High-frequency trading firm Getco struggles
HIGH-FREQUENCY trading business Getco yesterday revealed an 82 per cent drop in profits for the first nine months of 2012 thanks to poor market conditions.
The figures – the first time that the company has made its financial performance public – were contained in a filing to the US securities and exchange made as part of its reverse takeover of Knight Capital.
Net profits for the nine months to 30 September were $24.6m (£15.4m) compared to $134.8m in the same period last year.
Total revenue dropped from $719m to $425.3m on the same basis. Worryingly for investors, this appears to be part of a long-term downward slide since the start of the financial crisis with full-year revenues peaking at $1.2bn in 2008.
Getco agreed to buy Knight Capital last year for $1.4bn after it was badly hit by an incident last August when its software malfunctioned, causing major volatility on the New York Stock Exchange.