Guardian Capital Group Ltd. on Tuesday reported weaker profit for the first quarter ended March 31.

Net earnings were $1.4 million, compared to $1.7 million for the same period in 2002. Cash flow from operations for the quarter was $1.9 million, slightly higher than the cash flow from operations during the same period in 2002.

Gross revenue for the first quarter of 2003 was $8.8 million, slightly higher than for the first quarter of 2002.

Assets under management were $9.9 billion as at March 31,2003, compared to $10.3 billion as at the same date in 2002. Assets under administration were $2.2 billion as at March 31, 2003, compared to $2.5 billion as at the same date in 2002.

According to Guardian, the decline in both AUM and AUA was primarily due to a decline in the equity markets with the S&P/TSX index declining by more than 17% and U.S. and global equity markets underperforming the S&P/TSX index during the period.