IG Group Q3 revenue up 35 pct, helped by FXOnline

British spread-betting company IG Group posted a 35 percent rise in third-quarter revenue, helped by first-time results from FXOnline, but said revenue at its core UK Financial business fell 7.4 percent.

IG, which tightened its credit risk management in October, reduced the proportion of doubtful debt by 75 percent to less than 3 percent of revenue in the three months to end-February from 11.6 percent in its first half, it said on Tuesday.

Measures taken to reduce "credit risk have inevitably resulted in the loss of some revenue, where the group views the risk-reward ratio to be unacceptable in current market and economic conditions".

IG said its financial businesses opened 18,700 accounts, including 4,400 from FXOnline in the third quarter, compared to 10,500, excluding FXOnline, in the 2007-08 period.

Clients, old and new, have "become increasingly accustomed to the higher levels of volatility that have been a feature of equity markets since the summer of 2007.

"As a consequence the uplift of revenue that the group typically experiences on a higher volatility day is becoming progressively less marked and this made growth against very strong comparatives challenging."

IG shares, which have outperformed other general financial companies by 62 percent over the past 12 months, closed at 258.25 pence on Monday to value the company at 945 million pounds ($1.34 billion)