Peel Hunt Ltd (AIM:PEEL) said it expects to deliver a smaller loss for the past year than the market has forecast, as it cut costs to compensate for a tougher second half and continuing "slow" market conditions.
The mid-cap focused investment bank said revenues for the year to March 2025 should come in at around £90 million, up 5% year-on-year.
It said challenges in the second half included "a number of macro-economic events that weighed on market volumes and corporate activity".
As well as cutting costs, the City broker said it made "good progress" on its strategic priorities, and now acts for 52 companies listed in the FTSE 350 clients, including five in the FTSE 100. This compares to 43 clients in the FTSE 350 a year earlier.
Amidst the slow UK market for new IPOs, Peel Hunt said it has "an encouraging pipeline" of M&A and IPO transactions, with "a number" of mergers and acquisitions expected to complete in the first quarter of its new financial year.
Shares in the broker were little moved on Tuesday morning, up 0.6% at 79p, close to all-time lows.