XTB Doubles Revenues in Q4, But Misses on Full Year Results

Publicly listed Polish FX and CFDs brokerage XTB has reported its preliminary results for Q4 2019 and the full fiscal year ending on December 31, showing strong numbers across key components of its business on a year-over-year basis.
Compared to a period of weak growth in the fourth quarter of 2018, has seen noticeable gains in its financial figures. More specifically, during Q4 2019 XTB disclosed a total operating revenue of $23.0 million (PLN 89.59 million), which more than doubled year-over-year from $11.23 million (PLN 42.7 million) in Q4 2018.

Also, XTB saw its operating expenses mildly higher in Q4 2019, after seeing a figure of $12.1 million (PLN 47.2 million) – this was up 15.7 percent year-over-year from PLN 40.8 million in Q4 2018.
The most significant change across came regarding its net profit, which rose sizably to $9.5 million (PLN 37.2 million) in Q4 2019, which is nearly eight times higher than the $1.1 million (PLN 3.9 million) it earned in 2018.
Financials take a hit YoY
Taking a yearly perspective, a consolidated net profit of $14.89 million (PLN 57.9 million), down -43 when compared to PLN 101.5 million net profit a year earlier. Consolidated revenues amounted to PLN 239.3 million in 2019 compared to PLN 288,3 million a year earlier.
This inconsistent performance is attributed to weak results in the first half of 2019, where the group posted only $1.34 million (PLN 5.2 million) in net profit, sharply lower than the PLN 115 million it revealed in the same period of 2018.
The company further explains that ESMA’s restrictions have had a more severe impact than most CFDs brokers anticipated. Although has been particularly vulnerable to this shake-up, the company sees a unique opportunity to gain market share, with the new regulation from Esma creating a more level playing field for competition.
Coupled with this advance, XTB has registered an increasing number of active accounts with 30,815 as of Q4 2019, growing steadily from 20,568 in Q4 2018, or 50 percent year-over-year. New accounts were also on the uptick, swelling 80 percent year-over-year to 10,424 in Q4 2019, relative to just 5,742 accounts in Q4 2018.
One of the group’s most noteworthy findings was its net deposits, which matched the strong overall financials, jumping to $30.7 million (PLN 119 million), up 52 percent year-over-year from PLN 78.7 million in Q4 2018. Over a yearly basis, the figure rose 23 percent to $105 million (PLN 409 million), up from PLN 333 million in the prior year.