finnCap Group PLC said its trading has been in line with the expectations set out at the time of the full-year 2022 results it reported in July and it expects a "somewhat better revenue performance" in the second half than in the first half of the current financial year.
In an update issued in advance of its Annual General Meeting being held on Thursday, the City firm said that, overall, its revenue to August 31, 2022, was approximately 30% lower than the comparable period in full-year 2022 - its record year - reflecting the broader and well-documented themes of muted investor confidence, reduced equity capital markets activity and tightening debt market conditions which are impacting the company and its peers.
finnCap noted that M&A activity in both private and public arenas has continued to be a key contributor to performance, where revenue to date has been broadly in line with the comparable period last year. The company said ECM (European Capital Markets) revenue is marginally ahead of its expectation in July but, as expected, substantially lower than last year.
The company said that the outlook for the remainder of the financial year is for "a somewhat better" revenue performance in H2 than in H1, based on a good pipeline of work across divisions, particularly in M&A, and anticipating a modest recovery in ECM market confidence and activity.
The group's balance sheet remains strong with cash on August 31, 2022, at £13.1mln, in line with its expectations, reflecting a £2.1mln investment in Energise and post-year-end payments for full-year 2022 employee compensation, corporation tax etc. which totalled approximately £9.5mln.
The company said steps have been taken to control discretionary expenditure and to align the fixed operating costs with the opportunities ahead of the group which it will detail with interim results in November.