Saxo Bank Group, which combines the roles of a bank and a multi-asset broker, earlier today reported its financial metrics for the first six months of 2015.
Although the earnings felt the impact of the decision of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on January 15, 2015 to remove the limits on the EUR/CHF rate, the Group enjoyed a rise in clients’ collateral deposits which reached new highs in the period.
Saxo Bank explains that as a result of the SNB decision, a number of the Group’s clients ended up with insufficient margin collateral to cover their losses on positions in the Swiss franc and any unsettled negative balances as of the end of the period have been fully provided for in the Group’s first half result.
The net loss for the Group related to the Swiss franc event stands at DKK 0.7 billion ($105.8 million) and has been included in full in the results for the period.
Saxo Bank said it had managed to restore the capital buffers to comfortable levels and its performance results have been supported further by the launch of the new multi-asset trading platform SaxoTraderGO.
Let’s examine the performance highlights for H1 2015:
- Operating income in the first six months of 2015 was DKK 751.5 million, down 44% from DKK 1,347.2 million registered in the equivalent period in 2014.
- EBITDA totaled DKK -307.8 million in the first half of 2015, compared with a positive result of DKK 448.3 million registered in the first half of 2014.
- Pre-tax loss for the first half of 2015 was DKK 592.5 million, compared with a pre-tax profit of DKK 222.2 million registered in the first half of 2014.
- Net loss for the first half of 2015 was DKK 484.6 million, down from a net profit of DKK 156.4 million registered in the first half of 2014.
- Clients’ collateral deposits totaled DKK 76,007 million in the first half of 2015, up 26% from DKK 60,346 million registered a year earlier.
- Total equity also grew, reaching DKK 4,095.7 million in the first six months of 2015, up from DKK 3,650.8 million in the first half of 2014.
- The total capital ratio for the Group stood at 19.4% by the end of the period compared to 19.7% at the end of 2014 as new capital instruments of DKK 565 million have been issued in April 2015.
The founders and co-CEOs of Saxo Bank, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, said in a joint statement:
“It was a challenging start to the year but we have come through the first half year even stronger and are looking to the future with drive and ambition. We see Saxo Bank as the preferred partner for clients and counterparts and with our forward-looking technology we will continuously pursue growth opportunities in the market to leverage these strengths.”
To view the official announcement by Saxo Bank, click here.
To examine the full financial report for the first half of 2015, click here.