W.H. Ireland Group PLC (WHI.LN) said Monday that its pretax loss widened in the six months to Nov. 30, as it was hit by regulatory and restructuring costs.
The stockbroking and wealth-management company said its loss for the six-month period was 1.5 million pounds ($2.1 million), widened from GBP1.4 million a year earlier.
Revenue rose slightly to GBP13.7 million from GBP13.5 million the year before, the company said. However, it said administrative and exceptional costs increased, including a GBP903,000 cost for the outsourcing of its private wealth-management back-office operations, and a GBP196,000 cost for its adaptation to the European Union's updated Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).
W.H. Ireland said it is too early to evaluate the impact of MiFID II on its stockbroking business. The company said the integration of its wealth management division to a new operational platform created some delays and extra costs but said "the major issues are now behind us", and it is moving ahead with its margin improvement program.
Chairman Tim Steel said members of both divisions of the company have agreed to contractual changes to their pay structures, focusing on profitability, compliance and culture, rather than purely revenue. Mr. Steel said the company also expects a "considerable reduction" in its overall costs in 2018.
Chief Executive Richard Killingbeck said the company expects a "significant improvement" in its financial year to March 2019. As previously announced, the company is moving its year-end reporting date to March 31 and will therefore report for an extended financial period.