Stockbroker and wealth manager WH Ireland warns of £2.2m loss

Stockbroker and asset manager WH Ireland warns of £2.2m loss as it misses forecasts amid market volatility

  • Company reports pre-tax losses ‘in excess of’ £2.2m for the full year ended last week
  • It blamed a continued ‘lack of transaction activity in the capital markets’

Stockbroker and asset manager WH Ireland has warned it will make losses after second half trading fell below expectations due to stock market volatility.

The London-based firm said the lack of capital markets transaction activity in 2022 has continued into 2023, impacting its capital markets department.

It now expects to report pre-tax losses of ‘more than’ £2.2m for the financial year ended last week, with sales of around £26m.

WH Ireland said a lack of transaction activity in the capital markets during 2022 has continued into 2023

That compares to a pre-tax profit of just £8,000 and a turnover of £32 million last year.

However, WH Ireland said its capital markets division “has the potential to capitalize on any uptick in the market as it happens” thanks to recent cost cutting.

It also said that the number of customers remained stable compared to last year, with 88 corporate customers retained.

The asset management division performed better, although assets under management were also slightly lower at the end of March: £1.5 billion, compared to £1.6 billion a year earlier.

The asset management division has remained resilient and delivered underlying profitability over the past six months.

The group’s total assets under management stood at £2.2bn at the end of March, up from £2.4bn last year.

“The company had £4 million in cash at the end of the period ahead of receipt of quarterly recurring cash from the company’s platform providers (expected to have at least £2.5 million) due at short notice,” he said. it to investors.

WH Ireland shares were 3 percent lower at 18.43p during midday trading on Monday. Since the beginning of the year, they are down by more than a fifth.