Numis drops on market weakness

Management at Numis (NUM) blamed cyclicality and a “significant slowdown in UK deal activity”, along with investor cautiousness, for a disappointing start to the year. The group's capital markets segment registered a 24.7 per cent decrease in revenue at the half-year mark, while institutional income from equity markets fell back by 11 per cent. The latter business was always likely to struggle given the decline in UK equity volumes, but it also had to bear the loss associated with the underwriting of the Kier rights issue. All this fed through to a 57.9 per cent fall in adjusted operating profit.