23rd Mar 2018 09:28
LONDON (Alliance News) - Cenkos Securities PLC raised its dividend by 50% for 2017 on top of nearly doubling profit amid also double-digit revenue growth, but the stockbroker noted that momentum seen in the second half has suffered a "pause" due to market volatility.
Shares in Cenkos Securities were down7.2% at 109.00 pence on Friday.
For the year, Cenkos reported pretax profit at GBP10.0 million, up 97% from GBP5.1 million the year before, on revenue that grew by 36% to GBP59.5 million from GBP43.7 million in 2016.
Cenkos said it helped clients raise GBP2.50 billion, of which GBP1.34 billion was raised on AIM, equal to 21% of all funds raised on AIM in 2017. The broker completed 41 transactions, of which six were IPO's, up from four in 2016 and four were M&A advisory roles, down from 10.
Corporate finance revenue rose to GBP44.0 million from GBP29.7 million.
Cenkos hiked its full-year dividend by 50% to 9.0 pence from 6.0p the year before.
Despite the strong performance, Cenkos's outlook was somewhat bleaker, saying that Brexit continued to create uncertainty for the UK's financial industry, and macro-economic factors such as inflationary pressures and possible further interest rate rises have created a higher risk of disruption in 2018.
In fact, recent market volatility has impacted the company directly. "This market volatility does appear to have had an impact on investor sentiment with a pause in the momentum the firm experienced in the second half of 2017," Cenkos said.
"We live in an uncertain geopolitical environment where market volatility has a significant impact upon investor sentiment. With a resilient business model and being ranked as one of the leading brokers in London for growth companies and investment trusts, we look forward to the future with cautious optimism," said Chief Executive Officer Anthony Hotson.
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