Plus500 sees annual results above market view, shares hit record high
(Reuters) -Online trading platform Plus500 on Monday forecast its annual results would be above market expectations and promised a multi-million dollar return to shareholders, sending its shares up more than 6% to a record high. The Israel-based company, which said it had seen a 13% jump in new customers in the first half of the year, said it plans to return $185.5 million to shareholders via a $110 million share buyback and dividends of $75.5 million. It said new customer additions and an expansion into newer markets were expected to help it log better than expected annual results, adding it would focus on relatively newer markets of Japan, U.S. and UAE for the rest of the year.