In recent news, Plus500, an increasingly popular online CFD broker has reported an exceptional rise in revenue for the first three months of 2021. Plus500 are one of a few publicly traded CFD brokers that can be looked at to gauge activity in the market and are listed on LSE, under the ticker :PLUS.
The trading update released has a reported revenue of $203.2 million, which in comparison to the last quarter of 2020, is up by a massive 121%. This is a record jump in revenue for the broker.
The dramatic growth in revenue can be linked to the direct increase of the number of active clients which can be attributed in no small part to the cryptocurrency and stock trading interest generated in the retail market in the early part of this year. The number of clients has increased from 215,305 in the last quarter of 2020 to 269,743 in the first quarter of 2021, which reflects almost a 25% growth in traders.
Plus500 have also onboarded a staggering amount of new clients during the same time period. They have opened new accounts for 89,406 new clients in comparison to just 50,314 clients in Q4 2020.
The EBITDA for the company has also increased substantially in Q1; up to 121.7 million in comparison to just 19.9 million during Q4 of 2020. Q1 2021 has been particularly positive in all aspects for Plus500, and goes to show that retail trading appetite for CFD trading is very much alive and kicking.
The Plus500 share : buyback program and market activity supporting growth
Plus500 are continuing with their share buyback program, which is an active sign of belief in the company internally which resonates out into the market. The CFD broker has continued to buy back its’ own shares from the market over the past years with more than $88million bought back in 2020, and a further $29.2 million already initiated during Q1 2021.
The market, and retail traders in general should feel secure in knowing that Plus500 is very well capitalised, and with more than $675 million of cash on the balance sheet as of 31st March this is a broker that can look forward.
Plus500 have been active sponsors of the Spanish football club Atlético de Madrid and the company have renewed their sponsorship of the upcoming season of 2021 to 2022.
CEO of Plus500, David Zruia has expressed his pride in the company’s success and has released this statement in the latest announcement. “Plus500 delivered an excellent performance during Q1 2021, building on the positive momentum achieved in 2020. This performance has been driven by the strength and agility of our technology and its ability to respond rapidly to market developments, news events and customer requirements.”
He also added “Our vision is to enable simplified, universal access to financial markets, as we start to evolve from a technology company solely focused on CFDs to a multi-asset fintech group over time. We aim to achieve this by accessing multiple growth opportunities, through organic investment in our technology and targeted acquisitions. We are already making progress in delivering this vision, as highlighted by Plus500’s excellent performance so far this year. With this progress in mind, and with a market environment that continues to provide compelling trading opportunities for our customers, we remain confident about the outlook for business”