Shares in Tullett Prebon were down on the FTSE 250 in afternoon trading after the financial services company reported a fall in revenue and pre-tax profit in the full year ended 31 December 2010.

Revenue declined from £947.7 million in the previous year to £908.5 million, while pre-tax profit dropped from £157 million to £139.7 million.

Terry Smith, Chief Executive of Tullet Prebon, said, "The world's financial markets remain unsettled, and although it is difficult to predict market conditions, it seems reasonable to expect that there will continue to be periods of volatility. Underlying revenue, adjusting for the impact of the closure of the six satellite offices in North America, is 3% higher in the first two months of the year than a year ago. This reflects the benefit of the rebuilding in North America and the continued recovery in Asia. We will continue to invest in the development of the business across all three regions.

"The enduring strength of the business is the valuable service it provides to clients through its ability to create liquidity through price and volume discovery to facilitate trading in a wide range of financial instruments. We believe that the introduction of the various regulatory proposals affecting the OTC markets will be positive for our business as the proposals formalise the role of the intermediary in those markets. The changes in the regulatory environment will result in changes in the way in which some trades are executed, reported and cleared. We believe that we are well positioned to continue to provide a valuable service to clients and that our offering can be developed to meet the requirements being proposed."

By 14:05 shares in Tullett Prebon were down 4.81 per cent on the FTSE 250 to 405.50 pence per share.

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