Plus500 has published its trading update for the third quarter of 2019 this Tuesday, revealing a solid quarter for the firm, buoyed by a volatile trading period thanks to US-China tensions and Brexit .
Namely, the global online service provider for trading contracts for differences (CFDs) managed to report a yearly uptick across its key metrics - revenue, EBITDA, and client acquisition. This is particularly notable, given the fact that the third quarter of 2018 had one month that wasn’t affected by ESMA ’s product intervention measures.
In the third quarter, ended on the 30th of September 2019, the Group’s revenue was $110.6 million. This represents an increase of 10 percent when measured against the $100.1 million in revenue achieved in Q3 of 2018.
According to the trading update, the uptick in revenues was due to geopolitical events in the quarter, which heightened trading activity. Contributing to revenue is $3.5 million of positive customer trading performance. However, this is less than the $5.5 million posted in Q3 2018.
During the period, the number of active customers came in at 110,939, which is a growth of nine percent from that achieved in the same period of the previous year. New customer acquisition was also up by 18 percent year-on-year.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) showed a 15 percent sequential improvement and an annual increase of two percent, the statement said. On the same note, the increase in new customers was coupled with a 42 percent year-on-year fall in the average user acquisition cost (AUAC) to $921 per customer.
Plus500 remains on track
Commenting on the results, Asaf Elimelech, Chief Executive Officer of Plus500, said: "Underlying operational performance and new customer acquisition metrics remain robust. We are confident we can continue to outperform our peer group in terms of customer acquisition, by maintaining the level of highly targeted marketing investment to exploit market opportunities as they appear, with these new customers expected to provide incremental revenues in due course.
"Like all operators in the sector, Plus500's performance for the remainder of the year is dependent, among other things, on financial market conditions providing sufficient trading opportunities for customers. However, we are encouraged by the continued improvement reported in Q3 and we remain on track to meet expectations for the year as a whole."
As of the time of publishing, Plus500's share price has risen by 6.49 percent, hitting a high earlier this morning of 8.45 percent.
