31st Dec 2025 08:25
(Alliance News) - Walker Crips Group PLC on Wednesday reported a wider half-year loss and lower revenue, citing ongoing internal challenges and a difficult market backdrop, as it prepares to be acquired by a Singapore-based creditor.
The London-based stockbroker posted a pretax loss of GBP7.0 million for the six months that ended September 30, widened from a loss of GBP1.5 million a year earlier. Revenue declined 7.3% to GBP14.6 million from GBP15.8 million.
The loss before tax included an exceptional non-cash impairment charge of GBP4.4 million relating to the write-down of goodwill. Excluding exceptional items, adjusted pretax loss was GBP2.6 million, compared with the same GBP1.5 million a year earlier.
Basic and diluted loss per share widened to 14.85 pence from 2.56 pence a year before.
Gross profit fell 7.4% to GBP12.1 million from GBP13.1 million, while administrative expenses edged down only slightly to GBP14.6 million from GBP14.7 million.
Walker Crips said the weaker performance reflected a combination of broader economic uncertainty and internal factors, including elevated costs linked to regulatory enhancements and the migration of custody, trading and settlement operations at its investment management arm to BNY Pershing.
The operational transition required "significant management focus, which affected the ability to execute on growth initiatives, thereby affecting expected revenues in the period," Walker Crips said.
More positively, assets under management grew by 9.3% to GBP3.0 billion at September 30 from GBP2.7 billion at March 31, while total assets under management and administration increased 5.3% to GBP4.9 billion from GBP4.6 billion.
The company declared no interim dividend, unchanged from a year before.
"Whilst the results for the first six months have been disappointing, we have made significant progress in strengthening our operational foundation, including the migration of our custody operations to BNY Pershing," Interim Chair Mark Nelligan said. "These investments will place the firm on a stronger footing."
He added: "Whilst the results are not positive, they were not entirely unexpected given the transition we are in. We remain determined to turn things around through several ongoing initiatives.
"The company has identified a range of cost-cutting measures that are expected to start delivering results in 2026."
In November, Walker Crips' independent directors agreed to recommend a cash acquisition by PhillipCapital UK Ltd at 14.0 pence per share, valuing Walker Crips at GBP5.6 million, a move the company said would provide stability as it continues its restructuring.
PhillipCapital UK is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Phillip Brokerage Pte Ltd, a shareholder in Walker Crips which has loaned the company GBP5 million. It is a member of the wider PhillipCapital Group, based in Singapore.
Walker Crips has called a general meeting of shareholders for January 15 to approve the takeover.
Shares in Walker Crips were untraded at 13.25p in London on Wednesday morning.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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