IG Group announces £250m buyback after recording annual revenues of £1bn on the back of strong US performance
IG Group upped its dividend and announced a new share buyback programme of £250m despite reporting a slight drop in pretax profit.
In the year to May, profit at the trading firm dropped six per cent to £449.9m, down from £477m last year. It upped its dividend to 45.2p from 44.2p last year.
The fall in profit came despite a five per cent increase in revenue, taking it to over £1bn annually for the first time.
The decrease in profit came as operating costs increased 17 per cent, which the firm blamed on foreign exchange headwinds and inflationary increases.
The makeup of IG’s revenue had changed slightly. While net trading revenue was down three per cent compared to last year, IG’s interest income rocketed to £80.8m, up from £800,000 last year.
IG Group said it was continuing its expansion into new markets, with US revenue increasing 47 per cent to £193m.
IG acquired Tastytrade back in 2021, marking a big expansion in the US. Tastytrade revenue increased 52 per cent to £170.3m thanks to significant growth in interest income.
Acting chief executive Charlie Rozes said the firm had delivered a “fourth consecutive year of record revenue”, demonstrating the success of IG’s expansion strategy.
“We’ve performed well in the much more difficult market conditions that persisted through most of the past year, maintaining our leadership position in OTC derivatives while building further momentum in our product and geographic expansion,” he said.
Shares were trading around 4.5 per cent higher on Thursday morning.
Analysts at Peel Hunt wrote “IG continues to diversify the business and has performed well through difficult markets”.