13th Feb 2014 14:34
LONDON (Alliance News) - Fiske PLC Thursday said its half-year pretax profit grew significantly after its revenue rose and expenses fell, while Chief Operating Officer James Harrison will become become its new chief executive after its annual general meeting.
Chairman, Chief Executive and founder Clive Fiske Harrison will remain as Executive Chairman and will continue to work full time. In particular, he will remain Investment Director.
In a statement, the financial services company said it made a GBP239,000 pretax profit for the six months ended November 30, compared with a GBP5,000 pretax profit the year earlier.
Revenue rose by 14% to GBP1.6 million while operating expenses fell by 2.6% to GBP1.5 million.
The pretax profit means it made more in the first six months of its financial year than it did in the entirety of its previous financial year.
Clive Fiske Harrison said he remains cautious.
"The withdrawal of "Quantitative Easing" in the US has commenced in a measured and gradual process and, as yet, the market reaction has been muted, partially influenced by the promise to keep interest rates at the current, and historically unheard of, levels for longer than previously anticipated," he said.
"In our view, market levels are not supported by fundamentals but mainly by liquidity. Not only is the level of US corporate profitability at an all-time high, the amount of "non recurring" items excluded from that figure is equally at an unusually inflated level."
Fiske upped its interim dividend to 0.35 pence a share.
"With respect to our prospects for the second half of the year we do not make forecasts," Harrison said.
"It is also the decision of the board to invite my son, Alexander Fiske-Harrison, to join the board as a non-executive director in April of this year," Clive Fiske Harrison said.
Fiske shares were Thursday quoted at 60.00 pence, up 3.00 pence, or 5.3%.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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