Stifel Financial Q2 Profit Up 13%, Results Beat View

(RTTNews) - Investment bank and brokerage Stifel Financial Corp. (SF) on Thursday reported a 13 percent increase in profit for the second quarter from last year, reflecting higher revenues at its global wealth management and institutional group segments. Both revenue and adjusted earnings per share for the quarter beat analysts' expectations.

Ronald Kruszewski, Chairman, President and CEO of Stifel Financial said, "We are pleased to announce record revenues for the second quarter and for the first six months of 2013 in both the Global Wealth Management and the Institutional Group, especially against the challenging market conditions in the quarter. We are very encouraged with our investment banking results, which demonstrate the breadth of our capabilities. The merger with KBW continues to exceed our expectations, and we are gaining market share in the financial institutions space."

Global Wealth Management revenues for the second quarter rose 18 percent from the year-ago period to $282.72 million. The higher revenues reflect an increase in commission revenues as well as investment banking revenues, growth in asset management and service fees, and higher net interest revenues. Investment banking revenues rose 81 percent to $122.11 million.

Total client assets at the end of the quarter were $150.63 billion, up 15 percent from $131.03 billion at the end of the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, Institutional Group revenues surged 62 percent to $220.48 million. The increase in revenues were due to higher advisory fees, higher equity institutional brokerage revenues, an increase in equity capital raising revenues and higher fixed income institutional brokerage revenues. The company attributed the net revenue growth to the acquisitions of KBW and, to a lesser extent, Miller Buckfire.

St. Louis, Missouri-based Stifel Financial's second-quarter net income was $29.44 million or $0.40 per share, up from $26.14 million or $0.42 per share in the same period last year. However, earnings per share declined to $0.40 from $0.42 in the prior-year period on higher number of shares outstanding.

Excluding merger-related expenses and other items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $44.36 million or $0.60 per share, compared to $26.14 million or $0.42 per share in the year-ago period. On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.57 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net revenues for the quarter grew 33 percent to $498.74 million from $374.41 million in the previous-year quarter. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $485.27 million.

SF closed Thursday's regular trading session at $38.30, up $0.40 or 1.06 percent on a volume of 447,062 shares.