LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Challenger professional services firm DSW Capital, which owns the Dow Schofield Watts brand, said in an update on Thursday that it traded "strongly" in the first half, with network revenue rising 34.2% year-on-year to £9.8m.
The AIM-traded company said that resulted in total income from licensees of £1.6m, up 40%, which "more than covered" the ongoing cost of its AIM listing, resulting in an adjusted pre-tax profit of £0.9m, compared to £0.8m a year ago.

Fee earners increased to 93 by 30 September, up 5.7% since the end of the full year, as the group continued to benefit from its heightened profile following its initial public offering, and its investment in central resources.

Demand for the DSW network's services, which are primarily small-to-medium enterprise focussed, remained "strong" through the period against a backdrop of reducing deal volumes across the wider market, the board said.

As a result, Dow Schofield Watts moved up Experian's rankings to '10th Most Active Corporate Finance Advisor' in the UK in the first half of, compared to 13th in the same period last year.

"The board is pleased with the first half performance and believes current trading, against a backdrop of wider economic uncertainties and the potential effect of this on SME activity, is on track to achieve market expectations for the year ending 31 March," the board said in its statement.

"Since the period ended the group has welcomed a new wealth planning partner, and activity levels have been consistent with the board's expectations."

At 0921 GMT, shares in DSW Capital were down 2.13% at 112.55p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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