Saxo Bank Group has reported its H1 2015 financial metrics, yielding a loss for the first six months of the fiscal year, instigated in part after a tumultuous episode of Volatility wrought by the Swiss National Bank (SNB).
In particular, Saxo Bank incurred a net loss of -$73.1 million (DKK 485 million) during H1 2015 – conversely, during H1 2014, the group saw a net profit of $23.6 million. One of the main culprits for the loss was the upheaval of the SNB’s snap decision to abandon its currency peg with the euro back in January that convulsed currency markets and helped erode the Danish trading venue’s profits.
Indeed, several Saxo Bank clients found themselves with insufficient margin collateral to cover their losses on positions in the Swiss franc (CHF) – the unsettled negative balances were assimilated into the group’s H1 2015 figures, including a net loss of -$100 million (DKK 700 million) specifically tied to the event.
However, Saxo Bank’s lackluster net profits were pared by mounting clients’ collateral deposits, which notched a record high by the end of H1 2015. More specifically, collateral deposits increased by $1.2 billion (DKK 7.8 billion) during H1 2015 – this growth was good for a 26% YoY jump from H1 2014.
In terms of other notable metrics, Saxo Bank reported an operating income of $113.2 million in H1 2015 (DKK 751.5 million), corresponding to a decline of -44.2% YoY from $203 million in H1 2014. Furthermore, its EBITDA dropped to -$89.3 million (DKK -592.5 million), compared with a figure of $33.5 million in H1 2014.
According to Saxo Bank’s founders and co-CEOs Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, in a joint statement on the H1 metrics, “It was a challenging start to the year but we have come through the first half year even stronger and are looking to the future with drive and ambition. We see Saxo Bank as the preferred partner for clients and counterparts and with our forward-looking technology we will continuously pursue growth opportunities in the market to Leverage these strengths.”
In tandem with the financial metrics report today, Saxo Bank also saw Indonesian Sinar Mas Group acquiring a 9.9% stake in Saxo Bank, in a deal that valued the broker at nearly $1.5 billion. The Danish multi-asset broker also recently made headlines after releasing its trading volumes for the month ending July 2015, which showed deteriorating figures relative to last month. For the month ending July 2015, total volume at Saxo Bank came in at just $181 billion, down by -24.9% MoM from $241 billion in June 2015.
