Its not just online retail brokers enjoying the recent wave of increased equity trading.

Equity exchange operator Aquis Exchange PLC (LON:AQX), formerly NEX Exchange, has announced its results for the first six months of 2020, indicating a 42% increase in Revenue over both 1H and 2H 2019, which were fairly similar for Aquis. The exchange also increased its European equity trading market share to above 4.5%, and achieved profitability for the first time.

Alasdair Haynes, Chief Executive Officer of Aquis, explained:

“We are pleased to announce our first period of profitability, reached through further strong revenue growth. This growth has been driven by our existing Members continuing to increase their trading volumes through our pan-European lit equities market.

The completion of the acquisition of Aquis Stock Exchange in March was a milestone for the Group and marked a significant step towards achieving our ambition to become the leading exchange services group in Europe. We have now entered the primary listings market, with exciting plans in motion to further build AQSE into the first choice for quality growth businesses.

Despite the impact of Covid-19 on the global economy and business confidence, Aquis has maintained a robust competitive position in the marketplace and has successfully operated almost entirely remotely since March, highlighting the flexibility and resilience of the business.

While we anticipate the prevailing economic uncertainty will continue to impact market participants in the short to medium term, we have proven we have the right model, team, technology and vision to deliver shareholder value and look to the future with confidence.”

Back to the numbers…. financial highlights for the first six months at Aquis were as follows:

• Revenue increased 42% to £4.9 million (1H19: £3.4 million, 2H19: £3.5 million).
• EBITDA of £0.54 million (1H19: £0.18 million loss).
• Profitability reached for the first time with a profit after tax of £16,000 (1H19: £623,000 loss).
• Cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 2020 of £11.2 million (30 June 2019: £11.2 million).
• Market share of all pan-European trading rose to 4.51% (1H19: 3.56%), despite the increased volatility driving significant additional proprietary trading.
• The share of available liquidity increased further to 21% (1H19: 19%).

Aquis stated that its strategic goal is to become one of the leading exchange services groups through delivering best-in-class exchange trading opportunities, underpinned by our commitment to first class client service. Alongside this,  Aquis said it is are working to enhance its software licensing activities and build presence internationally.

Looking forward, the company said its focus continues to be on executing on its core growth strategy: increasing trading volumes and improving fundraising prospects for small and mid-cap companies.

The Aquis Exchange full 1H-2020 report can be seen here.