CMC Markets (LON: CMC) published its interim financials for six months, from April to September, reporting a 21 percent yearly increase in its net operating income, which came in at £153.5 million. The figure came in line with the company’s expectations.
In the first six months of the fiscal year 2023, the net operating income was pushed by net trading revenue that came in 27 percent higher at £128.4 million. However, the net revenue from investing stream declined by 14 percent to £20.8 million.
Revenue from other income sources also showed a positive trajectory, rising by 173 percent. However, this stream only contributed £4.3 million to the total income.
Despite the significant increase in operating income, the pre-tax profit of the London-listed company jumped to £36.6 million from £36 million, which is a year-over-year increase of 1 percent. The basic earnings per share climbed by 6 percent to 10.2 pence.
“We saw an acceleration in activity across FX and commodities in addition to the normal activity across our index flow during a period of heightened focus on monetary policy action around the globe and a pickup in market volatility and trading volumes,” said Lord Cruddas, CMC Markets’ CEO.
Client Metrics
Additionally, the company highlighted that its gross client income increased by 22 percent to £154.9 million, while the trading revenue per client strengthened by 36 percent to £2,558. The trading clients’ income retention rate also improved from 80 percent to 83 percent. In contrast, the number of active trading clients dropped by 7 percent to 50,199. Also, the number of active investing clients dropped to 164,632 from 185,847 in the first half of FY2022.
The company stressed that a drop in rising trading revenue with a decline in active clients shows the effectiveness of its strategy of focusing on premium customers.
Now, CMC is determined to grow the Group revenue by 30 percent over the next three years. It is further upgrading its products and expanding services to new areas. Its operating cost guidance for the ongoing fiscal remains unchanged at £215 million.
“We are on track to deliver our three-year expansion initiatives aimed at driving higher revenues and diversifying our earnings. We remain committed to improving our offering across our core trading CFD and spread bet businesses, allowing our clients to access a wider range of products,” Lord Cruddas added.
“We are on a fast track to diversification, using our existing platform technology to win B2B and B2C investing business. Our strategic growth plans are on track and set to deliver significant new business expansion as we introduce new products across our retail, institutional and stockbroking businesses.”
