Octagonal sees interim profits surge at GIS subsidiary

Financial services company Octagonal posted a marked increase in profits from its Global Investment Strategy trading subsidiary on Wednesday.

Octagonal said profits for GIS shot up 41.2% in the six months ended 30 September to £2.08m, while revenues surged 42.7% to £4.79m.

The AIM-listed group said the outperformance was a result of an increase in client trade execution, which had benefited from heightened volatility in equity markets, and central banks' unprecedented actions to support credit markets amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Net cash position for the unit was said to be in excess of £6.5m.

Chief executive and chairman John Gunn said: "We delivered strong earnings for the half-year as markets remained active through the summer months against traditional trends, and our balanced business model continued to deliver consistent returns.

"Still, GIS faces an incredibly broad range of outcomes tied to the coronavirus pandemic and there remain many challenges with no assurances of sustaining these levels of revenue."

As of 1345 GMT, Octagonal shares had rallied 30.79% to 2.16p.