Saxo Bank Announces Record Profits
COPENHAGEN, Mar. 31 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Today, the online trading and investment specialist, Saxo Bank, announced
an increase in operating income of 61 percent, and a net profit increase of
23 percent for 2008.
2008 was another record year in terms of income and profit for
Copenhagen-based online specialist, Saxo Bank. Operating income ended at DKK
2,518 million (EUR 338 million), an increase of 61% year-on-year. Reaching
DKK 631 million (EUR 85 million) in 2008, EBITDA grew 43% over 2007 while net
profit increased 23% to DKK 339 million (EUR 45.5 million).
"We are proud to be able to present these results in a year characterised
by a very challenging environment. Saxo Bank's business model has proven its
viability and we are confident that the Bank will continue its growth in the
years to come", Saxo Bank's co-CEOs and co-founders Kim Fournais and Lars
Seier Christensen said in a joint statement.
2008 was a year of significant change for Saxo Bank. After a number of
years of high growth rates and a fast growing organisation, the management
decided to embark on consolidation and streamlining the Bank in order to put
it in a better position to be able to continue to grow in what are likely to
be challenging years ahead.
"We wanted to steer the Bank into a new phase based on a more flexible
structure, maintaining growth but ensuring profitability and efficiency at
the same time. We had to take some hard decisions along the way but we think
that time has proven that it was the right thing to do", said Kim Fournais
and Lars Seier Christensen. In connection with the restructuring, Saxo Bank
incurred a number of non-recurring costs related to redundancy payments.
Furthermore, approximately DKK 100 million (EUR 13.4 million) was expensed to
cover the cost of vacated premises and other associated restructuring costs.
Adjusting for this, profit before tax grew by 56% over 2007 which was in line
with the growth in top-line of 61%.
To support continuous growth in revenue and earnings, Saxo Bank
instigated a number of initiatives in 2008 aimed at strengthening and
optimising the Bank's entire value chain, product offering and geographical
footprint. Following the launch of Saxo Bank Switzerland, Saxo Bank acquired
the French White Label Partner, Cambiste, which in September 2008 was
launched as Saxo Banque France. Representative offices were also opened in
Australia and Japan, and this month, Saxo Bank established its presence in
Milan. Other new offices may be added to the list in the future.
As part of a long term strategy to establish Saxo Bank's presence in
wealth management for high-net-worth and institutional clients, Saxo Bank
also strengthened its Private Wealth Management (PWM) and Asset Management
(AM ) segments with the acquisition of Danish stockbroker and wealth
management company Sirius in January 2009.
Finally, Saxo Bank picked up five awards from key financial publications
this year, including Euromoney and, for the fourth consecutive year, FX Week.
These honours were echoed by Profit & Loss, who awarded Saxo Bank their Best
retail platform prize for the second consecutive year.
Saxo Bank is an online trading and investment bank with no engagement in
traditional lending activities. However, in response to the instability and
lack of confidence in the financial markets, Saxo Bank chose to join the
Danish state's Guarantee Scheme (the Private Contingency Association). The
scheme includes a state guarantee for the obligations of Danish banks until
October 2010. During the two-year guarantee period, the participating banks
may not pay out dividends or implement new share buy back programs.
Founded in 1992 by co-CEOs Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, Saxo
Bank is renowned for its award-winning online trading platform, SaxoTrader,
which is available directly through Saxo Bank or one of the Bank's While
Label partners. Saxo Bank has more than 120 White Label Partners and has
thousands of clients in over 180 countries.
About Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank is an online trading and investment specialist, enabling
clients to trade Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives,
as well as providing portfolio management via SaxoWebTrader and SaxoTrader,
the leading online trading platforms. SaxoTrader is available directly
through Saxo Bank or through one of the Bank's global partners. White
Labelling is a significant business area for Saxo Bank, and involves the
Bank's online trading platform being customised and branded for other
financial institutions and brokers. Saxo Bank has more than 120 White Label
Partners and boasts thousands of clients in over 180 countries. Saxo Bank is
headquartered in Copenhagen with offices in the UK, France, Italy,
Switzerland, Spain, Singapore, Australia and Japan.
SOURCE: Saxo Bank
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