Raymond James Financial (RJF) said Wednesday that it had net income of $68.9 million, or $0.54 a share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30 vs. net income of $69.1 million, or $0.55 a share in the year-ago quarter, missing analyst estimates by $0.01. These results came despite strong year-over-year growth in its private-client unit and an increase in both its global advisor headcount and its U.S. advisor headcount.
"We are pleased with our quarterly results given a very volatile time in the marketplace. Three of our four major segments performed well. However, as we have discussed in our operating releases, the environment was very challenging for the Capital Markets segment," said CEO Paul Reilly in a press release.
Raymond James boosted its overall number of advisors in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to 5,113 vs. 5,090 last year and 5,093 last quarter.
The U.S. total was 4,504 as of Sept. 30, up 1 from 4,503 a year ago and an increase of 12 from 4,492 in June.
"We have continued to invest in all of our business segments by recruiting financial advisors, investment bankers, lenders, public finance professionals, institutional salespeople and traders, while delivering record results," Reilly continued.
Private-Client Results
The company said that its private-client unit had sales of $2.19 billion for the fiscal year, up 15% from last year. These sales represent roughly 65% of Raymond James' overall revenue.
Pre-tax net income for the private-client group over the past 12 months was $218.8 million vs. $160.5 million for fiscal 2010, a 36% jump.
In the most recent quarter, the private-client unit had sales of $552.9 million, an increase of 12% over the year-ago period and a 1% drop from the prior quarter. Its pre-tax net income was $63.8 million, up 34% year over year and 20% sequentially.
"We are pleased with our quarterly results given a very volatile time in the marketplace," explained Reilly.
