(Reuters) - British financial spreadbetting firm CMC Markets Plc (L:CMCX) reported a jump in full-year pretax profit as its clients traded more during heightened market volatility.
The company, which listed on the London stock market in February with a valuation of 691 million pounds ($1.01 billion), said pretax profit rose 23 percent to 53.4 million pounds in the year ended March 31.
CMC said it was on track to achieve its target of 220 million pounds net operating income in the year ended March 2020.
Chief Executive Peter Cruddas set up the company as a foreign exchange broker with a 10,000 pound investment in 1989. Rival companies include IG Group Plc (L:IGG), Denmark's Saxo Bank and FXCM Inc (N:FXCM).
CMC said active client numbers grew 14 percent to 57,329 in the year, while revenue per active client rose 4 percent to 2,828 pounds.
The value of client trades rose 445 billion pounds to 2,071 billion pounds.
Global markets have shown increased volatility in recent months, driven by speculation on a slowdown in China and falling commodity prices.
CMC, whose stock has risen 15 percent since its debut, said it would pay a final dividend of 5.36 pence per share, up from the 3.57 pence it paid last year.