Saxo Bank Group (“The Group”) reported a positive net profit of DKK 150 million for the first six months of 2018. In a period with low market volatility and the introduction of a new competitive pricing structure, operating income for the Group reached DKK 1.51 billion, a decrease of 0.3 per cent compared to the first half of 2017. Client collateral deposits continued to rise to DKK 110.4 billion representing an increase of 7 per cent compared to the end of 2017.

Saxo Bank Group continued to strengthen its capital position with the total capital ratio for the Group reaching 27.6 per cent as of 30 June 2018 compared to 22.7 per cent at the end of 2017.

• Operating income: DKK 1,506.4 million (DKK 1,557.6 million H1 2017)
• EBITDA: DKK 397.9 million (DKK 495.9 million H1 2017)
• Adjusted EBITDA: DKK 431.2 million (DKK 550.4 million H1 2017)
• Profit before tax: DKK 209.4 million (DKK 312.2 million H1 2017)
• Net profit: DKK 149.7 million (DKK 229.5 million H1 2017)
• Clients' collateral deposits: DKK 110.4 billion (DKK 103.6 billion at the end of 2017)
• Total equity: DKK 4,763.3 million (DKK 4,621.4 million at the end of 2017)
• Total capital ratio: 27.6% (22.7% at the end of 2017)

Commenting on the results, Kim Fournais, CEO and co-founder of Saxo Bank, said:

“The results reflect the low levels of volatility across financial markets that have marked the first half of the year. Another contributing factor is the introduction of a new and more transparent pricing structure that lowers prices significantly across asset classes in several key markets. Despite an immediate impact on income, it has resulted in an increase in new trading clients and reaffirms our long-term growth strategy of competing on product, platform, price and service.”

“We continue to develop and invest in our product offering and technology to improve the Saxo experience for traders, investors, and partners. The launch of SaxoTraderPRO brings a variety of customizable trading tools to active traders and institutional clients. Catering to the investor segment, we have added mutual funds as a new asset class on our platform which now facilitates access to more than 35,000 tradeable instruments.”

“For the rest of the year, we remain dedicated to continuously improving our products, platforms and service and helping clients and partners succeed.“

In October 2017 it was announced that Geely Financials Denmark A/S, a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd (“Geely Group”) offered to buy 51.5 per cent of the shares in Saxo Bank, with Sampo Group, a leading Nordic financial services group, offering to buy 19.9 per cent of the bank. The process of closing the transactions is pending final regulatory approvals and has been subject to approvals from 11 different financial and competition authorities.

The full report is available here: Investor Relations