FinnCap Group PLC upped its dividend forecast for this year as a buoyant market for company deals meant record revenues in the six months to end September 2021.
Overall revenue jumped 55% to £31.7mln, helped by a 75% rise in deal and advisory fees to £24.9mln.
FinnCap said it completed 39 transactions during the period including £250mln raised through 14 public market placings and 1 IPO, 13 private market transactions, four acquisitions and six debt refinancings.
Underlying profits rose 67% to £7.2mln, with the dividend rising 20% to 0.6p.
For the full year, FinnCap now expects to pay out an increased total of 1.75p 01.5p), while revenue guidance, which was raised in October, was maintained at between £45-50mln.
Sam Smith, chief executive, said the first half had been an “exceptionally busy M&A market” and FinnCap delivered an outstanding performance with an aggregate deal value of around £2bn.
Going forward, Smith said the third quarter had started well with a solid deal pipeline and further potential IPOs, equity fundraisings and private M&A transactions scheduled to complete in the coming months.