Share plc (LON:SHRE) has swung to a profit in the first six months of its current year, however, it has cautioned that ongoing Brexit uncertainty is likely to dent investor sentiment in the short term.
The AIM-listed stockbroker, which operates as The Share Centre, reported a pre-tax profit of £200,000 for the six months ended 30 June, up from a £300,000 loss a year ago, while revenues climbed 9% to £11.1mln after receiving a boost from the acquisition of customer accounts.
READ: Share posts resilient first quarter performance
Assets under administration, meanwhile, hit a record level of £5.3bn, 5% higher year-on-year.
Looking ahead, the company said that it expected its performance to improve in line with market expectations despite what it said was “continuing challenging trading conditions”, primarily caused by Brexit.
Richard Stone, Share’s chief executive, said that the company was not “immune” to subdued investor sentiment, which had resulted in a significant drop in trading volumes across the market., adding that the ongoing political and economic uncertainty was likely to continue to “adversely affect” the sector in the short term.
However, despite these uncertainties, the company said it expected trading volumes would recover once the political position was resolved and investors had time to “reposition” their portfolios.
“We believe that Share remains in a strong position to continue its momentum over the second half,” Stone said.
Investors seemed to take the positive results and cautious outlook in their stride on Thursday, with the shares flat at 31.5p in early deals.