LONDON (ShareCast) - WH Ireland, the AIM-listed financial services group serving the smaller company market, saw shares fall sharply on Friday after the company reported that profits more than halved in its first half.

Pre-tax profit totalled just £0.06m in the six months to May 31st, down from £0.19m the year before, as the bottom line was hit by £0.15m fair value losses on investments, compared with £0.07m gains previously.

Group revenue rose just 3.6% to £13.1m, as an 18% increase in turnover in the Private Wealth Management division (to £1.3m) was offset by a 23.3% fall in the Corporate Broking unit (to £0.9m).

"The board is pleased with the progress that has been made during the period, although this is not yet fully reflected in the group's financial performance," said Chairman Rupert Lowe.

Private Wealth Management was strengthened by the acquisition of the Seymour Pierce private client business part way through the first half. This helped funds under management jumped by 31.9% during the six-month period to £2.27bn.

"Despite the wider challenges that the sector faces at present, the board is pleased with WH Ireland's strong position and is optimistic about the medium and longer term growth prospects for the group," Lowe said.

The stock was down 6.99% at 57.2p.

BC

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