Fintech Plus500 sees earnings double as London listed firm pushes on with US expansion
Fintech firm Plus500 more than doubled its earnings to $100m in the first quarter of the year as it cashes in on a US expansion and boosts the amount of retail traders on its platform.
In an update this morning, the London-listed firm said that earnings before deductibles (EBITDA) has rocketed 116 per cent to $100.9m in the three months to the end of March, up from $46.7m in the previous quarter.
Plus500 has posted a series of bumper results as amateur traders continue to punt on the markets despite extreme volatility in the past year.
Income from customers came in at $157.8m in the three months to the end of March, the firm said, reflecting a retention of “higher value customers” on its platform.
Boss David Zruia told City A.M. this morning that the firm was now looking to double down on geographical expansion in the US in the years ahead.
“We are expecting to generate about $250m between three to five years from the US,” said Zruia in an interview. “I can share with you that [we are] progressing very well with these plans”.
Retail trading and investment platforms notched a surge in revenues through the pandemic as homebound investors took to the markets. However, unlike some of its peers, Plus500 has managed to maintain customers through a downturn this year.
The firm said today it had signed over 28,000 new customers in the period and active customer numbers were five per cent higher than in the fourth quarter of last year.
Zruia said “more instruments, more tools, more education” had helped keep customers despite volatility.
“All of these basically get customers to trade more and stay more with the platform,” he added.
The results were cheered by analysts today, with Liberum doubling down on its buy recommendation.
“Plus500 continues to trade well, delivering another excellent financial performance, reflecting a business model built on a unique, proprietary tech stack which delivers customer acquisition and retention,” said analyst Nick Anderson.
“Cash generation remained strong in the quarter, allowing significant shareholder returns and further investment in the group’s growth and diversification strategy which aims to build a multi-asset fintech platform.”
Shares in the firm are trading up 0.7 per cent following the announcement today.