Numis profits rise driven by M&A
Stockbroker Numis posted a 13 per cent rise in full-year pretax profitS driven by a near doubling in its mergers and acquisition deal fees, but said it saw no near-term change in difficult market conditions.
The firm, which focuses on small to mid-cap clients, said adjusted profit before tax increased to £8.9m in the year to end-September. Revenue was four per cent higher at £54.2m.
Fees from mergers and acquisitions jumped 94 percent to £9.3m from £4.8m last year.
“Numis has delivered a creditable performance against a background of huge economic uncertainty, highly volatile markets and unrelenting competition,” said Oliver Hemsley, Numis’ chief executive, in a statement. “We see little change to these conditions in the near term.”
Top brokerages have navigated choppy waters in the last few months, as clients flee volatile markets for perceived safe havens such as commodities or currencies. That has dampened demand for brokers’ services.
The company maintained its final dividend at 4 pence per share, giving a total of 8 pence — the same as 2009 and 2010.