Ambrian sells commodities unit for over £4m

11th Apr 2011 12:33

Corporate finance advisory and commodity stock-broking firm Ambrian Capital has agreed to sell Ambrian Commodities to INTL FC Stone for a consideration of £4.3m: equal to the subsidiary´s net asset value minus current debt load. Ambrian will apply the funds raised from this transaction to Ambrian Metals Limited, its physical metals business, and Ambrian Energy, its physical energy trading business.In a separate statement, the group saw total income rise by 21% to £22.65m in 2010, primarily due to gains in its investment portfolio.Revenues grew by 5.9% to £18.56m, but pre-tax profit slipped slightly to £2.90m, from £2.93m, as a result of considerably higher administrative expenses. These were associated with costs from discontinuing non-natural resources stockbroking activities and growth initiatives, the group said.Profit after tax fell to £1.87m from last year´s £2.65m, as taxation surged to £1.03m, from just £0.28m previously."A strong performance in the second half, driven by our equities business and a significant increase in profits from our investments, improved Ambrian's performance for the full year. Our recent expansion into biofuels and oil trading are good examples of how Ambrian's integrated and complementary client-focused equities and physical metals trading businesses in the natural resources sector offer excellent opportunities to develop and grow the business," said chairman Lawrence Banks.The company has announced a final dividend of 0.75p per share which will take the full year dividend to 1.50p, the same as in 2009.ab