(Alliance News) - CMC Markets PLC on Friday said it expects its annual profit to come at the upper end of forecasts after enjoying its "strongest quarter" of its financial year.
The online trading company said its net operating income performance for the year ended March 31 will be a non-pandemic record. CMC saw a bump in fortunes during the pandemic amid market volatility.
CMC said the fourth quarter was the strongest quarter of if its financial year, pushing annual net operating income to the top end of guidance at around GBP280 million.
This would represent a 32% fall from GBP409.8 million a year prior, a period boosted by the pandemic. Compared to financial 2020, net operating income is up 11% from GBP252.0 million.
CMC said active monthly trading client numbers continue to remain at similar levels as reported earlier in the year. Its APAC stockbroking business finished financial 2022 with record assets under administration and a record number of annual active clients.
Leveraged trading revenue is expected to fall 34% annually to GBP230 million from GBP349 million.
Non-leveraged revenue is forecast to fall 12% to GBP48 million from GBP55 million.
The company also said CMC Invest, a UK non-leveraged platform, has already launched internally with the full market release set for mid-2022. The platform is ahead of schedule and on budget, it noted.
Operating costs for financial 2022, excluding variable remuneration, are expected to be GBP173 million, up from GBP168 million the year before. The increase primarily reflects higher personnel costs to deliver strategic objectives, CMC explained.
"I am delighted to report another year of strong performance both strategically and financially. Outside of the pandemic year (financial year ending March 2021), this is a record net operating income result for the company. The performance reflects the ongoing success of our B2B technology partnerships and focus across our leveraged and non-leveraged businesses," said Chief Executive Officer Peter Cruddas.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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CMC Markets (CMCX)