BGC Partners, a major financial technology and brokerage firm, released its first quarter 2023 metrics on Wednesday, reporting a marginal increase in its consolidated revenue from forex trading. The revenue rose 0.2% to $80.2 million (or 1% in constant currency), compared to the first quarter of 2022.

FX Generates Smallest Revenue Growth

The revenue boost was the least among all asset classes traded on BGC’s platforms. The first quarter revenue follows a marginal decrease of 0.5% year-over-year in BGC’s revenue from forex trading in 2022. The figure came in at $299.7 million at the time.

According to the financial report, revenues from energy and commodities generated the biggest increase, rising 8.8% from Q1 2022 to $89.7 million. This is followed by revenues from credit trading which rose 6.7% to $89.5 million. Furthermore, revenues from rates and equities trading jumped 3.7% and 1.5%, respectively, compared to the prior period last year.

“Total brokerage revenues improved by 4.2 percent (6.1 percent in constant currency) driven by higher trading volumes across all asset classes,” BGC explained. “The combination of meaningful interest rates and improving trading conditions led to higher client activity across Rates and Credit, driven by shorter-dated interest rate products and strong credit volumes.”

BGC's Second Highest Quarterly Revenue

Meanwhile, revenues from all of the Nasdaq-listed company’s businesses shot up 5.2% to $532.9 million in Q1 2023, driven by higher trading volumes following the end of zero-interest rates. The figure is BGC's second-highest quarterly revenue as the number fails to beat record revenues posted by the firm during the first quarter of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic drove trading volumes to record highs.

“Both our Voice / Hybrid and Fenics businesses saw solid growth with revenue up across all asset classes. Fenics grew by 12.0% (14.4% in constant currency), generating a record $140.4 million in quarterly revenue, representing 26.3% of BGC's total revenue,” BGC explained.

Also, the fintech company’s profitability was higher during the just-ended quarter, pushed by higher revenues and record quarterly productivity. In detail, the brokerage company’s pre-tax and post-tax adjusted earnings rose 10.2% and 12.1%, respectively. Additionally, its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization increased 7% compared to the prior year period.

FCA on whistleblower; Equinix's Q1 results; read today's news nuggets here.