FBR Capital Markets posts 2Q loss of $25.2M

FBR Capital Markets Corp., a majority-owned unit of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc., said Wednesday it lost $25.2 million in the second quarter as investment banking revenue plunged.

FRB Capital Markets lost the equivalent of 39 cents per share during the quarter ended June 30, compared with earnings of $21.8 million, or 34 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier.

Investment banking revenue tumbled 93 percent to $8.2 million during the second quarter from $123.1 million during the second quarter last year.

"The extremely difficult capital markets environment and the resulting slowdown in banking revenues led to a loss for the quarter," Richard Hendrix, FBR Capital Market's president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Total revenue, which also includes the company's institutional brokerage and asset management operations, fell 69 percent to $50.5 million from $169.5 million during the year-ago period.

Hendrix said the company would look to continue reducing expenses in an effort to return to profitability during the current downturn in the capital markets. Total non-interest expenses at FBR Capital Markets fell 35 percent during the second quarter to $85.7 million.

Shares of FBR Capital Markets rose 6 cents to $5.70 in morning trading. Shares have traded between $4.48 and $16.50 during the past year.