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The Plus500 online trading platform saw its stock plummet this morning after predicting a 82% drop in revenue in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the previous year.
Read more: Over £ 900 Million Erased from the Value of Plus500 as Stocks Continue to Dive
The company, which specializes in high-risk foreign exchange contracts (CFDs), warned in February that profits would be affected by the introduction of stricter betting rules.
In a press release, Plus500 announced today that its revenue for the first quarter of 2018 would reach $ 53.9 million, compared with $ 297.3 million in the same quarter of the same period last year. ;last year.
Plus500 estimated that its number of new customers decreased by 55% in the first quarter to 21,306 from 72,960 a year earlier.
Shares of the company listed on the London Stock Exchange fell 44% in morning session to 406p.
The company said the bad numbers were due to "extremely weak financial markets on most types of badets".
In February, the company warned that the new regulations of the European Union, which crack down on the amount of money that amateur traders can borrow from brokers by betting on market movements, could hurt profits.
The February profit warning lowered its stock by 30% in one day.
A few days later, the shares slipped further when the company disclosed that it had been affected by a $ 103 million loss in 2017 that it had not disclosed before.
His accounts for 2017 stated: "In 2017, as in 2016 and 2015, the company did not generate net income or losses from the income statement of the market. [profit and loss]".
In February, Plus500 said that a "drafting error" meant that the phrase "or losses" was misplaced in the report, which meant that millions of dollars in losses had not been revealed .
In a trading update, the company estimates today that average revenue per user has dropped to $ 1,350 in the first quarter of 2019 from $ 1,363 a year ago.
CEO Asaf Elimelech said today: "Given the level of global political and economic news, the financial markets have been surprisingly weak over the period, which has reduced the number of trading opportunities for customers. "
Read more: Plus500 shares continue to spiral after $ 103 million mistake in annual report
"Given recent regulatory changes, it is imperative to attract, engage and retain valuable clients. The company is currently working on a number of initiatives to expand its reach, "he said.
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