Swissquote Sees Record Operating Revenues, eForex Business a Mixed Bag in 2015

Swissquote has released its financial results for the 2015 fiscal year, which despite the turmoil caused by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), still managed to secure record numbers across key components of its business, according to a Swissquote statement.

To the surprise of few, Q1 2015 was a low point for the group, which incurred a negative result in mostly every possible metric – however, this weakness was pared by years end, ultimately ending with $147.6 million (CHF 146.5 million) in operating figures for net revenues, a record for the broker.

In addition, Swissquote saw its operating revenues climb higher by a margin of 4.2% YoY to $152.8 million (CHF 151.6 million) during 2015 from $146.6 million (CHF 145.5 million) in 2014, surpassing the CHF 150.0 million threshold for the first time in the company’s existence.

The operating revenues were primarily influenced by the SNB’s interest rate policy. In particular, this figure was bolstered by net trading income, which exploded 24.5% YoY in net fees and commission incomes, gaining 5.9% YoY. Net trading income came in at $67.1 million (CHF 66.6 million) during 2015, helped by Swissquote’s derivatives platform SwissDots.

One area where Swissquote did not see a strong year in was its eForex business, as income dropped to $54.4 million (CHF 54.0 million) in 2015, down from $55.2 million (CHF 54.8 million). Furthermore, eForex volume decreased to $873.6 billion during 2015, correlating to a drop of -13.9% YoY from $1,014 billion in 2014.

In terms of overall accounts at Swissquote, the broker also saw sustained growth in 2015. The total number of accounts at the broker in 2015 rose by 9,405 to 231,327 accounts, or 4.2% YoY from 221,922 accounts in 2014. Of these accounts, Swissquote’s eForex business captured the biggest gain, securing 18.4% YoY or 26,246 accounts in 2015.