Morgan Stanley revenue surges 50pc
New York, October 19, 2013
Morgan Stanley's third-quarter revenue jumped 50 per cent, helping adjusted earnings beat expectations, as higher income from equities sales and trading made up for a drop in the Wall Street bank and brokerage's fixed-income business.
Morgan Stanley reported net income of $888 million, or 44 cents per share, from continuing operations in the quarter. That compared with a loss of $1 billion, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.
The year-earlier figure included a charge of $2.3 billion to reflect a rise in the value of Morgan Stanley's debt.
Excluding items, Morgan Stanley earned 50 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 40 cents per share.
Overall revenue rose to $7.93 billion, from $5.28 billion in the same quarter last year, driven by equities trading and the company's fast-growing wealth management business.
Adjusted revenue from equities trading rose 31 per cent to $1.7 billion, while revenue from fixed income, currency and commodities trading fell 44 per cent to $835m.
"Our strategy to combine a world-class investment bank with the stability of the largest US wealth management franchise and strong investment management is enabling us to deliver exceptional advice and execution for our clients as well as stronger returns for our shareholders," chairman and chief executive James Gorman said yesterday.
Morgan Stanley has had difficulty with fixed-income trading for years, but the issues that affected the business in the latest quarter also shook most of its competitors.
Revenue in Morgan Stanley's wealth management business increased 8 per cent to $3.48 billion, while the business's pretax profit margin edged up to 19 per cent.-Reuters
