By Everdeen Mason
Jefferies Group LLC's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings jumped 68%
on strong investment banking revenue.
Jefferies, which was recently acquired Leucadia National Corp.
(LUK), is often seen as something of a barometer for larger rivals
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS).
While no longer a public company, Jefferies still files
quarterly and annual reports with the Securities and Exchange
Commission separate from those of its owner because it issues debt
under its holding company.
The company's results for the year were below last year's
because of a difficult mid-year fixed income environment, but the
company finished the year strongly, Chief Executive Richard B.
Handler said, adding fixed income improved significantly from the
third quarter.
"Our investment banking performance benefited from a strong
equities and leveraged finance new issues market and demonstrates
our significant market presence and value added capabilities," Mr.
Handler said.
The latest results benefited from a $110 million pre-tax gain on
its holdings of Knight Capital Group and Harbinger Group.
For the quarter ended Nov. 30, Jefferies reported its investment
banking revenue rose 47% to $417 million from a year ago.
Fixed-income trading revenue came in at $212 million, down 28% from
a year earlier but soaring from the prior quarter's $33.1
million.
Total non-interest expenses, which include technology,
compensation and other costs, climbed 15% from a year earlier to
$744.3 million.
Overall, Jefferies reported a profit of $120.1 million, up from
$71.6 million a year earlier. Net revenue--excluding mandatorily
redeemable preferred interests--rose 22% to $935.7 million.
Write to Everdeen Mason at everdeen.mason@wsj.com
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