Virtu Financial Q2 Revenue Pulls Back with Disappearing Covid Boost

US electronic market maker, Virtu Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: VIRT) published its financials for the second quarter of 2021 that spans between April and June, showing heavy contraction in both revenue and income, mostly due to the vanishing impact of the pandemic on the trading industry.

The total revenue of the company for the quarter came in at $549 million, compared to $905.9 million generated in the same quarter of the previous year. Quarter-over-quarter the number looks grimmer as it dropped by more than 45 percent, but the yearly comparison would be more accurate given the cyclical nature of the industry.

The impact of the lowered activities directly impacted the income of the company that made $384.8 million in trading income, which is a yearly decline of 48.3 percent. The net income totaled $108.9 million, which is down from last year's $335.3 million. The adjusted net income of the company stood at $122.3 million in the quarter.

Additionally, the basic earnings per share suffered significantly as it dropped to $0.51, while the diluted earnings per share stood at $0.5. In Q2 of 2020, these metrics were at $1.59 and $1.58, respectively.

Ongoing Buyback

Last quarter, the company put aside $300 million for the purpose of buying back ordinary shares from the open market. According to the latest update, it purchased 3.4 million shares worth $101.3 million under the Share Repurchase Program.

Despite the lower income, the company will continue to pay a dividend of $0.24 per share to the shareholders.

“Our results reflect our resilient and balanced business model, against a backdrop of more muted market activity in the second quarter,” Douglas Cifu, Chief Executive Officer at Virtu Financial, said in a statement. “Our growth initiatives continue to produce steady results, especially in options where our business increased overall despite the decline in market volumes.”