Plus500 has issued its Trading Update for the just completed financial quarter, ending June 30th. According to the firm, both revenue and profits are expected to beat expectations, even as they stated that market activity during the quarter was “relatively subdued." Among volume figures gathered for the quarter by Forex Magnates, the period has been weak across the board, with brokers from all regions and types experiencing declines. Non-final estimates are that Q2 activity has declined over 10% from Q1.
Despite the overall market weakness, Plus500 attributed its positive performance on higher average revenue per user (APRU) and “ongoing improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of the Company's online marketing efforts." In the past, the latter statement has referred to decreasing their average cost of client Acquisition . They added that the operational improvement has offset slower onboarding of new customers as they stated, “These trends have more than offset a slower quarter of customer acquisition which has been particularly noticeable during recent ongoing sporting events.”
Positive Q2 results notwithstanding, Plus500 didn’t provide forecasts for the full year, leaving it as, “Whilst it is too early to predict the outcome for the full year, with the benefit of ongoing initiatives to improve the Company's customer acquisition, retention and revenue generation the Board looks ahead with confidence.” Results for Q2 and the first half of the year are expected to be released on August 13th.
Ahead of the news, shares of Plus500 (PLUS.L) closed yesterday down 4.95% to 462p. After peaking in April at 707p on bullish full year 2013 results, shares of the company have been trending lower, currently off 35% from their all-time highs. The decline can be attributed to an increase in the available float of their shares after insiders sold additional stakes of equity in secondary offerings, overall industry weakness online brokers, and most recently questions about their accounting.
