Plus500, a contracts for differences (CFDs) broker, has announced its first-half core financial results for 2018 on Monday. The firm, which saw a blowout first quarter and a strong second quarter of this year, has reported that its earnings have jumped by nearly threefold in the first half of 2018.
Revenues in the first half of 2018 more than doubled, coming in at $465.5 million. This is an increase of 147 percent from the first half of last year, which saw revenues of $188.4 million.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was also up by an impressive 195 percent year-on-year. For the six months ended June 30, 2018 EBITDA was $349 million, up from $118.5 million in the previous year.
Net profit also saw a significant increase of 189 percent year-on-year, totaling $261.7 million in H1 2018. Earnings per share were also up by 191 percent% at $2.30, from $0.79 in the same period last year.
Increase in active and new clients drove first-half results
According to the statement, the record results were partly due to an increase in active and new customers. In the first half of this year, active customers increased by 121 percent to hit the record level of 248,564 clients. This is in comparison to the first half of 2017, which saw 112,317 active customers.
The number of new customers also grew substantially. In the six months ended June 30, 2018, the number of new clients was up by 75 percent to 94,148. In the same period last year, the broker experienced an increase of 53,881 new customers.
Furthermore, the firm attributes its strong results to geopolitical events which have resulted in higher than expected market Volatility . This led to new and existing customers trading a diverse range of instruments through the broker. This is reflected in the total number of transactions in the first half of this year, which increased by 51 percent year-on-year.
Can Plus500 sustain these record results?
The record results for the first half follow an exception first quarter for the broker and a solid second-quarter performance. However, the CFDs broker has warned that it may not be able to sustain this level of growth in the second half.
According to the statement, the Plus500 said: “It is unlikely that the exceptional performance of H1 2018 will be repeated and the impact of rule changes will potentially affect less than half of EEA (European Economic Area) revenues (30 percent of Group revenues) in the short term.”
Asaf Elimelech
Commenting on the results, Asaf Elimelech, Chief Executive Officer of Plus500, said: "We have had a very successful first half with two major milestones; another record set of first half results including an exceptional first quarter performance and completion of our move up to the Main Market. The strong financial performance has enabled us to declare a very significant increase in shareholders returns by declaring a generous interim dividend."
"We have also made strong progress with our international diversification, within and outside the EEA, driven by our strong brand and new licences - Plus500 is now the biggest CFD Broker in the UK, Germany, Spain and Australia according to Investment Trends,9 we grew our Active Customers in Australia fivefold and started operating in Singapore."
According to the statement, the broker is currently on track to meet current market expectations for 2018. In addition, the trading activity to date for the third quarter is also in line with expectations.
