Plus500 keeps its performance momentum in H2 but may face shareholder disapproval of CFO bonus

Steffy Bogdanova
September 16, 2020 12:56 pm

CFD trading platform Plus500 issued a trading update ahead of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) reporting continued good performance for the second half of the year.

The momentum the platform gained in H1 2020 has continued through H2. The company reported that its good performance has been driven by the strength and differentiation of the its proprietary technology.

The Times today reported that amid the strong performance reports, the Israel-based online trading broker is facing pushback from investors for its $1.2 million bonuses planned for its management team.

Plus500 is seeking approval for an annual special bonus for the Group CFO Elad Even-Chen form the shareholder meeting held today. If approved, Even-Chen will receive $1.23 million on top of his pay package.

However, the two leading advisory bodies Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, both recommended that the shareholders vote against the bonus.

Plus500 reported that revenue has remained strong and in particular Customer income has been stable and supported by further growth in the Company’s Active Customer base. Onboarding high-level new clients has also gone well in the second half, powered by continued investment in Plus500’s marketing technology, rapid response to market events and attractiveness of the Group’s market-leading mobile and tablet offering.

Plus500

All of these factors have contributed to the platform usage remaining at elevated levels and customer deposits remaining robust.

The trading platform is well positioned to deliver sustainable future growth due to its proprietary technology, its flexible and scalable business model, its strong financial position and a track record of delivery against key performance metrics.

Plus 500 has also continued with its buyback program form 11 August 2020. Its most recent purchase on 15 September was for 33,500 of its own ordinary shares. The company spent £498,145 on the shares, each through Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) reported the volume weighted average price paid per share by Plus500 was £14.87.

In its statement, the Plus500 said:

The Company will hold the repurchased shares in treasury. Following the purchase of these shares, the remaining number of ordinary shares in issue will be 105,351,843 (excluding treasury shares), and the company will hold 9,536,534 ordinary shares in treasury.

Recently, Plus500 became the main sponsor of Polish professional football club Legia Warsaw for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. The Israel-based online trading broker signed the sponsor agreement earlier in August.

LeapRate Analyst

Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
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