Saxo Bank looks to the future with the strength of a comfortable capital buffer as collateral deposits reach new highs 

Saxo Bank Group, in line with its guidance following the unexpected surge in the value of the Swiss franc in January 2015, has reported a net loss of DKK 485 million for the first six months of 2015. During the same period, clients’ collateral deposits continued to rise, increasing by DKK 7.8 billion to reach a record high of DKK 76 billion by the end of the first half of 2015.

The decision by the Swiss National Bank to remove the fixed floor between the Swiss franc and the euro on 15 January 2015 has adversely affected the result for the period. A number of the Group’s clients ended up with insufficient margin collateral to cover their losses on positions in the Swiss franc and any unsettled negative balances as of the end of the period have been fully provided for in the Group’s first half result. The net loss for the Group related to the Swiss franc event stands at DKK 0.7 billion and has been included in full in the results for the period.

The Group has following the Swiss event in several aspects been strengthened by restoring the capital buffers to comfortable levels and by having launched the new multi-asset trading platform SaxoTraderGO. The platform is built from the ground up with a distinct focus on customer usability and is designed to be easy and intuitive to operate across all devices.

• Operating income: DKK 751.5 million (DKK 1,347.2 million in H1 2014)
• EBITDA: DKK -307.8 million (DKK 448.3 million in H1 2014)
• Profit before tax: DKK -592.5 million (DKK 222.2 million in H1 2014)
• Net profit: DKK -484.6 million (DKK 156.4 million in H1 2014)
• Clients’ collateral deposits: DKK 76,007 million (DKK 60,346 million in H1 2014)
• Total equity: DKK 4,095.7 million (DKK 3,650.8 million in H1 2014)

The total capital ratio for the Group stood at 19.4% by the end of the period compared to 19.7% at the end of 2014 as new capital instruments of DKK 565 million have been issued in April 2015.

The founders and co-CEOs of Saxo Bank, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, said in a joint statement:

“It was a challenging start to the year but we have come through the first half year even stronger and are looking to the future with drive and ambition. We see Saxo Bank as the preferred partner for clients and counterparts and with our forward-looking technology we will continuously pursue growth opportunities in the market to leverage these strengths.”

Source: Saxo Bank

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