from the equities segment fell 21% to £37.3m, reflecting "weak" UK investor sentiment and lower trading profits.

Co-chief executive officers Alex Ham and Ross Mitchinson said: "It has without doubt been a challenging year for everyone in the industry and our results have inevitably been impacted by the persistent political uncertainty, macro-economic factors and subdued, yet volatile markets.

"We continue to be actively focused on our clients and believe we are better positioned than ever to continue winning market share, achieving progress against our strategic objectives, and returning to delivering strong growth as and when market conditions improve."

At 1130 GMT, the shares were up 1.7% at 241p.