TP ICAP, an interdealer broker, has published an overview of its first-quarter results for 2019 in a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting this Wednesday.
Following on from a difficult 2018 which was plagued by Brexit uncertainties and tough market conditions, the firm has reported mixed results for the first quarter of 2019.
For the first three months of 2019, revenue for TP ICAP was £469 million. When measuring this against the same quarter of 2018, revenues are higher - although only just - by 1 percent.
The London-headquartered firm noted contrasting performances in the business divisions. Namely, the broker achieved solid growth in its Energy & Commodities, Institutional Services, and Data & Analytics segments.
Poor Performance in Global Broking Unit Drags TP ICAP Revenues Down
However, this was largely offset by Global Broking, which struggled to overcome a weak market environment, as well as a sustained period of lower volatility and trading volumes.
Specifically, revenues for the Global Broking unit fell by six percent year-on-year to reach £333 million. According to the statement, this was driven by a number of factors.
Namely, challenging market conditions in the foreign exchange (forex), credit and money markets, as well as lower volatility in rates and equities and general weakness across European markets hurt the interdealer broker’s performance in the first quarter of this year.
Revenue in the Energy & Commodities climbed by seven percent from the first quarter of 2018 to reach £93 million. The uptick in revenue for the division was thanks to improving market conditions in the Americans and APAC regions, as well as recent investments made in the business.
Nicolas Breteau, CEO of TP ICAP
Source: TP ICAP
Commenting on the results, Nicolas Breteau, TP ICAP CEO, said: "The uncertainty created by Brexit , the softening of the Fed's interest rate stance, and the potential for more QE in the Eurozone has impacted our traditional banking customers' Q1 performance, weighing on market volatility and volumes."
“I am pleased with the performance of our Energy & Commodities division and the strong growth in both our Institutional Services and Data and Analytics businesses."
