2 June 2017
Plus500 Ltd.
("Plus500" or "the Company")
Result of AGM
Trading Update
Plus500, a leading online service provider for retail customers to trade CFDs internationally, is pleased to announce the results of the shareholder resolutions at its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") held at 4:30pm (BST) yesterday, 1 June 2017, together with an update on current trading. It is also announcing separately a proposed share buyback programme.
AGM
Resolutions 1-11 were duly passed by votes in favour of at least 90%.
In line with the Company's announcement on 26 April 2017, following the AGM Alastair Gordon stepped down from the Board and his position as Chairman, and was replaced by Penny Judd, whilst the appointment of Steve Baldwin as a Non-Executive Director of the Company was also approved.
Ms Judd expressed the Board's gratitude to Mr Gordon for his invaluable contribution and support in leading the Board at the time of the Company's flotation and over the past four years and wished him all the best for his future endeavours.
Trading update
Plus500's current trading has continued the positive trends outlined in the first quarter trading update issued on 26 April 2017.
We are pleased to report that compared to the first quarter, in subsequent trading revenue has been stronger and profit margins have been maintained. This is despite considerably lower levels of volatility as measured by the VIX Index than in the same period of 2016.
None of the regulatory changes announced in various jurisdictions in which the Company operates has had a material impact on trading performance, albeit we continue to monitor trends closely, and are awaiting the outcome of the FCA consultation which could affect the second half of 2017.
The Company's current net cash balances stood at approximately $191 million as at 31 May 2017. This includes a total of $75.0m due to be paid out in dividends (final and special) on 3 July 2017.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Enquiries
Plus500 |
Elad Even-Chen, Chief Financial Officer |
+972 4 8189503 [email protected] |
Liberum - Nomad and Broker |
Clayton Bush, Neil Elliot, Josh Hughes |
+44 20 3100 2222 |
Berenberg (Joint Broker) |
Chris Bowman, Amritha Murali, Marie Stolberg |
+44 20 3207 7800 |
MHP Communications |
Reg Hoare, Tim Rowntree, Kelsey Traynor |
+44 20 3128 8100 |
Notes to Editors
Plus500 operates an online trading platform for retail customers to trade CFDs internationally over more than 2,100 different underlying global financial instruments comprising equities, indices, commodities, options, ETFs and foreign exchange. Retail customers of Plus500 can trade CFDs in more than 50 countries and in 31 languages. The trading platform is also accessible from multiple operating systems (Windows, smartphones (iOS, Android and Windows Phone), tablets (iOS, Android and Surface), Apple Watch and web browsers.
Plus500 retains operating licences and is regulated in the United Kingdom, Australia, Cyprus, Israel, New Zealand and South Africa. Customer care is integral to Plus500: customers cannot lose more than they deposit and there are no commissions on trades. Plus500 offers its customers sophisticated risk management tools to manage their trading positions and a free demo account is available on an unlimited basis for platform users.
www.plus500.com
Biograhical notes for Penny Judd and Steve Baldwin
Ms. Judd has over 30 year of financial services experience specialising in Compliance, Governance, Regulation, Corporate Finance and Audit. Ms. Judd has made a significant positive impact to the Board since joining in 2016 and her expertise is particularly relevant given the regulatory challenges faced by the industry and the Company. Ms. Judd will continue to chair the Regulatory and Risk Committee of the Company, which was established last year and is an important element of the Company's corporate governance.
Mr. Baldwin is currently a non-executive director of Panmure Gordon & Co. plc and Elegant Hotels Group plc. He has an extensive corporate finance background and most recently held the position of Head of European Equity Capital Markets and Corporate Broking at Macquarie Capital until February 2015 when he decided to pursue a non-executive career. Prior to this Mr. Baldwin was a Director at JPMorgan Cazenove for ten years and was a Vice President of Corporate Finance at UBS from 1995 to 1998. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Coopers & Lybrand.
