Jefferies Financial Group, a mid-sized investment banking company, has published its financial numbers for the second quarter of its 2020 fiscal year ended May 31, 2020, showing a 4.1 percent rise in the figures for a similar quarter a year earlier.
The quarterly numbers stood at net revenue of $1.03 billion, pre-tax income of $173 million, net earnings of $129 million, and return on tangible equity of 11.6 percent.
The 10-Q filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that the company recorded $2.2 billion in net revenue for the last six months - a year-on-year jump of 31.2 percent - with a pre-tax income of $408 million. The half-yearly net earnings of the investment bank touched $300 million.
Fixed income revenues at the bank jumped by 184 percent year-on-year in the second quarter and a rise of 153 percent year-on-year in the first half. However, debt capital markets revenues were down 47 percent and 39 percent over the same period.
A record quarter for FXCM
The earnings report also revealed that Jefferies subsidiary FXCM had a record last quarter.
"Merchant Banking recorded a pre-tax loss of $75 million, reflecting the positive impact of hedging gains at Vitesse, solid results at Idaho Timber and a record quarter for FXCM, that were more than offset by a $44 million non-cash charge to write-down the value of our investment," the earnings report noted.
"Despite the incredibly challenging, volatile, and sad environment, our Jefferies team not only survived the quarter, but truly achieved remarkable results and continued momentum across our products, services, and geographies," Jefferies CEO Rich Handler and President Brian Friedman said in a joint statement.
Incentivizing staff when others are trimming down
The filing also revealed that the investment bank has significantly increased the compensation of its traders - per head average compensation of 3,850 employees in the first half of 2020 was $313,000, 35 percent uptick from the first half of 2019.
"We collectively demonstrated the distinct value to our clients and our shareholders of a diversified and integrated investment banking and capital markets platform with a true global reach," the duo added.
