Surging advisory revenues helped Lazard bounce back in the second quarter as net profits rose to $64.6m (â¬41.2m), 5% higher than in the same period last year and more than four times the figure in the first three months this year when the investment bank suffered its worst quarterly result since floating three years ago.
Net profits surged from just $16m in the first quarter, when Lazard suffered losses in its corporate portfolio of equity securities, to roughly $65m as the bank turned in its best second-quarter performance since floating in May 2005. It generated $61.5m in profits in the second quarter last year.
