CMC Markets PLC (LON:CMCX) has confirmed it had an exceptional first half in its current financial year as it whacked up the interim dividend by 222%.
In its results statement covering the six months to the end of September 2020, the trading platform operator said that the second half of its financial year had started strongly and there are encouraging signs regarding the staying power of recently signed-up clients.
The FTSE 250-listed firm's net operating income in the first half was £230.9mln, up 126% from the £102.3mln posted in the corresponding period of 2019 and the group said it is confident that net operating income for the full-year will top £370mln.
Net trading revenue from the CFD and spread betting side of the business shot up 135% to £200.4mln from £85.1mln the year before while CMC's stockbroking business saw net trading revenue surge by 82% to £26.3mln from £14.5mln as a result of higher market volatility and increases in the client base.
CFD revenue per active client up was up 66% year-on-year to £3,392, which CMC attributed to “an unwavering strategic focus on high-quality clients”.
The number of active CFD clients jumped by 42% to 59,082.
Profit before tax rocketed to £141.1mln from £30.1mln the year before.
The interim dividend was hiked to 9.2p from last year’s interim dividend of 2.85p and the group's board has indicated that the full-year pay-out will be in line with the company’s policy of paying out half of retained earnings.
“At CMC our goal is to constantly provide a superior and unrivalled online trading experience for our clients and through this period of market uncertainty, we have provided a CFD platform with 99.97% uptime. We look to lead with quality and in the period have been able to on-board a record number of high-quality clients and deliver significant growth across all of our key businesses,” said Peter Cruddas, the chief executive officer of CMC in the interim results statement.
“The significant increase in net trading revenue across all areas of the business in H1 2021 is a result of the group's unwavering focus on our strategic initiatives. This has delivered increased diversification of group revenues, improved CFD client income and an increased number of active clients,” he added.
“Looking ahead, while it is still too early to know the full extent of the changes in client trading demand, we have had the ability to demonstrate the strength of our offering and are confident in retaining the high-quality clients we target. I believe that CMC is in an excellent position.
"We have many opportunities to leverage our technological innovation, quality client service and platform strength, and these will allow us to expand our product portfolio and deliver further profitable growth for the group. I believe that, based on these competitive advantages, we will be able to provide highly attractive returns for our shareholders over the coming years,” Cruddas said.