LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Online trading provider IG Group Holdings updated the market on its first half ended 30 November on Tuesday, reporting that revenue for the period was expected to be around 6% lower than in the same period in the 2018 financial year, which was a record for IG.
The FTSE 250 company said product intervention measures from the European Securities and Markets Authority came into effect during the period, with the prohibition on offering binary options to retail clients becoming effective from 2 July, and the restrictions relating to the provision of contracts for difference (CFDs) to retail clients effective from 1 August.

Group revenue in the four month period since all the measures came into effect was expected to be around 10% lower than in the same period a year ago, IG reported.

Revenue in that four month period in the ESMA region - the UK and EU - was expected to be around 20% lower, with revenue from the group's business in Asia-Pacific and other non-ESMA region countries expected to be around 9% higher.

Both of those figures were underlying changes, adjusting for the 1,200 clients who previously contracted with a UK entity who were now trading with an entity outside the ESMA region.

"The number of clients in the UK and EU who have elected to be classified as professional continued to increase during the period," the board said in its statement.

"Around 70% of UK and EU revenue in the four months since all the measures were introduced has been generated by professional clients."

The number of new over-the-counter (OTC) leveraged clients who traded for the first time with IG in the period was 14,600, compared with 18,027 in the same period of the prior year.

That comprised 8,200 in the ESMA region, down from 11,666 year-on-year, and 6,400 in the Asia-Pacific and non-ESMA regions, up marginally from 6,361.

"The Group has continued to make progress with its strategic initiatives," the board explained.

"IG Europe, the group's client-facing subsidiary in Germany, has received its licence from BaFin."

IG said that provided certainty that it would be able to offer its regulated financial products in all EU member states following the UK's exit from the EU.

"The group's United States subsidiary has been approved as a member of the National Futures Association (NFA) and is now registered to operate as a Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED)."

Looking at the board, IG said Sally-Ann Hibberd - a non-executive director and member of the audit and remuneration committees - had been appointed as a member of the nomination committee.

It said its next performance announcement would be the financial results for the six months ended 30 November, on 22 January.

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