Swissquote sees strong start to 2022, Demetra Kalogerou joins Board
Gland, Switzerland based online brokerage and banking firm Swissquote (SWX:SQN) has reported its full financial results for 2021, alongside an update on activity and outlook for 2022. Swissquote had earlier (in mid January) released its summary results for 2021, showing record annual revenues and profits despite a slower second half of the year.
As far as new “news”, Swissquote said that during the two first months of 2022, customer growth continued its strong trend with CHF 1.4 billion (USD $1.49 billion) of net new monies. The company said that that despite current geopolitical and market uncertainty, it expects to replicate its very successful year 2021. In 2022, net revenues are expected at CHF 475 million (+0.7% YoY) and pre-tax profit at CHF 225 million (+0.7%). The new medium-term targets put net revenues and pre-tax profit at CHF 750 million and CHF 350 million respectively in 2025.
With the acquisition of Keytrade Bank Luxembourg announced earlier this year, Swissquote said it has reinforced its positioning in the Benelux area as a market leader in online trading and investing. The Keytrade transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022, and will bring in somewhat more than 8,200 new customers and EUR 1.7 billion in client assets. With this move, Swissquote confirms its ambitious expansion strategy in Europe and more generally outside of Switzerland.
Interestingly, Swissquote took its results release as an opportunity to announce changes in its corporate organization, which will include:
❑ Paolo Buzzi will be proposed as a new member of the Board of Directors at the next Annual General Meeting. Paolo Buzzi is one of the two founders of the company and has been key to its success. His engineering degree from the EPFL, his strong information technology culture and his affinity for innovation were instrumental in the launch of Swissquote as a digital bank and in countless projects. Paolo is stepping down as Deputy CEO on the Executive Management and, if he is elected, he will continue to actively contribute to the Swissquote success story as a Board member.
❑ Demetra Kalogerou will also be proposed to the Board of Directors as an additional member. Boasting a wide range of experiences, Demetra Kalogerou in particular used to be for 10 years the Executive Chairwoman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). If she is elected, she will bring to the Board a broader international dimension as well as a strong expertise in financial markets, regulation and risk management.
❑ Martin Naville, a long-standing member of the Board of Directors since 2007 and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Swissquote Bank Ltd since 2019, will not be standing for reelection at this year’s Annual General Meeting. With his wide experience, he has contributed significantly to the success and growth of Swissquote.
Markus Dennler, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said:
“With the proposed candidates, we are significantly strengthening our Board of Directors and are pursuing Swissquote’s growth story. In addition to this, we warmly thank Martin Naville for his significant contribution to the company over the last 15 years.”
Regarding its results, Swissquote indicated that its eForex trading volumes averaged $129 billion monthly in 2021, up from $114 billion in 2020.
Operating revenues at Swissquote increased in 2021 by 49 percent year-on-year to CHF 479.6 million, while pre-tax profit reached a record high of CHF 223.3 million (target for 2024 was CHF 200 million), an increase of 111.4 percent. Profitability, with a pre-tax profit margin of 47.3 percent, increased strongly thanks to higher trading volumes and more customer accounts (+77,599). With organic net new money inflow hitting a record high of CHF 9.6 billion, client assets grew to CHF 55.9 billion. The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting that the dividend be increased by 46.7 percent from CHF 1.50 to CHF 2.20 per share.
Net new money inflow at Swissquote continued to increase to CHF 9.6 billion in 2021 (CHF 5.3 billion). This trend is attributable to Swissquote’s international expansion (52% of the net new monies were related to customers resident abroad), as well as the unique positioning of Swissquote for mass affluent customers. Client assets rose by 40.5 percent to CHF 55.9 billion (CHF 39.8 billion) thanks to net new money inflow, but also to the positive market environment. Per customer, this equates to a healthy average deposit in excess of CHF 110,000. The total number of accounts reached 487,847 (+18.9 percent) by the end of 2021.
Swissquote’s full results release for 2021 can be seen here (pdf).