REG - Plus500 Ltd - Q1 2024 Trading Update

Plus500Announcement

16/04/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240416:nRSP7081Ka&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 7081K  Plus500 Limited  16 April 2024

16 April 2024
 

Plus500 Ltd.

("Plus500", the "Company" or together with its subsidiaries the "Group")

Q1 2024 Trading Update

Further outstanding performance delivered

FY 2024 tracking ahead of market expectations

Plus500, a global multi-asset fintech group operating proprietary
technology-based trading platforms, announces today the following trading
update for the three months ended 31 March 2024.

David Zruia, Chief Executive Officer of Plus500, commented:

"Thanks to our established competitive advantages, continued strategic
progress and robust financial position, Plus500 generated another set of
strong operational and financial results during the period.

We continued to deliver against our strategic roadmap; expanding into new
markets, developing new products and deepening relationships with our
customers. In the US futures market, our B2B (Institutional) business will
soon launch an innovative new technological offering and we have secured an
additional full clearing membership to further enhance our clearing services.
Our B2C (Retail) business is performing extremely well, ahead of management's
expectations, and its contribution to the recruitment of new customers is
already not insignificant.

As a diversified, global business with a clear and proven strategy, Plus500 is
well positioned to continue delivering strong results and attractive returns
to its shareholders."

Financial Key Performance Indicators (unaudited):

                Q1 2024  Q1 2023  Change %           Q4 2023  Change %

                                  (Q1 24 vs Q1 23)            (Q1 24 vs Q4 23)
 Revenue        $215.6m  $207.9m  4%                 $189.6m  14%
 EBITDA 1       $102.6m  $100.9m  2%                 $86.1m   19%
 EBITDA Margin  48%      49%      (2%)               45%      7%

Operational Key Performance Indicators (unaudited):

                      Q1 2024  Q1 2023  Change %           Q4 2023  Change %

                                        (Q1 24 vs Q1 23)            (Q1 24 vs Q4 23)
 New Customers 2      31,949   28,201   13%                19,855   61%
 Active Customers 3   134,745  137,053  (2%)               117,800  14%
 ARPU 4               $1,600   $1,517   5%                 $1,610   (1%)
 AUAC 5               $1,320   $1,381   (4%)               $1,582   (17%)

Highlights:

·     Plus500 delivered another period of excellent operational and
financial performance, consistent with the Group's strategic roadmap, enabled
by the strength of the Group's multi-channel marketing approach, its
industry-leading proprietary technology, intuitive trading platforms and
robust financial position.

·     In January 2024, the Group secured a clearing membership with Eurex
Clearing AG (Eurex), the clearing house for the entire suite of products
traded at Eurex Exchange, the leading European derivatives exchange.

·     Reflecting this strategic progress, revenue in Q1 2024 increased to
$215.6m compared to $207.9m in Q1 2023.

·    Customer Income(( 6 )), a key measure of the Group's underlying
performance, increased by 7% to $169.6m in Q1 2024 compared to $157.8m in Q1
2023. Customer Trading Performance(( 7  (#_ftn7) )) during Q1 2024 stood at
$30.6m (Q1 2023: $50.1m). The Company continues to expect that the
contribution from Customer Trading Performance will be broadly neutral over
time.

·     EBITDA in Q1 2024 increased to $102.6m compared to $100.9m in Q1
2023, equating to an EBITDA margin of 48% (Q1 2023: 49%).

·     The Group remained debt-free and maintained a strong financial
position during the period, with cash balances of over $985m as at 31 March
2024 (31 March 2023: over $950m), having returned approximately $365m to
shareholders by way of dividends and share buybacks during FY 2023.

·   The Board of Directors of Plus500 (the 'Board') remains confident about
the Group's prospects and expects that performance for FY 2024 will be ahead
of current market expectations(( 8  (#_ftn8) )), driven by the Group's focus
on deepening customer engagement which has led to improved customer longevity
and increased activity levels.

Strategic update

Plus500 continued to deliver progress against its strategic roadmap during the
period, further developing the Group's position as a diversified, global
multi-asset fintech group. Highlights from the period include:

·    In the US futures market, the B2B (Institutional) business continued
to perform well and will soon launch a new, innovative technological offering
for its customers. The new offering will further enhance Plus500's position in
the US futures market and is expected to enable the continued success of the
Group in this market.

·  The B2C (Retail) business performed extremely well during the period and
continued to track ahead of management's expectations. Its contribution to new
customers at a Group level is already not insignificant, reflecting the
strength of its unique 'omni set solution' which allows customers to onboard,
deposit and trade through one platform.

·    The Group's business in the UAE saw an increase in new and retained
customers during Q1 2024, with growth in revenue and profit contribution. As
stated previously, Plus500 will continue to invest in this important,
high-growth market in order to maximise the potential the Group believes it
can deliver.

·    In recent years, Plus500 has introduced new technologies to enhance
its customer engagement efforts. As evidence of further delivery against the
Group's strategic roadmap, these new technologies have improved the Group's
monetisation, activation and long-term retention capabilities and have
enhanced the quality of Plus500's customer cohorts, driving greater
performance.

·     The Group launched an upgraded version of its 'Trading Academy'
during the period, which now offers enhanced educational materials across
multiple formats including 'how-to' trading videos, informative articles and
webinars.

Trading update

Plus500 delivered strong financial and operational results for Q1 2024. Driven
by the scalability and agility of the Group's proprietary technology and its
diversified business model, revenue and EBITDA increased year-on-year to
$215.6m (Q1 2023: $207.9m) and $102.6m (Q1 2023: $100.9m), respectively.
Within Group revenue, trading income was $200.2m and interest income was
$15.4m.

The Group onboarded 31,949 New Customers in Q1 2024 (Q1 2023: 28,201),
representing growth of 13% year-on-year, enabled by the Group's marketing
technology and the strength of its intuitive trading platforms. Active
Customers stood at 134,745 in Q1 2024 (Q1 2023: 137,053).

Customer deposits were $0.7bn (Q1 2023: $0.6bn) and the average deposit per
Active Customer increased by 27% to approximately $5,400 in Q1 2024 (Q1 2023:
approximately $4,250), highlighting customers' on-going loyalty and confidence
in Plus500's technology, diverse product portfolio and excellent customer
experience.

ARPU increased by 5% to $1,600 in Q1 2024 (Q1 2023: $1,517), reflecting the
investments that Plus500 has made over recent years in attracting and
retaining higher value customers for longer periods of time. Deepening
customer engagement remains a key part of the Group's strategic roadmap,
alongside launching new products, entering new markets, and expanding
Plus500's offering in existing markets.

AUAC was broadly flat during Q1 2024 at $1,320 (Q1 2023: $1,381), and fell
materially quarter-on-quarter by 17%, reflecting the Group's ability to
optimise its marketing capabilities whilst focusing on maintaining attractive
returns on investments.

Financial position

Plus500's strong financial position and cash generative business model, with
cash balances of over $985m as at 31 March 2024 (31 December 2023: $906.7m),
enable the Group to make focused strategic investments as part of its
disciplined capital allocation policy, and ultimately, drive Plus500's strong
financial performance.

Shareholder returns

During Q1 2024 the Company repurchased 1,483,445 shares, at an average price
of £17.66, for a total cash consideration of $33.3m. As at 31 March 2024, the
remaining number of the Company's ordinary shares in issue was 78,234,595.

Outlook

Plus500's strategic roadmap is designed to position the Group for key growth
opportunities, including new products, services and markets, as well as the
expansion of its core OTC 9  product offering, share dealing, futures and
options on futures products and by deepening its customer engagement and
retention initiatives. These growth opportunities will be accessed by the
Group's ongoing focus on developing its position as a global multi-asset
fintech group, and will be achieved by further organic investments in
technology, marketing and people, as well as by actively targeting bolt-on
acquisitions in selected markets where attractive opportunities exist.
Reflecting this progress, the Board expects that the FY 2024 results will be
ahead of current market expectations.

For further details

 Plus500 Ltd.
   Elad Even-Chen, Chief Financial Officer   +972 4 8189503

   Owen Jones, Head of Investor Relations    +44 (0) 7551 654208

                                             ir@Plus500.com (mailto:ir@Plus500.com)

 Dentons Global Advisors
   James Melville-Ross                       +44 (0)20 7664 5095

   James Styles                              Plus500@dentonsglobaladvisors.com (mailto:Plus500@dentonsglobaladvisors.com)

   Methuselah Tanyanyiwa

About Plus500

Plus500 is a global multi-asset fintech group operating proprietary
technology-based trading platforms. Plus500 offers customers a range of
trading products, including OTC ("Over-the-Counter" products, namely Contracts
for Difference (CFDs)), share dealing, as well as futures and options on
futures.

The Group retains operating licences and is regulated in the United Kingdom,
Australia, Cyprus, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, the
Seychelles, the United States, Estonia, Japan, the UAE and the Bahamas and
through its OTC product portfolio, offers more than 2,500 different underlying
global financial instruments, comprising equities, indices, commodities,
options, ETFs, foreign exchange and cryptocurrencies. Customers of the Group
can trade its OTC products in more than 60 countries and in 30 languages.

Plus500's trading platforms are accessible from multiple operating systems
(iOS, Android and Windows) and web browsers. Customer care is, and has always
been, integral to Plus500. As such, OTC customers cannot be subject to
negative balances. A free demo account is available on an unlimited basis for
OTC trading platform users and sophisticated risk management tools are
provided free of charge to manage leveraged exposure, and stop losses to help
customers protect profits, while limiting capital losses.

Plus500 shares have a premium listing on the Main Market of the London Stock
Exchange (symbol: PLUS) and are a constituent of the FTSE 250 index.
www.plus500.com (http://www.plus500.com) .

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company
to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulation ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory
Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be
in the public domain.

Forward looking statements

This announcement contains statements that are or may be forward-looking
statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included
in this announcement may be forward-looking statements, including statements
that relate to the Group's future prospects, developments and strategies. The
Company does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of
any information reported by the press or other media, nor the fairness or
appropriateness of any forecasts, views or opinions express by the press or
other media regarding the Group. The Company makes no representation as to the
appropriateness, accuracy, completeness or reliability of any such information
or publication.

Forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases
such as "believe", "targets", "expects", "aim", "anticipate", "project",
"would", "could", "envisage", "estimate", "intend", "may", "plan", "will" or
the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including
references to assumptions. The forward-looking statements in this announcement
are based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance and
achievements to differ materially from any results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors
that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such forward looking statements include, but are not limited to,
those described in the Risk Management Framework section of the Company's most
recent Annual Report. These forward-looking statements are based on numerous
assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of the Group
and the environment in which it is and will operate in the future. All
subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributed to the
Company or any persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their
entirety by the cautionary statement above. Each forward-looking statement
speaks only as at the date of this announcement. Except as required by law,
regulatory requirement, the Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules, neither the Company nor any other party intends to update
or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.

 

 

 1  EBITDA - Revenue (trading income and interest income) minus operating
expenses plus depreciation and amortisation

 2  New Customers - Customers depositing for the first time

 3  Active Customer - Customers who made at least one real money trade during
the period

 4  ARPU - Average Revenue Per User

 5  AUAC - Average User Acquisition Cost

 6  Customer Income - Revenue from OTC Customer Income (customer spreads and
overnight charges) and Non-OTC Customer Income (commissions from the Group's
futures and options on futures operation and from 'Plus500 Invest', the
Group's share dealing platform)

 7   Customer Trading Performance - Gains/losses on customers' trading
positions

 8  Market expectations - Based on compiled analysts' consensus forecasts
(Source: Bloomberg), which can be found on the Investor Relations section of
the Company's website, which were for revenue and EBITDA of $670.0m and
$300.0m, respectively, for FY 2024

 9  OTC - Over-the-Counter products, namely Contracts for Difference (CFDs)

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTFLFEASIIELIS