Broking firm Collins Stewart swung back into the black in the first half of the year after losing more than £15 million last year and has started hiring senior staff again as its rivals struggle.

Under new chief executive Mark Brown the firm, which is chaired by Terry Smith, slashed its international expansion plans, closing its New York corporate broking operation in the spring. At the same time it has been cutting costs in the UK.

Brown said: “With a strong balance sheet with over £80 million of net cash we have adapted our business model to perform robustly in the current difficult markets and to take advantage of improved market conditions in the future.”

Revenues in the six months to June were similar to a year earlier at £95.3 million but there was a notable upturn in the second quarter over the first three months. The group swung from an operating loss of £2.5 million to a profit of £6.1 million although at the pre-tax level profits dropped from £9.6 million to £6.1 million.

The firm announced half a dozen senior signings this morning across corporate broking, securities trading and research.