Online trading platform IG Group Holdings PLC (IGG.LN) said Tuesday that its pretax profit rose 29% in the six months to Nov. 30, boosted by rising revenue and lower operating costs.
Pretax profit for the half-year period was 136.5 million pounds ($190.6 million), rising from GBP105.6 million in the same period the prior year, IG said.
Net trading revenue rose 10% to GBP268.4 million, IG said. Operating expenses, excluding variable remuneration, fell 7% to GBP117.6 million.
IG said it was raising its interim dividend to 9.69 pence a share from 9.42 pence a share.
The company said its operating costs for the second half of its financial year are expected to be higher than the first half, remaining at a similar level to financial 2017 for the full-year.
Chief Executive Peter Hetherington said IG is taking action to mitigate the potential financial impact of regulatory change. U.K. and European regulators have proposed measures to restrict the use of contract-for-difference products--trades which allow investors to make leveraged bets on the movement of asset prices--by retail investors, including stricter leverage limits and greater protection for client losses.
IG said that if the current measures proposed by the European Securities and Markets Authority had been in place in financial 2017, it would have cut its revenue by less than 10%. The company said the proposed measures had a "disproportionate focus on leverage", which may threaten to drive retail clients to unregulated trading platforms.