CFD broker Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) has today announced a trading update for the three months ended 31 March 2015.
The company has experienced remarkable financial success during the last year, and has made a sterling entry into 2015, with a 23.4% increase in revenues compared to the last quarter of 2014, as well as a 72% increase in new customers.
One of Plus500’s strengths is its commercial efficiency, a factor which has stood the company in good stead before and after listing on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market.
Customer acquisition cost is a major consideration for many firms across the retail FX industry, and Plus500 has this refined its methodology in this regard, onboarding 32,880 new clients in the first three months of 2015, compared to 19,032 in the last quarter of 2014, at an average cost per client acquisition of $892 – down from $1,120 in Q4, testimony to Plus500’s well honed approach.
Looking at it in terms of figures, Plus500 made a 72% increase in new clients in the first three months of this year compared to the final three months of last year, and it cost the company 20% less on average to acquire the new customers.
Overview
· Record number of new and active customers for the quarter
· Record revenues for the quarter
· Continued market share growth in our leading markets
· Maintained cost effective marketing for new customers
Key Performance Indicators
Key customer and revenues metrics for the three months ended 31 March 2015 were as follows:
Trading review
Plus500 achieved record revenues in all its leading regulated markets, which are principally in the UK and Western Europe. Plus500’s worldwide brand awareness together with positive market conditions helped in achieving these record numbers, including the impact of the exceptional movement in the Swiss Franc in January. Also, the Company released a Windows Phone dedicated app during the period as it continues to invest in R&D to maintain its competitive advantage.
Dividends
One of the strengths of Plus500’s business model is its ability to convert net earnings into cash-flow, as reflected in the Board’s base 60% pay-out ratio dividend policy. The Board retains flexibility to pay special dividends when the Company generates surplus cash and it is felt appropriate to make such payments. The final dividend and a special dividend for the year ended 31 December 2014 are together payable on 15 May 2015, contributing to a total pay-out for 2014 of $92 million (2013: $41 million).
Outlook
The Board reaffirms its confidence in achieving market expectations for the year as a whole and its commitment to pursuing a progressive dividend policy.
Gal Haber, Chief Executive of Plus500, commented:
We are pleased to announce a record quarter ahead of market expectations. Plus500’s worldwide brand coupled with our superior proprietary technology along with market volatility contributed to this strong performance.
We are also proud to be a new sponsor to Atlético Madrid Football Club, the defending La Liga champions and last year’s Champions League finalist. Atlético is one of the leading clubs in the world and a natural fit for Plus500. We believe the increased brand awareness resulting from this partnership will help strengthen our position as a leading CFD trading platform.
For the official trading statement from Plus500, click here.