Tullet Prebon has issued its interim management report for the first half of 2014, rounding up figures until the 30th of June. The company has reported revenues falling by about 18% YoY to £360.3 million ($611 million), while the underlying operating profit has dipped by almost 30% to £50.3 million ($85 million).
The reported profit for before tax has totalled to £8.9 million, which is 83% lower than a year ago. The drastic drop in these figures is related to the net charge arising in each period related to the major legal actions between the Company and BGC, charges in 2014 related to the cost improvement programme, costs in 2014 related to the acquisition of PVM, and the tax related to those items.
The company's operating margin was trimmed to 14.0% from 16.2% in 2013, as underlying profits before taxes have totalled to £43.2 million ($73.3), which is lower by 31.2%. The company has kept its interim dividend at the same level as last year - 5.6p per share. The company's share prices have fallen by 35% since the beginning of the year, and are currently trading flat on the day after the opening bell on the London Stock Exchange .
The firm's CEO, Terry Smith has stated in the announcement that "market conditions remained challenging throughout the first half as the overall level of activity in the financial markets remained subdued. Consistent with the lower level of market activity, revenue in the first half of the year was 15% lower than in the same period last year."
He went on to elaborate on the current state of markets, by saying that "we cannot predict when the level of activity in the financial markets we serve may increase, and it would be prudent to expect that market conditions will continue to be difficult. We therefore continue to focus on managing our costs whilst maintaining our capability and seeking opportunities to develop the business. We expect that the benefit of the actions being taken to further reduce headcount and other fixed costs will be reflected in the results for the second half of this year."
