British multinational electronic trading company IG Group (IGG:L) has issued a trading update for the second quarter of the financial year ending 31 May 2015, ahead of entering its close period on 1 December 2014.
In contrast to the subdued first quarter of this year, client activity levels increased significantly in the second quarter, particularly in October, as the financial markets presented considerably more trading opportunities. The company performed very well over this period and will achieve quarterly revenue ahead of its previous highest quarter at the end of the 2013 year. This will place IG Group in a robust position as it enters the second half of the financial year.
With the increased volatility that has propelled results across many segments of the FX industry during September and particularly October, IG Group is also in a prime position to benefit from the current corporate interest in British CFD and spread betting companies from an overseas client base. The financial results for the six months ending 30 November 2014 will be announced on Tuesday 20 January 2015.
The company had taken some action toward mitigating the potential damage to profits that could have arisen from almost a year of low volatility across the majority of companies. In March this year, the company’s CFO Chris Hill explained that “Management actions within the company purposely de-emphasized low activity clients, and, importantly, we are beginning to see stabilization. Australia performed well in what is usually its worst quarter, and we experienced European market strength, especially in Germany and France.”
At that time, Mr. Hill explained that “Asian currency volatility has been low, which has a substantial effect was a result of FX being the main asset type in the Asia Pacific region. It is always difficult to forecast the full year’s revenue consensus, however the results attained during Q3 (2013) keeps us on track”
IG Group has been investing in future projects despite the times of low volumes that have plagued the majority of the FX industry, having gained its Swiss banking license and subsequently opened its operations in Switzerland, as well as having launched a proprietary retail stockbroking platform at a time when many FX and CFD firms are looking toward expanding stock trading facilities to their clients.
To read the official announcement from IG Group, click here.