London-based spread betting firm IG Group Holdings has issued a trading update for the previous six months revealing that it expects to post revenues of approximately $187.7 million for the period.

This is up 45 percent from the $129.2 million it reported for the first half of the year and is due to current ‘market volatility’, which has also seen it post record levels of account openings and client activity.

IG Group stated that it is trading ahead of expectations and has seen 85 percent quarter-on-quarter growth leading to expected pre-tax profits for the period of approximately $87.1 million, which is 21 percent higher than the first-half’s $72.2 million.

The firm revealed that trading conditions have been strong over the period, particularly in the second quarter, enabling it to achieve high levels of growth. It announced that both its UK spread betting operation and its CFD operation, which deals with clients worldwide, have contributed to this growth.

“The first half saw continuing growth across our financial businesses with record levels of account opening, client activity, revenues and pre-tax profit,” said Tim Howkins, Chief Executive Officer for IG Group.

“We also completed the acquisition of FX Online, an important milestone in our strategic plans.

“Global markets have seen exceptional events in this period and market volatility, particularly during October, was extraordinary. As a result of our experience in October, we have made prudent provisions and made changes to our systems and processes to reduce the risk of potential bad debts in the future. While our business is generally a beneficiary of market volatility, extraordinary market conditions like those seen in October inevitably produce both higher revenues and higher risk of doubtful debts.

“Our underlying business has performed very well and account openings and client activity continue to be strong. We remain confident in the outlook for the business.”


Source: iGamingBusiness.com