FLOW TRADERS 2Q19 NTI € 53.9M,
STRATEGY REITERATED TO MAXIMIZE NTI GROWTH THROUGH SCALE AND EFFICIENCY


Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Flow Traders N.V. (Euronext: FLOW) today released its unaudited 2Q19 results and its Half Year 2019 report. Highlights are:

  • 2Q19 NTI of € 53.9m, against € 63.1m in 1Q19 and € 53.8m in 2Q18
  • 1H19 NTI of € 117.0m, against exceptionally high 1H18 driven by record 1Q18
  • Fixed operating expenses up 2% Q-o-Q in 2Q19 and 9% YoY in 1H19, well within annual fixed cost growth guidance
  • 2Q19 EBITDA margin at 39%, leading to a 1H19 EBITDA margin of 41%
  • Net Profit at € 13.8m in 2Q19 and € 33.0m in 1H19, resulting in a 1H19 EPS of € 0.71
  • Under CRR capital requirements regulation, Flow Traders’ own funds requirement was € 148m at end June 2019, resulting in excess capital of € 146m
  • Interim dividend for FY19 is set at € 0.35, ex-dividend date will be 12 August 2019
  • Flow Traders will continue to focus on its growth strategy of gaining scale through diversification and improving efficiency to maximize NTI growth
  • 465 FTEs at end June 2019, up 6.6% against end December 2018

Overview of Flow Traders’ quarterly and Half Year consolidated results (unaudited)

€million, unless otherwise stated2Q191Q19Q-o-Q
Change
1H191H18Y-o-Y
Change
       
Net Trading Income 53.963.1(15%)117.0266.9(56%)
EMEA (Europe)32.137.5(15%)69.681.9(15%)
Americas15.317.3(11%)32.6167.4(81%)
APAC (Ex China)6.58.3(21%)14.817.7(16%)
Fixed operating expenses23.923.42%47.343.69%
EBITDA20.926.8(22%)47.7153.3(69%)
EBITDA Margin39%42% 41%57% 
Net Profit13.819.2(28%)33.0126.8(74%)
EPS (EUR)0.300.41(28%)0.712.73(74%)
       
Flow Traders ETP Value Traded (€bn)235.4258.6(9%)494.0443,411%
EMEA (Europe)121.0128.7(6%)249.7253.7(2%)
Americas105.0121.2(13%)226.2173.131%
APAC (Ex China)9.38.77%18.116.69%
       
Flow Traders’ non ETP Value Traded (€bn)694738(6%)1,4331,28811%
       
Market ETP Value Traded (€bn)5.8426,093(4%)11,93412,084(1%)
EMEA (Europe incl MTF)3553550%710720(1%)
Americas5,0025,281(5%)10,28310,2370%
APAC 4854566%9411,127(16%)
APAC (ex China)209217(4%)426509(16%)



Current Trading and Outlook

Market trading activity picked up at the start of 2019. After that, market value traded slowed down as geopolitical developments influenced investor appetite to trade. As a result of this, market value traded fell back versus the second half of 2018. Growth in global ETP assets under management on the other hand picked up again. Overall the underlying trends in the ETP market remained healthy.


Flow Traders’ 1H19 results follow the disciplined execution of its growth strategy, as the growth of its value traded led to market share gains. This was the result of growth in venues connected to and growth in the number of counterparties and products, especially in APAC and the Americas. Regulatory developments regarding the implementation of IFR/IFD are underway and EBA with ESMA and national governments are now working on implementing the necessary legislation. Based on current drafts available, Flow Traders anticipates it will have a neutral to slightly positive impact on its business. Taking all this into account, Flow Traders will further continue to execute on its growth strategy to grow its presence in the ETP universe and diversify trading into other asset classes.


Management Board statements

CEO Dennis Dijkstra stated:
In 2Q19 Flow Traders continued to build on the foundation presented during our Capital Markets Day in April 2019. From a technological and regulatory perspective, financial markets have become more efficient and transparent in the first half of 2019, allowing market participants to provide liquidity in the most optimal way, based on technology and pricing while maintaining a low risk profile. In that context, Flow Traders’ strategy is focused on gaining scale through diversification of trading and improving efficiency. By improving and expanding our portfolio of products traded, while at the same time continue growing our presence in the global ETP ecosystem, we optimize our NTI growth potential. Our 1H19 performance is reflective of that intention. While keeping a tight grip on cost growth, Flow Traders grew its global value traded relatively more than the market. The financial performance tracks the profit potential in the market and confirms the long term growth path we want to follow to maximize NTI growth.”

Chief Trading Officer Folkert Joling added:
In that ambition to maximize our NTI growth, we grew the number of products traded, the number of counterparties set up and the number of venues. This resulted in a growth of market share in the first 6 months of 2019, achieved both in ETPs and non-ETP products, across assets classes including currencies, crypto and fixed income. Flow Traders realized an NTI of € 117m over that same period, with an increase in overall Value Traded. Especially in the US we saw a good pickup in trading Fixed Income ETPs. As such, and in light of our future ambitions, we have recently hired a number of experienced professionals in different areas. Flow Traders will continue to invest in its resources and infrastructure to support its ambition of eventually becoming a global one-stop shop liquidity platform.”

Preliminary Financial Calendar 2H19

12 August 2019                 Ex-dividend date interim dividend FY19
13 August 2019                 Record date interim dividend FY19
15 August 2019                 Payment date interim dividend FY19
27 September 2019           Start silent period ahead of 3Q19 trading update
17 October 2019                Release 3Q19 trading update (no analyst conference call)



Analyst conference call and webcast

The analyst conference call on the 2Q19/1H19 results will be held at 10:00 am Amsterdam time on Wednesday 24 July 2019. The presentation will also be accessible via www.flowtraders.com/investors, where the presentation can be downloaded and the conference call can be followed via a listen-only audio webcast. A replay of the conference call will be available on the company website for at least 90 days.

The Half Year 2019 report can be downloaded from our website www.flowtraders.com/investors as well.

Contact Details

Flow Traders N.V.
Serge Enneman / Investor Relations Officer
Phone:   +31 20 7996799
Email:     investor.relations@flowtraders.com


Important legal information

This press release is prepared by Flow Traders N.V. and is for information purposes only. It is not a recommendation to engage in investment activities and you must not rely on the content of this document when making any investment decisions. The information in this document does not constitute legal, tax, or investment advice and is not to be regarded as investor marketing or marketing of any security or financial instrument, or as an offer to buy or sell, or as a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, securities or financial instruments.

The information and materials contained in this press release are provided ‘as is’ and Flow Traders N.V. or any of its affiliates (“Flow Traders”) do not warrant the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of the information and materials and expressly disclaim liability for any errors or omissions. This press release is not intended to be, and shall not constitute in any way a binding or legal agreement, or impose any legal obligation on Flow Traders. All intellectual property rights, including trademarks, are those of their respective owners. All rights reserved. All proprietary rights and interest in or connected with this publication shall vest in Flow Traders. No part of it may be redistributed or reproduced without the prior written permission of Flow Traders.

This press release may include forward-looking statements, which are based on Flow Traders’ current expectations and projections about future events, and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations. Words such as “may”, “will”, “would”, “should”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “project”, “believe”, “could”, “hope”, “seek”, “plan”, “foresee”, “aim”, “objective”, “potential”, “goal” “strategy”, “target”, “continue” and similar expressions or their negatives are used to identify these forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future whether or not outside the control of Flow Traders. Such factors may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no undue reliance should be placed on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as at the date at which they are made. Flow Traders expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which such statements are based unless required to do so by applicable law.

Financial objectives are internal objectives of Flow Traders to measure its operational performance and should not be read as indicating that Flow Traders is targeting such metrics for any particular fiscal year. Flow Traders’ ability to achieve these financial objectives is inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond Flow Traders’ control, and upon assumptions with respect to future business decisions that are subject to change. As a result, Flow Traders’ actual results may vary from these financial objectives, and those variations may be material.

Efficiencies are net, before tax and on a run-rate basis, i.e. taking into account the full-year impact of any measure to be undertaken before the end of the period mentioned. The expected operating efficiencies and cost savings were prepared on the basis of a number of assumptions, projections and estimates, many of which depend on factors that are beyond Flow Traders’ control. These assumptions, projections and estimates are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and actual results may differ, perhaps materially, from those projected. Flow Traders cannot provide any assurance that these assumptions are correct and that these projections and estimates will reflect Flow Traders’ actual results of operations.

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Market Abuse Regulation

This press release contains information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

Attachment

  • Flow Traders 2Q19 Press Release

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