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Broking house Numis booked a 2.1% rise in first-half profit after a surge in equities trading revenue offset weakness in its investment banking division.
Pre-tax profit for the six months through March increased to £7.3m, up from £7.1m on-year.
Revenue jumped 13% to £63.1m, underpinned by a 56% increase in equities revenue, tempered by a 5% fall in investment banking.
Operating margin eased back to 14.5%, from 14.6%.
Co-chief executives Alex Ham and Ross Mitchinson said many corporate clients were facing significant challenges as a result of Covid-19.
Support for them in recent weeks had included helping them to raise equity to provide liquidity headroom.
'Our near term performance will likely be determined by the frequency of these deals given the immediate headwinds facing M&A, IPOs and other corporate transactions,' they said.
'Whilst the pandemic is currently dominating markets, this event will eventually pass and the strength of our balance sheet ensures we can continue to focus on our long term strategic priorities.'
At 9:18am: (LON:NUM) Numis Corporation PLC share price was +11.5p at 285p