Plus500 splashes cash on investors after US expansion bears fruit
Plus500 has kicked off another round of bumper returns to shareholders after delivering its highest customer income in five years following expansion into the US market. The FTSE 250 fintech recorded revenue of $462.9m for the first half of the year, up 12 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile customer income, which measures revenue generated directly from [...]
Plus500 has rewarded investors with record returns after successfully expanding into the US market, according to recent wire material. The FTSE 250 fintech company reported a first-half revenue of $462.9m, a 12% increase year-on-year. More importantly, customer income surged 24% to $461m, driven by rapid expansion in the US, particularly in segments outside of its traditional OTC business such as futures and physical share dealing.
Non-OTC revenue, which jumped 30% year-on-year, accounted for 15% of the group’s total revenue. The company projected $140m in annual revenue from this division and paid out $182.5m in investor returns, including a $100m buyback and $82.5m in dividends. Since its 2013 IPO, Plus500 has returned $3.1bn to shareholders, resulting in a 12,000% total return over thirteen years, making it the top-performing stock in the FTSE All-Share Index during that period.
Despite the revenue growth, the company's earnings before tax only increased by 1% to $188m, due to increased marketing investment aimed at attracting high-net-worth customers. Operating costs rose by 20% to $278.5m, primarily due to a $16m increase in marketing spend. Plus500's CEO, David Zruia, anticipates the full-year performance to meet market expectations of $811.5m in revenue and $365.1m in earnings before tax.
Written by urgent.news from City AM's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
