Volatility no trouble as traders push London Capital to income growth
TRADERS rushed to cash in on global turmoil last year, boosting profits at spread betting firm London Capital Group.
The firm said pre-tax profits for the year ending December 2011 rose nine per cent to £7.1m.
London Capital, which specialises in spread-betting and online trading, reported a 13 per cent revenue rise to £39m.
Chief executive Simon Denham said its group’s systems had come through “considerable volatility” in financial markets in the second half of the year.
“Whilst extreme volatility such as that seen in August and September can lead to technological issues in our industry, the group had no such issues.”
Denham also highlighted the collapse of commodities broker MF Global in October and said London Capital would consider “appropriate acquisitions” if opportunities cropped up, as he struck a bullish tone on the chances of winning new work.
“Whilst we believe the economic situation in the UK and Europe is unlikely to improve significantly in the medium term, LCG has shown that it can build its business even in tough times.”
The firm, founded in 1996 as a proprietary trading business, proposed a final dividend of 2.6p a share, making a total for the year of 3.9p, up from 1p last year.
Its performance echoed that of larger rival IG Group, which last month also reported higher profits as big swings in financial markets, driven by Europe’s debt crisis, pushed up trading volumes.