Raymond James (RJF) beat estimates with an 8% jump in net income in the quarter ending Dec. 31, as private client results improved year over year at a similar pace.
The company had earnings of $126.3 million, or $0.87 per share, up from $116.6 million, or $0.81 per share, a year earlier. Net revenue was $1.25 billion, an increase of 6% over the year-ago period.
"Despite a challenging market environment for our Capital Markets segment, we generated satisfactory financial results this quarter," said CEO Paul Reilly, in a statement. "More importantly, we continued to deliver on our long-term growth objectives, adding 71 financial advisors during the quarter while also achieving new quarterly records for client assets under administration, financial assets under management and net loans."
Net sales for the Private Client Group were $845.2 million, a jump of 8% from last year, but a 2% drop from the prior quarter. Pre-tax net income for the unit totaled $92.7 million, a 30% improvement for a year ago and a 7% decline from the earlier period.
Financial advisors' securities commissions and fees were $706.7 million, up 7% from last year and down 3% for the quarter ending Sept. 30. The decline was "mostly attributable to a onetime mutual fund commission adjustment," according to the firm.
Private client assets under administration grew to $459.1 billion from $450.6 billion in the prior period and $422.9 billion last year, "driven by market appreciation and very strong financial advisor retention and recruiting results," the company notes.
Assets in fee-based accounts grew 4% from the earlier quarter to $173.9 billion; they now represent 38% of total client assets.
