LaBranche & Co. posts Q4 EPS above the Street
LaBranche & Co Inc. (NYSE: LAB) reported fourth-quarter earnings above the consensus on Wall Street, sending shares higher in pre-market.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2007, the New York, N.Y.-based firm recorded earnings after a net gain attributable to an increase in fair value of shares of NYSE Euronext, Inc. common stock held by LaBranche of $2.3 million, or $0.04 per share, above the mean estimate of three analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial of a loss of $0.02 per share. The small cap had a net loss of $1.8 million, or $0.03 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2006.
Revenues, net of interest expense, for the fourth quarter were $67.1 million, which included a pre-tax gain of $26.2 million in connection with the NYX shares. This compares with revenues of $118.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2006. The current quarter revenues fell short of the $111.12 million three analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were on average forecasting.
LaBranche & Co Inc. is the parent of LaBranche & Co. LLC, one of the largest specialists in exchange-listed securities.
Shares of LaBranche (LAB) popped 12.11%, or $0.54, to $5 ahead of the opening. Shares of LaBranche have been trading in the range of $4.03 to $10.03 for the past 52 weeks.
