Interdealer broker Tullett Prebon saw underlying operating profits slip 7 per cent last year to £148.4m, with revenue hit by some long periods of subdued activity in financial markets. And trading in the first two months of the new year is down 1 per cent from a year earlier as more people opt to sit on the sidelines and await more clarity on such issues as sovereign debt.
Sensibly, management has been busy reducing expenses, reducing the headcount by 80 at a cost of £11.5m. However, total headcount grew by 66 to 1,667 as a result of the Convencao acquisition, and a further 80 jobs will be lost this year. Average revenue per broker fell 3 per cent to £524,000 and broker-employment costs as a percentage of broking revenue rose from 58.5 per cent to 59.6 per cent. This pulled underlying operating margins down from 17.6 per cent to 16.3 per cent.
Revenue per product group all showed single-digit rises and falls with the exception of the small information sales and risk management services where revenue rose 19 per cent to £39m.
Numis Securities 2012 underlying pre-tax profits of £124.1m and EPS of 40.3p (2011: £136.1m/46.1p).
| TULLETT PREBON (TLPR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 321p | MARKET VALUE: | £699m | |
| TOUCH: | 321-322p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 435p | LOW: 258p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.1% | PE RATIO: | 8 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 217p* | NET CASH: | £107m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 754 | 114 | 34.7 | 12.0 |
| 2008 | 944 | 137 | 44.4 | 12.8 |
| 2009 | 948 | 157 | 51.8 | 15.0 |
| 2010 | 909 | 141 | 50.5 | 15.8 |
| 2011 | 910 | 119 | 41.3 | 16.5 |
| % change | +0 | -16 | -18 | +5 |
Ex-div:25 Apr Payment:17 May *Includes intangible assets of £415m, or 191p a share | ||||
