Plus500 smashes expectations on booming trading activity

Booming trading activity driven by retail investors participating in financial markets for the first time amid Covid-19 lockdowns led Plus500 to smash expectations for its full-year performance, the trading platform announced today.

Income for the year at Plus500 hit $718m (£528m), ahead of consensus forecasts, lifted by robust trading volumes throughout 2021.

Earnings before interest and tax, the platform’s favoured measure of profits, is expected to come in around $387m (£284m).

Earnings per share for 2021 will come in around $3.10 (£2.20).

Plus500’s shares jumped over three per cent on the news.

David Zruia, chief executive of Plus500, said: “We are pleased to have delivered another strong year of financial performance, as well as making significant progress with our strategic and operational plans to strengthen our position as a leading global multi-asset fintech group.”

“With the Group having further strengthened its positioning during 2021, the board remains confident about the future for Plus500 and continues to expect that the group will deliver sustainable growth over the medium to long term.”

The full-year results demonstrate Plus500 has tempered investors’ expectations well throughout 2021, according to City analysts.

The firm “has managed expectations well this year, with a number of upgrades a s trading has proved more resilient than feared at the start of the year,” analysts at Peel Hunt said.

“Customer numbers may continue to soften, but this is already broadly reflected in forecasts,” they added.