Compagnie Financière Tradition (CFT), a Swiss interdealer broker and operator of a Japanese retail broking giant, closed the fiscal year 2022 with a reported net profit of CHF 89.1 million, which is 40.3 percent higher in constant currencies and 36.5 percent higher in current currencies. It has proposed a dividend distribution of CHF 5.5 per share at a yield of 5 percent.

Compagnie Financière Tradition Reports Strong Numbers

According to the press release shared with Finance Magnates, the group's per-share earnings for the year came in at CHF 11.83, which is up from CHF 8.76 in 2021. It came in 34 percent and 30.5 percent higher by constant and current currencies, respectively.

Most of the group's profits were generated in the year's first half. Between January and June, it reported a net profit of CHF 51.1 million, meaning the figure stood at CHF 38 million in the year's second half.

"A shift in central bank monetary policy, away from quantitative easing and towards rate hikes, benefited the group's operations. This positive trend was reflected across all regions and products, particularly in foreign exchange and interest rate products and securities and security derivatives," the group noted.

"With the easing of Covid-19 measures, the gradual transition back to the office across the trading floors also benefited our activities, and generally enabled the financial markets to function more efficiently."

Profits on the Back of Strong Revenue

Earlier, the CFT disclosed its reported consolidated revenue for 2022 to be CHF 947.4 million, which is 10.5 percent higher in constant currencies, after closing the fourth quarter with CHF 231.1 million. The adjusted figure came in 10.6 percent higher at CHF 1.02 billion.

The group has generated an operating profit of CHF 94.2 million for the year, an uptick of 29.1 percent, at a margin of 9.9 percent, improved from the previous year's 8.9 percent. The adjusted operating profit before exceptional items was CHF 130.3 million against CHF 99.9 million in 2021, with a margin of 12.7 percent. It reported a pre-tax profit of CHF 120.1 million, increasing by 44.6 percent.

The profits were generated after a net financial expense of CHF 3.7 million compared to CHF 10.8 million in the previous year. Additionally, the group gained CHF 5 million CHF from the movements in the rouble, against a loss of CHF 1.7 million in the previous year.

Bullish Outlook

The CFT is now bullish with its 2023 outlook, as activities have already strengthened by 10 percent in January, "driven by central bank monetary tightening policy to combat stubborn inflation."

"Compagnie Financière Tradition will pursue its growth strategy and cost discipline, while maintaining investment in its data and analytics activities and hybrid broking capabilities," the group added.