(Sharecast News) - Shares in CMC Markets fell sharply on Thursday, after annual earnings at the online trading platform missed expectations.
Revenues rose 2% in the year to 31 March, to £340.1m, in line with guidance for between £320m and £360m.

Within that, trading and investing revenue fell 2% to £313.3m, while interest income rose 21% at £42.5m.

But while underlying pre-tax profits jumped 33% to £84.5m, they were below consensus for £90.6m, on higher-than-guided costs of £230.2m.

As at 0930 BST, the shares was trading 14% lower at 245.33p.

CMC, which was founded by former Conservative party treasure Peter Cruddas in 1989, said it had been "another year of strong results".

Looking ahead, the City firm added that recent trading conditions had been "supportive, providing good momentum in the 2026 full year".

It also flagged plans to target so-called Web 3.0 technologies, such as cryptocurrencies, tokenisation and decentralised finance (DeFi).

Lord Cruddas said: "Web 3.0 is a natural extension of everything we already do, just more efficient, more accessible and more scalable.

"The advent of Web 3.0 technologies has necessitated the development of our third vertical, DeFi functionality on blockchain networks. This is a move that positions CMC to take advantage of the structural changes we are seeing the financial ecosystem in the years to come."

CMC also confirmed a board shake-up, which will see senior independent director Paul Wainscott replace outgoing chair James Richards, David Fineberg and Matthew both Lewis step down - although they continue in their executive roles - and global head of capital markets Laurence Booth become a director.

Vivek Raja, analyst at Shore Capital, said: "CMC's share price has been volatile over the past few years, exacerbated by shar forecast upgrade/downgrade cycles.

"As impressive as its technological capabilities evidently are, the company's ability to articulate its equity story leaves much to be desired, in our view."

Shore Cap has a 'hold' rating on the FTSE 250 stock.

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