CMC Markets PLC (LSE:CMCX) said net operating income for the financial year just ended should be at the top end of the company’s guidance range.
The trading platform operator reported net operating income for the year to the end of March 2022 should be around £280mln, representing a record performance “outside of the pandemic period”.
The company saw a strong rebound in performance in the first three months of 2022, which was its strongest quarter of the fiscal year.
Active monthly trading client numbers continue to remain at similar levels as reported earlier in the year while the group’s Asia-Pacific stockbroking business finished fiscal 2022 with record assets under administration and a record number of annual active clients.
Gross leveraged client income for fiscal 2022 is expected to be roughly £288mln, down from £335mln the year before, while leveraged trading revenue is tipped to decline by around a third to £230mln or so from £349mln the prior year. Non-leveraged trading revenue slipped to about £48mln from £55mln the previous year.
CMC has this week delivered the initial internal launch of CMC Invest, its UK non-leveraged platform, which is being put through its paces by CMC’s UK staff. The launch was achieved ahead of schedule and on budget. The new platform will be made available to the broader market over the coming quarter, CMC revealed.
CMC will also be launching a new investment platform in Singapore within a year and is considering two other jurisdictions for launch next year as it widens its geographic footprint.
The group said the current fiscal year (FY) will be another year of investment in these strategic initiatives, which aim to deliver future revenue growth. In addition to the incremental investment, FY 2023 costs are expected to grow with higher marketing spending together with further investment in personnel.
“Outside of the pandemic year (financial year ending March 2021), this is a record net operating income result for the company. The performance reflects the ongoing success of our B2B [business-to-business] technology partnerships and focus across our leveraged and non-leveraged businesses,” said Lord Cruddas, the chief executive officer of CMC Markets.
“This business continues to change as we look to utilise our technology to enter new markets and expand our non-leveraged offering,” he added.