Broking group Braemar Shipping Services has announced second half pre-tax profits of £7m, up just shy of 10% from the year before, though revenues were down £12m from £69.1m. The company said its non-broking services now made up a third of its operating profits, and that nascent signs of an improvement in the dry bulk market and the glut of capacity in the market and consequent broking activity meant that prospects for the future were good. Braemar chairman Sir Graham Hearne said: "These are strong results considering the very different market conditions in which they were achieved. While they are down on the corresponding period in 2008 (a record performance for Braemar) they represent an improvement when compared to the second half of last year. Operating in more difficult circumstances, the Group has benefitted from the strategic decision to invest in a broader range of shipping services which now account for more than one third of the group’s operating profits before central costs. We have a solid platform from which to continue to build as markets gradually recover."