Raymond James sees bleak year

© St. Petersburg Times
published January 16, 2003

The black cloud hanging over the stock market continues to take its toll on Raymond James Financial Inc. The St. Petersburg financial services company said Wednesday that earnings fell 20 percent for the fiscal first quarter, which ended Dec. 27.

Brokerage commissions, investment management fees, interest earnings and trading profits were all down, even though the comparison period came soon after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Expenses also fell, but the company put an extra $10-million in reserve to handle the potential losses on legal claims filed by investors smarting from portfolio losses. Arbitration claims against the company are up significantly, as they are at many other brokerage firms.

Net income for the quarter fell from $18.1-million, or 37 cents a share, to $14.4-million, or 29 cents a share. Revenues were $344.6-million, down from $364.1-million. The results included a $5.3-million pretax profit on the sale of the company's interest in the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company also began expensing stock options, which added $1.6-million to the expense column.

Chairman Thomas James warned shareholders not to expect much improvement this year.

"While I anticipate that the economy will continue to improve slowly, improvement in the stock market will be slow and erratic, as prices are still not at bargain levels and corporations are having difficulty increasing profit margins," he said. "Our operating results will likely continue to be at historically low levels for the rest of the fiscal year."

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