Spread betting and online trading company IG Group (LON:IGG) has enjoyed a sharp rise in the number of new clients and a jump in trading activity due to the coronavirus crisis.
The company said they had generated £173 million in the first 36 trading days of their Q4 trading period. When taking consideration revenue for the rest of the year it means IG have earnt £562.7 million in revenue so far in 2020FY, already well ahead of 2019FY’s £488m.
With the country under lockdown, traders have jumped at the opportunity to harness the volatility in financial markets by trading IG’s products.
The increase in activity means IG are set to return to revenue levels not seen since new ESMA regulations were implemented to help protect inexperienced retail clients from the high leverage of many of IG’s products.
However, the higher levels of activity meant remuneration levels would increase accordingly and costs were expected to rise by £40m.
The strength in the underlying business means IG Group are one of the few companies confident enough to maintain dividend payments and the company is to maintain their 43.2p dividend.
“During such a prolonged period of volatility, we’ve seen high volumes of clients choosing to trade markets with IG, reflecting our business resilience, our robust systems and our commitment to delivering the best possible trading experience,” said IG CEO, June Felix.
Cynics may argue the IG CEO attempts to distract from the fact IG have profited from the coronavirus crisis by drawing attention to the IG Brighter Future Fund in a large part of the comment on the results.
June Felix continued; “we are encouraged with the resilience and performance of our employees in such challenging times for everyone. The IG Brighter Future Fund builds on our culture of supporting the local communities in which we operate, helping disadvantaged young people gain access to improved educational opportunities. We are thrilled to be able to build on our partnership with Teach First and forge ties with other new international partners to support the long‐term education needs of children living through such an unsettling period.”
Shares in IG Group (LON:IGG) were down 0.6% in mid-afternoon trade having reverse early gains.
