IG Group Holdings plc (“IG”, “the Group”, “the Company”), a global leader in online trading, today announces results for the six months ended 30 November 2016.

Financial Summary

·      Net trading revenue(1) up 14% at £244.9 million

·      Operating expenses up 23%, with significant investment in effective marketing

·      Profit before tax up 6.7% to £105.2 million

·      Diluted EPS up 7.8% at 22.55 pence

·      £93.9 million of own funds(2) generated from operations, up 7.7%

·      Interim dividend of 9.42 pence per share, in line with dividend policy

Operating and Strategic Summary

·      New client numbers, defined as first trades, ahead of prior year by 59%

·      Purchased the assets of Daily FX, a global retail FX research and education portal, for $40 million (£32.7 million)

·      Continued progress in strategic evolution towards sophisticated trading and investments

Stockbroking offer rolled out to Australia and France

Licence received in January 2017 to offer a discretionary managed Investment service in the UK

Limited Risk account, with no-negative guarantee, rolled out across the world

Sprints binary product no longer offered to new clients with immediate effect

·      Uncertainty created by a number of regulatory developments after the end of the period

IG supports regulators’ objectives to improve consumer outcomes

The Company is engaging fully with the FCA Consultation in the UK

Peter Hetherington, Chief Executive, commented:

“This has been another good six months for the business, with record revenue, a new high in active client numbers and ongoing success in attracting and developing the next generation of traders.  I am extremely proud of what we have achieved.  The business once again proved the resilience of its operating model and its people, as it dealt exceptionally well with the short term volatility in the financial markets caused by two significant political events.

“IG is evolving and refining its offering to clients.  Strategically, for some time, we have been shifting our emphasis to active financial trading and investing, deepening and broadening the relationship with our clients.  In January, we received our licence from the FCA to offer an investments service to clients in the UK, in partnership with BlackRock, and intend to launch our smart portfolio ETF product in the UK in the near future.  Also, as part of this evolution, we now offer clients our Limited Risk account, with an absolute guarantee that they can lose no more than their deposit – around half of the accounts in the UK are being opened on this basis.  We have also taken the decision to no longer offer our Sprints binary product to new clients globally.

“We welcome the intentions of the FCA and other European regulators to improve consumer outcomes across the industry, and we believe that IG’s Limited Risk account will play an important role in this.  In delivering a sustainable business for over 40 years, IG has always sought, and will always seek, to operate to the highest regulatory standards.  As the largest provider in the industry, IG is engaging with the consultation processes.”

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