WealthTrust Securities PLC, a licensed primary dealer in government securities, returned to profit in the September quarter with earnings of Rs 154.6 million after tax, reversing a Rs 455.2 million loss in the preceding three months — but the company remains loss-making over the first half of its financial year.

The rebound came in the second quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, EconomyNext reported.

“The return to quarterly profitability is encouraging, particularly in the face of continued volatility in the government securities market,” said Romesh Gomez, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. “Our focus remains on prudent risk management, maintaining a strong balance sheet and building a more sustainable and consistent earnings profile.”

What drove the quarter

The swing was principally a valuation effect rather than a trading one. The company booked net fair value gains of Rs 170.8 million in the quarter, against net losses of Rs 579.3 million in the quarter before — a turnaround of about Rs 750 million on that line alone.

Underlying income was steadier. Net interest income contributed Rs 301.8 million, with fee-based income adding Rs 27.0 million and brokerage income Rs 1.4 million.

The company attributed the market backdrop to a sequence within the quarter: upward pressure on bond yields in July gave way to a strong rally through August, supported by favourable liquidity, foreign investor demand, falling Treasury bill yields and limited new bond supply at auctions. That momentum then moderated, with renewed Middle East geopolitical tension, elevated global oil prices and rising global bond yields reversing sentiment towards the end of September.

The half-year is the harder number

For the six months to 30 September, WealthTrust recorded a cumulative loss after tax of Rs 300.7 million, against a profit of Rs 437.1 million in the same period a year earlier — a year-on-year swing of some Rs 738 million.

Net interest income over the six months was broadly flat at Rs 667.1 million, against Rs 675.8 million a year before. The difference came from markets: combined net capital and fair value losses of Rs 787.1 million, where the corresponding period of 2025 produced net gains of Rs 364.9 million.

The company said regulatory ratios remained comfortably above minimum requirements, reporting net assets of Rs 6.6 billion and a total asset base of Rs 50.6 billion as at 30 September. It said it would continue a measured approach to market opportunities.

Context

The volatility described in the filing is visible elsewhere in the market. Foreign investors have been net sellers of rupee government bonds for three consecutive weeks, and the oil-price and Middle East pressures the company cites are the same ones running through the escalation in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Not reported

The filing does not give a comparison against the September quarter of the previous financial year, so the quarterly rebound can be measured against the preceding quarter but not year-on-year. No dividend decision, staff number or outlook figure is reported, and the results are as published by the company rather than independently audited figures.

Sourcing note: this report rests on a single verified newsroom. EconomyNext is the only verified outlet to have carried the results at the time of writing, which is usual for primary-dealer quarterly filings of this size.