After having a record first half of the year, Plus500, an online contracts for difference (CFD) and Forex brokerage, has announced its preliminary unaudited results for 2018. As can be expected, the broker managed to report a strong uptick in its key metrics, including revenues.
Not only did Plus500 have a record first half of 2018, as Finance Magnates reported, the broker also managed to close the year out on solid footing. All in all, this performance led to revenues during the year climbing by 65 percent to reach $720.4 million, a record for the company, up from $437.2 million in 2017.
Net profit, which came in at $379 million for 2018, also recorded a significant jump of 90 percent when measured against the previous year. EBITDA also jumped by 95 percent, climbing from $259.2 million in 2017 to $506 million in 2018.
According to the statement released by the broker, the strong results were in part driven by an “exceptional” first quarter, which was largely thanks to an uptick in cryptocurrency trading. Furthermore, during the year Plus500 stock was officially listed on the FTSE 250 Index in September.
Although the company did see a drop in performance during the third quarter, with the implementation of Regulation from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on August 1, 2018, Plus500 remained confident in its ability to recover in the final quarter of the year.
Plus500 Expects a Drop in 2019 Revenues and Profit
However, looking forward to 2019, the broker admits that it will not be able to maintain this level of performance. In fact, Plus500 believes that both revenue and profit for 2019 will be materially lower than current market expectations. This is due to the ESMA restrictions and the company’s plans to maintain its marketing spend.
Plus500 intends to partially offset this by increasing its global footprint, which will allow the firm to diversify its revenues outside of Europe, the statement said.
Nonetheless, so far, Plus500 has started off the new year with positive operational KPIs. Already, the broker’s new customer and active customer numbers, as well as the number of new trades opened, are ahead of the end of 2018.
Asaf Elimelech
Source: LinkedIn
Commenting on the results, Asaf Elimelech, the Chief Executive of Plus500 said: "We are pleased to report a year of record numbers and performance, well ahead of our original expectations. These results demonstrate both our strong operational performance and differentiation from our industry peers."
“Our focus on innovation and technology leadership continues to deliver benefits, through the acquisition of New Customers and the continued activity and increasing loyalty of existing ones, evident in the continued downward trend in customer churn."
"It was a momentous year as we successfully completed our move up to the premium listing segment of the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for Listed Companies, with the subsequent inclusion in the FTSE250 - barely five years since our successful AIM IPO. This listing is already increasing interest in Plus500 and we expect it to further improve the trust and confidence of investors.”
Plus500 Appoints Steven Baldwin as Chair of the Nomination Committee
Today, Plus500 also revealed that it has appointed Steven Baldwin, a current non-executive director of the company, to Chair the Company’s Nomination Committee. Daniel King, who has been the Chair of the Nomination Committee up until now, will remain as a member of the committee.
