By Reuters Published: 07:49 EDT, 20 September 2016 | Updated: 07:49 EDT, 20 September 2016 Sept 20 (Reuters) - Investment bank Jefferies Group LLC reported a jump in quarterly profit, driven by strong revenue in its fixed income trading business. Net earnings attributable to Jefferies rose to $41.17 million in the third quarter ended Aug. 31, from $2.06 million a year earlier. Fixed-income trading revenue was $195.34 million, compared with a loss of $18.15 million a year earlier. "Aside from a volatile two week period following the unexpected outcome of the UK 'Brexit' referendum in June, fixed income and equity secondary market conditions remained reasonably steady for much of the third quarter," Chief Executive Officer Rich Handler said in a statement. Overall trading revenue rose about 86 percent to $343.64 million. However, revenue from Jefferies' investment banking business fell 24.3 percent to $294.93 million - down for the third straight quarter - hurt by fewer IPOs and deals. There were 55 IPOs in the United States this year as of Sept. 15, down 64 percent from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters data. M&A activity in the United States totaled $1,084.4 billion this year as of Sept. 15, down 29 percent from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters data. Jefferies, a unit of Leucadia National Corp, kicks off the reporting season for investment banks and is often viewed as an indicator of the performance of Wall Street banks. (Reporting By Sudarshan Varadhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Advertisement
Investment bank Jefferies Group LLC has reported net earnings of $41.7m in the third quarter of 2016, a $2.06m rise on 2015, due to an increase in trading revenue. The bank’s overall trading revenue increased by 86% to $343.64m, with the bank’s fixed-income trading revenue standing at $195.34m, an improvement from 2015’s loss of $18.15m. However, the bank’s investment business fell to $294.93m, a 24.3% drop in a continuing trend for 2016 due to a lack of IPOs and deals.