Earnings: Piper Jaffray, Jefferies Group

Bond market struggles led to a decline in profits for Piper Jaffray Cos. and Jeffries Group Inc.’s fourth quarters. Piper Jaffray’s earnings fell 27% as a result of turbulent capital market conditions that led to weaker results in high-yield and structured products. The Minneapolis, Minn.-based company said that net income for the fourth quarter fell to $15.1 million, or 91 cents per share, down from $26.7 million, or $1.40 a share in the year-ago period. Piper Jaffray said its revenue remained flat from the fourth quarter of 2006 with $146.5 million reported in the last three months of 2007 compared to $146.5 million a year ago. Fixed-income financing revenue were down 37%, or $16.8 million, from 2006’s fourth quarter. Jefferies Group reported a loss of $24.2 million, or 17 cents per share, down from $55.8 million, or 38 cents per share during the year-ago period, attributing the decline in part to a drop in principal transaction revenue. The New York-based investment bank said revenue fell by $24.8 million to $349.4 million from the year-ago fourth quarter. Assets under management fees also dipped $6.1 million.