FLOW TRADERS 3Q18 TRADING UPDATE

Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Flow Traders N.V. (Euronext: FLOW) releases its unaudited 3Q18 trading update. The highlights for the period are: 

  • Market ETP Value Traded down 12% quarter-on-quarter, Market ETP AuM up 6% quarter-on-quarter (in €)
  • Flow Traders 3Q18 NTI €42.4m, resulting in a record NTI of €309.3m year-to-date
  • Flow Traders gained market share in all regions in 3Q18
  • 3Q18 Fixed operating expenses grew 5%; fixed operating expenses growing 6% year-to-date
  • FTEs grew to 425 at the end of 3Q18; FTE growth of 8% year-to-date
  • Own Funds Requirement (OFR) was €174m on 30 September 2018, resulting in excess capital of €113m


Overview 3Q18 Value Traded

€billion 3Q18 2Q18 Change YTD 18 YTD 17 Change
Flow Traders ETP Value Traded 184.0 205.0 (10%) 632.8 521.8 21%
EMEA (Europe) 96.4 112.8 (15%) 352.1 314.7 12%
Americas 79.2 83.9 (6%) 254.9 190.0 34%
APAC (ex China) 8.4 8.3 1% 25.7 17.1 51%
             
Flow Traders' non-ETP Value Traded 589 621 (5%) 1,902 1,685 13%
             
Market ETP Value Traded 4,874 5,544 (12%) 16,958 14,207 19%
EMEA (Europe) 281 338 (17%) 1,001 967 4%
Americas, 4,091 4,621 (11%) 14,329 11,919 20%
APAC ex China 198 206 (4%) 707 540 31%


Financial Overview Flow Traders 3Q18

€million 3Q18 2Q18 Change YTD 18 YTD 17 Change
Net Trading Income 42.4 53.8 (21%) 309.3 126.7 144%
EMEA (Europe) 27.5 32.4 (15%) 109.4 87.1 26%
Americas 8.1 14.7 (45%) 175.5 28.3 521%
APAC (ex China) 6.8 6.7 1% 24.5 11.3 116%
             
Net Trading Income 42.4 53.8 (21%) 309.3 126.7 144%
Employee expenses (fixed) 8.9 8.9 - 26.5 23.4 13%
Technology expenses 9.1 8.6 5% 26.6 28.0 (5%)
Other expenses 5.0 4.4 15% 13.4 11.3 19%
Fixed Operating Expenses 22.9 21.9 5% 66.5 62.7 6%
Employee expenses (var) 6.8* 12.5 (46%) 76.8 21.2 263%
Total operational expenses 29.7 34.4 (14%) 143.3 83.8 71%
EBITDA 12.7 19.4 (34%) 166.0 42.8 288%
Depreciation/Amortisation 2.4 2.1   6.5 5.2  
Write offs, tangible assets - 0.1   0.1 -  
Results subsidiaries - (3.1)   (3.1) -  
Profit Before Tax 10.4 20.3 (49%) 162.5 37.6 332%
Tax 2.2 3.1   27.5 6.0  
Net Profit 8.2 17.2 (52%) 135.0 31.7 327%
EPS (in €) 0.18 0.37   2.91 0.68  
EBITDA margins (%) 30% 36%   54% 34%  

* including one-off €1.1m impact related to employees leaving the firm with shares under lock up

3Q18 regional highlights:

AMERICAS:

  • Flow Traders US ETP market share grew further in 3Q18
  • Flow Traders US ETP Value Traded reached €79.2bn, lower quarter-on-quarter, but ahead of the market
  • Number of counterparties continues to grow, momentum in OTC trading is increasing

EMEA:

  • Flow Traders EMEA ETP market share grew in 3Q18, confirming our leading position in the ETP ecosystem
  • Flow Traders EMEA ETP Value Traded reached €96.4bn, lower quarter-on-quarter, but ahead of the market
  • Number of counterparties continues to grow, supported by the impact of MiFID II
  • FX liquidity providing is live on FastMatch and Currenex with a rapidly growing number of counterparties

APAC:

  • Flow Traders APAC ETP market share grew further in 3Q18
  • Flow Traders APAC ex-China ETP Value Traded reached €8.4bn, flat versus previous quarter, but ahead of the market
  • Flow Traders APAC ETP OTC trading in terms of Value Traded continued to grow in 3Q18


Co-CEO Dennis Dijkstra stated:
"Markets were seasonally slow in the third quarter, as certain geopolitical events only had a short impact on the market. The temporary fall in realized volatility in especially the US, affected profit potential in 3Q18. Flow Traders continued to focus on executing its organic growth strategy, with momentum increasing in its global OTC trading. FX liquidity providing with external counterparties is now live in EMEA and expansion to other platforms is expected to follow soon. All in all, Flow Traders' market share continued to grow in 3Q18, leading to an NTI in the quarter that is above last year's NTI level, adding to what is already our best year since inception. With FX trading live, Flow Traders is accelerating plans to diversify into other asset classes, in addition to its leading ETP business."

CFO Marcel Jongmans added:
"In 3Q18 our focus on cost control continued. The fixed cost increase in the quarter was mainly the result of expected investments, such as the start of new graduate classes in trading and technology and the ongoing expansion of our infrastructure. Our regulatory capital base remained healthy with conservative levels of excess capital in 3Q18. Flow Traders continues to have a strong and unleveraged balance sheet, while generating strong free cash flows. Looking ahead, Flow Traders remains focused on enhancing the performance of its trading infrastructure to maximize NTI, while keeping a tight grip on cost."


Preliminary Financial Calendar

11 January 2019                 Start Silent Period ahead of release FY18 results
08 February 2019               Release FY18 results (incl. analyst conference call)
28 February 2019               Release Annual Report 2018
26 March 2019                   Start Silent Period ahead of release 1Q19 trading update
16 April 2019                       Release 1Q19 trading update (no analyst conference call)
08 May 2019                       AGM Flow Traders

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.

Flow Traders 3Q18 trading update


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Source: Flow Traders NV via Globenewswire