IG revenues and bad debts improve

9th Dec 2009 07:47

Spread bet firm IG Group expects report revenue of around £143m (2009: £126.5m) and adjusted profit before tax of around £77m (2009: £58.2m) for the first half of the year, but costs will be higher in the second half. "The group's operating costs will be higher in the second half of the financial year due mainly to growth in headcount, reflecting higher than expected activity levels, and increased marketing expenditure, due in part to usual seasonal phasing," it said.Revenues for the six months to November rose 13% including FX Online Japan KK, acquired last October. Second quarter organic revenue growth was 12%, which IG says were set against challenging comparatives that included the period of extreme financial market volatility in October 2008.Bad debts have fallen sharply, with the charge for doubtful debts expected to be less than 0.5% of revenue compared to 12% this time last year. The UK achieved revenue of £80m, similar to the corresponding period in the prior year. Australian revenues were £22m for the first half (2009: £13.4m) and £12m for the second quarter (2009: £6.9m), representing growth of 64% and 74% respectively.Mainland Europe achieved revenue of £22m for the first half (2009: £13.3m) and £13m for the second quarter (2009: £8.4m), representing growth of 65% and 55%, respectively. Excluding FXO, IG opened 32,000 accounts in the first half. This was unchanged from the first half of the previous year.