Pre-Close Trading Update

RNS Number : 2992J

IG Group Holdings plc

04 December 2018

 

4 December 2018

LEI No: 2138003A5Q1M7ANOUD76

IG GROUP HOLDINGS PLC
Pre Close Trading Update

IG Group Holdings plc ("IG", "the Group", "the Company"), a global leader in online trading, today issues an update ahead of entering its close period following the end of the first half of the financial year ending 31 May 2019 ("FY19").

Revenue in the first half is expected to be around 6% lower than in the same period in FY18, which was a record for IG.

The ESMA product intervention measures came into effect during the period.  The prohibition on offering binary options to retail clients became effective from 2 July 2018 and the restrictions relating to the provision of CFDs to retail clients were effective from 1 August 2018.  Group revenue in the four month period since all the measures came into effect is expected to be around 10% lower than in the same period a year ago.  Revenue in that four month period in the ESMA region (UK and EU) is expected to be around 20% lower, with revenue from the Group's business in APAC and other non-ESMA region countries expected to be around 9% higher.  Both of these figures are underlying changes, adjusting for the 1,200 clients who previously contracted with a UK entity who are now trading with an entity outside the ESMA region.

The number of clients in the UK and EU who have elected to be classified as professional continued to increase during the period. Around 70% of UK and EU revenue in the four months since all the measures were introduced has been generated by professional clients.

The number of new OTC leveraged clients who traded for the first time with IG in the period was 14,600 compared with 18,027 in the same period of the prior year.  This comprises 8,200 in the ESMA region (H1 FY18: 11,666) and 6,400 in the APAC and non-ESMA regions (H1 FY18: 6,361).

The Group has continued to make progress with its strategic initiatives. IG Europe, the Group's client facing subsidiary in Germany, has received its licence from BaFin. This provides certainty that IG will be able to offer its regulated financial products in all EU member states following the UK's exit from the EU. The Group's USA subsidiary has been approved as a member of the National Futures Association (NFA) and is now registered to operate as a Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED).

Board Update

Sally-Ann Hibberd, a Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees has today also been appointed as a member of the Nomination Committee.

The next performance announcement from IG will be the financial results for the six months ended 30 November 2018 on 22 January 2019. 

For further information, please contact:

IG Group

Liz Scorer                                             020 7573 0727

[e-mail]

FTI Consulting

Neil Doyle / Ed Berry                     020 3727 1141 / 1046

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

About IG

IG empowers informed, decisive, adventurous people to access opportunities in over 15,000 financial markets. With a strong focus on innovation and technology, the company puts client needs at the heart of everything it does.

IG's vision is to be a global leader in retail trading and investments. Established in 1974 as the world's first financial derivatives firm, it continued leading the way by launching the world's first online and iPhone trading services.

IG is an award-winning, multi-platform trading company, the world's No.1 provider of CFDs* and a global leader in forex. It provides leveraged services with the option of limited-risk guarantees, and offers an execution-only share dealing service in the UK, Australia, Germany, France, Ireland, Austria and the Netherlands. IG has recently launched a range of affordable, fully managed investment portfolios, to provide a comprehensive offering to investors and active traders.

It is a member of the FTSE 250, with offices across Europe, including a Swiss bank, Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the US, where it offers on-exchange limited risk derivatives via the Nadex brand.

*Based on revenue excluding FX (from published financial statements, February 2018)               

 

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