London Capital Group Holdings - AGM Statement has a mixed message
The online spread betting company’s AGM statement opened with the encouraging news that key performance indicators for the first quarter were ahead of management expectations – clearly the key performance indicators in question were less important to investors than news of a fall in pre-tax profit which resulted in a 18% fall in share price!
Gross revenue for the Group is also ahead of last year but group profit before tax is down on last year as a result of an increase in costs (accelerated investment in new trading software and increased white label expenses) and less less volatile conditions in their main markets - we like lower volatility! The lower level of interest income also doesn’t help a business like LCG that is awash with client’s cash on deposit! Average daily trade volumes have risen to 28,000 in the first quarter of 2009 (1st quarter 2008: 17,700), new client acquisition is well ahead of…