Wall Street brokerage Morgan Stanley reported Tuesday strong earnings growth for all of 2004, but revenues for both the final quarter and the full year fell short of analysts’ estimates.

For the quarter ending Nov. 30, Morgan Stanley earned US$1.2 billion, or US$1.09 per share, compared with US$1 billion, or US92 cents per share per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenues rose 7% to $5.4 billion vs $5.1 billion last year.

Morgan Stanley’s earnings beat the US$1.01 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, but revenues fell short of the $5.8 billion that analysts had expected.

Unlike other brokerages that have reported fourth-quarter earnings in recent days, Morgan Stanley did not see a strong rise in investment banking revenues as the markets improved. Morgan Stanley’s equity sales and trading revenue rose five per cent in the quarter, while fixed income sales and trading revenues fell nine per cent.

For all of 2004, the brokerage earned $4.49 billion, or $4.06 per share, compared to $3.79 billion, or $3.45 per share, a year ago. Full-year revenues rose 14 per cent to $23.77 billion, compared with $20.86 billion in 2003.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected full-year earnings of $3.99 per share on revenues of $24.2 billion.

Despite the lacklustre revenues, the company said it was pleased with its earnings.

“Fixed-income and Discover Card had record years, investment banking activity has picked up significantly, and both equities and investment management made strong contributions to earnings,” said Philip Purcell, chairman and chief executive of Morgan Stanley.

“Our focus in 2005 will be on improving margins and leveraging the strategic mix of our businesses.”

The company’s added that its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 27¢ a share, up 8% from 25¢ per share in the third quarter. The dividend is payable on Jan. 31 to shareholders of record on Jan. 14.