Plus500 blames lower market volatility for a 43% decline in H1 profit

Plus500 Ltd (LON: PLUS) ended in the green today even though it reported a big hit to its core profit in the first six months of this year.

Plus500 announces a share repurchase programme

The online trading platform attributed much of the H1 weakness to lower market volatility.

Still, investors are at ease because Plus500 said it planned on returning $120 million to them via dividends and stock buybacks. CFO Elad Even-Chen also told Reuters today:

Earlier this year, the Israeli company received a regulatory license that enabled it to extend its services to customers in the United Arab Emirates. Its shares are currently down 25% versus their year-to-date high.

Plus500 is committed to international expansion

Plus500 saw its core profit tank by a whopping 43% on year-over-year basis in the first half of 2023. Sequentially, though, its earnings were still up 17%, as per the press release.

During the six-month period, the financial technology company soft-launched in the U.S. futures. Speaking with Reuters on Monday, CEO David Zruia said:

Note that the total number of active customers on Plus500 Ltd decreased by 19% in H1 on a year-over-year basis. Liberum analysts still dubbed the first half a robust one for the company as they reiterated their buy rating on it.