Sept 27 (Reuters) – Spreadbetting firm Plus500 Ltd said on Wednesday that full-year revenue and profits would be ahead of market expectations, pushing its shares up 8 percent.
Analysts expect revenue of $335.72 million, with core earnings of $184 million for the year ending Dec. 31, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Plus500 reported revenue of $327.9 million and core earnings of $151 million in 2016.
Plus500 said in a short update that the “business continues to trade strongly.”
“This is being driven by brand recognition and marketing, causing an increase in both customer numbers and average revenue per user,” Berenberg analysts who rate Plus500 as “buy”, said in a research note.
The company, which provides an online trading platform for retail customers to trade contracts for differences (CFDs), doubled its first-half 2017 core earnings and said in August that 2017 results would significantly exceed expectations.
Plus500 added 31,671 new customers in the second quarter, up 43 percent on the 22,210 it added in the first.
CFDs allow people to bet on moves in share prices without having to buy the underlying stock. However, regulators have been tightening controls on the fast-growing 3.5 billion pound ($4.70 billion) spreadbetting industry.
Plus500, whose rivals include CMC Markets and IG Group, is scheduled to report third quarter results on Oct. 31.
IG Group reported record quarterly revenue this month, in relatively quiet financial markets, helped by an expanded client base.
Shares in Plus500 were up 4.8 percent at 870 pence at 0750 GMT. ($1 = 0.7454 pounds) (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)
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