BUSINESS LIVE: Plus500 profits slump as trading volumes fall

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor:

‘Asian markets had a poor start to the week, seemingly being attacked from all angles.

‘Aside from the inflationary concerns emanating from the US, the ongoing technology security spat between the US and China weighed on sentiment, while the strength of the dollar put further pressure on the Japanese yen, although this was of some benefit to exporters.

‘Of particular concern, however, was further evidence of weakness in the Chinese property sector, with some developers apparently struggling to meet repayments.

‘The wall of silence on monetary stimulus from the authorities has been striking, and it remains to be seen whether this will change after further releases this week on retail sales and industrial output which are expected to mirror the country’s current issues.

‘The lead from other major markets left the UK with nowhere to go, although the losses were limited in opening exchanges. In the premier index, companies with a China exposure littered the top of the fallers’ table, including the miners, while the oils followed some overnight weakness in Crude to also drift lower.

‘There was a slither of interest in defensive stocks which mitigated some of the markdowns, leaving the FTSE100 ahead by just 0.8% so far this year.

‘The FTSE250 has also been under recent pressure as the ramifications of likely further interest rate rises from the Bank of England accelerate the possible move towards a recessionary environment, with growth remaining marginally positive but hard to come by. The FTSE250 has given up any previous gains in the year to date and is currently down by 0.3%.’

Crooks, kleptocrats and oligarchs will be able ‘to hide from public view’, it is feared, after ministers stalled efforts to close a loophole in a legal crackdown on dirty money.

The surprise move follows the introduction of transparency rules requiring offshore firms with property in England and Wales to name their ultimate owner in a public register of overseas entities.

Nigel Farage has accused NatWest of kicking its review into the closure of his bank account ‘into the long grass’.

The banking sector is continuing to feel the fallout of the debanking scandal, which came to light when Coutts closed the former Ukip leader’s account without warning due to his political views.

Sales of Graham Norton’s wine are fizzing as drinkers increasingly seek out celebrity alcohol brands.

The TV host’s GN label, which he launched a decade ago, sold more than 3.7million bottles last year, according to its New Zealand maker Invivo.

The firm had to buy more vineyards this year to meet demand.

Plus500 profits slumped 43 per cent in the first half as the online platform suffered a drop in trading volumes.

Core profit for the six months to the end of June fell to $174.1 million, from $305.3 million a year earlier.

Separately, the London-listed company announced a $60million share buy back.

David Zruia, CEO, said:

‘In the first half of the year, we executed on our strategy to produce a strong performance, thanks to the power of Plus500’s market-leading proprietary technology and our consistent ability to attract and retain higher value customers over the long term.

‘Our increasingly diversified revenue streams, broadened product offering, deep customer relationships and the structural growth drivers in our end markets, mean we are able to deliver both growth and attractive shareholder returns.

‘With continued operational and financial momentum being achieved, we also made substantial progress in delivering against our strategic priorities, particularly in harnessing the attractive growth opportunities in the US futures market and obtaining new regulatory licences in the high growth UAE market and very recently in the Bahamas

Our track record of delivering outstanding shareholder returns puts us amongst the top cohort of companies on a total returns basis within the FTSE All-Share Index over the past ten years.’