Cenkos profit slumps and rival posts a loss

Top City stockbroker Andy Stewart may have had a cracking Cheltenham Festival, notably with his Big Buck's winning a flagship race, but the day job is not going quite so well.

Stewart's Cenkos Securities broking and trading house today reported an 80% slump in 2008 pre-tax profits to £5.1 million as revenues halved.

The dividend - almost a quarter of which goes to Stewart - is being slashed from 12p to 5p.

"We are experiencing market and economic conditions the like of which I have not seen before," said Stewart.

"The weak have been found wanting and the strong have been severely tested."

But he was celebrating having made a profit, unlike Collins Stewart, the firm he founded and which is now run by his great rival Terry Smith. Collins Stewart tumbled to a £15 million loss in 2008, hobbled by guaranteed bonuses paid to brokers.