Swissquote sees Revenues up 19%, Profit up 30% in record H1-2024
Leading Switzerland based online banking and trading provider Swissquote (SWX:SQN) has released its final financial figures for the first half of 2024, showing record top and bottom line results at the company as crypto trading has become a much bigger piece of the pie in 2024.
In the first half 2024, Swissquote said that investor sentiment improved, which had a positive impact not only on trading activity but also on customer acquisition. Net revenues reached CHF 316.9 million (or USD $365 million, +19.3% compared to year-back period) while pre-tax profit increased to CHF 169.7 million (+35.9% compared to year-back period). Net Profit came in at a record CHF 144.6 million, up 30% from 2H-2023’s previous best result.
As at 30 June 2024, client assets reached a record high of CHF 68.0 billion (+19.6% compared to year-back period). Net new monies were recorded at CHF 3.8 billion. For 2024, Swissquote said it is now targeting a pre-tax profit of around CHF 320 million (initially: CHF 300 million).
Revenues reached all time high thanks to diversification
Swissquote said that the year 2024 started on a positive note with good performance on stock markets and improved appetite from investors. Net revenues reached CHF 316.9 million in the first half 2024, an increase of +19.3% compared to the year-back period. Net interest income continued to grow (+6.9% compared to the year-back period) thanks to the combination of high interest rates and higher cash deposits.
Despite the fact that market volatility remained low, trading activity improved in comparison to the same period last year (number of transactions up by +21.9%). Net fee and commission income increased by +17.9% to CHF 86.9 million. Net crypto assets income increased by +369.0% to CHF 35.1 million – making crypto revenue more than 11% of overall Swissquote revenue in the period – thanks to significant growth in the crypto market capitalisation (e.g. Bitcoin price increased by more than +50%), which also led to increased crypto volumes (+389.0% compared to the year-back period).
Net eForex income was more affected by low volatility than other revenue categories and decreased by -14.2% to CHF 47.1 million compared to the year-back period (but remained stable compared to the previous half year). Net trading income increased by +42.2%, supported by more foreign-currency designated trading activity.
Higher pre-tax profit margin leads to record pre-tax profit
With net revenues ahead of initial expectations, the vast majority of the increase in net revenues impacted positively the profitability of the company. Total expenses grew by +6.3% to CHF 147.1 million: together with a higher headcount, a higher variable remuneration expense impacted payroll and related expenses (+9.6%). During the first half 2024, the pre-tax profit increased by +35.9% to a new record level of CHF 169.7 million (CHF 124.9 million). The pre-tax profit margin grew to 53.5% (47.0%), while the net profit increased to CHF 144.6 million (CHF 106.5 million), with the net profit margin rising to 45.6% (40.1%).
Client assets at CHF 68 billion, accounts up by +10% in 12 months
The number of client accounts grew by more than 36,000 accounts in 6 months, which is more than in the entire year 2023. However, the quality of the client base has remained at a high level, with an average of assets per customers above CHF 100,000. Client assets increased by +19.6% to a record high of CHF 68.0 billion. The growth of client assets was explained by CHF 3.8 billion of net new money and a positive market impact. As of 30 June 2024, the portion of cash in client assets remained resilient (as a percentage of total client assets) and increased by more than CHF 1.0 billion.
Yuh getting closer to break-even point
As at 30 June 2024, the mobile finance app Yuh increased the total number of accounts to more than 235,000 (+58.9% compared to the year-back period) and its client assets to CHF 2.0 billion (+103.2% compared to the year-back period). In 2024, the pre-tax profit contribution shall remain negative but to a lesser extent than in 2023.
Strong capital position with equity at CHF 1.0 billion
As of 30 June 2024, total balance sheet assets amounted to CHF 11.3 billion (CHF 10.0 billion). Thanks to growing profitability, in the first half of 2024, the total equity of the company grew by +10.7% to CHF 1.0 billion (CHF 0.9 billion). The capital ratio remained high at 25.9% (25.1%), well above the regulatory limit (11.2%) and industry average (CET1 ratio at 17.5%).
Full year guidance increased upwards
Despite half year results above initial expectations, Swissquote reported that it is recommended to anticipate the second semester 2024 with a certain level of caution, in particular with respect to the crypto market. Therefore, for the second half 2024, Swissquote expects the results to be similar to the levels of the initial guidance published in March 2024. For the year 2024 as a whole, net revenues and pre-tax profit are now expected to be approximately CHF 615 million (initially: CHF 595 million) and approximately CHF 320 million (initially: CHF 300 million).
Swissquote’s financial results and other information for the first half of 2024 follow below.
About Swissquote
Swissquote is Switzerland’s market leader in online banking. Over three million financial products can be traded on its innovative platforms. Swissquote’s core competencies include global stock market trading, the trading and custody of crypto assets, forex trading as well as savings and investment solutions. In addition, Swissquote is active in the payment card and mortgage markets. As at the end of June 2024, Swissquote held over CHF 68 billion in client assets on more than 610,000 private and institutional accounts. In addition to its headquarters in Gland, Switzerland, Swissquote has offices in Zurich, Luxembourg, London, Malta, Bucharest, Cyprus, Dubai, Cape Town, Singapore and Hong Kong. Swissquote holds banking licences both in Switzerland (FINMA) and Luxembourg (CSSF). Its parent company, Swissquote Group Holding Ltd, is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (symbol: SQN). The Swissquote Croup and PostFinance each own 50% of the fintech app Yuh.