Breaking: Plus500 Extends Share Buyback with Another $110 Million

Plus500, the Israeli retail broker listed in London (LON: PLUS), today (Monday) announced the extension of its ongoing share buyback programme with the allocation of an additional $110 million, which comprises an interim buyback programme of $35.4 million and a special buyback programme of $74.6 million.

The latest buyback programme follows the broker’s initiation of a $100 million programme last February. The company began repurchasing its shares in 2017.

Further, the broker decided to distribute another $75.5 million among its shareholders as dividends. The company highlighted its “robust financial position [and] cash-generative business model” as the reason behind the decision for shareholder returns. Its cash balance also surpassed $1 billion, compared to $906.7 million at the end of 2023.

Returning Value to Shareholders

The London-listed broker emphasised that it has distributed $2.3 billion in shareholder returns (including the latest ones), in the form of dividends and buyback programmes, since its public market debut in 2013.

“Plus500 has delivered strategic, operational, and financial progress during H1 2024, and I am proud of what we have achieved,” said David Zruia, Chief Executive Officer of Plus500.

Indeed, the extension of the buyback programme and the dividend announcement followed the first six months' performance, which generated $398.2 million, an 8 percent year-over-year increase. The company's quarterly performance also remained impressive despite the impact of the UEFA EURO 2024 Football Championship on retail trading towards the end of Q2 2024.

Although the company benefited from higher interest rates, its trading income in the six months also jumped to $369.1 million from $346.2 million in the corresponding period of the previous year. Now, the company is anticipating its FY24 results to beat the current market expectations.

Strengthening Metrics

In addition to the buybacks and dividends, the broker revealed that it added 56,759 new customers between January and June, a 13 percent annual increase. However, the number of active customers remained almost flat at 175,909.

The average revenue per user for the six months was $2,264, an 8 percent annual increase, while this figure for the second quarter jumped 13 percent annually to $1,475. It ended 2023 with a per client revenue of $3,115. Meanwhile, the average customer acquisition cost in the first half of the ongoing year at $1,489 remains unchanged from the corresponding period of the previous year.

“We continue to be guided by our strategic ambitions—to expand into new markets, develop new products, and deepen engagement with our customers,” Zruia added.

“We delivered growth in revenue and EBITDA, continued to expand our geographic footprint, developed innovative new products, and, as a result, saw an increase in new and active customer numbers year-on-year. Plus500 remains strategically well-positioned to capitalise on both short-term market conditions and the medium-term growth trends in our end markets.”