IG Group profit grows on strong H1 revenues, tastytrade acquisition
Spread betting and CFDs broker IG Group plc has today released its financial results for the first half of its fiscal year ending on 30 November 2021.
The UK online trading leader said its performance was driven by the continued increased levels of trading activity from existing clients, as well as the growing new customers.
IG Group stated group revenues were £471.9 million in the six months through November, in line with expectations and higher 16 percent than the same period in the prior year. The FTSE 250-listed firm added that excluding the FX hedging gain associated with the tastytrade acquisition, adjusted net trading revenue increased 14% to £466.1 million.
Profit before tax was reported at £245.2 million, up 8 percent compared to £227.8 million in the first half of the FY2021. Additionally, the group’s adjusted profit before tax increased 13% to £258.0 million, IG noted.
Total active clients were up 42% in the first half to 320,400 relative to 225,200 clients a year ago. This figure could be less impressive as it reflects the 53,600 new clients that tastytrade acquired in the same period. Further, tastytrade’s new client acquisitions somewhat moderated during the period as anticipated in less volatile market conditions.
June Felix, the Chief Executive Officer at IG Group, comments: “This has been a period of outstanding performance with record revenues and profits. Since we launched our new strategy three years ago, the group has transformed from a UK-centric CFD-focused firm to a global financial technology company with a multi-product trading platform. One of the key factors behind the success of this transformation is our ‘global reach, local focus’ which allows us to act with agility to tailor our offerings. Our outstanding growth in Japan is a strong illustration of this approach.”
IG Group has completed the acquisition of Chicago-based fintech startup tastytrade on June 28. The $1 billion deal included $300 million in cash and 61 million IG shares, which were valued at this time at $700 million.
On a quarterly scale, tastytrade contributed £20.8 million in Q1 revenues. Excluding that, IG Group’s adjusted net revenue was down 4 percent on a yearly basis, which the company says it reflected anticipated moderation in trading activity.
IG Group said earlier that the Q1 revenue generated in its core markets – countries regulated by the European Securities and Markets Authority, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Dubai and South Africa – amounted to £192.1 million. This figure was down 4 percent form £199.9 million in the corresponding period last year, reflecting the impact of ASIC regulation in Australia.
