Futu Holdings posted $281.4 million in gross profit during the first quarter of 2023, which is an increase of 13% over the $248.5 million it returned during the prior quarter. However, compared year-over-year (YoY), the profit surged by 56.3%.

The Hong Kong-based online brokerage and wealth management platform disclosed the figures on Wednesday in its unaudited financial results, noting that its total revenue and trading volume also jumped 9% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) during the period.

Total revenue during Q1 came in at $318.5 million, beating last quarter’s $292.3 million. On the other hand, total trading volume rose to HK$1.2 trillion, rising over the prior period’s HK$1.1 trillion. However, compared year-over-year (YoY) revenue increased 52.3% and trading volume declined 78%.

Additionally, Futu’s net income jumped 24% to $151.8 million during the first three months of 2023, rising from $122.9 million in the previous quarter. The figure represents a much larger growth of 108.4% when compared to the same period last year.

Futu's Trading Performance in Q1

Giving a breakdown of its trading volume for the period, Futu noted that trading in US-listed stocks generated the highest volume with HK$827.6 billion. This was followed by trading in Hong Kong stocks which brought in HK$372.2 billion.

Furthermore, Futu said trading under its Stock Connect programme reached HK$20 billion during the quarter. The programme enables investors to trade stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

Previously, Finance Magnates reported that Futu’s trading volumes have been declining over a few consecutive quarters with total volume going down 21% to HK$4.9 trillion at the end of last year. In addition, the YoY decline in trading volume in Q1 comes as the Chinese securities regulator in late 2022 flagged Futu and another brokerage, UP Fintech Holding, over their alleged involvement in the unlawful securities business.

Last week, Futu announced that it would be delisting the Futubull app from app stores in Mainland China on May 19, 2023. The move follows the regulator's warning against Futu and other similar trading platforms that enable access to non-Chinese stocks to investors in Mainland China.

Significant Growth in Other Metrics

Meanwhile, Futu reported significant growth in its other business performance metrics during the first quarter of 2023. For instance, the total number of paying clients of the brokerage jumped 15.2% YoY to 1.5 million during the quarter.

Furthermore, the total number of registered clients shot up 13.5% YoY to 3.3 million with the total users reaching 20 million. The figure represents a growth of 11% YoY in the brokerage's user base.

In addition, Futu's daily average client assets increased 16.7% to HK$453 billion during the first quarter. However, on the contrary, daily average revenue trades went down 13.7% to 514,105.

Futu Continues Expansion Plan

Meanwhile, Futu during the last quarter made progress on its efforts to diversify its Chinese presence by expanding towards Southeast Asia. The brokerage in the financial report disclosed that its Malaysian subsidiary has secured in-principle approval for a capital markets license in the country.

“We look forward to tapping into the immense market opportunity in Malaysia and further strengthening our presence in the Southeast Asian market,” said Leaf Hua Li, Futu’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

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