Filing their 2014 Annual Report with the UK Companies House, figures from ETX Capital revealed that revenues increased 38% to £34.7 million compared to £25.2 million in 2013. During the year, bottom line profits were reported at £2.487 million, well ahead of the £783,080 figure for 2013.
The broker also ended the year with £53.67 million in net funds, compared to £43.19 million in 2013. Also, net client obligations were reported at over £104 million, reflecting a near 50% increase in customer net asset value levels.
Strong Online Trading
According to ETX Capital, 2014’s growth was directly attributed to its online retail trading business which saw revenues increase 55%. This compared with its high net worth (HNW) brokering business, of which revenues were flat at £8.11 million. Overall, online trading revenues were reported at £26.55 million, compared to £17.03 million in 2013.
Despite record low volatility in currencies in the first half of the year, ETX Capital stated that average trades per client grew 17% to 1026 during the year. More impressively, the firm was able to achieve strong growth in its customer onboarding, with active monthly traders growing to around 7,500 customers in Q4, compared to about 5,000 for much of 2013.
According to ETX Capital, the customer growth is being achieved through its international expansion out of the UK, which began five years ago. As such, non-UK accounts accounted for 55% of new customers in 2014 compared to 40% in 2014. The firm added that in December of 2014, the ratio of non-UK accounts reached 68% of new customers. As a result, although UK customers composed of 55% of online trading revenues for 2014, that figure dropped to 50% in Q4.
Among non-UK areas of growth, ETX Capital reported that Northern Europe, which is composed of mainly Germany, France and Scandinavia, reported 123% of retail growth in 2014. The region was the first to be targeted outside of the UK five years ago and has become one of its largest revenue drivers.
Ariel Communications Purchase
Among other areas of its operation, ETX Capital acquired Ariel Communications during 2014. The firms had a previous connection, with Ariel having developed ETX’s multi-asset Trading Platform . As a result of the acquisition, ETX Capital expects the deal to decrease its technology expenses related to operating its platform, relating to savings of £600,000 on a yearly basis.
