Shares of IG Group Holdings Plc (IGG.L) dropped about 5 percent Tuesday morning as the company said its first-half profit declined, reflecting strong prior-year comparators and subdued markets throughout the current period.
Tim Howkins, chief executive stated, “Market conditions so far this year have been challenging for the industry. Against the backdrop of low market volatility and fragile consumer sentiment we have delivered a satisfactory set of results.”
The financial spread betting company said it saw reductions in overall number of clients actively trading, revenue generated per client and number of new clients signing up. If the current activity levels persist, the company sees revenue for the second half of the year likely to be in line with the first half.
However, IG Group stated that despite the current quiet market conditions and fragile economic outlook, it remains confident in its long term growth prospects.
In the first half, the company’s profit before tax declined to 81.12 million pounds from 103.17 million pounds in the same period last year.
On a per share basis, earnings were 16.04 pence, lower than 20.68 pence per share in the prior year.
Revenues for the period dropped to 190.48 million pounds from 217.80 million pounds in the preceding year. Net trading revenue fell 14 percent to 168.96 million pounds.
The board has declared an interim dividend of 5.75 pence per share, unchanged from last year, which will be paid at the end of February.
IGG.L is currently trading at 447.65 pence, down 20.15 pence or 4.31 percent, on a volume of 810,031 shares on the LSE.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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