By Andrea Figueras
Shares in FlatexDegiro experienced a decline on Tuesday, following the announcement that Muhamad Chahrour, the deputy chief executive and chief operating officer, will be leaving the company on December 31st. In addition to this news, the online broker also reported lower revenue and earnings for the second quarter.
At 1037 GMT, shares were down 7.2% at EUR8.79.
Chahrour, who joined FlatexDegiro in 2015, made the decision to leave before the end of his term in order to pursue new opportunities. Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Martin Korbmacher, expressed surprise at Chahrour’s unexpected departure.
FlatexDegiro’s second-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization dropped to 29.1 million euros ($32.2 million), down from EUR37.4 million in the same period last year. Revenue also decreased from EUR91.6 million to EUR90.8 million.
Despite the weak second-quarter results, FlatexDegiro confirmed its full-year guidance and remains optimistic about benefiting from lower costs in the second half of the year. This reduction in costs will primarily be driven by decreased marketing spend, as well as higher interest income and an increase in average commissions achieved per settled transaction.
According to research note from Jefferies analysts Martin Comtesse and Fabian Piasta, FlatexDegiro’s second-quarter results were in line with expectations and the company is on track to meet its full-year guidance.
