Admiral Markets sees 2020 Revenue up 103%, to rebrand as “Admirals”
Estonia-based, global Retail FX and CFDs brokerage group Admiral Markets has published its Annual Report for 2020, indicating significant growth and record results for the company.
The company also indicated that in 2020, it started preparations for the rebranding of the company as it is on its way to becoming a global financial hub. In 2021 the group noted that it will launch “Admirals” as the new brand of the company.
On the top line, Admiral Markets’ revenue (what it terms “Net trading income”) totaled €47.1 million for 2020, more than double the previous year’s €23.2 million. EBITDA of €21.6 million and Net Profit of €20.3 million were up 271% and 340%, respectively, over 2019.
The total value of client trades during the year at Admiral Markets was €998 billion, up 68% over 2019’s €590 billion. That translates into average monthly trading volumes of just over $100 billion in 2020.
We’d note that the second half of the year at Admiral Markets was slower than 1H-2020 – a phenomenon we have witnessed at a number of leading Retail FX firms that have so far reported revenues and/or trading volumes. The first half of the year saw record retail trading activity levels at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in February through April 2020. While activity levels remained high for most of the rest of the year – much higher than in all of 2019 – it didn’t quite match what happened in 1H-2020. In Admiral Markets’ case, second half 2020 revenues were €15.5 million, versus €31.6 million in the first half of the year.
Admiral Markets AS was founded in 2003. In 2009, the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority granted Admiral Markets AS the activity license no. 4.1-1/46 for the provision of investment services. The main activity of Admiral Markets AS is the provision of trading and investment services (mainly leveraged and derivative products) to retail, professional and institutional clients. Customers are offered leveraged Contract for Difference (CFD) products in the over-the-counter market, Forex as well as listed instruments.
The Company’s activities have mostly targeted experienced traders, but since last year Admiral Markets has also strengthened its position in the beginner’s segment. Therefore, the Company focuses on the improvement of general trading skills of experienced traders and the training of new enthusiasts as well.
In addition to the provision of other support services, under White Label agreements, Admiral Markets AS, being the administrator and developer of the platform, provides all sister companies that are part of the same consolidation group the possibility of using the investment platform. In line with the Group’s strategy, the sister investment companies of Admiral Markets AS hedge the risks arising from their customers’ transactions in Admiral Markets AS, who is also their main liquidity partner. Due to this, the results of Admiral Markets AS depend on other companies in the Group.
In addition to the services offered to retail, professional and institutional customers, Admiral Markets AS also acts as a provider of support services for its consolidation group companies, being responsible for all key middle and back-office functions: administration and development of IT platforms, risk management, liquidity provision, marketing, financial services, compliance.
The licensed investment companies that are a part of the same consolidation group as Admiral Markets AS are Admiral Markets UK Ltd, Admiral Markets Pty Ltd and Admiral Markets Cyprus Ltd. Admiral Markets AS has a license granted by the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority. Since Admiral Markets AS and other licensed investment companies that are part of the same consolidation group use the same joint trademark, the reputation of the trademark of Admiral Markets has a major direct impact on the financial indicators as well as the business success of Admiral Markets AS.
Admiral Markets AS has subsidiaries in Canada and in Jordan. The branch in Poland was closed and the representative office in the Russian Federation is in the process of being liquidated in connection with shaping the strategy of Admiral Markets AS’ parent company Admiral Markets Group AS for the coming years. As the branch and representative office are not engaged in providing investment services nor have clients, the closing will not have a significant impact on Admiral Markets AS’ business or financial results.
Admiral Markets’ trading infrastructure enables optimised low-latency access to the world’s largest multi-asset class electronic trading ecosystem. Trading servers are located in one of the most prominent data centers and Internet exchange points for international financial services providers – Equinix London LD4. The proximity to trading servers of all major liquidity providers and institutional trading counterparties in combination with its proprietary order routing and execution engine consistently ensure best possible order execution outcomes for clients across all financial products.
The service to retail clients relies on two trading platforms: MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). The latter is the latest generation of the famous MetaTrader trading application, developed by the MetaQuotes Software corporation, which has been trusted and used by millions of traders and hundreds of trading service providers across the world for well over a decade. The MT5 platform inherited the intuitive, easy-to-use interface and trading functions of MT4 but, unlike its predecessor, it is no longer prone to tradable product range scalability limitations. The newest platform now also supports trading in exchange-traded products like stocks, exchange-traded funds, futures, bonds, and options. This inherent multi-asset support created an opportunity for Admiral Markets to engage with new market segments, reach an even broader group of traders and expand the global footprint of Admiral Markets by enabling trading in stocks and exchange traded funds.
In a partnership with third-party developers, the company created MetaTrader Supreme Edition – a trading platform add-on for desktop versions of MT4 or MT5 applications. MetaTrader Supreme Edition includes a set of market analysis and trading tools for clients and helps the company to gain a competitive edge over other investment services providers who also rely on MetaTrader platforms.
Admiral Markets full 2020 Annual Report can be seen here (pdf).