Punters eager to place bets on financial markets have sent customer numbers at Plus500 to a record high, but a slide in revenues raised questions about the type of trader flocking to the business.
Almost 270,000 people made at least one trade with Plus500 during the first three months of the year, a 39 per cent increase on a year earlier. The company attracted 89,406 new customers.
Plus500 said it expected full-year revenues and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation to be “moderately ahead” of City expectations. The shares slipped 11p, or 0.7 per cent, to £15.12.
Yet its three-month revenues fell by 36 per cent to $203.2 million from $316.6 million in last year’s first quarter when betting by traders had surged.
Average revenue per user dropped by 54 per cent year-on-year to $753, which Ian White, an analyst at Autonomous, said raised questions “around the quality of clients” coming on board.
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Plus500 is based in Israel but listed on the London stock market, where it is valued at almost £1.6 billion.
