IG Group Holdings PLC on Thursday upped its annual dividend and announced a share buyback, despite posting lower revenue and profit.

The London-based contracts-for-difference trading platform reported that revenue fell to £987.3 million in the financial year ended May 31, down from £1.02 billion a year earlier.

Pretax profit fell by 11% to £400.8 million from £449.9 million.

IG said it ‘delivered resilient results in slower market conditions and controlled costs well throughout a period of leadership and organisational change.’

The company also increased its total dividend to 46.2 pence from 45.2p, as well as announcing a new share buyback programme of £150 million to be completed by the end January next year.

Looking ahead, IG said it expects total revenue and adjusted pretax profit to be in line with market expectations in financial 2025.

‘IG has a sound position in large, growing markets, underpinned by an established brand and a loyal, high-value client base. However, I’ve also identified areas requiring change. We have lots of work to do to take IG to the next level and address the challenges we face,’ said Chief Executive Breon Corcoran.

‘We operate in a competitive industry landscape that is changing rapidly. We must move at pace to get closer to our customers, give them the products they want more quickly, enhance efficiency, and add scale to win. My initial priorities are to increase client centricity, accelerate product velocity and develop our culture to increase ownership and accountability.’

Shares in IG were up 3.4% to 873.50p each in London on Thursday afternoon.

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