London-listed CFD provider iFOREX swung to a first-half net loss of $2.5 million, it said today (Thursday), after a $1.2 million profit a year earlier. It plans to cut operating costs by about $0.5 million a month from October.
Revenue fell 2% to $26.9 million in the six months to June 30. The company attributed the loss to a stronger Israeli shekel, costs tied to its February listing and a charge on money owed to clients, which it flagged on September 17 when it cut its first-half EBITDA estimate to $1.4 million.
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Net cash stood at $11.8 million at June 30, a figure lifted by the listing proceeds. By September 16 it had fallen to about $6.3 million, of which around $4 million is held to meet regulatory requirements, the company said.
More Clients, Less Revenue per User
Active clients rose 8% year over year to 21,784, and iFOREX onboarded 8,161 new clients, up 19%. Average revenue per user fell 9%, according to the company, and total trading volume dropped about 14% to $201.5 billion.
Chief Executive Itai Sadeh said turning client growth into revenue "depends largely on market conditions, as clients trade less when markets are subdued."
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Measured against the second half of 2025, revenue rose 25% from $21.5 million, and all three client measures improved, the company said.
| iFOREX, six months to June 30 | H1 2026 | H1 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($m) | 26.9 | 27.6 |
| Adjusted EBITDA ($m) | 1.4 | 5.4 |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 5.2% | 19.6% |
| Net result ($m) | -2.5 | 1.2 |
| Net cash at June 30 ($m) | 11.8 | 8.1 |
| Active clients | 21,784 | 20,212 |
| New clients | 8,161 | 6,876 |
| Trading volume ($bn) | 201.5 | 234.5 |
Seven Months as a Listed Company
iFOREX joined the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange on February 25 at 195 pence a share, raising $11.83 million after an eight-month delay to the offering.
Three weeks later the shares had barely traded, with founder Eyal Carmon holding 58.91% under a 12-month lock-up. The company has since applied for a Category 5 license in the United Arab Emirates.
The company booked $2.4 million of IPO-related and other one-off expenses in the half. The shekel, at its strongest against the dollar since 1993, added about $1.8 million to reported costs, because a large part of those costs is paid in Israeli currency, the company said.
On a constant-currency basis, adjusted EBITDA would have been $3.2 million, the company said. Administrative expenses rose 25% to $7.2 million, which also included the $1.0 million client liability charge that it said has largely reversed since June.
Where the Cash Went
Operating activities used $2.1 million in the half, against an inflow of $4.0 million a year earlier. That included a $3.5 million rise in receivables, mainly balances held with liquidity providers and payment service providers.
The listing brought in $10.45 million net of expenses, and a $1.2 million final dividend for 2025 was paid on July 24. Net cash had fallen to about $10 million by August 17, when iFOREX cut its full-year outlook after July trading income fell 77%. It did not explain the September decline.
The new efficiency program targets about $0.5 million a month. Selling, marketing and administrative expenses averaged about $5 million a month in the first half, by FinanceMagnates.com's calculation, so the cuts equal roughly 10% of that run rate.
Selling and marketing alone rose 6% to $22.6 million, or 84% of revenue compared with 77% a year earlier, even as the average cost of winning a client fell 23% to $533.
Plus500, which also cited the stronger shekel among its cost pressures, reported first-half revenue up 12% to $462.9 million in August.
The board left its full-year outlook where it stood on September 17, with adjusted EBITDA guidance of $0.5 million to $2.5 million. Sadeh said trading since the August update had been encouraging, and iFOREX did not declare an interim dividend.
