BRITISH SPREAD-betting company IG Group says higher trading volumes due to volatile financial markets should result in a 25 per cent rise in first-half revenues, adding it has won customers following the collapse of rival MF Global.
IG expects to report revenues of £195.6 million for the six months to the end of November, up from £156.7 million a year earlier.
It added that its pretax profit margins were up from last year, although the impact of spending on technology and marketing would mean full-year margins would be closer to last year’s levels.
Market volatility sparked by Europe’s sovereign debt crisis has caused spikes in trading volumes, benefiting companies such as IG, which said that it had not only won more customers but that revenues-per-client had also increased.
IG added it had won clients following the downfall of American trading firm MF Global in October.
IG shares, which had risen 9 per cent towards the end of last month after the company first announced it expected a surge in interim revenues, rose 0.5 per cent to 464.10 pence in early trade. At that price, IG has a market capitalisation of about £1.7 billion. – (Reuters)
