IG Group publishes full year (ending Mar 2012) results: revenue significantly up, mobile trading is 21%

We already saw a preliminary statement and now we have it in more detail.

• Net trading revenue up 17.3% to £366.8 million (2011: £312.7 million)
• Profit before tax up 13.8% to £185.7 million (2011: £163.2 million)
• Diluted earnings per share of 37.54p up 15.3% (2011: 32.57p)
• Cash generated from operations of £140.7 million, after tax (2011: £136.7 million)
• Final dividend per share of 16.75p. Total dividend per share for FY12 of 22.50p, up 12.5% (2011: 20.00p)
• Dividend per share represents 60% of diluted earnings per share
• Strong, debt free balance sheet, with a 330% excess over regulatory capital resources requirement (2011: 294%)
• Solid growth in active clients and revenue per customer

Performance of our main business units

• Our UK business continues to deliver good levels of growth with revenue up 15% for the year, driven by a 10% increase in revenue per client and a 5% growth in active clients.

• We saw faster growth in Australia, up 22% driven in almost equal measure by growth in active clients of 11% and increased revenue per client of 9%.

• Europe saw 26% growth with a 32% increase in active clients, partially offset by a 5% fall in revenue per client. Germany and Italy were the strongest growing in the first half, but in the second half produced weaker growth while our Iberian business accelerated to become the fastest growing of our European businesses.

• Singapore achieved 49% growth, mainly driven by a 30% increase in revenue per client. South Africa produced revenue of £4.0 m compared to £2.7m for the 9 months it was included in the prior year.

• There are signs that our Japanese business has stabilised after the leverage restrictions introduced in August. Revenue per quarter has been steady at around £4m in each of the last three quarters. We have reduced the cost base for this business to a level appropriate for its revenue and it continues to generate a reasonable level of profit.

• Our US business, Nadex, remains a long term project but we are seeing some very early signs that it is gaining traction, with a steady increase in the number of members trading.

• The UK, which delivered 52% of the revenue in the year, continued to grow; revenue here was up by 15% to £191.8 million (FY11: £167.2 million). The first half of the year was ahead by 23%, with a marked positive impact from the higher levels ofmarket Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad Read this Term from August into September. We continued to see solid growth in the second half (up 6%) as clients adapted to lower levels of volatility.

• Our Australian business had a particularly strong year, up almost 22% to £58 million (FY11: £47.6 million), although the extremely strong growth of H1 (43%) was followed by a reasonably flat second half, with signs of competitive pressures and a marked downturn in consumer sentiment becoming visible in the fourth quarter.

• Europe (up 26% to £72.2 million) followed a similar pattern to the UK, with growth in both halves of the year, with the first half being particularly strong following the significant levels of volatility in the middle of the period. Germany and Italy were the key contributors’ to the growth in the first half. The second half of the year remained very robust (up 12%), with particularly strong growth in France, Spain and Portugal. Europe now contributes 20% of Group revenue.

• As was previously announced, the regulator in Japan imposed a further leverage restriction at the end of the first quarter which negatively impacted the ability of clients to trade at the same level as previously. As a direct result of the leverage restrictions, net trading revenue in Japan was down year-on-year by 20%, to £16.5 million (FY11: £20.6 million), however the business showed signs of stabilising with revenue of around £4 million in each of the last three quarters.

• The Rest of the World revenue grew by 43% to £28.4 million (FY11: £19.9 million) with around 80% of the total coming from Singapore. The South African business was ahead by 46%, although the prior year comparable only contains nine months revenue following the acquisition in September 2010. Volumes on the Nadex exchange in the USA continue to grow steadily albeit from a low base. Although the revenue here remains immaterial to the Group as a whole, this is a potentially important medium term avenue for the Group.

Singapore leverage cap

• The Monetary Authority of Singapore has indicated an intention to reduce leverage on Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term from fifty times to 20 times. While we do not welcome this development, we believe that the impact it will have on our revenue will be significantly less than similar changes previously made in Japan as the MAS rules are more flexible and recognise the positive impact that stops have on reducing client risk.

Mobile

• Last month 21% of all client initiated transactions were made using one of our mobile apps, while 43% of the clients who dealt with us last month executed at least one transaction using a mobile app.

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