31 October 2024
Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Flow Traders Ltd. (Euronext: FLOW) announces its unaudited 3Q 2024 trading update.
Highlights
- Flow Traders recorded Net Trading Income of €107.3m and Total Income of €114.6m in 3Q24, compared to €67.6m and €67.7m, respectively, in 3Q23.
- Flow Traders’ ETP Value Traded increased 9% in 3Q24 when compared to the same period last year.
- Total Operating Expenses were €64.0m in 3Q24, compared to €55.3m in 3Q23, with Fixed Operating Expenses of €45.3m in the quarter, compared to €47.6m in 3Q23 (including one-off expenses).
- EBITDA was €50.5m in 3Q24, generating an EBITDA margin of 44%, compared to €12.4m and 18%, respectively, in 3Q23.
- Net Profit was €37.5m in 3Q24, yielding a basic EPS of €0.87, compared to a Net Profit of €6.3m and EPS of €0.15 in 3Q23.
- Trading capital stood at €668m at the end of 3Q24 and generated a 58% return on trading capital1, compared to €624m and 56% in 2Q24.
- Shareholders’ equity was €666m at the end of 3Q24, compared to €638m at the end of 2Q24.
- Flow Traders employed 646 FTEs at the end of 3Q24, compared to 635 at the end of 2Q24.
CEO Statement
Mike Kuehnel, CEO
“Following the strategic decision to accelerate the expansion of our trading capital base last quarter, we successfully demonstrated the validity of our growth and diversification strategy and capital expansion plan by delivering another triple-digit NTI quarter. This is the second time this year and the best third quarter result in the company’s 20-year history. The additional capital, following the suspension of the firm’s dividend payments and the addition of a bank term loan, coupled with the increase in volatility, enabled us to deliver a 58% return on trading capital in the quarter. The ability to effectively capture the opportunities that arose during the sudden, but short-lived, spike in volatility in early August across financial markets globally demonstrated the continued robustness of our trading strategies and further validates our growth and diversification strategy.
During the third quarter, market trading volumes increased when compared to the same period a year ago but were flat-to-down when compared to the second quarter. However, volatility levels increased given the macroeconomic uncertainties, the geopolitical turmoil around the world and the unexpected changes in central bank interest rate policies, which resulted in sudden and unexpected asset rotations. The quick but widespread nature of these asset movements resulted in temporary price dislocations that we were able to capture, while continuing to provide stability and liquidity to the financial markets we operate in. With pockets of opportunities coming from different segments of the market throughout the year so far (e.g. Digital Assets in 1Q, EMEA Equities in 2Q, and EMEA and APAC Equities in 3Q), the strategic investments we made over the years to diversify our business across different regions and asset classes continue to yield strong results.
As we continue to invest in new trading capabilities, we will also look to leverage these capabilities by enhancing our proprietary technology stack. With Owain, our new CTO, on board, we are excited about advancements in our technological capabilities, particularly around the quantitative insights to be gained from the treasure trove of data available to us. These new technological initiatives can help us with further improving our pricing and hedging competence to capture more opportunities across the markets we trade in. They are on top of the firm-wide streamlining and automation work that continues in the background to systematically improve efficiency and strengthen our core operations as the firm continues to grow and scale.
We believe this is a pivotal time for Flow Traders. With a unique combination of our trading talent and technology infrastructure, the opportunity set we see across all financial markets globally, and our recently announced trading capital expansion plan, we are excited about driving the company into the next phase of its growth.”
Full press release here.