LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - FTSE 250 online trading platform IG Group posted a big jump in first-quarter revenue on Thursday as it continued to benefit from high levels of trading activity and new client acquisition.
In the three months to the end of August, net trading revenue rose 62% from the first quarter of last year to £209m. IG said the performance was driven by a combination of continued high levels of trading activity from existing clients and growth in the active client base, with 201,500 total active clients, up 50% on Q1 last year.

Revenue in the core markets was up 56% to £170.8m. IG said the performance of the retail client base in the UK and Europe was "particularly strong", with growth in both revenue per client and number of active clients.

Revenues in the Significant Opportunities portfolio surged by 94% to £38.2m and is on track to deliver the medium-term target of £100m in revenue growth by the end of FY22.

IG said new client acquisition remained strong, with 34,600 new clients placing a first trade in the quarter, up 129% on the prior year. It said 23,500 of these represented new OTC leveraged clients.

Chief executive June Felix said: "This was a great start to the year, and although there was some moderation from the exceptional performance in Q4, our first quarter results demonstrate IG's continued strength across the core markets, while also highlighting the growth potential in the Significant Opportunities."

At 1235 BST, the shares were up 6.7% at 842.00p.

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