Thinner trading volumes and cooling measures hurt brokerage UOB-Kay Hian's bottomline for the first quarter.

The firm said on Thursday that its earnings for the three months to March 31 tumbled 44 per cent to $17.9 million from a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter fell 18.1 per cent to $95 million year on year.

Weaker corporate finance activity also sent operating income down to $6.7 million.

However, the firm's interest income came in at $32 million, up from $17.4 million in the same period a year ago, thanks to higher investment activities.

Quarterly earnings per share was 2.47 cents, down from 4.4 cents a year earlier.

Net asset value as at March 31 was 161.23 cents, up from 158.42 cents as at Dec 31.

UOB-Kay Hian shares closed 0.5 cent down at $1.64 on Thursday.