In what has been a sluggish six months in the financial markets, trading platform Plus500 Ltd (LSE:PLUS) has managed to grow revenues while increasing shareholder returns.
Top-line revenues are expected to come in at US$368.5mln (£287.7mln), a 15% improvement from the second half of 2022.
According to today's trading update, most revenues came from trading income, with interest income generating US$22.3mln.
Underlying (EBITDA) earnings fared even better, increasing 17% to US$174.1mln.
EBITDA margins also ticked higher, albeit only marginally from 46% to 47%.
Plus500 onboarded 50,449 new customers in the first half (compared to 49,274 in the last half of 2022), bringing the group’s total customer base to 175,762.
On the operational front, Plus500 focused on US expansion, supporting B2B clients with brokerage execution and clearing services while offering B2C clients a proprietary futures trading platform designed specifically for the sizable US retail trading market.
Plus500 also committed US$214.1mln to repurchasing shares in the period.
Chief executive David Zruia commented: “We made significant progress in optimising our growth opportunities in the US and Japan, where we continue to make substantial investments to take advantage of the opportunities ahead.
“Earlier this year the group obtained a license in the United Arab Emirates, demonstrating further progress in diversifying our geographic footprint across high-growth markets.”
Management expects Plus500 to hit its full-year earnings targets.