• Total Revenue: Increased 11% year on year.

• Tastytrade Revenue: Up 24% in US dollars.

• Adjusted Profit Before Tax: Increased 30% to GBP267 million.

• Earnings Per Share (EPS): Increased 42% to 55.3p.

• Share Buyback Program: Extended by GBP50 million to GBP200 million.

• Trading Revenue: GBP452 million, up 12% on the prior year.

• Interest Income: GBP71 million, with customer cash balances up 7% to GBP3.8 billion.

• Adjusted Operating Costs: Declined 1% to GBP277 million.

• Net Finance Income: GBP19.8 million, up 29%.

• PBT Margin: 51%.

• OTC Trading Revenue: Up 10% to GBP360 million.

• Active Clients: Flat overall; Tastytrade grew customers by 9%.

• Capital Returned to Shareholders: Over GBP1 billion since the end of 2022, including GBP281 million in the first half of the current financial year.

• Headroom Over Regulatory Capital Requirement: GBP658 million at the end of November 2024.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 10 Warning Signs with IGGHY.

Release Date: January 23, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Total revenue increased by 11% year-on-year, driven by stronger market conditions and higher revenue per customer.

• Tastytrade delivered another consecutive half of record trading revenue, up 24% in US dollars.

• Adjusted profit before tax increased by 30%, and EPS was up 42%, reflecting strong financial performance.

• The company announced the proposed acquisition of Freetrade, enhancing its platform for growth in the UK self-directed investment market.

• IG Group Holdings PLC (IGGHY) extended its share buyback program by an extra GBP50 million to GBP200 million, demonstrating a commitment to shareholder returns.

Negative Points

• Active client numbers remained flat, indicating a need for growth in the customer base to achieve sustainable growth.

• Over-the-counter active clients were down 3%, and first trades dropped 15%, highlighting challenges in this segment.

• The company's penetration in the B2C exchange-traded futures and options market remains low, with less than 3% market share.

• The crypto offering is limited, and the company missed out on the recent market uplift in this area.

• The decision to exit Spectrum and other initiatives not delivering acceptable returns indicates challenges in achieving desired outcomes from certain projects.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you provide a summary measure of the progress made in hiring and organizational changes? Are you halfway through the process? A: Breon Corcoran, CEO: We are making progress with hiring, but long notice periods and non-competes have slowed us down. The energy from new hires is palpable, but we are at the end of the beginning rather than halfway through.