Rockwater Capital Corp. is reporting improved profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2003.

The financial services holding company recorded earnings of $1.8 million, or 1¢ per share, on net revenue of $40.2 million during the quarter, compared to earnings of $104,000, or 0¢ per share, on net revenue of $29.3 million in the third quarter of 2003.

Rockwater is the parent company of full-service brokerage firm. First Associates Investments Inc.

For the year, Rockwater recorded a loss of $2.9 million (2¢ per share) on net revenue of $114.5 million. Results for 2003 are not considered comparable to previous years’ results as they represent activities prior to Rockwater’s change in strategic direction in the summer of 2002.

“We are pleased to be reporting such a strong finish to what has been a very important year for our company,” said Robert Schultz, chairman of Rockwater, in a news release. “Our top line growth and bottom line results for the fourth quarter and all of 2003 have exceeded our expectations. We managed to deliver over $40 million of revenue in the fourth quarter and $114 million for the year, surpassing our $100 million objective by a significant margin. We have also continued to make progress on our bottom line profitability — improving our margins as we grow our businesses.”

Rockwater says its Wealth Management business improved its top line results with revenues increasing by 29% over the third quarter to $28.6 million.

Revenues in the Asset Management business and our Capital Markets business also increased over the third quarter.

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