BGC Partners Updates Q1 Guidance

(RTTNews) - BGC Partners, Inc. (BGCP) said Tuesday that excluding the results of GFI Group Inc. (GFIG), it now expects its first revenues for distributable earnings to be towards the low end of the range of its previously stated guidance of $490 million to $520 million.

Analysts currently expect the company to post revenue of $504.62 million for the first quarter.

ExcludingGFI, BGC now expects its first quarter pre-tax distributable earnings to be around the mid-point of its prior guidance of $68 million to $80 million.

Because BGC owns about 56% of GFI's common shares and nominated three-fourths of its board of directors, GFI will operate as a division of BGC. GFI's financial results will be consolidated with BGC from March 2 onward. GFI is expected to generate around $60 million in revenues for distributable earnings and to have a pre-tax distributable earnings margin of between 3% and 5% for March. With respect to BGC's consolidated results, about 44% of GFI's post-tax distributable earnings are expected to be attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries, while the remaining about 56% are expected to be attributable to BGC's post-tax distributable earnings to fully diluted shareholders.