Israeli-based, but London-stock market listed Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) today reported its 2023 results, which came “significantly ahead” of analysts’ estimates.
In particular, the company reported full-year revenue at $725 million, down 13 percent from $832 million in 2022. In a trading update, the online trading platform provider revealed on Tuesday that this performance is supported by a strong level of customer income.
At the bottom line, the spread betting and CFDs broker told investors that its FY 2023 EBITDA came in at $340 million. That compares to the $454 million it earned in 2022 and $387 million in 2021.
Meanwhile, Plus500 said it will launch a new share buyback program, repurchasing up to an additional $100 million in company shares. In 2023, the broker rolled out a generous shareholder return strategy, dishing out around $350 million in total. This hefty sum was split between a share buyback initiative worth $257.5 million—highlighted by a notable $127.5 million share repurchase carried out on June 13—and dividends totaling $90 million.
David Zruia, Chief Executive Officer of Plus500, commented: “2023 saw further progress against all three strategic objectives: we expanded our US futures businesses, launched a new retail FX OTC trading platform in Japan and extended our portfolio of global regulatory licences to 13. Our efforts to deepen customer relationships were enhanced by our market-leading technology, and we now have over 26 million customers registered on our platforms. During the period, we achieved a record high average deposit per active customer reflecting our on-going focus on higher value customers and the intuitive nature and reliability of our market-leading technology.”
Throughout the year, Plus500 saw operational and strategic milestones, bringing its total number of global regulatory licenses to 13. Key developments included expanding its US futures business, launching a localized retail trading platform in Japan, and making progress in the UAE market following the earlier acquisition of a regulatory license.
Additionally, Plus500 integrated its US acquisitions and introduced ‘Plus500 Futures’ in the US market. In addition, Plus500 entered the Japanese market with a new trading platform tailored for local retail traders. The UAE market showed promising growth following the regulatory license granted by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), and the company also secured a new regulatory license from the Securities Commission of the Bahamas in July 2023.
Since its foray into the US market in 2021 through acquiring Cunningham Commodities LLC, Plus500 has steadily strengthened its foothold in the American futures market.
In the US, the company has already made strides in developing its business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) offerings. As part of its operational model, Plus500 provides B2B market infrastructure services to institutional clients in the US futures market. These services leverage Plus500’s status as a full Clearing Firm Member of both the CME Group and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX), including brokerage-execution and clearing services.
Financially, Plus500 maintained a robust balance sheet, with cash balances reaching $900 million as of December 31, 2023. In terms of shareholder returns, the broker announced returns of around $350 million, distributed between dividends and share buybacks.
