Saxo Bank Sees Record Assets Under Management and Retains Profitability in Difficult Market Conditions

HELLERUP, Denmark, March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist, saw an increase of nearly 50% in assets under management in 2012, growing to an all-time high of DKK 49 billion from DKK 33 billion in 2011. Total clients collateral deposits in 2012 increased almost 14% to more than DKK 40 billion. In a year marked by volatility and low trading volumes, this helped Saxo Bank to generate an overall net profit of DKK 81 million for 2012.

Foreign exchange moved in tight ranges in 2012, with major currencies such as CHF and JPY impacted by pegging to the EUR and Bank of Japan intervention. These limitations naturally influenced clients' trading behaviour. Saxo Bank's EBITDA was DKK 606 million in 2012, remaining at a high level after decreasing 48% compared to 2011.

With market volatility in most asset classes remaining subdued throughout the year, operating income was DKK 2.97 billion, around 15% lower than in 2011. The Bank lowered the run-rate cost level to a level reflecting the market activity in November 2012, and operating costs for the Group ended at a similar level than in 2011 at DKK 2.51 billion. Saxo Bank's solvency ratio is almost the same as last year at 13.5%, well above the legal requirement.

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

"Saxo Bank's performance in 2012 was unsatisfactory, but explainable with the overall economic climate. We have demonstrated that Saxo Bank is able to go through an economic recession and stagnation without losing profitability. Following the restructuring last year, we are now extremely well positioned for growth and profitability in 2013.

"Market activity is somewhat rebounding, and Saxo Bank's net profit for the first two months of 2013 is already higher than for the full year of 2012. At the same time we are focusing even more on our core competencies and what brought us here in order to continue to lead the game. Embracing the latest information technology and developing innovative trading solutions is part of Saxo Bank's DNA. Investors can rest assured that they continue to have the best tools, the broadest access to markets and the best performing multi-asset platform available when trading with Saxo Bank."

A copy of the Annual Report can be downloaded here.

About Saxo Bank

Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist, offering private investors and institutional clients a complete set of tools for their trading and investment strategies. A fully licensed and regulated European bank, Saxo Bank enables clients to trade FX, CFDs, ETFs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives via three specialised and fully integrated multi-asset trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoTrader app. The platforms are available in over 20 languages and are white-labelled by more than 100 major financial institutions worldwide. Saxo Bank also offers professional portfolio and fund management as well as traditional banking services through Saxo Privatbank. Founded in 1992, the Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with 23 local offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Australia.