Plus500 announces a net profit of $40.6 million for 1st semester 2015

Article by leaprate:

The broker managed to remain profitable in the first half of 2015 and even saw a strong rise in revenues in the period, in the face of regulatory setbacks that have affected its UK business.

CFD and Forex broker Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) has earlier today posted its financial results for the first half of 2015, with the numbers being in tune with earlier trading updates provided by the company.

Worth noting is that the brokerage, which is about to be acquired by Playtech PLC (LON:PTEC), managed to stay profitable in the period, in the face of the regulatory setbacks that affected its UK operations, leading to account freezes.

Financial highlights for H1 2015:
Revenues up 20% to $127 million (H1 2014: $106.2 million);
EBITDA down 23% to $55.5 million (H1 2014: $72.0 million);
EBITDA margin down 35% to 44% (H1 2014: 68%);
Net profit down 25% to $40.6 million (H1 2014: $53.8 million);
Earnings per share decreased 26% to $0.35 (H1 2014: $0.47);
ARPU down 14% to $1,362 (H1 2014: $1,580);
Operating cash flow down 58% to $26.2 million (H1 2014: $62.9 million);
Total dividend pay-out of $65 million (H1 2014: $33m);
Net cash down 17% to $95.5 million (H1 2014: $115.2 million).

Operational Highlights for H1 2015:
Continued growth in Active Customers – increased 39% to 93,267 (H1 2014: 67,232);
Continued growth in New Customers – increased 60% to 52,217 (H1 2014: 32,673);
Mobile and tablet adoption have continued to grow and now represent 65% of all subscribers.

Gal Haber, Chief Executive Officer of Plus500, commented:
“Despite the disappointing regulatory setback in the second quarter, the Group was profitable in every month in the first half and our business model continued to be cash generative. Our easy to use and robust platform continued to attract new customers and encourage active customers.

"Whilst the Group has been the subject of a high level of regulatory scrutiny, we have made significant progress in enhancing our compliance and onboarding processes in line with the recommendations of our regulatory advisors."

Current trading and outlook:
Market volatility has led to strong third quarter trading. As a result the Board expects revenues to be ahead of 2014 and to beat previous market expectations. However, while margins will benefit from this increased revenue, the overall profitability for the year is still not expected to match that of the prior year."