With a last name like Ninja, I decided long ago to specialize in espionage. And with my first name being Forex, you guessed it, my other pasison was, well, anything and everything forex. Naturally, I decided to combine my two loves into one, "spying" on the forex industry (and telling you about my findings on this blog, Espipionage). This blog is dedicated to giving traders the inside scoop on developments in the forex industry, such as changing broker regulations and new forex products and companies. I also profile existing companies that are making an impact in the forex world all for your benefit. Set your night vision goggles ON. It's Spy Time!
Just last week, forex services provider FXCM Inc. (FXCM) released its quarterly financial and operating results for Q2 2012. Let's dig into the numbers to see how the firm fared over the past three months. (The full statement can be found on FXCM's website.)
One of the important things that the report revealed was that quarterly trading volume was down by 7% from 938 billion USD in Q2 2011 to 869 billion USD in Q2 2012. Compared to the earlier quarter, trading volume slumped by nearly 12%.
Source: FXCM Q2 2012 Slideshow
Another notable change in their income statement was the 11% drop in revenue from the same quarter last year, as the figure slipped from 103.34 billion USD to 91.68 billion USD.
At first glance, it may appear that FXCM went through a huge slump in Q2 2012. A closer look at the figures, however, would reveal that the decline in both trading volume and revenue were brought about by the drop in volatility during the summer period.
In fact, both total active accounts and client equity have been increasing dramatically over the last three years. Total active accounts climbed steadily from 86,149 in 2008 to more than twice as much at 174,218 as of Q2 2012. Meanwhile, client equity jumped by roughly 20% from 1.05 million USD in 2011 to 1.26 million USD in the second quarter of this year.
Source: FXCM Q2 2012 Slideshow
What this means is that FXCM is doing pretty well given the low volatility. The total combined equity of its customers has consistently increased in the last 4 years, rising to 1.25 billion USD. More importantly, active accounts have been trending up.
FXCM knows this, but it appears that they do not want to let their guard down. In the coming quarter, they will take some steps to improve their performance in the low volatility environment.
Related Posts:
- FXCM's Trading Volumes Are Down! Is Everything Okay? 04:26 24 October 2012
- FXCM June Metrics Are Out! 20:42 17 July 2012
- Brace Yourself, Forex Volumes are Rising 00:00 22 May 2013
- FXCM and Gain Post Q1 2011 Results 12:00 21 May 2011
- Trading Activity in FXCM and IG Group Continue to Fall 00:05 23 January 2013
