UP Fintech Holding Limited (the “Company”, a NASDAQ-listed company under the ticker “$(TIGR)$”, and all of its subsidiaries and consolidated entities), a leading online brokerage firm, posted a strong earnings report for Q1 FY 2021. The firm saw record trading volume of $123.8 billion in the first quarter as demand for online securities trading continued to rise.
UP Fintech added 296K new client accounts in the first quarter of 2021, more than 3 times that of the first quarter of 2020. The total number of clients with deposits increased 180.4% year-over-year to 376K. Led by strong growth in the client base coupled with active engagement in the markets during the quarter, the total client account balance reached a record high of $21.4 billion in Q1.
Total revenue increased 255.5% year-over-year to $81.3 million. Non-GAAP profit was $23.5 million during the quarter, 22 times that of the first quarter of 2020.
In the first quarter, UP Fintech continued to expand its international reach with a growing presence in Singapore. Since the launch of its mobile trading app in Singapore a year ago, the firm has successfully differentiated itself with its innovative technology in a crowded market. In order to further expand product offerings for local users to diversify their portfolios, UP Fintech introduced new products and services in Singapore including its Fund Mall, as well as Daily Leveraged Certificates (DLCs), and US-listed over the counter (OTC) equities in Q1.
The quarterly additions of new client accounts and funded accounts in Singapore increased by 257.9% and 300.8%, respectively, compared to the preceding quarter. The number of new accounts in Singapore during the first three months of 2021 also exceeded the total for 2020, representing an important step forward in implementing the firm’s global expansion strategy.
Other revenues from corporate services, including investment banking and ESOP, rose 330.5% to $10.5 million from the prior year period. In Q1, UP Fintech participated in 14 H.K. and U.S. IPOs and served as an underwriter in 8 of them. The firm’s U.S. subsidiary also served as a lead bank for the first time in KuKe’s U.S. IPO (NYSE:KUKE). Despite having only started its investment banking business three years ago, UP Fintech has participated in more than 80 U.S. IPOs of Chinese issuers, leading U.S. IPO underwriting of Chinese companies by deal count among brokerages in both 2019 and 2020.
The firm also added 41 ESOP clients in Q1. Meanwhile, UP Fintech received ISO27701:2019 and ISO29151:2017 accreditations from DNV. These certifications certified the firm’s commitment to comply with the most stringent international standards in supporting data integrity and client confidentiality.
“We delivered another strong performance in Q1 with the highest ever funded account additions of 117K during the quarter. We are proud to now serve a diverse and sophisticated base of 376K investors. In Q1, more than half of new clients came from international markets, demonstrating our global expansion strategy is proceeding nicely. The Singapore market delivered phenomenal customer growth, serving as a testament to the relevance of our product offering and the opportunity in the retail brokerage market,” stated Mr. Wu Tianhua, CEO of UP Fintech. “We are off to a strong start in 2021 with record new accounts and client balances. Looking ahead, we will continue to expand our product portfolio and enhance our one-stop trading platform to meet investor preferences.”
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