(Alliance News) - Peel Hunt Ltd on Thursday said it expects its first quarter to be in line with expectations, despite a challenging macro-economic backdrop.

The London-based stock broker and investment bank said the macro-economic backdrop has continued to be challenging and investor sentiment has remained low.

In June, the company said it had swung to a pretax loss of GBP1.5 million in the year ended March 31, compared with its GBP41.2 million profit the previous year. Revenue for financial 2023 was down by 37% to GBP82.3 million from GBP131.0 million.

However, on Thursday, Peel Hunt said that during the first quarter of financial 2024, it has supported its corporate clients in relation to a number of merger & acquisition and equity capital market transactions.

"This has included acting as named financial adviser on approximately a quarter of firm offers made for UK listed companies during the period, and as a bookrunner on the largest UK IPO so far this year," it added.

Based on this, Peel Hunt said it performance in its first quarter is in line with market expectations, with full-year revenues expected to be second half weighted.

"As capital markets activity improves, we remain confident that our diversified business model, as a leading UK independent investment bank, positions us well to take advantage of opportunities that may arise," the company added.

Shares in Peel Hunt were up 1.9% to 106.50 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter

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