17th Feb 2021 07:58
(Alliance News) - Plus500 Ltd on Wednesday said its earnings surged in 2020 amid an increase in active and new customer numbers.
In addition, the FTSE 250-listed online trading services provider proposed a share buyback programme. Plus500 said it intends to buy back up to USD25.0 million of its shares, following the completion of a separate buyback it announced in August 2020.
The company said it has appointed Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd to manage the new share buyback programme, which will run from February 17 to August 11 or, if earlier, the date of the announcement of the company's interim results for the six months to the end of June.
Turning back to results, Plus500 said total revenue more than doubled in 2020 to USD872.5 million from USD354.5 million, with customer income, the company's key growth metric, also more than doubling to USD997.5 million.
The company said unprecedented levels of platform usage drove exceptional delivery across all key metrics, with over 82 million customer trades in 2020 compared to 35 million trades reported in 2019. Client deposits rose to USD2.9 billion, from USD1.0 billion a year earlier.
Pretax profit, meanwhile, jumped to USD523.3 million from USD189.3 million reported the year before.
As a result, the company said it will pay a final dividend of USD0.5422 per share compared to USD0.3767 per share paid the year earlier. In addition, the company said it will pay a special dividend of USD0.2870 per share.
"2020 was an exceptional year for Plus500, in unprecedented market conditions, where we delivered a record performance due to the strength and agility of our technology and its ability to respond rapidly to market developments and news events," said Chief Executive David Zruia.
"In an unprecedented market environment, where circumstances can develop very quickly, the strength of our technology ensures we remain very well prepared for future growth and, consequently, the board remains confident about the outlook for Plus500," added Zruia.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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