Plus500 interim revenue up but profit hit by regulatory issues
Foreign exchange and contracts-for-difference broker Plus500, which is being bought by Playtech, posted a rise in interim revenue but a drop in profit as its second quarter was hit by regulatory issues.
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For the six months ended 30 June, revenue was up 20% from the first half of last year at $127m, but pre-tax profit slid 29% to $52.1m. The fall in profit was due to a poor performance in the second quarter of the year, when the company revealed compliance issues which forced it to halt trading in some of its UK-regulated accounts.
The company said revenue per user fell 14% in the first half but active customer numbers were up 39% and new customers increased 60%.
Chief executive officer Gal Haber said: “Despite the disappointing regulatory setback in the second quarter, the group was profitable in every month in the first half and our business model continued to be cash generative.
"Our easy to use and robust platform continued to attract new customers and encourage active customers.
"Whilst the group has been the subject of a high level of regulatory scrutiny, we have made significant progress in enhancing our compliance and onboarding processes in line with the recommendations of our regulatory advisors."
Plus500 said that the third quarter has started strongly and as a result, it now expects revenues to be ahead of 2014 and previous market expectations.
At 1108 BST, shares were up 0.9% at 381.81p.