BROKERAGE firm UOB Kay Hian reported earnings of S$51.8 million for the first half ended June, down 44.3 per cent from S$93 million the year before.

Earnings per share slid to S$0.0599 in H1, from S$0.1109 in the same period last year.

H1 revenue fell 30.8 per cent to S$235.2 million, from S$339.7 million in the year-ago period.

The significant drop in group revenue in the first half reflected the contraction of trading volumes in the major markets it operates in, the group said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Aug 11).

Commission and trading income tumbled 35.6 per cent to S$164.1 million, mainly due to lower market volume across regional and US markets.

Other operating income decreased 27.4 per cent to S$15.4 million with lower fees from structured lending and corporate finance activities.

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Shares of UOB Kay Hian closed 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$1.43 on Thursday, before the results announcement.