XTB founder sells $64M worth of shares in the company

XX ZW Investment Group, a private investment company owned by Jakub Zablocki, who owns a majority 81.97% share in the firm, has sold 7 million shares at XTB. The sale happened on May 10.

XTB founder sells $64M shares

The share sale amounted to around $64 million, which is the price range for which XTB shares were sold on that day. XTB issued a notification to the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) saying that this transaction was settled on May 12.

This sale has brought the share capital for XX ZW to 61.02%, equivalent to around 71.3 million shares. XX ZW also owned 18.03% by Hubert Walentynowicz. Walentynowicz previously held 78.6 million shares, which is equivalent to 66.99% of XTB. The shares have been publicly listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

The sale of these shares comes at a time when XTB was reporting financial buoyancy. During the first quarter of 2023, the broker reported consolidated net profits of EUR 64.4 million, which was a 20% increase year-over-year. The figure is also a significant fivefold increase compared to the last quarter of 2022.

The Polish forex and contracts-for-difference (CFD) broker has attributed its financial performance to the increased volatility in the financial and commodities market. This volatility has been attributed to geopolitical tensions and the banking crisis that has been witnessed recently.

The brokerage company has also said that the strategic marketing initiatives have had a significant contribution to the significant increase in client numbers and a rise in transactional activities.

During the quarter, XTB reported a significant 46.1% year-over-year growth in the number of new clients. The figure has also recorded a two times growth compared to the previous quarter. XTB has also attracted 104,200 new clients during the period, with the total number of clients coming in at 703,900.

XTB seeks new clients beyond the CFD market

Despite the growth, XTB has sought new clients beyond the CFD market. The CEO of XTB, Omar Arnaout, held a recent earnings conference where he said that the plans of brokerage company were planning to unveil an “investment-savings” product by the end of the year.

Arnaout has also said that it was planning to expand its product offerings to attain a massive clientele base. The executive also said its set of new products, alongside the positive marketing efforts, could be used to achieve the goal.

“We aim to expand our product offerings to reach a broader range of clients. New products are crucial for us to break the barrier of 40-55 thousand new accounts. Only new products, coupled with strong marketing efforts, can achieve this goal,” Arnaout said.

Last month, XTB said that it was expanding its offerings to also include exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and fractional shares. The broker also said that this service could also be available to customers in some European countries, with plans to expand across other jurisdictions such as Poland and Spain in Q2 2023.