At a time when European fintechs are grappling with a declining economic situation and funding is noticeably falling, some companies go against this unfavorable trend. One such company is XTB, a publicly-listed broker originating from Poland, which announced today (Thursday) that it has achieved a significant milestone in terms of staff. The total number of employees of the publicly traded company has exceeded 1,000.

XTB Employs over 1,000 People in 12 Offices Worldwide

According to information sent via email to Finance Magnates, XTB has surpassed the number of 1,000 employees in its 12 offices located around the world. In the first six months of 2023, employment increased 17% due to ongoing efforts to introduce new investment products and the development of its own trading platform .

For more than ten years, XTB has been working on developing its proprietary xStation trading software and mobile application. This has resulted in a significant shift in hiring toward software developers and IT experts who currently make up 40% of the entire team. This percentage is even higher at the company's Warsaw headquarters, reaching 56%. Meanwhile, every tenth XTB employee handles customer service and support tasks, and 4% work in the marketing or planning department.

"When I started working at XTB in 2007 as a junior sales dealer, the company employed only 45 people," Omar Arnaout, the CEO of XTB, commented. "Looking from today's perspective, it's impressive what we've achieved since then - from introducing new products to our offerings, to growing financial results and a rapid pace of acquiring new customers worldwide."

As part of developing new products, XTB is moving away from just contracts for difference (CFDs) to attract a new customer base. In April, the company acknowledged that leveraged trading did not provide access to a broad customer base like stocks or savings products. Therefore, the broker will introduce a new savings-related product later this year.

Record Number of Clients and XTB's Record Stock Price

XTB's continuous growth is evident not just in the number of new employees but also in the company's stock valuation on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. At the beginning of May, a single XTB share was priced at a record PLN 43.88. Although it has declined 14.5% since then, it has still increased 22% year-to-date. Since 2020, the value of XTB shares has increased eightfold from just PLN 4.10.

According to the latest financial report published by XTB at the end of July, the company achieved a record number of new clients in H1 2023. The broker acquired 167,000 new clients during the first six months of the year, which is an increase of 65.5%. Despite this, revenue and net profit declined, which the company attributed to the lower market volatility in Q2.

Furthermore, while the number of active XTB clients increased 44.4% annually to 274,450, the profitability of CFDs per lot, meaning profit per transaction fell 17.4% annually to PLN 226.

"This decrease is mainly the result of lower volatility in the financial and commodity markets in Q2 2023, compensated in part by the constantly increasing number of new clients (increase by 65.5% YoY), combined with their high transactional activity expressed in the number of CFD contracts concluded in lots," the company concluded.