Share Buyback Programme

RNS Number : 6497B

Plus500 Limited

15 February 2022

 

15 February 2022   

Plus500 Ltd.

("Plus500", the "Company" or, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")

Share Buyback Programme

Further to the announcement of its preliminary results for FY 2021 earlier today, Plus500, a global multi‐asset fintech group operating proprietary technology‐based trading platforms, announces that its Board of Directors (the "Board") has approved a new share buyback programme to purchase up to an additional $55.0m of the Company's shares.

This includes a special share buyback programme of $29.8m, which is directly related to the benefits of the change in tax rate from the Israeli statutory rate of 23% to 12%, following the Company's successful extension of accreditation as a Preferred Technological Enterprise.

The new programme follows the completion of the Company's most recent share buyback programme in January 2022, having been announced on 29 October 2021.

The purpose of the new programme is to further emphasise the Board's confidence in the prospects of Plus500 and reflects the robust financial position of the Group, as highlighted by the Group's operational and financial performance in FY 2021.

Share purchases will take place in open market transactions and may be made from time to time depending on market conditions, share price, trading volume and other factors. The Company has appointed Liberum Capital Limited ("Liberum") to manage this new programme, which is an irrevocable, non‐discretionary share buyback programme to repurchase the Company's shares on its behalf, and within certain defined parameters. The Company or the Board have no power to invoke any changes to the above programme and it will be conducted at the sole discretion of Liberum within the programme terms.

All ordinary shares repurchased by the Company under the above programme shall be classified as shares held in treasury (dormant shares). Such treasury shares are not entitled to dividends and have no voting rights at the Company's general meetings.

The share buyback programme will run from the date of this announcement to 31 December 2022.

Purchases may continue during any closed period to which the Company is subject during the above-mentioned period. Shareholders of the Company authorised the buyback of up to 10,198,950 ordinary shares at the Company's 2021 Annual General Meeting (the "AGM") held on 4 May 2021, of which 1,653,788 shares have been purchased as of the date of this announcement (excluding those shares purchased on the day of the AGM). The current shareholder authorisation extends until the Company's 2022 Annual General Meeting, unless such authority is renewed prior to this time. The Board intends to seek shareholders authorisation at the Company's 2022 Annual General Meeting to renew the Company's share buyback authorisation for an additional year.

The share buyback programme will also be effected within the parameters of Article 5(1) of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the "2018 Act")) and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2016/1052 (which is part of UK law by virtue of the 2018 Act).

For further details Plus500 Ltd Elad Even-Chen, Chief Financial Officer Rob Gurner, Head of Investor Relations [phone] [phone] [e-mail] MHP Communications Reg Hoare, Rachel Mann, Pete Lambie [phone] [e-mail]

About Plus500

Plus500 is a global multi-asset fintech group operating proprietary technology-based trading platforms. Plus500 offers customers a range of trading products, including Contracts for Difference ("CFDs") and share dealing, as well as futures and options on futures in the US.

The Group retains operating licenses and is regulated in the United Kingdom, Australia, Cyprus, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, the United States, Estonia and the Seychelles and through its CFDs product portfolio, offers more than 2,500 different underlying global financial instruments, comprising equities, indices, commodities, options, ETFs, foreign exchange and cryptocurrencies. Customers of the Group can trade CFDs in more than 50 countries and in 30 languages. Plus500 does not permit customers located in the US to trade CFDs.

In 2021, the Company acquired Cunningham Commodities LLC , a Futures Commission Merchant, and Cunningham Trading Systems LLC , a technology trading platform provider, both of which operate in the futures and options on futures market in the US, enabling Plus500 immediate access to that sizable and growing market. Also in 2021, the Company launched a new share dealing platform, 'Plus500 Invest', across a number of product offerings, including a wide range of financial instruments comprising of the world's most popular equities, listed on major exchanges worldwide.

Plus500 does not utilise cold calling techniques and does not offer binary options. Plus500's trading platforms are accessible from multiple operating systems (Windows, iOS, Android and Surface) and web browsers. Customer care is and has always been integral to Plus500, as such, customers cannot be subject to negative balances. A free demo account is available on an unlimited basis for CFD platform users and sophisticated risk management tools are provided free of charge to manage leveraged exposure, and stop losses to help customers protect profits, while limiting capital losses.

Plus500 shares have a premium listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (symbol: PLUS) and are a constituent of the FTSE 250 index. www.plus500.com

The   information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. 

Forward looking statements

This announcement contains statements that are or may be forward-looking statements.  All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this announcement may be forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to the Company's future prospects, developments and strategies. The Company does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any information reported by the press or other media, nor the fairness or appropriateness of any forecasts, views or opinions express by the press or other media regarding the Group. The Company makes no representation as to the appropriateness, accuracy, completeness or reliability of any such information or publication.

Forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "believe", "targets", "expects", "aim", "anticipate", "projects", "would", "could", "envisage", "estimate", "intend", "may", "plan", "will" or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions.  The forward-looking statements in this announcement are based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, those described in the risk factors.  These forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of such entity and the environment in which each will operate in the future.  All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributed to the Company or any persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statement above. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this announcement.  Except as required by law, regulatory requirement, the Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, neither the Company nor any other party intends to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

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