Charles Schwab Corp said on Thursday its quarterly profit dropped 45 percent, in line with its own worst-case-scenario forecast, as sluggish trading and low interest rates weighed on the largest U.S. discount brokerage.

We believe that the worst of the environmental pressure on our revenues is now behind us, and that our strong business momentum will help us achieve improving financial performance in the coming months, Chairman Charles Schwab said in a statement.

Schwab shares slipped 2.8 percent to $18.80 before the open of markets.

The company earned $119 million, or 10 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, down from $218 million, or 19 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue dropped 12 percent to $978 million.

Analysts on average expected San Francisco-based Schwab to earn 11 cents per share on $982 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. A month ago, the company itself said per-share earnings could be as low as 10 cents.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Derek Caney)