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(Alliance News) - CMC Markets PLC provided a buoyant trading update on Thursday, with the contract-for-difference trading platform saying it expects to beat market expectations for annual income amid a high number of active customers.
CMC shares were up 4.9% at 465.68 pence early Thursday.
CMC said it expects net operating income in the financial year that ends on March 31 to be slightly above the upper end of the current range of market consensus, which it put at GBP387.5 million to GBP399.6 million. It also raised its guidance for net operating income in financial 2022 to in excess of GBP330 million.
In financial 2020, CMC reported net operating income of GBP252.0 million, so the guidance on Thursday suggests an increase of at least 59% in the current year.
Pretax profit in financial 2020 was GBP98.7 million, and CMC on Thursday placed market consensus for financial 2021 at GBP206.3 million to GBP217.7 million.
CMC said that in the period from January 1 to Wednesday this week, client income retention remained above 80%, though below levels reported for the first half of the financial year, as previously guided. Active client numbers for the full year will be more than 75,000, the company said. This would be up from 57,202 in financial 2020.
"Over the last 12 months, market volatility has driven up client activity across the industry," commented Chief Executive Officer Peter Cruddas. "I am particularly pleased that our new clients are demonstrating similar behaviours to existing long-term, high value clients, which supports our long-standing strategy. Our client acquisition rates are very encouraging and reflect the advancements we have made in our technology, pricing and execution of trades."
CMC said it will release its annual results on June 10. It will no longer provide a previously scheduled trading update on April 8.
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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