Financial systems consultants and suppliers Quotient Plc of London EC1 has made a pre-tax loss of UKP2m for the six months to the end of June because of suffering from a flat equities and bonds market at the same time as rising costs. Quotient was confident about the UK stockbroking market at the beginning of 1989 as both Quilter Goodison and Lloyds Bank Stockbrokers made major systems renewals but following these orders business has been slack. However, the international capital and treasury markets have been more promising. In these areas the banking product Cmark has flourished with custom coming from the Citicorp Investment Bank in London and the Bank of Montreal in New York. Meanwhile Oslo Finans of Norway has bought Quotient’s Super Xtas foreign exchange module to handle its international bonds and equity business. The group has continued to make some sales of its front end office systems Optics and Trend in a generally unfavourable climate. On the other hand, quieter dealing rooms have led to an increased demand for Quotient Bureau Services which has prospered. In its New York subsidiary Quotient is continuing to develop and enhance its product range. In particular it is developing a swaptions module and additional portfolio analytics for its Cmark range. The setting up of an office in Japan following the joint marketing agreement with Sumisho Computer Service Corp signed in March, has incurred extraordinary losses for the interim period, as has the establishment of an office in Paris. In the short term Quotient believes that the world-wide buoyancy of balance sheet and capital markets, along with the introduction of Taurus, a product designed to automate the process of settlement in the UK equity market, and the Group’s diversification into the insurance and share registration market bodes well. It expects a return to profitability in the second half but warns that this will not compensate for first half losses and that a loss is likely to be sustained for the year as a whole. It is resisting talk of a bidder waiting in the wings, saying that it values its independence very highly.
