Admiral Markets reports net loss of €1.7M in H1 2021 as revenue halved
FX brokerage firm Admirals (formerly Admiral Markets) has reported its interim financial results for the six month ending December 2021, which saw mixed results across key components of its business.
Compared to a period of strong growth in 2020, Admiral Markets has seen noticeable drops in its financial figures in the first half of 2021. More specifically, during the six-month period ending June 30 Admiral Markets disclosed a net operating revenue of €17.3 million. The figure is down by nearly 55 percent year-over-year from €37.9 million in 2020.
Also, Admiral Markets saw its operating expenses ticking up in the H1 2021, after seeing a figure of €19.3 million – this was up 6 percent year-over-year from €18.2 million in 2020.
Meanwhile, the company’s bottom line figure was reported at a net loss of €1.7 million in the first six months of 2021, compared with a net profit of €20 million it earned in the year prior.
Despite its weak financials, Admiral Markets said 2021 has been “an excellent kick-off” for the results they expect to achieve in the next few years. This was reflected in onboarding more clients during the first half-year of 2021. Specifically, the company said the number of new clients was 82% higher than it was in 2020 and 451% more than in the same period of 2019.
The statement further reads:
“The first half of 2021 has been exceptional for us in terms of establishing ourselves in new regions. In June, as the first financial company of European origin, we started operations in Jordan, opened an office in Amman. It is the implementation of our long-term strategy, one of the goals of which is to continue expanding in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. On its way to expanding its global presence, another ground-breaking milestone was reached when we attained a financial license in South Africa. Strategically we have been developing our operations worldwide. This is one of the cornerstones of the long-term.”
Admiral Markets’ offering has seen dramatic additions in the past few months. The Estonian-based firm, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in March, has recently made headlines after undoing its previous decision to slash the fees it charges on some stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to zero.
Admirals decided to discontinue the zero-fee trading offer for Stock CFDs and ETF CFDs and started to levy a commission.
To put the move into context, Admirals was among trading platforms that took matters into their own hands amid unprecedented volatility in certain stocks. The company was getting tougher to restrict the trading of several highly shorted stocks following a trading frenzy led by amateur investors.
The multi-asset broker has also introduced dramatic changes to its trading terms around Stock and ETF CFDs, effectively banning purchases of the risky securities.
Admirals is licensed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). The regulatory approvals allow the brokerage firm to offer a set of financial services and also approved to provide cross-border services across the EU / EEA under European passport rights.
